Bill Beckner stories, Page 109
Reitz father-son combo reunited as coordinators on Hempfield coaching staff
One is old school, committed to stopping the run and appreciative of a good hit over the middle. The other is new wave. Spread the field, go shotgun and make the secondary guess. Ray Reitz and his son, Ryan, look at high school football from different perspectives, but they are...
Latrobe football team earns long-awaited 7-on-7 win on its home field
As Penn-Trafford’s final deep pass attempt sailed out of the end zone and fell incomplete, players from Latrobe jumped into each other’s arms and bounced around in a sudden swell of excitement. For once, the Wildcats got to celebrate on their home field, which hosted the county 7-on-7 passing tournament...
Norwin grad jumps feet first into GCC girls soccer coaching job
Taking over a perennial power three weeks before official practice begins might seem daunting to most first-year soccer coaches. Not to Kara Batey. She was hired to coach the Greensburg Central Catholic girls rather late in the game, but she was eager to meet her players for the first time...
Latrobe alum Jared Kollar signs with San Diego Padres
Feeling he had more to prove as a college pitcher, Jared Kollar took advantage of a fifth year of eligibility and played last season at Rutgers. What did he prove? That he might have major-league talent. The crafty right-hander out of Latrobe and Seton Hill was signed Tuesday night to...
Southmoreland senior honors coach’s memory with youth camp
Kaleb Tkacs was 5-foot-10 and weighed 160 pounds when he joined the Southmoreland football team as a freshman. Not small, but not exactly the roster specs of an aspiring lineman, either. Tkacs was not judged on his height and weight, though. Then-line coach Ron Frederick saw a player he could...
Old-school game taking Latrobe’s Emma Blair places
Latrobe’s Emma Blair makes old-school post players proud every time she touches the basketball. And, despite the ever-changing nature of the game, where more traditional “bigs” are being asked to do more away from the rim than under it, college coaches are taking notice. Size and back-to-the-basket ability still mean...
Hempfield girls basketball heats up during summer months
Success in the summer months doesn’t quite compare to success during the winter high school basketball season, but Hempfield can attest there still is plenty of value to it. And the trophies are just as shiny. Winning as a cohesive unit in July can be a building block for the...
Westmoreland notebook: WCCA 7-on-7 tournament returns
The “skill” guys — the quarterbacks, running backs, receivers and defensive backs — will be on display Thursday at the Westmoreland County Coaches Association Larry Sellitto Memorial 7-on-7 Football Championship, a sure sign high school football is fast approaching. The pitch-and-catch event begins at 9 a.m. at Latrobe’s Rossi and...
Greensburg Salem’s Zahorchak resigns as boys basketball coach
Greensburg Salem will fall into line with similar-sized schools in boys basketball again next winter but the team will play in Class 4A without Mark Zahorchak. The Golden Lions’ head coach resigned after four seasons, the last two when Greensburg Salem played up in Class 6A to reduce travel and...
Franklin Regional teams gearing up for new-look conference alignments
Fall sports will introduce WPIAL teams to a new two-year cycle, which means classifications and sections have been realigned. Here’s what Franklin Regional teams will face in 2022: Beginning with football, the Panthers will remain in the Class 5A Big East Conference, which has undergone change. It now has Franklin...
Westmoreland high school notebook: Transfer to prep school a tough decision for Franklin Regional lineman
Andrew Nesler is on the move. The rising senior football player is leaving Franklin Regional for The Hill School, a prep academy in Pottstown, about 70 miles east of Hershey. Nesler, a 6-foot-2, 285-pound lineman, said the transfer is motivated by personal and family reasons. He was a key player...
Westmoreland college notebook: Seton Hill’s Taylor in NBA Summer League
When Kameron Taylor played at Seton Hill he had a propensity to deliver big shots at big moments. The smooth-shooting guard out of Landover, Md., was a 20-point-per-game scorer as a senior in 2016. Now, he is looking for his big break. Taylor has found his way to the doorstep...
Franklin Regional’s Anthony DiFalco nominated for USA Today’s national soccer player of the year
One of the best boys soccer players to come out of the WPIAL in recent years also is being mentioned with the top talent in the country. Three-time All-American forward Anthony DiFalco, who had a stellar, four-year career at Franklin Regional, was named to the All-USA Today High School Sports...
