Bill Beckner stories, Page 126
Yough’s rising basketball star Crosby working to expand his game
Terek Crosby is a gifted athlete and a natural scorer on the basketball court. Just a sophomore, he can get to the rim and do some impressive things once he gets there. Swift layups. Up-and-under scores. Slam dunks. At times, he looks like a Maserati with the fast lane all...
Latrobe girls basketball integrates guarded approach
Latrobe has gained some attention around WPIAL girls basketball circles because of its height and old-school post play. The Wildcats have a size advantage that teams envy. They are a skyscraper in a Class 5A skyline. But watch the team play this season and it’s clear there is much more...
Westmoreland girls basketball notebook: Sizing up the Norwin-North Allegheny rematch
Odds do not favor an offensive extravaganza when North Allegheny and Norwin meet again Thursday night in North Huntingdon. It’s a good a bet to expect the opposite. These are teams that usually come away with dirt under their finger nails. No. 1 North Allegheny (15-0, 9-0) won the first...
Franklin Regional boys claw past Woodland Hills for Section 3-5A basketball win
The grind makes the victory that much sweeter. That was what Franklin Regional coach Jesse Reed had to say after his team rallied — scratched and clawed was more like it — to finally brush past visiting Woodland Hills, 45-42, on Tuesday night in a Section 3-5A boys basketball game...
Westmoreland campus clippings: Seton Hill pitchers earn preseason honors
A pair of Seton Hill senior relief pitchers received preseason plaudits from the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association. Nash Bryan was named to the first team, and Caiden Wood was an honorable mention selection. Bryan led the PSAC with seven saves in 17 appearances and closed five postseason games. He...
Jeannette makes plays down stretch to stave off Greensburg Salem rally
Greensburg Salem was coming back furiously late in the third quarter. A 22-point lead for Jeannette was dwindling — fast — as the Golden Lions scored 18 straight points to close the gap considerably. Did Jeannette coach Adrian Batts call timeout during the run? “No, but maybe I should have...
Seton Hill basketball player Weeks spends days teaching
It’s game day at Seton Hill. Kelly Weeks, awake since 5:15 a.m., already has taught five full periods at Hempfield Area High School when lunchtime rolls around. She puts down her sandwich long enough to watch some game film and catch up on her own studies. At 2:45 p.m., school...
Westmoreland campus clippings: Seton Hill women win 9th straight game
Seton Hill remained one of the hottest teams in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference basketball, rallying past Pitt-Johnstown, 65-58, for a ninth straight victory. Senior Katie Nolan played her best game of the season, scoring a career-high 31 points and pulling down 15 rebounds while shooting 12 of 16 from the...
Westmoreland high school notebook: Penn-Trafford golfer Turowski to play in national event
Penn-Trafford sophomore Nick Turowski, the reigning WPIAL Class 3A golf champion, will play in a prestigious tournament this summer. Turowski will compete in the National High School Golf Invitational on July 10-13 at Pinehurst Resort in North Carolina. He will join a field of the top 270 prep players in...
Southmoreland gets in tune, beats Mt. Pleasant in ‘backyard brawl’
The Southmoreland girls began the day by singing the national anthem together. Like the game that followed, they were a little off-key early. But they were just building toward a big finish. And there was something to that “home of the brave” part. The third-ranked Scotties finally found their touch...
Westmoreland H.S. notebook: Norwin, Hempfield ready for challenges after football realignment
Now that they have a better idea of what they will be dealing with in their new classification and conference, Norwin and Hempfield can begin to plan out next football season. The WPIAL announced new alignments for the next two-year cycle, and Class 5A newcomers Norwin and Hempfield are stationed...
Norwin notebook: Chase Kranitz hits 100-victory wrestling milestone
Chase Kranitz checked off a career milestone when the Norwin wrestling team hit the road for a recent tournament. The senior 152-pounder recorded his 100th win on the way to a third-place finish at the Escape the Rock Tournament at Council Rock South High School in Holland, Pa. Kranitz, a...
Franklin Regional notebook: Basketball set for Shootout at Seton Hill
The Franklin Regional girls and boys basketball teams will take a break from their section schedules to play in the Shootout at Seton Hill set for Sunday at Seton Hill University in Greensburg. The girls will play the first of five games at the McKenna Center, at 1 p.m. against...
