Bill Beckner stories

Lilly Houghtalen saw the basketball go up and quickly got into position to thrash for the offensive rebound. “I knew I had to box out, rebound and be there,” she said. The 5-foot-9 sophomore forward grabbed the miss and quickly deposited the ball in the basket to put Hempfield up...

Latrobe hardly ever has had a Plan B under longtime coach Brad Wetzel’s watch. No, it was always run-and-gun or bust. The higher the score, the more it favored the Wildcats. But times are changing, and Wetzel is on board with it. With one of their tallest lineups, the Wildcats...

Norwin had a memorable visit to the center of the state, going 2-0 to win the State College girls basketball tournament and remain unbeaten. The Knights opened with a 51-46 victory against Abington Heights as Nia O’Barto had 10 points, Liz Yarosik added nine and Ava Christopher and Aubrey Graney...

In the viral universe, kids like to say 6-7. The true meaning of the phrase is mysterious and vague. Stanley Rajkovich is 6-7. His meaning to Derry is paramount. Rajkovich put together his own personal scoring run in the second quarter Tuesday night, and it propelled Class 4A Derry past...

After dropping on the depth chart, Wisconsin’s most experienced running back is rushing out the door. Former Penn-Trafford running back Cade Yacamelli announced Tuesday he is departing the Badgers after four years and will enter the NCAA transfer portal. The redshirt junior rushed for 571 yards and two touchdowns and...

The Pennsylvania Interscholastic Hockey League paid it forward. Four forwards with scoring punch are the league’s players of the month for November. Class 3A: Junior Braden Morin of Seneca Valley had 14 points over a three-game stretch (9 goals, 5 assists), recording three straight hat tricks for the Raiders (8-0-1-0)....

When things got a little chippy early in the fourth quarter — there was some pushing, and words were exchanged — Jeannette pulled back and didn’t retaliate. It could have, and maybe it would have in a previous version of itself. Instead, the Jayhawks girls basketball team directed the ire...

Rick Hall used to play on beer-sponsored pro beach volleyball tours. He might have time to hit the sand again. After 41 seasons, Hall is retiring as women’s volleyball coach at Seton Hill. The Griffins’ hall of famer finished with a record of 822-453. “After 41 years, countless practices, bus...

Samir Crosby couldn’t wait to tell everyone the news. The Greensburg Central Catholic football star was eager to post his college commitment on social media Saturday night after he zeroed in a school. “We had to wait for all the paperwork to go through and everything,” Crosby said. “I was...

Franklin Regional boys soccer coach Nick White guided the Class 3A all-stars to a 5-3 win over Class 4A in the Western Pennsylvania Soccer Coaches Association All-Star Game on Nov. 29 at Pine-Richland. The game was for seniors only. Owen Householder of Thomas Jefferson, Xavier Jackson of Bethel Park (2),...

Greensburg Central Catholic football star Samir Crosby announced a verbal commitment Saturday night to Georgetown. Crosby, a versatile senior playmaker who has played quarterback, wide receiver, running back, defensive back and punter during his prep career, plans to play receiver for the Hoyas. This year, he began the season at...

Norwin might have been playing in Murrysville, but it took McKnight Road to a tournament championship. Less than 24 hours after hitting the winning shot against Pine-Richland, senior guard Chris McKnight literally stole the show again as his defensive takeaway just before the buzzer sealed a 61-60 win for the...

Already the TribLive Westmoreland Girls Soccer Player of the Year and the owner of several postseason awards, Morgan Gesinski added another one to her growing list. Gesinski was named to the United Soccer Coaches All-East Region list, a prestigious honor that is one step below All-American. She hopes to get...

With Penn State commit Landon Sidun back and healthy — and a postseason-tested lineup around him — Norwin wrestling is primed to make more noise in the WPIAL Class 3A postseason. It will take more than Sidun to produce team success. “We don’t base the team effort and attitude off...

Brennan Marion grew up watching Deion Sanders play. “Prime Time” always seemed to make the SportsCenter highlights as an NFL cornerback or MLB outfielder. The dual-sport playmaker played for five teams in each league. All of the sudden, Sanders is going to be Marion’s boss. Marion, a Greensburg Salem alum,...

Five WPIAL soccer standouts collected all-region honors. Fox Chapel junior forward Emily McKee, Seneca Valley senior midfielder Karly Majeski and Mt. Pleasant senior forward Morgan Gesinski were the district girls selected to the United Soccer Coaches All-East Region list. Canon-McMillan senior midfielder Adam Kuchera and senior forward Rocco DiDomenico of...

A decisive second-quarter run stretched into the third and gave Hempfield all the momentum it needed to pull away from cold-shooting Penn-Trafford and improve to 2-0. The Spartans followed an emotional victory in the opener Thursday with another home win, 70-50 on Friday night, stretching the bench a dozen deep...

Austin Butler looked like he had just played a game, not coached one. The first-year Hempfield coach breathed heavily and wiped sweat away, some of the moisture on his face and clothes coming from getting splashed with water when he went into the locker room. His players sprayed him with...

That a streak was broken was a bonus for Mark Katarski, the first-year boys basketball coach at Mt. Pleasant. His first win came quickly, and the program needed it. The Vikings won their opener last week, a much-needed victory for a team that hadn’t been on the right end of...

In its formative years, Bill Fralic Memorial Award organizers wondered what could lie ahead for the honor, created to remember a legend and annually highlight the WPIAL’s top two-way football lineman. Would it do justice to Fralic, who would have loathed the idea, respectfully and poignantly? Did it have staying...

Jeannette: WPIAL Class 2A champions. It has a nice ring to it. The label was earned almost nine months ago, but it still sounds amazing to Jeannette boys basketball players and coaches who cherished every second of a long-awaited title run. The Jayhawks were awarded their diamond-crusted championship rings Wednesday...

With one school record out of the way, Erica Gribble will go for another Dec. 11 when Greensburg Central Catholic travels to Steel Valley for its Section 2-3A opener. Gribble, a 5-foot-11 senior point guard who will play at Richmond, needs only three points to break GCC’s all-time scoring mark...

As the story goes, when Tony Dorsett was a sophomore at Hopewell, coaches did not think he was big enough to play running back. You might have said the same thing based on an eyeball test: Dorsett was 147 pounds in 1970. The next year, though, Dorsett took a screen...

Add another piece of hardware to Emily McKee’s personal trophy case, if it will fit. McKee, Fox Chapel’s championship-winning soccer midfielder, was the recipient of the sixth Moe Rosensteel Most Outstanding Player of the Year Award, which goes to the WPIAL’s best girls soccer player. We are excited to share...

Teams often have more questions than answers after their first game of the high school girls basketball season as they look for early signs of chemistry and teachable moments. Mars looked like it had things figured out, like it already had played a few games, when it took the floor...