Bill Beckner stories, Page 27
Norwin wrestlers working toward successful season on, off mat
Proof that his wrestlers measure up does not always come in the form of pins or lofty spots on the medal stand. No, coach Kyle Martin and his staff have raised a different type of bar at Norwin as they raise young men and women. Ask him to project how...
Norwin notebook: Girls basketball team shakes off loss, picks up impressive wins
Defending WPIAL champion Norwin rebounded from a tough 51-50 season-opening loss to Penn-Trafford with two wins at the State College tournament and another over District 9 power Kennedy Catholic. After a 49-40 win over Abington Heights, Norwin pushed past State College, 48-42, as Kendall Berger scored 17 points. In their...
Franklin Regional notebook: After early wins, Panthers hit bump in road
After winning its first two games of the season at the Mike Rettger Tournament, the Franklin Regional boys basketball team dropped two straight at the 20th Hempfield tipoff tournament. Coach Jesse Reed was looking for better starts from his team, which has fallen behind early in games and had to...
Latrobe boys stay unbeaten with ‘gritty, gutsy’ comeback win over Gateway
The fourth quarter greeted Latrobe with less than ideal circumstances. Three starters had four fouls, another had three and Gateway had a seven-point lead in the Section 1-5A boys basketball opener. Mass disqualifications seemed inevitable. “A lot of teams would have packed it in there. They wouldn’t think they had...
Depth, relentless defense carry Penn-Trafford girls past Greensburg Salem for 7-0 start
With a rotation that serves up more reinforcements than the Christmas help at the mall, Penn-Trafford and its long bench are becoming more of a challenge for teams every time they take the court. And, so far, every game has been a win. The third-ranked Lady Warriors broke away from...
Westmoreland County boys basketball notebook: Greensburg Salem coach Paul Sapotichne gets back in saddle
Paul Sapotichne said he didn’t sleep a wink the night before Friday’s opening game at the Hempfield tipoff tournament. Back for a second stint at Greensburg Salem, Sapotichne had coached in over 40 season openers, but this one felt different. “I wasn’t sure what to expect,” said Sapotichne, 71, who...
Soccer standouts Robin Reilly, Tyler Prex receive All-America recognition
Offensive stalwarts who scored goals as effectively as they created them, a pair of WPIAL soccer standouts received elite recognition Wednesday. Latrobe’s Robin Reilly and Tyler Prex of Seneca Valley, both senior midfielders, were named High School All-Americans by the United Soccer Coaches. Reilly, a West Virginia commit who has...
Westmoreland County girls basketball notebook: Defense paying dividends for Hempfield
Hempfield’s girls know how tough Section 2-6A play is going to be, so they are ramping up by playing the best possible defense they can. “Our help defense is better, and we’re sharing the ball better than in previous years,” guard Mads Pevarnik said. “We work on our shell drill...
Uniontown survives scare from Penn-Trafford boys
Preseason No. 1 Uniontown was relieved to get out of Penn-Trafford with a win in the Section 1-5A boys basketball opener. Penn-Trafford led only briefly in the first quarter but took the Red Raiders to the limit with a second-half rally that nearly set off the upset alerts. Uniontown watched...
Southmoreland football coach resigns after 4th straight playoff season, citing lack of support
At most of his football coaching stops, Tim Bukowski stayed seven years. That was the case at Monessen, Charleroi, Clairton and, now, Southmoreland. “I am not making it to eight,” said Bukowski, who recently turned in a letter of resignation following his seventh season with the Scotties, the third as...
Penn-Trafford girls lean on defense to keep record perfect with win over Franklin Regional
Common denominators in games help to reveal a team’s identity, and Penn-Trafford continues to build on its strengths. Well-rounded guard play again complemented the post, and defense bailed out a shaky-at-times offense as the third-ranked Lady Warriors kept their record clean with a 53-27 victory over Franklin Regional in a...
Westmoreland County campus clippings: Seton Hill coach Ben Wilkins earns Division II honors
Third-year men’s basketball coach Ben Wilkins and his Seton Hill Griffins are finding ways to win again, and people are noticing. Wilkins recently was named the HoopDirt.com Division II Coach of the Week. The Griffins (9-2, 2-2 PSAC West) picked up wins over Pitt-Greensburg and Glenville State, the latter on...
Strong defensive effort leads Hempfield girls past Greensburg Salem
Hempfield’s girls are starting to believe in the merits of team defense. The proof is in the “daggers” and “turkeys.” Daggers are recorded when Hempfield gets a defensive stop and scores right after it. Turkeys, like bowling, are when the Lady Spartans collect three defensive stops in a row. With...
