Bill Beckner stories, Page 120
History on the table as Norwin hockey seeks 1st PIHL Penguins Cup title
Dinner tasted particularly good that night. Nearly two months before their run to the PIHL Penguins Cup championship game, Norwin hockey players and coaches gathered at The Canned Tomato in Irwin, where senior defenseman Will Dillner is a chef, for a team sitdown. It was a what-are-we-made-of gathering, a meal...
Westmoreland notebook: Norwin’s Young added to East-West All-Star Game
Better late than not at all. Norwin senior football player Jacob Young was added to the West roster for the big-school East-West All-Star Game set for May 29 at Bishop McDevitt in Harrisburg. Young is a two-way lineman who played center, tackle, guard and defensive tackle for the Knights. He...
Norwin notebook: Young to play in East-West All-Star Game
Norwin senior football player Jacob Young was added to the West roster for the big-school East-West All-Star Game, set for May 29 at Bishop McDevitt in Harrisburg. Young is a two-way lineman who played center, tackle, guard and defensive tackle for the Knights, and also can handle long-snapping duties. The...
Freedom stuns WPIAL champion North Catholic to earn trip to PIAA basketball finals
As Freedom girls basketball coach John Kaercher would have it, “These dogs had their day.” Talk about March Madness. Instead of falling victim to highly touted North Catholic for a fourth time this season, Freedom decided to stun the Trojanettes, 46-39, in the PIAA Class 3A semifinals Friday night at...
PIAA boys basketball preview capsule: Fox Chapel vs. Archbishop Wood, Saturday, March 19, 2022
Class 6A Semifinals Fox Chapel (27-1) vs. Archbishop Wood (20-7) 4 p.m. Saturday at Chambersburg Winner plays: Winner of Lower Merion (27-3)/Roman Catholic (22-4) in championship 7:30 p.m. March 26 at Giant Center, Hershey Coaches: Zach Skrinjar, Fox Chapel; John Mosco, Archbishop Wood How they got here: Fox Chapel —...
Latrobe softball hopes old-school approach leads to playoff push
Bob Kovalcin is a throwback. He is as old-school as they come and darn proud of it. “I still have a flip-phone,” the Latrobe softball coach said with a grin. “I don’t even own a computer. Don’t need one.” In addition to his pencil-and-paper stats, Kovalcin also is vintage when...
Latrobe baseball team hopes pitching catches up to offense
Vinny Amatucci’s nickname is “Ammo.” The senior third baseman thinks the Latrobe baseball team is locked and loaded and can turn some heads in WPIAL Class 5A — if it can develop pitching. Bats don’t seem to be an issue. The uncertainty on the mound, now that is a different...
Chunko resigns as Yough football coach
Yough football will drop to Class 2A next season, but it will do so without Chris Chunko. Chunko has resigned as head coach after two years in the position. He said his job has become more demanding, taking his attention away from the program. “I can’t put forth the time...
Saint Vincent set to start wrestling team
Wrestling once prospered at Saint Vincent College. From 1963-75, the school sponsored a full-fledged NAIA program before it faded into a club team. Rumblings of a program reboot turned into much more than that Thursday when SVC announced wrestling will return as the school’s 24th varsity sport. Backed by supportive...
Norwin hockey team edges Fox Chapel for PIHL playoff win
Mario Cavallaro skated wide as two defenders closed in on his puck-handling teammate, Alex Thomas. Then, in a flash, the pair of sophomore forwards connected for some playoff magic. Thomas delivered a pass to Cavallaro, who fired his second goal of the game into the back of the net 2...
Saint Vincent brings back D.P. Harris as men’s basketball coach
D.P. Harris is reprising his role at Saint Vincent. The college announced Wednesday that Harris is returning to the sidelines as men’s basketball coach. Harris led the Bearcats from 2003-19 before leaving to coach Saint Thomas in Miami Gardens, Fla., where he worked for two seasons. “It’s a beautiful day...
Former Jeannette star helps Charlotte to women’s NCAA tournament as assistant coach
Going from a star player to a coach does not come with an instruction manual. Ciara Gregory spent two years learning the ropes as a graduate assistant at Charlotte where not that long ago, she was breaking 3-point records and sparking scoring runs in the 49ers’ backcourt. Never frozen with...
Seton Hill not retaining men’s basketball coach Kendrick Saunders
Seton Hill is parting ways with men’s basketball coach Kendrick Saunders after three seasons. Griffins athletic director Chris Snyder confirmed the university will not retain Saunders or his assistant, Ryan Joyce. Seton Hill finished 3-24 this season, including a 3-19 mark in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference West Division. The...
