Bill Beckner stories, Page 116
Hempfield grad earns invitation to exclusive Manning Passing Academy
It started with a simple email. Then, a text message. All of a sudden, Justin Sliwoski had a front-row seat to not only meet the Mannings — Peyton, Eli and their father, Archie — but also to get instruction from the the former star quarterbacks. Sliwoski, a redshirt junior quarterback...
It’s a wide world of sports for busy Greensburg Salem senior Jake Smith
When Jake Smith isn’t throwing strikes, he’s rolling them. When he isn’t scoring runs, he’s going on them through the woods. It isn’t all that rare that he plays four sports at Greensburg Salem. What is unique is the sports he chose. “They’re split up nicely,” Smith said. “Fall, winter...
Westmoreland County baseball notebook: Teams playing 1-run thrillers
Westmoreland County games have not lacked late-inning drama lately. Take last Wednesday. If you didn’t walk it off, you probably didn’t win. There were four one-run games that day. • Brady Lane doubled, then scored on an error, as Penn-Trafford clipped Kiski Area, 3-2, in eight innings. • Hempfield dropped...
Westmoreland County softball notebook: Ligonier Valley specializes in perfection
Ligonier Valley has only been in the WPIAL since 2020, but the softball program’s stay has been, in some ways, perfect. How many programs can say they have thrown six perfect games in two years? How many have six perfect games in their history? Senior Maddie Griffin tossed the fifth...
Mental toughness, blazing fastball make Penn-Trafford pitcher Mia Smith hard to hit
There is a lot going on behind the intense eyes and stoic game face of Mia Smith. Often, quietly, a perfect storm is brewing. A 50-50 mix of mental toughness and physical ability fuses inside the chalk-lined circle from where she pitches. When she rears back and prepares to send...
Norwin beats Upper St. Clair, makes up ground in section
Here comes Norwin. After losing four of five and getting swept by Canon-McMillan, the Knights are back in the playoff conversation in Section 2-6A — and back to .500 — after a sweep of their own. Seniors Jake Kendro and Ty Stecko homered, and senior Sebastian Rosado-Guindin pitched 62⁄3 innings...
Westmoreland campus clippings: Mt. Pleasant grad Sam Napper helps Westminster to PAC title
Junior Sam Napper and his Westminster golf teammates went back to back. And Napper had the shot of the tournament. The Mt. Pleasant graduate made a hole-in-one during the final round of the Presidents’ Athletic Conference Championships and the Titans (892) went on to a 44-stroke victory over Washington &...
Better than perfect: Ligonier Valley’s Maddie Griffin strikes out all 21 hitters she faces vs. Seton LaSalle
Maddie Griffin admits she has not lived up to her own lofty expectations this spring. After all, the senior softball pitcher from Ligonier Valley threw 11 no-hitters, including five perfect games, last season. While she has been bothered some by an ankle injury, the pressure to perform at such a...
Westmoreland campus clippings: Penn-Trafford grad Anthony Sherwin on Brooks Wallace Award watch list
Breakout sophomore Anthony Sherwin has become known for his smooth glove in the middle of Bucknell’s infield. It’s no exaggeration to say the Penn-Trafford graduate is one of the top shortstops in the country. He is, after all, on the Brooks Wallace Award watch list, an honor reserved for the...
Westmoreland campus clippings: Penn-Trafford grad Anthony Sherwin on Brooks Wallace Award watch list
Breakout sophomore Anthony Sherwin has become known for his smooth glove in the middle of Bucknell’s infield. It’s no exaggeration to say the Penn-Trafford graduate is one of the top shortstops in the country. He is, after all, on the Brooks Wallace Award watch list, an honor reserved for the...
Westmoreland High School Athletes of the Week: Southmoreland’s Amarah McCutcheon and Hempfield’s Brandon Coughlin
Amarah McCutcheon School: Southmoreland Sport: Softball Year: Sophomore Claim to fame: McCutcheon, an ultra-talented Class of ‘23 prospect with power and range, delivered the Scotties a walk-off win Wednesday in a 4-3 victory over Waynesburg. McCutcheon, a shortstop, went 3 for 4 with a double and three RBIs in the...
Former Latrobe stars have map to follow to overseas pro basketball leagues
Professional basketball outside of the country could await former Latrobe teammates Austin Butler and Jake Biss, but what comes along with it remains somewhat of a mystery to the backcourt stalwarts. Should they not play stateside … There’s the living out of suitcases part. The strange cities part. The language...
