Bill Beckner stories, Page 221
Former Penn-Trafford standout kicker Nick Tarabrella switching college programs
Nick Tarabrella had two signing days. The first when the strong-legged kicker was coming out of Penn-Trafford and pledged to Ashland (Ohio). The second came last Wednesday when he had a change of heart. Tarabrella, a sophomore, found himself signing his name with a different Division II program this time:...
Saint Vincent’s Alona Sleith named to softball watch list
Saint Vincent softball infielder and pitcher Alona Sleith is expected to have a big sophomore season. But it isn’t just her coaches, teammates and Presidents’ Athletic Conference opponents who have the ready-made expectations. Sleith, a Yough graduate, was named Monday to the Schutt Sports and National Fastpitch Coaches Association National...
St. Francis star Zinobile to have jersey number retired
It wouldn’t be Legends Night at St. Francis (Pa.) without Jess Zinobile in the house. St. Francis will honor one of its all-time great women’s basketball players Saturday at DeGol Arena in Loretto by raising her No. 22 jersey to the rafters. The Red Flash (9-12, 6-3) host Central Connecticut...
Westmoreland campus clippings: Queen is 3-point king at W&J
Sophomore Zach Queen became the 3-point king this season for the Washington & Jefferson basketball team. Queen, a Hempfield graduate, set the school record with 3-pointers in a season with 69. The mark came in Saturday’s 80-76 home victory over Thiel in overtime. His record-breaking basket with 4 seconds left...
Saint Vincent to play doubleheader at Pirates’ spring training site
Pitchers and catchers will report — along with the rest of the Saint Vincent baseball team. Saint Vincent will head south next month to open the season, but with a bonus. The Bearcats will play a doubleheader at LECOM Park in Bradenton, Fla., the spring training home of the Pittsburgh...
Westmoreland campus clippings: Seton Hill baseball picked to win PSAC
Its field has been covered in snow lately, but the Seton Hill baseball team already is thinking about the upcoming season — and the expectations that will come with it. The Griffins again are the preseason favorite in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference. After back-to-back conference titles, Seton Hill was...
UPG’s Seigfreid named AMCC player of week
Sophomore guard Cam Seigfreid was rewarded Monday for one of his most productive stretches of the season for the Pitt-Greensburg men’s basketball team. A Penn-Trafford graduate, Seigfreid was named Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference Player of the Week after leading the Bobcats (7-14, 4-10) to a 2-1 week. The 6-foot-2 Seigfreid...
W&J’s Zach Queen breaks school 3-point record
Sophomore guard Zach Queen became the 3-point king this season for the Washington & Jefferson basketball team. Queen, a Hempfield graduate, set the school record with 3-pointers in a season, with 69. The mark came in Saturday’s 80-76 home victory over Thiel in overtime. His record-breaking 3 with four seconds...
Appleby’s big second half helps IUP women defeat Seton HillVideo
IUP point guard Carolyn Appleby said she didn’t feel any added pressure returning to Greensburg. But even a senior can have nerves on the basketball court, right? “No, there never is,” said Appleby, a Greensburg Central Catholic graduate. “We have scorers anywhere on our team and our bench. That’s what...
Maria Palarino nets 1,000th career point for St. Francis (N.Y.)
Maria Palarino became the 17th player in St. Francis Brooklyn women’s basketball history to score 1,000 career points. The 5-foot-10 senior guard out of Penn-Trafford took a cross-lane pass and made a scooping, left-handed layup off the glass with 3:02 left in the second quarter Monday night to reach the...
Star receiver Ardell Brown leaving Seton Hill for UConn
Ardell Brown is proof the new NCAA transfer portal works. The big-play wide receiver from Seton Hill asked to have his name thrown into the hat so he could test the waters. Brown, a redshirt junior, knew he had a monster season for the Griffins and could draw a peek...
Westmoreland campus clippings: Burns sets record for Point Park women’s basketball
Michelle Burns, a sophomore guard at Point Park and a Hempfield graduate, broke the school record for 3-pointers in a game Thursday, connecting on 9 of 13 attempts — for a career-high 33 points — in a 91-62 victory over visiting Asbury. Burns, who made 11 of 17 shots overall,...
