Bill Beckner stories, Page 116
Westmoreland High School Athletes of the Week: Southmoreland’s Amarah McCutcheon and Hempfield’s Brandon Coughlin
Amarah McCutcheon School: Southmoreland Sport: Softball Year: Sophomore Claim to fame: McCutcheon, an ultra-talented Class of ‘23 prospect with power and range, delivered the Scotties a walk-off win Wednesday in a 4-3 victory over Waynesburg. McCutcheon, a shortstop, went 3 for 4 with a double and three RBIs in the...
Former Latrobe stars have map to follow to overseas pro basketball leagues
Professional basketball outside of the country could await former Latrobe teammates Austin Butler and Jake Biss, but what comes along with it remains somewhat of a mystery to the backcourt stalwarts. Should they not play stateside … There’s the living out of suitcases part. The strange cities part. The language...
Westmoreland County high school notebook: Offers piling up for Belle Vernon’s Quinton Martin
Add two more Power 5 scholarship offers for Belle Vernon sophomore Quinton Martin. The top-end programs continue to buzz around the five-star sophomore football player, who reeled in offers from Louisville and Texas A&M on consecutive days last week. Martin (6-foot-3, 185 pounds) is ranked as the No. 1 recruit...
Murrysville Star notebook: DiFalco picks up WPIAL scholar-athlete honor
Anthony DiFalco’s goals aren’t just limited to the soccer field. The Franklin Regional star also excels in the classroom. The WPIAL announced winners of its James Collins Scholar-Athlete Awards and DiFalco was a recipient. Each will receive a $1,000 scholarship. DiFalco was a three-time All-American, three-time All-Region and three-time all-state...
No 1. West Greene softball team routs No. 3 Greensburg Central Catholic
West Greene players and their coach, Billy Simms, hung out in a dusty gravel parking lot near the Greensburg Central Catholic softball field Friday afternoon waiting for their ride home. Simms sat Indian style as he tallied up the scorebook while players giggled and passed the time. The fact that...
Latrobe softball wins big section showdown with Thomas Jefferson
Latrobe earned a section softball split with first-place Thomas Jefferson on the strength of three factors: 1. Sound pitching, 2. Crisp defense and 3. Power hitting. That trio can win a lot of games. Or, maybe it was three other things that powered the Wildcats. “I always say to be...
Westmoreland County baseball notebook: 3-game series on horizon for Hempfield, Norwin
Teams are still adjusting to playing two-game series on back-to-back days, but the WPIAL is switching to a new format next season. There will be three-game series in the largest classification, which fields the fewest teams. Class 6A will play three games in a row against each section opponent, a...
Senior’s return gives energy boost to Hempfield baseball
Joe Fiedor missed most of the basketball season for Hempfield with a mysterious injury he sustained in a home game against Penn-Trafford. It was a big hit to the Spartans’ backcourt. The strange, noncontact injury was later diagnosed: A piece of cartilage broke off under his kneecap and caused discomfort....
Reynolds tabbed to lead men’s basketball program at Point Park
After leading a turnaround of considerable note at Slippery Rock, Kevin Reynolds will look to do something similar at Point Park. He was announced Wednesday as the next head men’s basketball coach at NAIA Point Park, replacing Joe Lewandowski, who resigned in March after four seasons in charge of the...
No. 1 Armstrong puts on a show in statement win over Franklin Regional
With nicknames like “Camo,” “Smoke” and “Mack Attack,” players on the Armstrong softball team appreciate a good time. But just the same, they know when it’s time to put the business end of the bat on the ball. The top-ranked Class 5A team in the WPIAL — and state —...
Norwin grad JJ Matijevic gets call up to major leagues with AstrosVideo
JJ Matijevic’s ascent through the minor leagues hit the ceiling Wednesday when he was called up to join the Houston Astros. For the first time, he is a major leaguer — at least for now. The Astros brought him up to replace infielder Jose Altuve, who is on the 10-day...
Westmoreland County softball notebook: Realignment to shake up sections
There is plenty of softball left in 2022, but the WPIAL has set the table for next season with its realignment for the new two-year enrollment cycle. The most significant movers and shakers locally are Yough and Ligonier Valley, who will be section opponents in Class 3A after changing classifications....
Norwin softball looking to overcome soggy, slow start to season
Frustrated and chasing consistency, Norwin softball coaches and players have felt like pulling the lever on the escape hatch lately. Make it stop. The Lady Knights are not asking for pity. They just want to practice and play at home. The season has had more stops than starts with rainy...
