Bill Beckner stories, Page 124
Clarion hires Raymond Monica as football coach
Clarion filled its football vacancy Thursday by naming Raymond Monica head coach. The Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference school did not retain Chris Weibel, who guided the Golden Eagles for seven seasons but saw the team finish 0-10 last year. Assistant Matt Hanhold served as interim head coach while Clarion looked...
With supporting cast thriving, Belle Vernon’s no 2-man show
Belle Vernon is miscast sometimes as a two-man basketball team. A two-man show. Now, senior Devin Whitlock and sophomore Quinton Martin are about as NBA Jam as you can get as a scoring pair, but they don’t do it all. Whitlock and Martin have an ensemble of role players with...
Westmoreland boys basketball notebook: Belle Vernon’s Salvino nears victory milestone
Somewhat in jest, Joe Salvino said there are two people who care more about his career win total than he does. “My scorekeeper and my wife,” the Belle Vernon boys basketball coach said with a laugh. “I’m not saying it doesn’t matter. It means I’ve won, but this is my...
Delaynie Morvosh sheds unsung label, makes major impact for Southmoreland
When teams yell “shooter!” while they’re defending Southmoreland, Delaynie Morvosh is usually surprised when she realizes they mean her. “It makes me feel good,” Morvosh said with a grin. “I have always been more of a defensive player.” The warning cry from opponents represents a sign of respect for Morvosh,...
Westmoreland girls basketball notebook: Latrobe’s Blair is double-double machine
When the ball goes up, Emma Blair is ready for it to come down. The Latrobe junior forward takes many would-be rebounders to task, firmly planting herself into a position to snare a missed shot and give the Wildcats a fresh chance at a putback or new possession. The 6-foot-1...
Latrobe, North Hills grads on watch list for small college player of the year award
Bryce Butler is having a career season at West Liberty and the country is watching. The 6-foot-5 sophomore guard out of Latrobe is on a national watch list for the Clarence “Bevo” Francis Award, which recognizes America’s top small-college basketball player. He joins teammate Pat Robinson III on the 50-player...
Westmoreland campus clippings: Saint Vincent’s Lauren Connors shines at PAC meet
Saint Vincent made quite a splash at the Presidents’ Athletic Conference women’s swimming and diving championships. Junior Lauren Connors won four individual championships and earned the meet’s most valuable performer, the first woman in team history to earn the honor. The Bearcats’ Josh Gurekovich, meantime, was named PAC coach of...
GCC boys keep an eye on OLSH as WPIAL playoff brackets revealed
Greensburg Central Catholic and Our Lady of the Sacred Heart will not meet again in the WPIAL Class 2A boys basketball championship game. No, their rematch will have to come in the semifinals after GCC was given the No. 4 seed in this year’s tournament. The Centurions (16-3) will play...
Westmoreland campus clippings: Belle Vernon grad Bailey Parshall reaches strikeout milestone
Penn State senior softball pitcher Bailey Parshall (Belle Vernon) returned from a injury rehab to make a start in the Nittany Lions’ season opener. She struck out 10 in seven innings and reached 400 career strikeouts as Penn State fell, 2-1, against No. 11 Missouri in eight innings. She gave...
Westmoreland high school notebook: Belle Vernon, Ligonier Valley honor teachers
Late-season basketball games are often platforms for special occasions. Senior night and youth recognition night are among them. But more schools are using the game times, where fans are gathered again, to get teachers noticed. Ligonier Valley and Belle Vernon are two local schools that celebrated teachers last week during...
Greensburg Central Catholic boys bounce back, clinch section title with rout of Jeannette
The Greensburg Central Catholic boys basketball team had its 20-game home winning streak end Friday night in a loss to Serra Catholic. It was the No. 2-ranked Centurions’ second defeat in three games. One way to make it all better and end the late-season slip? Blow out your rival on...
Westmoreland high school notebook: Ligonier Valley’s Hollick brings hockey sensibility
Jake Hollick is one of the top senior basketball players at Ligonier Valley this season. He is known for playing with a little bit of an edge. Well, there’s an explanation for that. Hollick also is a talented hockey player. But because Ligonier Valley does not have a team, he...
