Bill Beckner stories, Page 206
Derry’s Adams, Ligonier Valley’s Spiker pull in offers from St. Francis (Pa.)
Like the big boys themselves, Division I college interest in area linemen keeps growing in size. St. Francis (Pa.) is following suit with a number of other FCS schools in the market for front-line talent by making inroads to Westmoreland County programs. Two more local players received scholarship offers this...
Pitt alum Sheldon Jeter helps U.S. team win 3×3 title
Sheldon Jeter is bringing home a gold medal from the Pan American Games. The Pitt and Beaver Falls alum helped the USA men’s 3x3 basketball team to a championship at the Games, played at the Coliseo Eduardo Dibo in Lima, Peru. Jeter, a member of the Maine Red Claws, an...
Latrobe’s Hanna Green qualifies for world championships in 800 meters
Hanna Green represented the Red, White and Blue quite well. The elite runner from Latrobe posted a second-place finish in the 800-meter run Sunday night at the Toyota USA Track & Field Championships in Des Moines, Iowa. Green, who was a standout at Virginia Tech after graduating from Latrobe in...
Westmoreland high school notebook: Standout linemen abound in area
It is no secret: Lineman looks to be the premier position his season in Westmoreland County football. Area teams should be well-protected up front with a number of Division I prospects pushing the pile. Belle Vernon rising senior Hayden Baron is one of them as he continues to find his...
Hempfield’s Monica Burns to play final college season at Cal (Pa.)
Monica Burns took a year off from college basketball, a decision made for personal reasons but one that ultimately scrubbed away her final season at Wheeling Jesuit. The standout guard would have been a redshirt senior had she played. The year removed seemed like an eternity for Burns, a bona...
WPIAL players make TopDrawerSoccer all-region, all-state teams
The all-things-soccer website, TopDrawerSoccer, which covers recruiting and ranks teams on a nationwide scale, released its high school all-region and all-state teams for the 2018 fall season. The WPIAL was well-represented on the boys and girls teams. Four district players made the site’s All-Mid-Atlantic Region teams: West Allegheny graduate and...
Jeannette’s Demetrious Cox hopes to earn stripes with Bengals
While Demetrious Cox has other things lined up for after football, the former Jeannette standout is far from ready to begin the descent on his pro career. Cox is set to begin training camp this weekend with the Cincinnati Bengals after spending most of last season on the team’s practice...
Stone getting to know La Salle basketball program
Brandon Stone has been in Philadelphia since January, training and getting to know his new coaches and teammates at La Salle. The former Southmoreland basketball standout and incoming freshman, who finished his prep career at Christ School (N.C.), is beginning to adjust to his new surroundings, confident in his decision...
Latrobe softball pitcher Tallman back in circle, anticipating 2020 season
Perhaps the greatest what-if story of the 2019 WPIAL softball season was Latrobe pitcher Jordan Tallman. The fast-throwing sophomore had a spot among the WPIAL strikeout leaders before an injury sidelined her for the final six games of the regular season and sent Latrobe’s year into somewhat of a tailspin....
Belle Vernon lineman Baron pulls in second FCS offer
It is no secret: Lineman looks to be the premier position his season in Westmoreland County football. Area teams should be well-protected up front with a number of Division I prospects pushing the pile. Belle Vernon rising senior Hayden Baron is one of them: He continues to find his way...
Greensburg CC grad Dom Eisaman transferring to Saint Vincent
With increased patience and a change of scenery, Dom Eisaman is hoping for increased playing time as he continues to wait for his chance to be a college quarterback. A slow start to his playing career at the next level can be attributed to various reasons, the least of which,...
Jeannette names new soccer coaches: Delaney Cortazzo, Arthur Cicero
Jeannette’s boys and girls soccer programs will be under new direction this fall season. The school district this week hired a pair of head coaches: Delaney Cortazzo (girls) and Arthur Cicero (boys). Cicero is a teacher at Adelphoi Education and a graduate of Saint Vincent, where he played soccer for...
