Bill Beckner stories, Page 118
Westmoreland HS notebook: Steelers draft goes from Ricketts to Pickett
The Pittsburgh Steelers’ seismic move to select Pitt quarterback Kenny Pickett in the first round of the NFL Draft had fans buzzing, debating and reminiscing. While Pitt has only had one other quarterback go in the first round — former Central Catholic great Dan Marino — Pickett actually followed a...
Franklin Regional track teams claim section titles with undefeated records
Franklin Regional pulled a section double-dip this spring, winning team titles in boys and girls track and field for just the second time in program history. Both teams posted 6-0 section records. Seventh-year coach Bob Ralston knew he had talent but wasn’t sure if it was full-on section-winning kind of...
Norwin track teams celebrate 4th straight outright section titles
Unbeaten in five Section 1-3A meets, the Norwin boys and girls track and field teams pulled off a four-peat: four outright section titles in as many years — the run includes co-titles in 2017. But coach Tim Van Horn thinks the Knights could be in line for larger goals. “I...
Norwin notebook: Norwin wrestlers shine at freestyle tournament
Several Norwin wrestlers took part in the Ultimate Club Duals freestyle tournaments April 24 in State College. The Knights claimed their first trophy in freestyle competition, taking third place with a 6-2 record. Home sweet home? The Norwin softball team thought it finally was going to play on its home...
Penn-Trafford softball team makes most out of few hits in odd mercy-rule win over TJ
Literally, Penn-Trafford walked away with a first-place softball showdown against Thomas Jefferson. The Warriors didn’t even hit a ball out of the infield. Their bats were uncharacteristically quiet, in fact. But they still blew out the visiting Jaguars in five innings. Thomas Jefferson provided 10 walks — and several other...
Penn-Trafford linemen get college attention
A pair of Penn-Trafford football linemen are beginning to gain traction in the recruiting game. Juniors Joe Enick and Conlan Greene, all-conference players who will try to help the Warriors win back-to-back WPIAL and PIAA Class 5A championships in the fall, hold scholarship offers from Division I-FCS St. Francis (Pa.)...
Hempfield softball stays unbeaten in victory over North Allegheny
A day after moving into the state softball rankings, Hempfield was out to show it belonged there again. The Spartans looked the part in an efficient, 1 hour, 20-minute victory against visiting North Allegheny. The top-ranked team in WPIAL Class 6A and fourth-ranked team in the state got a lift...
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....