Soccer rivalry between Norwin, Penn-Trafford takes hit in realignment
A longtime soccer rivalry was sideswiped by the new enrollment numbers for the PIAA’s next two-year cycle. The ramifications will be felt from Turner Valley to the Bushy Run Soccer Complex. Norwin and Penn-Trafford have been playing in the same section since the 1990s, but the girls and boys teams...
Norwin notebook: Swimmer gets in on ground floor at Southern Indiana
Norwin senior Joey Testa moved from Katy, Texas, where she was a standout for Katy Aquatics in the AAA Junior Olympics. She still holds records there. But she earned her college scholarship as a Norwin Knight. Testa, who moved to the area in eighth grade, recently signed to swim at...
Franklin Regional standout Caden Smith seeking college football fit
Franklin Regional standout senior Caden Smith, a terrific three-sport athlete, wants to play football in college. Many consider him a Division I prospect, and some schools have inquired. But the 6-foot-4 wide receiver and safety doesn’t have any offers — yet. He was hoping to commit by national signing day,...
Norwin boys hold off Penn-Trafford, earn playoff spot for 1st time in 6 years
Norwin didn’t make a field goal in the fourth quarter, but that might have had something to do with the effort the Knights were putting in on the defensive end against visiting Penn-Trafford. It was, attack on defense, rest on offense and hold on tight from there. Or, maybe they...
Norwin’s Brianna Zajicek sinks near 70-foot buzzer-beater
Brianna Zajicek moved to point guard this season, so she has a different perspective on the game and new decisions to make. As she dribbled up the floor Thursday night at Penn-Trafford with the third-quarter clock ticking down to single digits, she made some magic happen. “I was trying to...
Westmoreland County boys basketball notes: Playoff field nearly set
The Westmoreland County WPIAL boys basketball playoff field is nearly complete. All that remains in Section 3-6A is the postseason fate of Hempfield and Norwin, who head into Friday night’s action tied for fourth place. Hempfield (6-13, 3-6) will finish section play at home Friday against Greensburg Salem (2-18, 0-9),...
Suman, Penn-Trafford steal the show, top No. 3 Norwin in final seconds
Penn-Trafford stole one. Literally. A flurry of late takeaways, including two by Maura Suman — their all-time steals leader and lone senior — along with some three-point plays down the stretch, propelled the Lady Warriors to a spirited 37-36 upset over No. 3 Norwin on Thursday night in the Section...
Ligonier Valley boys ‘want to earn everything’
Ligonier Valley got a free pass to the WPIAL boys basketball playoffs last year because the league had an open tournament where any team could participate, a result of the covid pandemic. It was a nice benefit for the Rams in their first season in District 7. But they knew...
Scott Morrison resigns as Yough athletic director
Yough is looking for an athletic director after the resignation of Scott Morrison, who held the position for nearly two years. Morrison said he wants to pursue other opportunities. Yough’s AD position is part time but Morrison worked full-time hours, often putting in 12-hour days while attending games and matches....
Franklin Regional alum Spencer Lee part of clue on ‘Jeopardy!’
Spencer Lee already has a Wikipedia page, his own clothing line and a fan following that stretches from Murrysville to Des Moines, Iowa — and beyond. He is a well-known figure in college wrestling. But the Iowa sensation’s popularity has reached new heights. The Franklin Regional graduate was part of...
Westmoreland girls basketball notebook: Playoff participants set
Westmoreland County’s contributions to the WPIAL girls basketball playoff field are set. In Class 6A, local rivals Norwin (15-4, 12-1) and Penn-Trafford (11-8, 8-5), who will meet Thursday night at Penn-Trafford in the Section 1 finale, have qualified. In 5A, Latrobe (14-3, 10-1) is back in the postseason after reaching...
Westmoreland basketball teams welcome chance to start playoffs at home
A number of basketball coaches expressed their admiration for the WPIAL’s decision to allow higher-seeded teams to host first-round and quarterfinal playoff games last season because of the pandemic. The WPIAL was listening. Home sweet home will be the theme again as the league uses the same format for this...
Southmoreland plans symbolic hiring of late football coach Ron Frederick
Ron Frederick couldn’t wait to begin his dream job as the head football coach at Southmoreland. The school district will make sure the late coach’s job becomes official. Southmoreland will follow through with Frederick’s posthumous hiring at Thursday’s meeting, which comes one week after the 40-year-old died unexpectedly. Frederick was...
