Bill Beckner stories, Page 152
Hempfield softball team starting to show look of contender again
It would seem Hempfield has a lifetime pass in the WPIAL softball rankings, a permanent perch maybe, among the elite. When the Spartans, who have won five straight championships in the league’s largest classification, do not appear in the Class 6A top five, something must be off. The preseason No....
Westmoreland campus clippings: Westminster’s Napper wins PAC golf title
Westminster sophomore Sam Napper (Mt. Pleasant) helped the Titans capture the PAC men’s golf title. Napper finished tied for sixth place at the conference finals with a 36-hole score of 154 (75, 79) at Speidel Jones Course at Oglebay Resort in Wheeling, W.Va. Napper was named to the All-PAC second...
Westmoreland Campus Clippings: Penn-Trafford loading college softball teams
Penn-Trafford alums are scattered across the college softball landscape, and the players are making an impact at various levels. Consider: The Warriors have impactful former players at the Division I, II, III and NAIA levels this season — more than any other area program. You could fill out a lineup...
Penn-Trafford names football hall of fame class
Penn-Trafford announced its 2020-21 Warrior Football Hall of Fame class on Tuesday. The latest inductees are: • Tony Babeo (1992) • Jeff Filkovski (’86) • Jason Kacinko (2005) • Kevin Mullen (’05) • Jeremy Schropp (’94) • Dan Schneider (’64, Trafford High School) • Coach Eli Visnick (’93-09) • 1972...
Seton Hill baseball win won’t count after Mercyhurst protest
Seton Hill baseball has an impressive record this season, but one of the Griffins’ wins was taken off the board Monday. The Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference announced that Mercyhurst played Saturday’s game against Seton Hill under protest and the Lakers’ objection to a reversed call was upheld by the league...
Elizabeth Forward ace Kailey Larcinese attacks Yough lineup, throws no-hitterVideo
The fin was up in the water early. With her rise ball forcing Yough hitters to flail and swat at air for the first three innings, Elizabeth Forward softball pitcher Kailey Larcinese had the Cougars right where she wanted them. “It was blood in the water,” Yough coach Dutch Harvey...
New coach Frye will keep bar set high for Franklin Regional girls volleyball
A young coach with enthusiasm to match, Rachel Frye inherits a girls volleyball program at Franklin Regional with a championship past — a very recent past. The Panthers won their first WPIAL title last fall and went on to place second in the PIAA in Class AAA. Ninth-year coach Mike...
Westmoreland campus clippings: Pitt-Greensburg tennis smashing success
Turner Price plays singles and doubles for the Pitt-Greensburg men’s tennis team. He also likes to double up on awards. Price, a junior from Penn-Trafford, repeated as the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference Player of the Year and earned all-conference first-team honors at No. 1 singles after a strong spring season....
Tennis anyone? Future Pitt walk-on offensive lineman Matt Metrosky holds serve for GCC
With touch and toughness, Matt Metrosky gently plows through his spring schedule. With prowess and a been-there-before cast of mind, he serves and volleys, and chucks heavy objects through the air. A tennis match ends and a track and field meet begins for the mega senior from Greensburg Central Catholic...
Seton Hill freshman pitching duo dominant from the start
You might call it unique that Seton Hill has two freshman pitchers who have been mowing down opposing lineups in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference. Or maybe unusual is the right word to describe the upsurge from the first-year arms. Griffins coach Jessica Strong is going another direction. “Lucky,” she...
Westmoreland H.S. notebook: Norwin’s Kyle Martin to coach at Junior Pan American Championships
When Kyle Martin is not coaching wrestlers on the Norwin varsity team, he is training others to become Olympians. Martin recently was selected by USA Wrestling, the governing body of wrestling for the World and Olympic Championships in the United States, to coach the United States team at the Junior...
After early-season adversity, Norwin boys volleyball getting up to speed
Norwin boys volleyball seems to take two steps back every time it takes one forward. It’s like everyone is rotating counterclockwise. Since this season of adversity began March 26, the Knights had played in only one mini-tournament, one nonsection match and one section match three weeks into the campaign. Other...
Norwin notebook: Track and field athletes shine at Lady Spartan/Wildcat Invitational
Norwin track and field athletes made their presence felt at the recent 29th annual Lady Spartan/18th Annual Wildcat Invitational at Latrobe’s Memorial Stadium. The boys team finished third overall and the Knights had numerous individual winners. Winning for the girls were Jordyn Turcovski (100-meter dash), Bernadette Zukina (400), Aleksandra Brozeski...