Palmer Jackson selected to U.S. Palmer Cup team
Palmer Jackson is named after the late, great Arnold Palmer, so it’s only fitting the Notre Dame star gets to play in an event named after “The King.” Jackson, a junior and Franklin Regional product, was selected to play in the Arnold Palmer Cup, a prestigious event that matches college...
Mt. Pleasant native Ben Wilkins named Seton Hill men’s basketball coach
Former Westmoreland County resident Ben Wilkins is primed to take over the Seton Hill men’s basketball program. He was announced Tuesday as the new coach, replacing Kendrick Saunders, who was not retained after three seasons and a record of 3-24. Wilkins, an assistant at Army for the last six seasons,...
Westmoreland campus clippings: Hempfield grad Jenna Uncapher shines in heptathlon at Clarion
Clarion senior Jenna Uncapher was running all over the place at her latest track and field meet. And jumping. Uncapher, a Hempfield graduate, scored a career-best 4,247 points to finish fifth in the heptathlon at the Mondschein Multi meet at Kutztown. The mark is third all time at Clarion. She...
Westmoreland campus clippings: Saint Vincent baseball sweeping past PAC competition
The brooms are going to need new bristles at Saint Vincent. The Bearcats baseball team earned its fourth straight sweep of a Presidents’ Athletic Conference opponent, and ran its winning streak to 11, with wins of 9-4 and 10-8 against Franciscan. Junior Jordan Sabol (Penn-Trafford) was the standout of the...
High school notebook: Norwin wrestler Passarelli headed to Davidson
Luke Passarelli is taking his wrestling talent to the highest level of the NCAA. The senior from Norwin committed to Davidson. Passarelli, a 120-pounder, finished fifth in WPIAL Class 3A this season. He went 28-12 and also placed second in his section and sixth at the Powerade Tournament. Outside of...
Belle Vernon sophomore Quinton Martin pulls in football offer from Ohio State
When Quinton Martin was discussing his college football scholarship offers last month, he said it “would be cool” to get one from Ohio State. The Buckeyes offered Saturday. How cool is that? Martin, the sophomore sensation from Belle Vernon, is rounding up offers from some of the top programs in...
Westmoreland H.S. athletes of the week: Ligonier Valley’s Cheyenne Piper, Greensburg Salem’s Donavin Waller
Cheyenne Piper School: Ligonier Valley Sport: Softball Year: Sophomore Claim to fame: Piper had a week to remember, delivering a perfect game and then getting hot with the bat as the Rams won four straight. She threw a perfect game in a 7-0 victory over Punxsutawney in her first varsity...
Norwin high school sports notebook: Knights named county award finalists
A pair of Norwin student-athletes are finalists for the 66th annual Westmoreland County Scholar-Athlete awards. The banquet is set for May 3 at Ferrante’s Lakeview. It will honor 36 candidates, two each from the 18 high schools in the county. Athletic directors and school officials from each high school nominate...
Franklin Regional notebook: Aidan Fisch named Gold Standard Teammate at Pitt
Pitt doesn’t just like Fisch on Fridays. Franklin Regional alum Aidan Fisch was honored at a Pitt postseason awards ceremony as the recipient of the men’s basketball Gold Standard Teammate of the Year. The award goes to “the student-athlete from each team who most effectively inspired his or her team...
New coach Palaschak hopes to keep Norwin boys volleyball team among WPIAL’s best
Norwin first-year boys volleyball coach Mike Palaschak pays attention to rankings because, well, he kind of has to. He participates in the voting for the weekly Western PA Volleyball Coaches Association poll, which ranks the top 10 WPIAL teams in Class 3A and 2A. So, he couldn’t help but notice...
GCC grad Neal McDermott regains control of career with move to outfield at Seton Hill
Unable to sleep and full of self-doubt, Neal McDermott sat up in bed and cried. A couple of years before the fifth-year Seton Hill baseball player made SportsCenter’s No. 1 play with a highlight-reel catch as a reinvented center fielder, he was a pitcher. A pitcher at wit’s end, watching...
Westmoreland County high school notebook: Norwin receiver gets Division I attention
Jackson Pons has two years of high school football left at Norwin, the same number of Division I football scholarship offers he has. Pons, a sophomore wide receiver and defensive back who transferred back to Norwin from Central Catholic, was offered recently by Mississippi State, a FBS program that plays...
