Franklin Regional

Penn Township ready to defend Junior Legion regional, state titles

Penn Township is the returning Pennsylvania Youth American Legion Western Regional and state champion. It opens defense of the Western Regional at 5 p.m. Friday at the White Township Complex in Indiana against Indiana County champion Brookville. Pool play format will be played Friday, Saturday and Sunday with the top...
Franklin Regional teams gearing up for new-look conference alignments

Fall sports will introduce WPIAL teams to a new two-year cycle, which means classifications and sections have been realigned. Here’s what Franklin Regional teams will face in 2022: Beginning with football, the Panthers will remain in the Class 5A Big East Conference, which has undergone change. It now has Franklin...
Westmoreland high school notebook: Transfer to prep school a tough decision for Franklin Regional lineman

Andrew Nesler is on the move. The rising senior football player is leaving Franklin Regional for The Hill School, a prep academy in Pottstown, about 70 miles east of Hershey. Nesler, a 6-foot-2, 285-pound lineman, said the transfer is motivated by personal and family reasons. He was a key player...
Franklin Regional’s Anthony DiFalco nominated for USA Today’s national soccer player of the year

One of the best boys soccer players to come out of the WPIAL in recent years also is being mentioned with the top talent in the country. Three-time All-American forward Anthony DiFalco, who had a stellar, four-year career at Franklin Regional, was named to the All-USA Today High School Sports...
Franklin Regional announces 1st Athletic Hall of Fame class

A venture that athletic director Zach Kessler said was long overdue, Franklin Regional finally has an athletics hall of fame in place to honor the legacy of its finest athletes. Now, it has its inaugural class. The Franklin Regional Athletic Hall of Fame Class of 2022 was unveiled Wednesday. It...
Championship teams guide Hampton to top of Class 5A Trib Cup standings

Hampton captured three district championships and one state title this past school year, with three of those four coming during the fall sports season. Consistent success throughout all three seasons, however, was a big part of the Talbots showing plenty of bark in winning the Trib HSSN Cup for Class...
Murrysville Star notebook: Palmer Jackson earns All-American honors

Some might say Palmer Jackson’s golf game is a 9 out of 10. No golfer is perfect. The game won’t allow for it. But Jackson had nine top-10 finishes this past college season, which also points to excellence. The junior from Notre Dame is one of the top players in...
Fox Chapel’s Izzy Zober to compete on inaugural U12 Israeli national softball team

Fox Chapel’s Izzy Zober and Franklin Regional’s Grace Stark are making softball history. The Israel Softball Association is fielding its first 12U national team to compete in the European Massimo Romero Youth Tournament in August in Italy, and Zober, 11, and Stark, 10, are on the squad. The ISA is...
Westmoreland H.S. notebook: Penn-Trafford, Greensburg Salem among biggest moves in basketball realignment

Summer is just starting, but the WPIAL has its new basketball sections in place for the next winter season. The biggest movers in Westmoreland County are Penn-Trafford and Greensburg Salem, which are dropping from Class 6A. Penn-Trafford will be in 5A in boys and girls hoops. The Greensburg Salem boys...
Tennessee product Bryce Lewis holds on to win Sunnehanna Amateur

Bryce Lewis didn’t play his best round Saturday at the 69th annual Sunnehanna Amateur, but it was good enough to capture the title. The University of Tennessee product shot a 5-over-par 75 during the final round at Sunnehanna Country Club in Westmont near Johnstown, and he barely held on for...
Knapp ready for Sunnehanna Amateur

The roar of thunder Tuesday morning woke Oakmont’s Sean Knapp from his sleep. So he decided to look at his phone and call up the weather radar, and he saw a blotch of red hanging over Johnstown. Knapp screen-shot the radar and sent it to friend Nathan Smith with the...
Westmoreland HS notebook: Special honor for Norwin’s Rosado Guindin

Norwin senior Sebastian Rosado Guindin knew he was in the running for a unique award, but he was a little taken aback when his name was called. “Yes, I was a surprised when I won,” he said. Rosado Guindin won the Pittsburgh Metropolitan Area Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Sports Most...
New coaches hope to help Murrysville American Legion baseball program rebound

There was a time not too long ago when the Murrysville American Legion baseball team ruled District 31. The road to a title always traveled through Murrysville. But for different reasons, mainly the top players electing to play travel ball, the shine of the program has diminished. But a couple...
Franklin Regional grad Michael Kemerer to wrestle, coach with New York-based club

A nagging shoulder injury stunted his progress in his final collegiate wrestling season, but Michael Kemerer is moving on to his next venture in the sport. The former Iowa and Franklin Regional standout has joined the Spartan Combat RTC, a world-class training outfit in Ithaca, N.Y. Spartan Combat RTC specializes...
Westmoreland notebook: Big 5/6 Conference announces baseball, softball all-stars

Westmoreland County athletes once again made their mark in the WPIAL’s two largest classifications this spring. The Big 5/6 Conference, which covers Class 6A and 5A athletics, had its all-section banquet Wednesday and announced its top players in baseball and softball. Section 2-6A baseball’s first team included senior infielder Joe...
Westmoreland H.S. notebook: Local players shine at Roundball Classic games

Westmoreland County was well-represented at last weekend’s Roundball Classic senior all-star games, an event that wraps a bow around another high school basketball season in Western Pa. Maybe “most valuable” would be a better way to frame their overall showing at Geneva College. Ligonier Valley’s Matthew Marinchak was named his...