Yough boys basketball team falls flat in 2nd half, loses to Uniontown
With a name like Notorious Grooms, there has to be a back story. But the Uniontown freshman basketball player said it’s as simple as the definition. “It just means you’re known for something. You’re, like, famous for doing something,” he said. Grooms is becoming known for his clutch play in...
No. 5 Latrobe girls score season high in points, turn back Woodland Hills
Camille Dominick played three positions Thursday night, working the wings as a small forward before moving to the post as a power forward and then playing some center. The 6-foot junior helped the Wildcats build a commanding lead with her 3-point shooting, then filled in around the rim when senior...
Gracie Spadaro joins mom in Southmoreland 1,000-point club
Like mother, like daughter. Senior basketball player Gracie Spadaro moved in with some unique company when she joined the 1,000-point club at Southmoreland. Well, she was already moved in. Her mom achieved the same milestone 25 years ago. Susan (Love) Spadaro, an assistant coach for her daughter’s team, also scored...
Greensburg Central Catholic boys basketball riding wave of confidence
Greensburg Central Catholic boys basketball players fling up half-court shots as a recent practice draws to a close. The atmosphere is fun. It’s loose. But it’s also competitive — very competitive. Just about every Centurion thinks he can make it. That’s what happens when roles get elevated and a wave...
Westmoreland boys basketball notebook: Greensburg Salem welcomes back its Big Ben
Ben Thomas had not played a WPIAL basketball game in nearly a year. The Greensburg Salem senior guard hadn’t taken the court since April 11 when he tore his ACL in an AAU game in Lancaster. Right might be expected when Thomas finally returned Tuesday for a home game against...
Notre Dame latest Power 5 school to offer Belle Vernon sophomore Quinton Martin
Colleges are not offering Belle Vernon’s sensational sophomore too early. They’re right on “Q”. Quinton Martin, the fast-rising running back, defensive back — OK, athlete — bagged another Power Five scholarship offer Thursday and it’s a big one. Notre Dame reached out to the 6-foot-3, 195-pounder after Fighting Irish offensive...
Westmoreland girls basketball notebook: Yough making major strides
Scores can be indicative of how far struggling programs have come — a measurement of improvement. For Yough, three results stand out on the schedule. The Cougars (3-9, 1-3 heading into Wednesday night’s game against No. 4 Southmoreland) did not win any of the three — they weren’t favored to...
Norwin girls basketball team shows grit, chemistry
When Norwin lost promising junior Savannah Schneck to an ACL injury for the second straight year, the girls basketball team quickly regrouped. It had little choice in the matter, but it regrouped nonetheless. The season was about to start, and the Knights began to shine a spotlight around to see...
Westmoreland campus clippings: Bryan Butler named women’s soccer coach at Saint Vincent
He used to play against the Bearcats in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference, but now Bryan Butler will coach against his alma mater, Geneva, in the fall. Butler is the new women’s soccer coach at Saint Vincent. He has a number of coaching stops on his resume, the most recent one...
Penn-Trafford puts clamps on Norwin during Section 3-6A victory
Penn-Trafford could have praised its offensive play, particularly its long-range shooting — after holding back rival Norwin. But the Warriors were more about what they did on the other end of the floor following a 56-45 victory over the Knights in Section 3-6A. While a strong shooting start was a...
W&J baseball standout Tyler Horvat a preseason All-American
Tyler Horvat had a breakthrough season in 2021 for the Washington & Jefferson baseball team, showing his versatility as a pitcher and hitter. The junior utility player out of Penn-Trafford is expected to be one of best again in 2022 as he was named to the D3baseball.com Preseason All-American Team....
Westmoreland campus clippings: National honor for Shippenburg’s Zollinger, her staff
At some places, it takes a village. At Shippensburg, it takes a few really good coaches. Shippensburg field hockey coach Tara Zollinger (Hempfield) and her assistants were named the National Field Hockey Coaches Association Division II National Coaching Staff of the Year. The Raiders (20-0) won the NCAA championship and...
