Bill Beckner stories, Page 127
Gracie Spadaro joins mom in Southmoreland 1,000-point club
Like mother, like daughter. Senior basketball player Gracie Spadaro moved in with some unique company when she joined the 1,000-point club at Southmoreland. Well, she was already moved in. Her mom achieved the same milestone 25 years ago. Susan (Love) Spadaro, an assistant coach for her daughter’s team, also scored...
Greensburg Central Catholic boys basketball riding wave of confidence
Greensburg Central Catholic boys basketball players fling up half-court shots as a recent practice draws to a close. The atmosphere is fun. It’s loose. But it’s also competitive — very competitive. Just about every Centurion thinks he can make it. That’s what happens when roles get elevated and a wave...
Westmoreland boys basketball notebook: Greensburg Salem welcomes back its Big Ben
Ben Thomas had not played a WPIAL basketball game in nearly a year. The Greensburg Salem senior guard hadn’t taken the court since April 11 when he tore his ACL in an AAU game in Lancaster. Right might be expected when Thomas finally returned Tuesday for a home game against...
Notre Dame latest Power 5 school to offer Belle Vernon sophomore Quinton Martin
Colleges are not offering Belle Vernon’s sensational sophomore too early. They’re right on “Q”. Quinton Martin, the fast-rising running back, defensive back — OK, athlete — bagged another Power Five scholarship offer Thursday and it’s a big one. Notre Dame reached out to the 6-foot-3, 195-pounder after Fighting Irish offensive...
Westmoreland girls basketball notebook: Yough making major strides
Scores can be indicative of how far struggling programs have come — a measurement of improvement. For Yough, three results stand out on the schedule. The Cougars (3-9, 1-3 heading into Wednesday night’s game against No. 4 Southmoreland) did not win any of the three — they weren’t favored to...
Norwin girls basketball team shows grit, chemistry
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...
Westmoreland campus clippings: Bryan Butler named women’s soccer coach at Saint Vincent
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 puts clamps on Norwin during Section 3-6A victory
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...
W&J baseball standout Tyler Horvat a preseason All-American
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....
Westmoreland campus clippings: National honor for Shippenburg’s Zollinger, her staff
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...
Westmoreland high school notebook: Brunson done as Mt. Pleasant AD
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...
Westmoreland Campus Clippings: UPG women win 3rd straight
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...
Hempfield alum Kason Harrell scores 56 in Irish pro league game
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...
Chartiers Valley rides 3-pointers to win vs. Norwin
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 notebook: Kranitz’s runner-up finish helps Knights finish 7th at WCCA tournament
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...
Opponents taking notice of Norwin’s ‘Waldo’ Fleming
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...
Franklin Regional notebook: FR grad Kadyn Hannah makes quick impact at La Roche
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....
Westmoreland high school notebook: Jeannette girls hoops nears return
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’s win over Hempfield has football feel
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 coach Gene Brisbane hits 400-win milestone
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 wins back-and-forth tilt vs. Apollo-Ridge
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...
Westmoreland high school boys basketball notebook: Latrobe goes young
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...
Carrying on a family tradition in Latrobe boys basketball? The Butlers did it
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...
Westmoreland high school girls basketball notebook: Greensburg Salem’s Mankins is ‘irreplaceable’
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...
Belle Vernon junior Kreis leans on WNBA exposure
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...
