Bill Beckner stories, Page 122
UMass forward Sam Breen, former North Catholic star, named Atlantic 10’s top player
Sam Breen went from the Big Ten to the Atlantic 10. Ten and 10, that’s right up Breen’s alley. The former North Catholic star is a double-double producer and durable post presence for Massachusetts in her fifth season of college basketball, and her counterparts have noticed. The 6-foot-1 Breen, who...
WVU golfer Mark Goetz collects third college win
With three sub-70 rounds, Greensburg’s Mark Goetz chiseled out a two-shot victory at the Lake Las Vegas Intercollegiate, an event his West Virginia team also won in a runaway. Goetz, a fifth-year senior, shot 65, 67 and 69 to finish at 15-under-par 201 at Reflection Bay Golf Club in Henderson,...
Penn-Trafford, Franklin Regional grads start podcast to help athletes when cheering stops
Keep chasing the life you want to live. That is one of the core messages Tim Cortazzo and Colin Jonov want to push in a new podcast they created called “Identity Impact.” The pair of former Division I football players from Westmoreland County high schools want to assist former athletes...
Latrobe grad Bryce Butler named Mountain East player of the year
Bryce Butler was thrust into the starting lineup at West Liberty this season in a full-time role. One could say he embraced the opportunity. Another way to put it might be: He took a defining season and owned it. The third-year sophomore out of Latrobe has been dominant for one...
OLSH blitzes Greensburg CC, earns 6th straight trip to WPIAL finals
Greensburg Central Catholic ended Monessen’s 16-game winning streak in the semifinals. Transpose that number and that is what GCC was up against in the semis against Our Lady of the Sacred Heart. Teams have been trying for weeks … months … years … to make the Chargers look human, but...
Westmoreland County campus clippings: Saint Vincent’s Sydney Green shines at PAC indoor meet
Saint Vincent senior Sydney Green ran to a pair of top-two finishes at the Presidents’ Athletic Conference Indoor Track & Field Championships in Youngstown, Ohio. The Latrobe product clocked a personal-best mark of 5 minutes, 17.76 seconds in the mile to win by more than five seconds. She added a...
Southmoreland girls continue to rely on trademark defense to advance in WPIAL playoffs
Teams that have played against Southmoreland the last several seasons rarely have hit their scoring averages. If they did, it was probably because they were equally as talented or better, they shot the lights out or they caught the Scotties on an off night. “We’re disciplined on defense,” said junior...
Westmoreland WPIAL basketball playoff preview capsules: Games for Tuesday, March 1, 2022
Semifinals Boys Class A 4-Greensburg Central Catholic (18-3) vs. 1-Our Lady of the Sacred Heart (21-0) 8 p.m. Tuesday at Gateway Coaches: Christian Hyland, Greensburg Central Catholic; Mike Rodriguez, OLSH Winner plays: Winner of 3-Carlynton (20-2)/2-Fort Cherry (22-2) in championship 1 p.m. March 5 at Petersen Events Center Layup lines:...
Saint Vincent cuts ties with men’s basketball coach Terrance Smith
Saint Vincent College is looking for new leadership in its men’s basketball program. The college announced Monday it will not retain Terrance Smith as head coach and will immediately begin to search for a replacement. Smith led the Bearcats for three seasons, compiling a record of 19-44, including a 3-22...
Westmoreland campus clippings: Mt. Pleasant’s Haylie Brunson off to strong start at Pitt
Haylie Brunson did not need a beginner’s manual to play college softball at the Division I level. Brunson, a freshman at Pitt who was the Trib Westmoreland softball player of the year only eight months ago after leading Mt. Pleasant to WPIAL and PIAA titles, is on an early season...
Westmoreland high school notebook: Shakeup for football schedules
Schedules for the 2022 WPIAL football season came out last week, giving some teams in new classifications, and their fans, a glimpse of what lies ahead. Norwin and Hempfield will be new to Class 5A and play in a conference with Franklin Regional, Gateway, returning WPIAL and PIAA champion Penn-Trafford...
Greensburg Central Catholic boys get much-anticipated rematch with OLSH in WPIAL semifinals
Greensburg Central Catholic players and coaches watched Our Lady of the Sacred Heart celebrate a WPIAL boys basketball title last year at Peters Township — right in front of them. The dog pile celebration followed a 71-52 victory over the Centurions in the Class 2A final. As if GCC needed...
Book about wrestling shoes was major decision for Norwin grad Drew Phipps
If the shoe fits … write a book about it. That is what collector Drew Phipps did to share his unbridled passion for something most take for granted. Something to which many will never give a second thought. Wrestling shoes. Not baseball cards, coins or comic books. Phipps has been...