Despite cancellation of annual event, Franklin Regional basketball boosters make donation to Clelian Heights
Franklin Regional’s annual basketball game with Clelian Heights School for Exceptional Childen was canceled in January because of the pandemic, but the goodwill of the annual event is right on schedule. The schools have a partnership that brings students together for a much-anticipated day of fun and friendships. The event...
Hempfield softball responds in big way after falling behind early, downs Norwin
With its first three hitters, Norwin began the day double, home run, home run in its Section 2-6A softball clash Friday at Hempfield. The Knights had a three-run lead before some fans beyond the outfield fence got settled into their lawn chairs and covered themselves with blankets. It looked like...
Jesse Pugh’s 2 homers power Armstrong softball past Franklin Regional
Frustrated that she struck out in her previous at-bat, Jesse Pugh came to the plate with vexation in the top of the fifth. There was some angry aluminum awaiting Franklin Regional senior pitcher Makinzie DeRiggi. With a mighty swing, the freshman slugger from Armstrong sent a moon shot to deep...
Westmoreland County baseball notebook: Special season might be in store for GCC
One game was all it took for Greensburg Central Catholic to realize it has some promising potential at the plate. The Centurions (5-1), the TribHSSN No. 1 team in WPIAL Class A to open the week, won their first five Section 2 games handily, scoring double-digit runs in each. “After...
Penn-Trafford baseball shows flair for the dramatic with early-season wins
Penn-Trafford still is finding its identity as the baseball season nears the halfway mark. Coach Dan Miller was moving pieces around in his pitching rotation at the beginning of the week as his team won five in a row after a tough, 11-2 nonsection loss to Norwin. “It’s an honest...
Westmoreland softball notes: Hempfield happy to have Sowers back on field
Hempfield is glad to have No. 22 back in the circle — and in the batter’s box. Senior Callie Sowers has returned from a broken thumb that sidelined her for the first five games of the season. “I’m so glad to be back,” Sowers said. “It was tough only getting...
Unbeaten Ligonier Valley softball quite comfortable in new surroundings of WPIAL
Excuse Ligonier Valley if it needs a GPS to navigate its way through through the WPIAL. The softball team, like many programs at the school, is new to District 7, having played for decades in the Heritage Conference of bordering District 6. “We have to look up all these schools,”...
Penn-Trafford softball earns dramatic win over LatrobeVideo
Down to its final strike, the Penn-Trafford softball team rallied to finally touch up — and rough up — Latrobe pitcher Jordan Tallman and keep its section winning streak intact. Trailing by a run, the top-ranked Warriors came to life in the top of the seventh as sophomore Kylee Piconi...
Westmoreland campus clippings: Seton Hill women’s lacrosse rolls on
Seton Hill’s women’s lacrosse is making up for lost time from last season by winning every match this season. Led by their seniors, the Griffins improved to 9-0 and clinched the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference title with a 10-8 victory over Mercyhurst. Senior Kristi Kada scored a team-leading four goals,...
Hockey player/golfer Abdallah is Franklin Regional’s version of Happy Gilmore
Zach Abdallah is a hockey player who plays golf. Or is it the other way around? Either way, he would make Happy Gilmore proud. “Hockey led to golf for me,” the Franklin Regional junior said. “I started playing because of (golf teammate) Michael Wareham. Now, I play all the time.”...
Westmoreland campus clippings: P-T grad Kelly helps Westminster volleyball to PAC title
Westminster’s Samantha Kelly has been a steady contributor in this shortened women’s volleyball season in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference. A shortened season capped with a championship. The junior setter from Penn-Trafford was particularly effective in the PAC title match for the top-seeded Titans as she registered 21 assists and 15...
Westmoreland high school notebook: Gera, Hauck earn scholarships
The WPIAL awarded $1,000 scholarships to 20 student-athletes, including a pair of girls from Westmoreland County. Local winners were Bella Gera of Hempfield and Julia Hauck of Penn-Trafford. Other girls winners were Brooke Bauer of Knoch, Danielle Bryant of Pine-Richland, Jacquelyn Jardini of Sewickley Academy, Nadia Lape of Mohawk, Tegan...