Norwin grad Jenna Cole picks up AMCC honor
Jenna Cole is a criminal justice major at La Roche. She may work in that field one day, but until then she’ll continue to bring decency to the paint for the Redhawks women’s basketball team. Cole, a 6-foot junior forward out of Norwin, was lauded for her latest efforts Monday...
Seton Hill lacrosse begins season with lofty ranking
Coming off one of its best seasons, Seton Hill will begin the men’s lacrosse season with its best preseason ranking. The Griffins are rated third in the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association II Coaches Poll. Defending national champion Merrimack is ranked No. 1 and LeMoyne checks in at No. 2....
Westmoreland Campus Clippings: Seton Hill lacrosse ranked 3rd
Coming off its best season, Seton Hill will begin the men’s lacrosse season with its best preseason ranking. The Griffins are rated third in the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association II Coaches Poll. Defending national champion Merrimack is ranked No. 1, and LeMoyne checks in at No. 2. Seton Hill’s...
No. 1 IUP women fall to Cal U
Down goes No. 1. IUP, the top-ranked WBCA Division II women’s basketball team in the nation, was handed its first loss of the season, 61-56, against No. 13 Cal U. Cal also knocked off the then-No. 2 Crimson Hawks last January, 62-53. With Wednesday night’s home loss, IUP (15-1) is...
Westmoreland campus clippings: Pitt’s Phillippi earns ACC wrestling honor
Redshirt freshman Micky Phillippi was a bright spot for the 14th-ranked Pitt wrestling team over the weekend in a 36-9 loss to No. 3 Oklahoma State. Phillippi, a Derry graduate, knocked off No. 2-ranked Daton Fix, 3-1, at 133 pounds. The fourth-ranked Phillippi (13-1) handed Fix (21-1) his first collegiate...
Pitt’s Phillippi tabbed ACC wrestler of week
Redshirt freshman Micky Phillippi was a bright spot for the 13th-ranked Pitt wrestling team last weekend in a 36-9 loss to No. 3 Oklahoma State. Phillippi, a Derry graduate, stunned No. 2-ranked Daton Fix, 3-1, at 133 pounds. The fourth-ranked Phillippi (13-1) handed Fix (21-1) his first loss as Pitt...
Kromka recognized as Saint Vincent continues run
Saint Vincent continues to surge in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference, and senior Tom Kromka is a key reason. A 6-foot-4 forward, Kromka is playing some of the best basketball of his career for the Bearcats, who are 16-2, 9-0 in the conference and riding a 10-game winning streak. Kromka was...
Campus clippings: Hempfield grad Burns posts career night in Point Park thriller
Point Park sophomore basketball guard Michelle Burns had the web buzzing Thursday night. The Hempfield graduate didn’t miss from 3-point range, put together a career game and delivered one of her most thrilling shots to date. A video clip of Burns connecting on a 3-pointer from the left wing with...
Latrobe’s Butler expands game for Holy Cross basketball
Austin Butler always wanted to be the scorer, the go-to guy who had the green light to fire away and get to the rim whenever he wanted. But he lived that life. It was glamorous. Everything he thought it would be, in fact. Now the former Latrobe star believes it...
Jeannette grad Kareem Hall headed for Lackawanna
With patience and perseverance, Kareem Hall is working his way back into football form. The former Jeannette standout running back announced last week he will attend Lackawanna College in Scranton, where he will reunite with another former Jeannette player, freshman defensive back Robert Kennedy. Hall, the younger brother of former...
Westmoreland campus clippings: Local standouts find new homes
With patience and perseverance, Kareem Hall is working his way back into football form. The former Jeannette standout running back announced last week he will attend Lackawanna College in Scranton, where he will reunite with another former Jeannette player: freshman defensive back Robert Kennedy. Hall went to Bowling Green and...
IUP, Altoona Curve schedule another exhibition game
This is the year. IUP can feel it. After two strikes in a pair of previous attempts to play the Altoona Curve in an exhibition game, IUP baseball is set to host the Pirates Class AA affiliate at 1:30 p.m. April 1 at Peoples Natural Gas Field in Altoona. No...
Westmoreland Campus Clippings: GCC’s Eubank weighs options
Jassan Eubank continues to draw attention from Division I football programs as he reroutes his playing career. The former Greensburg Central Catholic standout who started out at Edinboro before transferring to Nassau Community College in Garden City, N.Y., is up to five Division I scholarship offers. A sophomore defensive lineman,...