Franklin Regional basketball continues fundraising efforts for Clelian Heights
Organizer Kurt Kimmich longs for the return of the Special Needs Awareness Day at Franklin Regional. The unique event celebrates the students of Clelian Heights School for Exceptional Children in Greensburg, through basketball. Sister Charlene Celli of Clelian Heights told Kimmich, “Definitely next year,” when asked if the event would...
Norwin notebook: Knights juniors earn trip to state indoor track championships
A pair of Norwin athletes qualified to compete in the Pennsylvania Track and Field Coaches Association Indoor Championships Feb. 27 at Penn State. Juniors Nataiah Robertson-Dutrieuill and Hannah Shaw finished in the top 20 in their events to reach the state finals. Robertson-Dutrieuill earned a spot in the long jump,...
Westmoreland high school notebook: Penn-Trafford football was part of last championship weekend in Hershey
It turns out Penn-Trafford was the last Westmoreland County team to celebrate a PIAA football title in Hershey. The PIAA came out with some shocking news last week, announcing it was moving the state football championships to Cumberland Valley High School in Mechanicsburg. The finals have been played at Hershey...
Greensburg CC ends Monessen’s winning streak, earns rematch with OLSH in Class 2A
Greensburg Central Catholic’s team size has been a problem for opponents all season. For a few moments early in their playoff game Friday night, the Centurions looked average-sized. But after falling behind, the fourth-seeded Centurions quickly rose to their full height. They went on to dispatch of No. 5 Monessen’s...
Westmoreland WPIAL basketball playoff capsule for Feb. 26, 2022
Saturday’s game Boys Semifinals Class 4A 3-Belle Vernon (19-3) vs. 2-Montour (19-4) Noon at Bethel Park Coaches: Joe Salvino, Belle Vernon; Bill Minear, Montour Winner plays: Winner of 5-Lincoln Park (17-6)/1-Quaker Valley (21-0), 9 p.m. March 3 in the championship at Petersen Events Center Layup lines: Belle Vernon is aiming...
Saturday could mark last local game for former Norwin star Alayna Gribble
A basketball career that seemed to begin ages ago is turning to twilight, but Alayna Gribble has one more local stop before she throws her sneakers over the telephone wires. Gribble, a grad student guard at St. Joseph’s and the all-time leading scorer at Norwin, will play in Pittsburgh one...
Tony Grenek resigns as Point Park women’s basketball coach
Tony Grenek is stepping down as the head women’s basketball coach at Point Park after 11 seasons. Grenek had a record of 206-101. The wins are the most in program history. He put together four 20-win seasons and led the Pioneers to eight conference tournament appearances. This season, the Pioneers...
Daly drives Seton LaSalle past Greensburg CC in Class 2A quarterfinals
Mallory Daly knows how to take hits and she knows how to dish them out. The sophomore guard from Seton LaSalle was a football player growing up in Brentwood. She played quarterback and defensive back, connecting up with her twin brother, O’Malley, for touchdowns when they were fifth graders. Daly’s...
Westmoreland boys basketball notebook: Belle Vernon itching for another crack at Montour
Belle Vernon was short a couple of key pieces when it played Montour the first time this season. That had a lot to do with the Leopards losing, 65-48, to the Spartans in a late-season matchup at the Hoops for a Cure showcase at North Allegheny. But when the teams...
Westmoreland WPIAL basketball playoff preview capsules: Games for Friday, Feb. 25, 2022
Friday’s games BOYS Class 2A Quarterfinals 5-Monessen (18-4) vs. 4-Greensburg Central Catholic (17-3) 7 p.m. at Norwin Winner plays: Winner of 9-Sto-Rox (12-7)/1-Our Lady of the Sacred Heart (20-0) Tuesday in semifinals Layup lines: Monessen is one of the hottest teams in the WPIAL, winning 16 straight. The Greyhounds have...
Bethel Park girls stage 2nd-half rally to get past Norwin in Class 6A quarterfinals
Flat and frustrated at halftime, Bethel Park reminded itself there were still 16 minutes of basketball to play. That the outcome was far from decided and it still had plenty to offer this game. Fourth-seeded Norwin had a nine-point lead and looked to have the No. 5 Black Hawks, who...
Westmoreland girls basketball notebook: Follow-the-winner plan gives teams 2nd chance
With capacity rules decreased and crowds back in gyms, postseason basketball is beginning to feel normal again. But hand-stamp season will really reconnect with normalcy in the PIAA playoffs with the old qualifying format returning. Last year, only WPIAL champions advanced to the state brackets. But the follow-the-winner plan is...
