Bill Beckner stories, Page 123

When Norwin lost promising junior Savannah Schneck to an ACL injury for the second straight year, the girls basketball team quickly regrouped. It had little choice in the matter, but it regrouped nonetheless. The season was about to start, and the Knights began to shine a spotlight around to see...

He used to play against the Bearcats in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference, but now Bryan Butler will coach against his alma mater, Geneva, in the fall. Butler is the new women’s soccer coach at Saint Vincent. He has a number of coaching stops on his resume, the most recent one...

Penn-Trafford could have praised its offensive play, particularly its long-range shooting — after holding back rival Norwin. But the Warriors were more about what they did on the other end of the floor following a 56-45 victory over the Knights in Section 3-6A. While a strong shooting start was a...

Tyler Horvat had a breakthrough season in 2021 for the Washington & Jefferson baseball team, showing his versatility as a pitcher and hitter. The junior utility player out of Penn-Trafford is expected to be one of best again in 2022 as he was named to the D3baseball.com Preseason All-American Team....

At some places, it takes a village. At Shippensburg, it takes a few really good coaches. Shippensburg field hockey coach Tara Zollinger (Hempfield) and her assistants were named the National Field Hockey Coaches Association Division II National Coaching Staff of the Year. The Raiders (20-0) won the NCAA championship and...

Chris Brunson is stepping down as athletic director at Mt. Pleasant, a position he held since 2019. He said Monday would be his last day on the job. Brunson will remain the school’s softball coach after guiding the Vikings to WPIAL and PIAA Class 3A championships last season. He has...

The Pitt-Greensburg women’s basketball team is surging closer to first place in the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference. The Bobcats made it three straight wins Saturday at Alfred State, 74-61, behind four double-digit scorers. Junior Nadege Durand had 22 points on 10-of-18 shooting, freshman Melina Maietta (Greensburg Central Catholic) had 20...

Kason Harrell felt like his play had been slumping lately and he wasn’t living up to his own expectations. So much for that. The former Hempfield standout and second-year professional put on a show Saturday for the Killestar Basketball Club’s Team Pyrobel, scoring 56 points in an Irish Super League...

Slam dunks can demoralize opponents. For the Chartiers Valley girls basketball team, 3-pointers can have a similar effect. Yes, it’s kind of like that when the Colts start cashing in from all around the key. It’s almost sing-songy when they get into a shooting rhythm, one 3 after another dropping...

Norwin senior Chase Kranitz finished second in the Westmoreland County Coaches’ Association Wrestling Tournament earlier this month at Kiski Area. The Buffalo commit reached the finals at 152 pounds but dropped a 4-2 decision to Latrobe’s Jack Pletcher. His teammate, Conner Henning, finish fourth at 132, while Luke Passarelli took...

When Norwin basketball player Michael Fleming went off for 27 points and made five 3-pointers in a game at Penn-Trafford last season, he was introduced to the WPIAL basketball world. Now, he is becoming a household name. The senior guard leads the Knights in scoring and is a key piece...

Kadyn Hannah did not need much adjustment time as a freshman on the La Roche men’s basketball team. The Franklin Regional alum stepped into the starting five from Day 1 and has helped push the Redhawks (5-5) to four straight wins. The statement game for the 6-foot-5 forward came Jan....

The Jeannette girls basketball team is hoping to return to the court soon after a week-long quarantine. The Jayhawks had to postpone three games and five practices after a few girls came down with the flu and another tested positive for covid-19. “We are being very cautious,” Jeannette athletic director...

Penn-Trafford figured there would come a time this season when it would need to rely on its football players to win basketball games. Its strong, aggressive, championship-level football players. That time was Friday night for juniors Tommy Kalkstein and Conlan Greene. The pair of WPIAL and PIAA 5A football champions...

Derry girls basketball coach Gene Brisbane reached a career milestone Thursday night in the Trojans’ 44-41 victory at Burrell. He now has 400 career wins in 26 years of coaching female teams in basketball — 350 at the high school level. Brisbane, in his third season at Derry, coached the...

Greensburg Central Catholic sat a few starters midway through the first quarter Thursday night, but the move had nothing to do with their conduct or early play. “Rest,” GCC coach Chris Skatell said. “I wanted to get them some down time because I knew we were going to need them...

Part necessity, part rising talent, Latrobe is playing four freshmen this season. The Wildcats (3-7, 1-3 Section 3-5A) have a deep bench that includes ninth-grade guards John Wetzel and Max Butler and freshmen forwards Jack Hamaty and Alex Tatsch. “It’s been over the last two weeks I’d say where we...

The Latrobe basketball roster is like a map of Western Pennsylvania. There is always a Butler. But we’re not talking about a city or county, here. Instead, it’s a last name that seems to be branded into the scorebook — one that has become synonymous with the Wildcats’ program. This...

The Franklin Regional gymnasium fell silent for about 40 minutes Tuesday night when Greensburg Salem sophomore center Kaitlyn Mankins went down with a grim injury. “The girls were sobbing,” Golden Lions girls basketball coach Rick Klimchock said. “There were tears everywhere.” Mankins was coming off a pick-and-roll late in the...

When she was a freshman, Belle Vernon’s Viva Kreis sat courtside at various stops and watched all 12 WNBA teams play, interviewed several players and met her favorite player, Diana Taurasi. The summer tour was part of a project about women’s pro basketball becoming more prominent. Over the passage of...

A work in progress for some time, the Pitt-Greensburg Athletics Hall of Fame has arrived and has its inaugural class. Five individuals and two teams that helped put the Bobcats on the college map will be enshrined Feb. 18 during a ceremony at the school’s Wagner Dining Hall. The inductees...

A Greensburg Central Catholic student brought a bass drum into the student section, but an official told him it was not permitted, so it was removed from the raucous gymnasium. Instead of a drum, GCC beat Jeannette. With a revved-up second half after a surprisingly slow start, the No. 2...

With offense relegated to half-court sets and fouls piling up, the more patient team was going to have the advantage down the stretch. Woodland Hills played like it had that trait in its back pocket and methodically pulled away from upstart Greensburg Salem, which played its first Section 4-5A girls...

John Luckhardt once said, “I’ve never been talented, never been good looking, never been smart.” The former Cal (Pa.) and Washington & Jefferson football coach can say he is a hall of famer. And a member of a pretty good class, at that. Luckhardt will be inducted into the College...

Kadyn Hannah did not need much adjustment time as a freshman on the La Roche men’s basketball team. The Franklin Regional alum stepped into the starting five from Day 1 and has helped push the Redhawks (5-5) to four straight wins. The statement game for the 6-foot-5 forward came Saturday...