Bill Beckner stories, Page 141
Westmoreland campus clippings: Pitt-Greensburg athletics Hall of Fame in the works
Pitt-Greensburg will have an athletics hall of fame for the first time. The university put together a selection committee, which began meeting in June. They will consider past standouts for induction in four categories: student-athlete, coach/administrator, team and honorary. The nomination process begins Wednesday and will end Oct. 15. Nominations...
Westmoreland high school notebook: Mt. Pleasant helps cancer victims
Mt. Pleasant is raising money for charity through a unique fundraiser that is fit for a king — and queen. Sports teams, the band ensemble and PIAA wrestling champion Dayton Pitzer are collecting money for the American Cancer Society. The American Cancer Society Penny King/Queen event at Mt. Pleasant will...
Westmoreland high school football notebook: Belle Vernon, Penn-Trafford set to clash
They don’t make nonconference matchups quite like this one. At least they didn’t used to. The WPIAL scheduled cross-classification games this season, meaning Class 5A teams play teams from 4A, among other matchups. It turned out to be a great idea for the league to create such an impressive matchup...
New coach means clean slate for powerful Norwin girls soccer program
New Norwin girls soccer coach Diane Metzger does not plan to have a starting lineup selected until a few days before the season opener. And when those starters are selected, their positions won’t be etched in stone. “No guarantees,” said Metzger, a Norwin grad and former Lady Knights player who...
Norwin boys soccer team has title run in its sights
Riley Zimmerman played only briefly in the WPIAL Class 4A boys soccer championship three years ago at Highmark Stadium, but the experience resonated with him. Then a Norwin freshman, Zimmerman recalls Knights coach Scott Schuchert telling him to remember the feeling, the atmosphere, the moment — to take it all...
Franklin Regional girls soccer has strong base to build on
With nine returning starters, Franklin Regional’s girls soccer team looks like it will have staying power this season. “We only graduated three seniors, so we have a very experienced team returning,” second-year coach Scott Arnold said. “With so many returning players, we are building up on where we finished last...
Top scorer Anthony DiFalco, Franklin Regional boys soccer teammates set lofty goals
Franklin Regional senior Anthony DiFalco has seen just about everything there is to see in high school soccer. He has won two WPIAL titles, finished as a runner-up and played in the PIAA semifinals twice. He’s been All-WPIAL, all-state and All-American. But even the best players want more. They always...
Penn-Trafford jumps out to early lead in rout of Hempfield
This scoring on the first play of the game thing is catching on at Penn-Trafford. First-year senior quarterback Carter Green did it last week when he scored on a 99-yard run against Norwin. This week it was senior running back Cade Yacamelli who took the first snap from scrimmage to...
Jeannette football team to wear helmet decals to honor late coach Mucci
Thinned-out Jeannette will honor the memory of one of its all-time great football coaches Friday night as players wear special “JM” helmet decals for the late Joe Mucci. Jeannette (0-1) hosts Sto-Rox (1-0) at 7 p.m. at McKee Stadium. The Jayhawks’ coach from 1968-85, Mucci died last December from complications...
Mt. Pleasant junior Casey Shaffer plays on despite death of his mother; ‘She would have wanted me to’
As he surged through the line and wrapped up a Burrell ball carrier for his first tackle of the game — and season — Casey Shaffer could hear a familiar cheer. It was faint, but it rang so true in his ears — and in his heart. His mother had...
Sasko Classic returns at Belle Vernon to kick off soccer season
You know the WPIAL soccer season is here again when the name Paul Sasko appears on schedules. The Paul Sasko Kickoff Classic is back at Belle Vernon after it was canceled last season. The pandemic tightened the early part of the WPIAL schedule and organizers could not find a place...
Viola karate family takes pride in sport’s Olympic debut
Students of Allegheny Shotokan (Viola Karate) Martial Arts in North Huntingdon gathered outside of the dojo in front of a 20-foot screen, like Penguins fans watching a Stanley Cup playoff game on the big screen outside of PPG Paints Arena, to watch the Tokyo Olympics. This summer’s games carried special...
Westmoreland football notebook: Laurel Highlands’ Gallagher next test for Southmoreland
Southmoreland pulled somewhat of a surprise last week when it knocked off McGuffey. The fact the Scotties won was impressive, but how they did it was even more so: big plays and balance propelled them to a 47-22 victory. The final score echoed around the WPIAL. But the celebration must...