Westmoreland high school notebook: Latrobe soccer player Reilly receives another honor
Add another postseason honor to Robin Reilly’s resume. Reilly, the talented soccer player from Latrobe who is set to enroll early and continue her playing career at West Virginia, was one of three WPIAL players to earn the latest accolade. She was a United Soccer Coaches Fall East All-Region selection....
Franklin Regional grad writes name in Washington & Jefferson record book
As Washington & Jefferson football players filed into the locker room at halftime, Justin Johns knew he had broken the other team’s spirit, but was unaware he’d broken a team record. Johns, a frightening fifth-year linebacker out of Franklin Regional, had heard he was close to breaking the Presidents’ all-time...
Greensburg Central Catholic holds on to beat Franklin Regional
One coach was concerned with how his team started. The other, with how his finished. It’s very early, but critiques now are going to be harsher than they might be later in the season. Greensburg Central Catholic built double-digit leads at halftime and at the start of the fourth quarter...
Westmoreland County boys basketball notebook: Hempfield, Jeannette to host tipoff tournaments
The Hempfield Spartan Field House will be the site of six boys basketball games Friday and Saturday for the 20th Hempfield tipoff tournament. On Friday, the opening game will mark the return of longtime coach Paul Sapotichne to Greensburg Salem. The Golden Lions will play Connellsville at 4:45 p.m. Sapotichne...
Softball smarts lead Hempfield catcher Ella Berkebile to Bucknell
A cerebral leader behind the plate for Hempfield, Ella Berkebile has softball instincts that allow her to control the cadence of games. The catcher has been battery mates with standout pitchers Riley Miller and Julia Varhola, framing spots for them while also working to get groundouts and flyouts. The junior...
Westmoreland County girls basketball notebook: Penn-Trafford happy to have defensive spark plug back
Penn-Trafford learned how to play without Torrie DeStefano last season after the then-sophomore guard suffered a season-ending knee injury just six games into the schedule. Now that she is back, coach John Giannikas clearly prefers life with DeStefano in the lineup. “It’s great to have her back,” the veteran coach...
Westmoreland County campus clippings: Seton Hill men win on wild buzzer-beater
Trailing Glenville State by two points with 6.7 seconds remaining, Seton Hill had one more punch waiting for the visiting Pioneers. A near turnover in the closing moments instead became the shot of the year so far for the men’s basketball team. Grad guard Ryan Meis inbounded from in front...
Norwin’s ‘hidden gem’ Eliezer Nicolas verbally commits to St. Francis (Pa.) track team
Eliezer Nicolas bristles a bit when he is referred to as a late bloomer in the college track recruiting game. The senior from Norwin, though, acknowledges he was a Division I prospect who simply had not yet been discovered. “I see myself as a hidden gem,” Nicolas said. “I am...
Westmoreland high school notebook: County volleyball players selected for all-star match
The third annual We Serve First All-Star Girls Volleyball Classic is set for 3 p.m. Saturday at Kiski Area. Nine local girls were among the 40 selected to play — Pyper Ferres of Burrell; Carson Burgh of Franklin Regional; Maddie Joyce, Adelyne Ledbetter and Jael Ledbetter of Kiski Area; Addison...
Bentworth’s Ryan Moessner earns 2024 Trib HSSN Boys Soccer Player of the Year honors
Trib HSSN Boys Soccer All-Stars Player of the year Ryan Moessner, Jr., F, Bentworth Taking his teammates on a journey that began in Washington County and ended in Mechanicsburg, junior Ryan Moessner left the deepest footprint on the highest-scoring boys soccer team in the WPIAL. An electric goal-scoring threat who...
Peters Township’s Molly Kubistek named 2024 Trib HSSN Girls Soccer Player of the Year
Trib HSSN Girls Soccer All-Stars Player of the year Molly Kubistek, Jr., GK, Peters Township Molly Kubistek received a lofty honor last month when she won the sixth Moe Rosensteel Most Outstanding Player Award, essentially crowning her the top player in the WPIAL. For the first time, the selection committee...
Penn-Trafford’s Alexis Brown earns 2024 TribLive Westmoreland Girls Soccer Player of the Year honors
2024 Girls Soccer All-Stars Player of the year Alexis Brown, Sr., MF, Penn-Trafford Unsure of how she would return from a fractured kneecap that tore down her junior year, Alexis Brown set out to reset her career and have a memorable bounce-back season. The Penn-Trafford senior wanted to stay healthy...
