Bill Beckner stories, Page 188
Westmoreland girls basketball notebook: Monessen preps for playoff return
Janine Vertacnik has coached in numerous WPIAL playoff games over the years, including when she led teams at Jeannette and Greensburg Salem. She guided Jeannette to a WPIAL title in 2010. Now the third-year coach at Monessen, who has more than 300 career wins, needs to educate her players on...
Brennan Marion, Greensburg Salem alum, to coach wide receivers at Hawaii
What happens when Brennan Marion’s “Go-Go” offense meets the “High Octane” style of former Pitt coach Todd Graham? We’re about to find out … in Hawaii? Talk about somewhere over the rainbow. Marion, the Greensburg Salem alum whose uptempo scheme has worked at several other places, is leaving William &...
Southmoreland girls nab No. 2 seed in WPIAL Class 4A postseason
Southmoreland cut down the nets Monday night. On Tuesday night, the upstart Scotties climbed another ladder — to respect and, perhaps, some due regard. Southmoreland (22-0), fresh off its first section title in girls basketball since 2007, was awarded the No. 2 seed in the WPIAL Class 4A playoffs. Some...
Breaking down the 2020 WPIAL girls basketball playoffs
Here is a breakdown of the 2019-20 WPIAL girls basketball playoffs: Class 6A Favorite: Bethel Park (19-2) looked like it might be the top seed, but the Black Hawks lost to Class 4A North Catholic Monday. Bethel Park allows just 37.7 points per game and has a pair of formidable...
Westmoreland campus clippings: Ligonier Valley grad Miller earns field MVP
Olivia Miller didn’t go to the River States Conference indoor track and field championships to finish second. Not in her top event, at least. The Carlow junior and Ligonier Valley graduate won her second title in the triple jump, soaring 10.8 meters to reach the medal stand for the third...
Coaching changes in Penn-Trafford soccer programs
Penn-Trafford’s soccer teams will be under new leadership next season. The school district Monday night accepted the resignation of girls coach and new mother Jackie Bartko, who guided the Warriors to their second WPIAL championship in 2017. The boys team, meanwhile, has a new coach in Sotiri Tsourekis, who coached...
Registration open for 2021 Drive, Chip and Putt competition
Youth golfers from across the country will once again get to compete in the annual Drive, Chip and Putt competition, set to begin at hundreds of golf courses in the spring. The 2021 competition is for golfers ages 7-15, who are broken up into four divisions. Players take part in...
Geneva introduces men’s golf team
Two years after Geneva College introduced a women’s golf program, the school in Beaver Falls announced it will add men’s golf as a varsity sport in the fall of 2021. The addition will bring Geneva’s number of varsity sports to 19. Andrew Fee, who coaches the women’s golf team, also...
Westmoreland campus clippings: Latrobe grad Austin Butler eclipses 1,000 points
It took Austin Butler less than four years to reach 1,000 points when he played at Latrobe. The basketball standout hit the fast track to the milestone in college, too. Butler, a junior point guard at Holy Cross, scored his 1,000th career point for the Crusaders in a 74-60 loss...
Former Penn-Trafford athletic trainer Larry Cooper heading to national hall of fame
Despite retiring from his position as a long-time athletic trainer at Penn-Trafford at the end of the 2017-18 school year, Glen “Larry” Cooper has remained quite active in his profession. He has fanned out on a national level as the secretary of the National Athletic Trainers Association. While he may...
Unbeaten Southmoreland girls highlights WPIAL playoff field from Westmoreland County
Twenty-one up, 21 down. Southmoreland has pieced together a perfect regular season — with one game to go — for the finest pre-playoff run in the history of its girls basketball program. Now, the Scotties will put their playoff path in the hands on the WPIAL. “This is something that...
High school notebook: Southmoreland’s Comforti settles on sport, college
While challenging and often debatable, Riley Comforti finally found comfort in his college decision. The two-sport standout from Southmoreland opted to play football at the next level, signing a letter-of-intent Wednesday to play wide receiver at Alderson Broaddus in Philippi, W. Va. Comforti was one of the WPIAL’s top pass-catching...
Gaffney, playoff-bound Hempfield keep rival Latrobe from WPIAL postseason
Mikey Gaffney thought Hempfield had a playoff team last year, but the Spartans fell short of reaching the WPIAL boys basketball postseason. A 25-point loss on the final night of the season to rival Latrobe, a perennial playoff team, only rubbed salt in the wound. “I feel like I let...