Westmoreland campus clippings: Latrobe grad collecting wins for Rutgers
Jared Kollar has always been effective pitching with a lead. From his days as a senior ace for Latrobe’s WPIAL and PIAA championship winning team to solid outings at Seton Hill, Kollar was efficent with run support. That reputation still holds up at Rutgers. Kollar, a grad student pitcher, saw...
Westmoreland PIHL playoff preview capsule for March 16, 2022
Class A Semifinals 4-Norwin (15-4) vs. 1-Fox Chapel (20-1) 6:45 p.m. Wednesday at RMU Island Sports Center Coaches: Mike Robinson, Norwin; Cam Raidna, Fox Chapel Winner plays: Winner of 7-McDowell (13-8)/3-Quaker Valley (16-5) in the championship game at 8:45 p.m. March 21 at UPMC Lemieux Sports Center, Cranberry Ice chips:...
Robert Morris big man Brandon Stone to transfer
Another new stop awaits Brandon Stone. The 6-foot-11 forward is departing the Robert Morris basketball team, confirming Monday he will enter the NCAA transfer portal for the second time in his career. He did not want to elaborate on the details of his move at this time. Stone, a junior...
Norwin graduates JJ Matijevic, Max McDowell in MLB spring training camps
A pair of former Norwin sluggers will get to continue chasing their dreams of playing in the majors. JJ Matijevic and Max McDowell have been invited to spring training — Matijevic with the Houston Astros and McDowell with the New York Yankees. Both nonroster invitees saw promotions from Double-A to...
Seton Hill promotes Dilveer Chaggar to head men’s soccer coach
Dilveer Chaggar is quite familiar with the inner workings of the men’s soccer program at Seton Hill. He was an assistant — full-time, volunteer and as a graduate — with the team for the last six years, so he knows the players and is in touch with the recruiting process....
Westmoreland PIHL playoff preview capsules: Games of March 15, 2022
Tuesday’s games Class 2A Semifinals 4-Penn-Trafford (16-4) vs. 1-Thomas Jefferson (18-1) 7 p.m. at Robert Morris University Island Sports Center, Moon Winner plays: Winner of 3-South Fayette (17-3)/2-Franklin Regional (17-2) in championship 6:30 p.m. March 22 at UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex, Cranberry Coaches: Chris Cerutti, Penn-Trafford; John Zeiler, Thomas Jefferson...
Westmoreland campus clippings: Awards piling up for Latrobe grad Bryce Butler
West Liberty’s Bryce Butler is going to have to get some extra shelving in his dorm room for all of these awards. The third-year sophomore basketball standout out of Latrobe, was named the NCAA Division II Conference Commissioners Association Atlantic Region Player of the Year. He also made all-region first...
Latrobe alum Bryce Butler tabbed D2 Atlantic Region player of year
West Liberty’s Bryce Butler is going to have to get some extra shelving in his dorm room for all of these awards. The third-year sophomore basketball standout out of Latrobe, was named the NCAA Division II Conference Commissioners Association Atlantic Region Player of the Year on Saturday. He also made...
Fusetti fuels Blackhawk’s offense in PIAA 2nd-round win against Southmoreland
Alena Fusetti knows she doesn’t have to be the main scorer on a team with so much depth and balance. But the Blackhawk sophomore had a green light and a feel for the rims Saturday, so she asserted herself in a PIAA Class 4A second-round playoff game. Fusetti poured in...
Defending baseball champ Franklin Regional returns plenty
Franklin Regional is not ready to loosen its grip on the WPIAL championship trophy just yet. The Panthers’ baseball team captured its third title last season, first since 2001, and made the PIAA playoffs before finishing 19-2. With eight seniors gone, you might expect a drop-off in talent and outlook....
Westmoreland high school notebook: Greensburg Salem honors coach Snider
Maybe the “Snider Mile” will become a thing in the future. Greensburg Salem will honor the memory of one of its top coaches and mentors by naming its track after longtime cross country and track & field coach Steve Snider. Snider died Feb. 28 after struggling with heart complications. He...
Franklin Regional softball anticipates making run at section title with talented lineup
His softball team actually outdoors for a practice on the fourth day of preseason workouts, a day before a winter storm watch in the region, Jim Armstrong did a panorama of the mud-caked field at Franklin Regional. He squinted into the bright afternoon sunshine and smiled. “This is a sweet...