In program’s 1st WPIAL season, Hempfield girls golf comes out of clubhouse firing
After playing one season as a club team, Hempfield’s girls golfers were primed to begin their first year as a WPIAL member. The girls are apparently an iron, driver and putter team, too. Nobody saw this kind of start coming. The Lady Spartans have embraced the challenge that comes with...
Pitt-Greensburg to start sports hall of fame
Pitt-Greensburg will have an athletics hall of fame for the first time. The university put together a selection committee which began meeting in June. They will consider past standouts for induction in four categories: student-athlete, coach/administrator, team and honorary. The nomination process begins Wednesday of this week and will end...
Westmoreland campus clippings: Former Seton Hill basketball standout heads overseas
Tiana Stewart just graduated from Seton Hill, but her basketball career is continuing overseas. Stewart will earn a master’s degree while playing for TeamGLEAS, which gives former college players a chance to keep playing and studying in another country. A 5-foot-9 swing guard, Stewart will play for Newcastle University in...
Sean Knapp reaches match play at U.S. Senior Amateur as No. 3 seed
Oakmont’s Sean Knapp could be on his way to a second U.S. Senior Amateur title. Knapp finished tied for third in the stroke play portion of the championship to advance to match play at the Country Club of Detroit in Grosse Pointe Farms, Mich. The Hannastown Golf Club member shot...
2021 WPIAL girls soccer preview: Rankings, contenders, players to watch
WPIAL girls soccer preview Class 4A Defending champion: With Sarah Schupansky and others gone, two-time defending champ North Allegheny will be a different team. But the Tigers only lost six players to graduation. Lucia Wells and Anna Bundy will keep the Tigers in the mix. Contenders: Peters Township looks to...
2021 WPIAL boys soccer preview: Rankings, contenders, players to watch
WPIAL boys soccer preview Class 4A Defending champion: Defensively-sound Seneca Valley won 14 straight games to close out the 2020 season en route to WPIAL and PIAA titles. The Raiders must replace standouts Zack LaValle and Mason Baldwin, but bring back junior Beaux Lizewski, another All-WPIAL selection. George Williams was...
Westmoreland high school notebook: GCC’s Corinn Brewer stands out in national decathlon competition
Corinn Brewer wants to compete at the highest level of college track and field — and possibly beyond — so the senior at Greensburg Central Catholic is preparing herself now with high-level competition. Brewer traveled to San Francisco on Aug. 21-22 to compete in the Women’s Decathlon Association National Championships...
Westmoreland County girls soccer preview: Southmoreland has ‘something to prove’
If Josh Pajak was only allowed to give his Southmoreland girls soccer team one message before the start of the season it might be this: Proceed with caution. Southmoreland appears to be loaded with returning talent, but the second-year coach doesn’t want the Scotties to get ahead of themselves. Offsides...
Westmoreland County boys soccer preview: Franklin Regional eyes another title
Franklin Regional senior Anthony DiFalco has seen just about everything there is to see in high school soccer. He has won two WPIAL titles, finished as a runner-up and played in the PIAA semifinals twice. He’s been All-WPIAL, all-state and All-American. But even the best players want more. They always...
Westmoreland HS football notebook: Teams enjoy return to normalcy
As the band played and cheerleaders and students chanted from packed bleachers, the normally steely-eyed John Ruane felt some emotion. The Penn-Trafford coach soaked in the atmosphere that he and his staffers and players had missed last season. Ruane remembered what it felt like to play in empty stadiums where...
After leaving Puerto Rican home, Norwin lineman Guindin adjusts to new life
Chased out of Puerto Rico by Hurricane Maria in 2017, Sebastian Rosado Guindin has found a home at Norwin. The brawny, 6-foot-2, 270-pound senior lineman is expected to be an important two-way player this season for the Knights, who are trying to return to contention in WPIAL Class 6A. The...
Ligonier Valley pitcher Maddie Griffin commits to Youngstown State
A slightly crumpled piece of paper is far from a national letter of intent, but it sure meant a lot to Maddie Griffin when she was a big-dreaming middle schooler. “I still have the paper I wrote my future goals on from fifth grade,” said Griffin, a star softball pitcher...