Demetrious Cox, Jeannette alum, set to begin next phase of football career in revived XFL
Demetrious Cox has not played in a football game since this past NFL preseason, just before the Cincinnati Bengals released the former Jeannette star. Which explains why he can’t wait to suit up and sprint onto the field Sunday to begin his XFL career. “It’s an amazing feeling,” Cox said....
Inspired effort from Maura Suman helps Penn-Trafford top Latrobe, clinch playoff spotVideo
Play for pap. It was Maura Suman’s mission statement heading into a must-win girls basketball game Thursday night at Latrobe. He would have wanted her to play, the proud Penn-Trafford sophomore guard said. Suman decided to suit up for the Warriors in their biggest game of the season, on the...
Inspired effort from Maura Suman helps Penn-Trafford top Latrobe, clinch playoff spotVideo
Play for pap. It was Maura Suman’s mission statement heading into a must-win girls basketball game Thursday night at Latrobe. He would have wanted her to play, the proud Penn-Trafford sophomore guard said. Suman decided to suit up for the Warriors in their biggest game of the season, on the...
Fox Chapel, Norwin set off shot-clock debate in high school basketball community
Plenty of people who viewed a short video clip last week of Fox Chapel holding the basketball for nearly a minute against Norwin had a strong opinion of what they had just watched. The 45-second clip drew more than 110,000 views — and more than 100 replies — on Twitter....
Westmoreland boys basketball notebook: Huge game looms for Franklin Regional
At Franklin Regional, the thought of missing the WPIAL boys basketball playoffs is just that, a thought — and a bad one, at that. Coach Steve Scorpion and the Panthers don’t plan on letting it become a reality. The winner of Friday night’s Kiski Area (9-11, 6-7) at Franklin Regional...
Franklin Regional alum Michael Kemerer picks up national honor
Michael Kemerer’s attention-grabbing victory last Friday — and a second against another nationally ranked opponent that followed on Sunday — earned him national recognition. Kemerer, a senior at Iowa and a Franklin Regional alum, was tabbed the USA Wrestling Athlete of the Week. Ranked No. 2 in the nation at...
Jeannette product Robert Kennedy chooses East Carolina for next stop
Jeannette’s Robert Kennedy kept it as quiet as he could. He made a visit to the East Carolina campus over the weekend and took in the sights. But he had done the same thing in recent weeks at Arkansas State, Marshall, Massachusetts and Old Dominion. This visit, though, was different....
Westmoreland County girls basketball notes: Upset win gives Penn-Trafford momentum
If Penn-Trafford needed momentum heading into its section finale Thursday — a section finale at Latrobe that will decide the final playoff spot in Section 3-5A — then the Warriors found it in a head-turning upset. The Class 5A Warriors stunned Class 6A No. 3 and archrival Norwin, 51-50, Monday...
Westmoreland campus clippings: Podkul has 2 big games for Grove City women’s basketball
Grove City junior forward Allison Podkul (Hempfield) had a career-high six assists and five steals to go with six points as Grove City (16-2, 8-2) handed Saint Vincent (13-6, 9-1) its first PAC loss of the season 68-65. Junior Madison Kollar (Latrobe) led Saint Vincent with 16 points, and junior...
Westmoreland campus clippings: Franklin Regional grad Kemerer gets huge win for Iowa wrestling
Michael Kemerer has won some big matches in his college wrestling career at Iowa, but the one he registered last Friday night turned heads around the country. Kemerer, a redshirt senior out of Franklin Regional who is ranked No. 2 in the nation at 174 pounds, worked his way past...
Westmoreland notebook: Football realignment brings more local matchups
The WPIAL hit the refresh button on football schedules last week and revealed some intriguing matchups for 2020. In Westmoreland County, teams that have not met for a while, or at all, will play each other next season. Some notable matchups in Week 1 (Sept. 4) include Penn-Trafford at Hempfield,...
Norwin alum Tommy Shirley joins Washington Wild Things
A former WPIAL Most Valuable Player from Norwin is joining the Washington Wild Things. Left-handed pitcher Tommy Shirley, a former Houston Astros draft pick with Triple-A minor league experience, was acquired by the local Frontier League team from the New York Boulders. “We are excited to give Tommy the opportunity...