Westmoreland County high school notebook: Offers piling up for Belle Vernon’s Quinton Martin
Add two more Power 5 scholarship offers for Belle Vernon sophomore Quinton Martin. The top-end programs continue to buzz around the five-star sophomore football player, who reeled in offers from Louisville and Texas A&M on consecutive days last week. Martin (6-foot-3, 185 pounds) is ranked as the No. 1 recruit...
Murrysville Star notebook: DiFalco picks up WPIAL scholar-athlete honor
Anthony DiFalco’s goals aren’t just limited to the soccer field. The Franklin Regional star also excels in the classroom. The WPIAL announced winners of its James Collins Scholar-Athlete Awards and DiFalco was a recipient. Each will receive a $1,000 scholarship. DiFalco was a three-time All-American, three-time All-Region and three-time all-state...
No 1. West Greene softball team routs No. 3 Greensburg Central Catholic
West Greene players and their coach, Billy Simms, hung out in a dusty gravel parking lot near the Greensburg Central Catholic softball field Friday afternoon waiting for their ride home. Simms sat Indian style as he tallied up the scorebook while players giggled and passed the time. The fact that...
Latrobe softball wins big section showdown with Thomas Jefferson
Latrobe earned a section softball split with first-place Thomas Jefferson on the strength of three factors: 1. Sound pitching, 2. Crisp defense and 3. Power hitting. That trio can win a lot of games. Or, maybe it was three other things that powered the Wildcats. “I always say to be...
Westmoreland County baseball notebook: 3-game series on horizon for Hempfield, Norwin
Teams are still adjusting to playing two-game series on back-to-back days, but the WPIAL is switching to a new format next season. There will be three-game series in the largest classification, which fields the fewest teams. Class 6A will play three games in a row against each section opponent, a...
Senior’s return gives energy boost to Hempfield baseball
Joe Fiedor missed most of the basketball season for Hempfield with a mysterious injury he sustained in a home game against Penn-Trafford. It was a big hit to the Spartans’ backcourt. The strange, noncontact injury was later diagnosed: A piece of cartilage broke off under his kneecap and caused discomfort....
Reynolds tabbed to lead men’s basketball program at Point Park
After leading a turnaround of considerable note at Slippery Rock, Kevin Reynolds will look to do something similar at Point Park. He was announced Wednesday as the next head men’s basketball coach at NAIA Point Park, replacing Joe Lewandowski, who resigned in March after four seasons in charge of the...
No. 1 Armstrong puts on a show in statement win over Franklin Regional
With nicknames like “Camo,” “Smoke” and “Mack Attack,” players on the Armstrong softball team appreciate a good time. But just the same, they know when it’s time to put the business end of the bat on the ball. The top-ranked Class 5A team in the WPIAL — and state —...
Norwin grad JJ Matijevic gets call up to major leagues with AstrosVideo
JJ Matijevic’s ascent through the minor leagues hit the ceiling Wednesday when he was called up to join the Houston Astros. For the first time, he is a major leaguer — at least for now. The Astros brought him up to replace infielder Jose Altuve, who is on the 10-day...
Westmoreland County softball notebook: Realignment to shake up sections
There is plenty of softball left in 2022, but the WPIAL has set the table for next season with its realignment for the new two-year enrollment cycle. The most significant movers and shakers locally are Yough and Ligonier Valley, who will be section opponents in Class 3A after changing classifications....
Norwin softball looking to overcome soggy, slow start to season
Frustrated and chasing consistency, Norwin softball coaches and players have felt like pulling the lever on the escape hatch lately. Make it stop. The Lady Knights are not asking for pity. They just want to practice and play at home. The season has had more stops than starts with rainy...
Palmer Jackson selected to U.S. Palmer Cup team
Palmer Jackson is named after the late, great Arnold Palmer, so it’s only fitting the Notre Dame star gets to play in an event named after “The King.” Jackson, a junior and Franklin Regional product, was selected to play in the Arnold Palmer Cup, a prestigious event that matches college...
Mt. Pleasant native Ben Wilkins named Seton Hill men’s basketball coach
Former Westmoreland County resident Ben Wilkins is primed to take over the Seton Hill men’s basketball program. He was announced Tuesday as the new coach, replacing Kendrick Saunders, who was not retained after three seasons and a record of 3-24. Wilkins, an assistant at Army for the last six seasons,...