Jeannette approves Ryan Hayden as athletic director
Jeannette this week approved the hiring of Ryan Hayden as the district’s new athletic director. He replaces Bill Petko, who resigned to accept a position in the Connellsville School District. Hayden, 27, a Hempfield graduate, where he played football and baseball, is a sixth-grade teacher at Jeannette. He played four...
IUP’s DiAndreth wins Johnstown league batting title
After leading the IUP baseball team with a .340 batting average in his freshman season, Nick DiAndreth opted to hone his skills in a summer league, as has become customary for aspiring players. DiAndreth took his hot bat with him. The Hempfield graduate went on to win the regular-season batting...
Four IUP basketball players joining pro leagues
IUP was so so good at times last season, the Crimson Hawks looked like a pro team. Maybe there was a reason. Following one of the program’s best runs, IUP announced Monday that four recent grads have signed to play professional basketball overseas. Forward Jacobo Diaz is joining Marín Peixegalego...
Jeannette grad Robert Kennedy pulls in pair of local offers
Coming out of Jeannette, Robert Kennedy was considered one of the better football talents — and all around athletes —- in the state. A quarterback, wide receiver and defensive back for the WPIAL and PIAA Class A champion Jayhawks two years ago, Kennedy opted to attend Lackawanna, a junior college...
What will Jeannette’s new football turf field look like?
Drier weather — albeit exhaustingly hot weather — has helped the artificial turf project gain momentum at McKee Stadium in Jeannette. With improved conditions of late, the installation of the all-purpose turf could begin this week on the decades-old field, which had a natural-grass playing surface since 1927. Superintendent Matt...
Westmoreland high school notebook: PIAA denies WPIAL soccer request
WPIAL soccer coaches won’t get their wish — at least not in the near future — but there always is room for speculation when a potential rule change begins to get a push for acceptance. The PIAA recently tabled a request for the WPIAL to start a pilot program to...
Due to extreme heat, Belle Vernon moves up start time for Saturday’s ‘Gold Bowl’
It’s going to be unpleasantly hot again Saturday — even at “The Beach.” Belle Vernon, which likes to call its golden-turfed field at James Weir Stadium by that name, will try to beat the worst of the heat by moving up its fifth annual Gold Bowl 7-on-7 passing tournament to...
Norwin grad Max McDowell helps turn unorthodox triple play in minor leagues
Triple plays are a rare feat in baseball, but even more rare is one that occurs without the ball being put into play. That’s what happened Thursday night in the Southern League, and the bang-bang-bang swing involved former Norwin star Max McDowell. A catcher for the Biloxi Shuckers — the...
Fusina named men’s basketball coach at Waynesburg
Division III Waynesburg named Tim Fusina its next men’s head basketball coach. A Geibel graduate and Charleroi native, Fusina coached the last two years at California Lutheran in Thousand Oaks, Calif. Previously, he coached the men’s team at Centenary in Hackettstown, N.J. for five years. “I think each experience has...
Norwin takes down rival Penn-Trafford to win 1st WCCA 7-on-7 tournamentVideo
For Norwin’s opponents in the ninth Westmoreland County Coaches Association 7-on-7 tournament, it must have, at times, felt more like 7-against-8. With the quarterback and receivers getting the lion’s share of the attention in summer passing events, defensive backs often have to operate behind the scenes. But Norwin helped to...
Norwin’s Salopek focused on leadership role in senior season
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 23 during HSSN Media Day at Kennywood Park. Jack Salopek is a pro-style quarterback, which pairs nicely with his pro-style demeanor. The...
5 things to watch at WCCA 7-on-7 football tournament
The ninth Westmoreland County Coaches Association seven-on-seven passing tournament will be Thursday at Latrobe’s Rossi and Graham-Sobota fields on the high school campus. The competition begins at 9 a.m. with the championship game — between the winners of two divisions — set to begin around 2:15 p.m. A record 16...
Franklin Regional keeper Jeremy Lucas commits to St. Francis (Pa.)
When initial plans to continue his soccer career at Penn State fell through in the winter, Jeremy Lucas reshaped his post-prep plans. The recent Franklin Regional grad would take a gap year, keep playing for his club team and take courses at Penn State New Kensington until a larger-scale soccer...
