Bill Beckner stories, Page 144
Legendary Hempfield softball coach Bob Kalp, 7-time WPIAL champ, retires
Bob Kalp carried the torch for the Hempfield softball program until it burned his arm. The coach of the Spartans and face of the program for three decades — 25 years as head coach — is stepping down after a storied career in the WPIAL. Kalp, 76, won seven WPIAL...
Field set for Tre Cunningham memorial basketball tournament
The field is set for the inaugural Tre Cunningham Memorial Basketball Tournament to be played Friday and Saturday at the Jeannette High School gymnasium. Eight high school boys teams will compete in a double-elimination bracket. The event is sponsored by the Jeannette Educational Foundation. Funds will go toward a scholarship...
Penn-Trafford lineman pops up on recruiting radar
Declan Ochendowski knew he wanted to play college football, but it wasn’t that long ago that the incoming senior at Penn-Trafford doubted he would draw attention from Division I programs. The size was there. Penn-Trafford will have one of the largest lines in the WPIAL this fall (more on that...
Sal Frelick, first round pick with Greensburg ties, gets hefty signing bonus from Milwaukee Brewers
Sal Frelick went undrafted out of high school but built his brand in college, watched his stock rise and became a sought-after prospect. On Tuesday, the first-round draft pick became a millionaire. Frelick, a Lexington (Mass.) product with ties to Greensburg, signed a contract with the Milwaukee Brewers. Terms of...
Southmoreland to honor late alumnus with football helmet sticker
Remembered as a teammate who could lighten the mood when football created tense moments like it can, Brandon Peterson left quite an impression on the Southmoreland football team. He is missed more every day. The team will honor their fallen friend by wearing his number 15 on the back of...
Trib HSSN Preseason WPIAL Football All-Star team: Cade Yacamelli, Penn-Trafford
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 Thursday during HSSN Media Day at Kennywood Park. For more than two years, Cade Yacamelli ate like there was no tomorrow. Three heavy...
Jeannette basketball coach Adrian Batts adds athletic director duties
A familiar face was hired Monday night as the new athletic director at Jeannette. Adrian Batts, a boys basketball coach in the district for 16 years — 13 as the head coach — will take over AD duties immediately. He replaces Ryan Hayden, who resigned from the part-time position after...
Westmoreland high school notebook: Waldier on his way back again
Tristan Waldier is back on the field for the Yough football team, medically cleared after season-ending knee injuries two years in a row. Waldier, who returned to action at the WCCA 7-on-7 tournament last week at Latrobe, tore the ACL in his right knee in Week 4 last season. That...
Trib HSSN Preseason WPIAL Football All-Star team: Devin Whitlock, Belle Vernon
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 Thursday during HSSN Media Day at Kennywood Park. Devin Whitlock plays football in cursive. Whether he is taking a handoff and speed-bursting up...
Norwin alum Metzger expects smooth transition as new coach of girls soccer team
When she begins her new job, Diane Metzger said she will not have to focus on fixing something that isn’t broken. That is for sure. The new Norwin girls soccer coach, who is an alum and former goal-scorer for the Knights, knows what kind of program she is about to...
Westmoreland notebook: Southmoreland duo could become IUP teammates
IUP has an eye on two Southmoreland basketball standouts. The Crimson Hawks landed one and hope to get the other. Rising senior forward Gracie Spadaro gave IUP a verbal commitment Saturday, only days after receiving an offer. Junior point guard Olivia Cernuto, meantime, might mull over her offer a little...
New Spartans coach Brown eager to turn Hempfield football into winners
When he was an assistant at Robert Morris, Mike Brown recruited football players from Hempfield, so he was familiar with the program. That he is a Penn-Trafford grad also added to his knowledge of the success-starved Spartans. Brown knows about the ire of fans and alumni, even the casual observer,...
Trib HSSN Preseason WPIAL Football All-Star team: Anthony Speca, Central Catholic
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 22 during HSSN Media Day at Kennywood Park. The leading tackler as a freshman at Central Catholic, Anthony Speca immediately became a...