New Yough football coach set on bringing winning mentality to program
Working at Lucky Lottery in Trafford has given Ben Hoffer a greater appreciation for the game of chance. There, anyone can scratch off a winner or prosper with a random combination of numbers. The new Yough football coach has his team in line to play the Powerball. Why not? The...
Tim Bukowski soldiers on in friend’s stead as Southmoreland football coach
Tasked with taking over a program that initially was going to be in his friend and fellow assistant’s hands, Tim Bukowski is adjusting to his new role as head football coach at Southmoreland as a new season draws near. Bukowski was hired in March after Ron Frederick died suddenly from...
Westmoreland campus clippings: Saint Vincent women’s soccer adds Greensburg Salem grad to staff
Saint Vincent added some local soccer expertise to its women’s team. Greensburg native Hope Creamer, who played at Greensburg Salem and coached the Greensburg Central Catholic girls, was named an assistant coach with the Bearcats and head coach Bryan Butler. “Hope was a tremendous player and understands what it takes...
Norwin’s Max McDowell maturing in Yankees system
Sure, Max McDowell wanted to be there in person when the New York Yankees played the Pittsburgh Pirates in a recent two-game series at PNC Park. The minor-league catcher would have given just about anything to get a call-up to join New York’s big club on the North Shore, 20...
Westmoreland County high school notebook: Norwin senior wowed by Donald at workout
Noah Vogel went to Pitt for what initially looked like an unremarkable football workout. Another day in the blazing summer heat. But his day ended up becoming quite remarkable. Vogel, a senior tight end and defensive end at Norwin, received one-on-one instruction from Pitt great and Super Bowl champion Aaron...
Westmoreland Sports Club to bring in feature speakers, promote camaraderie
When Bob Colbert started a pair of sports social clubs in Virginia, a few common traits held the concept together and allowed membership to grow: an interest in telling stories, inquisitiveness to learn more about the people telling them and the simple enjoyment of talking sports in a laid-back setting...
2022 Trib HSSN Preseason Football All-Star Team: Belle Vernon’s Quinton Martin
Editor’s note: The Tribune-Review and the TribLive High School Sports Network are profiling each member of the 25-player Trib HSSN Preseason Football All-Star team. The players will be recognized July 15 during HSSN Media Day at Kennywood Park. An athlete of Quinton Martin’s ilk could line up just about anywhere...
Franklin Regional announces 1st Athletic Hall of Fame class
A venture that athletic director Zach Kessler said was long overdue, Franklin Regional finally has an athletics hall of fame in place to honor the legacy of its finest athletes. Now, it has its inaugural class. The Franklin Regional Athletic Hall of Fame Class of 2022 was unveiled Wednesday. It...
Carlow athletics moving from NAIA to Division III
Reduced travel, less expenses and fewer missed classes were among the reasons Carlow University decided to make the move to NCAA Division III. The private Catholic school in Oakland is leaving the NAIA and is headed for the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference starting in 2022-23. Carlow, an NAIA member since...
Latrobe grad Zach Kokoska riding hot streak for Single-A Grizzlies
June did not start the way Zach Kokoska had hoped. After seeing his batting average rise to .231 in early May, the Fresno Grizzlies outfielder and designated hitter went 4 for 26 in his first eight games of June and saw his average dip to .192. But the minor leaguer...
Next Jeannette Jayhawk Athletic Hall of Fame class a family affair
This year’s Jeannette Jayhawk Athletic Hall of Fame class will be a family affair. A father and daughter, and a pair of sisters, will be inducted. The 2022 class was announced Tuesday and it includes 1974 graduate Terry Gregory, a football and basketball standout, who will join his daughter, Ciara,...
Westmoreland campus clippings: Greensburg’s Loren Byers caps freshman year at PSU
Loren Byers took his place among the starting lineup on the Penn State tennis team and put together a strong freshman season. Byers, who is from Greensburg and attended Greensburg Salem for one year before attending 21st Century Cyber Charter School, finished 17-10 in singles, and 6-8 playing doubles for...