Liam Ponsonby, 7, ascends in world of motocross racing
Liam Ponsonby just turned 7. He has been riding motorcycles for about a year, but he sure knows his way around the mini machine and the tracks on which he competes. Forget about being able to reach the handle bars. Ponsonby is reaching for championships. Ponsonby, who is going into...
Norwin product Phipps to help coach Seton Hill
Former Norwin and Bucknell wrestling standout Drew Phipps will join the staff at Seton Hill as a graduate assistant. Phipps served as an assistant at Bucknell, which he graduated from in 2020, last season. He piled up 99 wins at the collegiate level and was a two-time NCAA qualifier and...
Penn-Trafford’s Trevor Wilson headed for Gardner-Webb
Trevor Wilson was born in Charlotte, N.C., and eventually made his way to Penn-Trafford where he developed into a talented baseball pitcher. He made his mark in Harrison City, but he always will be a Carolina boy. His college commitment will play a part in that assertion. Wilson, a recent...
Latrobe grad Zach Kokoska looks forward to starting pro career with Rockies
Nervous moments kept tapping Zach Kokoska on the shoulder as he watched names slide across his television screen during the MLB Draft earlier this week. His cellphone sat quiet in his palm. The power-hitting outfielder recalled having similar feelings a year ago during a condensed version of the draft, when...
Seton Hill announces hall of fame class; Penn-Trafford alums Zimmer, Fawcett among 5 inductees
Tyler Zimmer juggles a busy schedule. The former Penn-Trafford football standout will be an assistant coach at Greensburg Central Catholic this fall, and he also serves as the strength coach for Seton Hill men’s lacrosse and runs Alphalete Performance and Fitness in Export. His athletic background makes all of that...
Norwin serves notice with win at WCCA 7-on-7 tournamentVideo
There were notable absences at Thursday’s Westmoreland County Coaches Association 7-on-7 Football Passing Tournament at Latrobe. Organizers and coaches missed former president Larry Sellitto, who died in December. This was one of his favorite county events. Jeannette and Derry did not compete for the first time in the event’s 10...
Marko Thomas makes quick adjustment to surroundings as GCC’s head coach
Marko Thomas took over the Greensburg Central Catholic football program not quite knowing what to expect. But just the same, he was eager to peel back the curtain. He has been pleasantly surprised by his fresh surroundings, quickly establishing a connection with his new team. The coach at Connellsville the...
Greensburg Central Catholic boys soccer program under new leadership
Two-time defending WPIAL Class A boys soccer champion Greensburg Central Catholic is loaded with talent again, but the team will have a new coach this fall. Tyler Solis resigned after five seasons leading the Centurions. He quickly was replaced, however, by Rob Fabean, his assistant over the last two years....
Jeannette announces latest hall of fame class
Jeannette announced its 2021 Jayhawk Athletic Hall of Fame class on Tuesday. The class, selected by the the Jeannette Educational Foundation in conjunction with the school district, will be recognized during a home football game on Sept. 17 against Riverview. A banquet will follow on Sept 18. The latest inductees...
Jeannette grad Terrelle Pryor, Ohio State teammates seeking retroactive restoration
Referring to themselves as the “Tattoo 5,” Terrelle Pryor and four former Ohio State football teammates are asking that their vacated wins be restored, along with their legacy in the program. They want the 2010 season to be wiped clean. In a letter released on social media, Pryor, DeVier Posey,...
Trib HSSN Preseason WPIAL Football All-Star team: Quinton Martin, Belle Vernon
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 22 during HSSN Media Day at Kennywood Park. Quinton Martin has scholarship offers from Pitt, Penn State, West Virginia, Rutgers, Virginia Tech...
For Norwin grad and long-drive pro Justin Moose, round of golf is a different animal
The broad-shouldered man with a moose on his hat and anti-gravity in his golf drives is just glad he got the phone call. Maybe even more glad that he answered it. Justin Moose was sitting behind a desk in 2018, working as a site manager at a distribution center for...
