Bill Beckner stories, Page 144
Power surge puts Norwin grad JJ Matijevic on doorstep of major leagues
Left, right, center. Doesn’t matter. JJ Matijevic can spray the baseball all over the park — and deep into the bleachers — with some of the best middle-order hitters in the minor leagues. But the Norwin graduate wants to prove he can hit home runs in the majors, too. He...
Mother-to-be Katie Miller Gee claims 10-shot win at PA Mid-Amateur
Katie Miller Gee took a one-stroke lead into the final round of the Pennsylvania Women’s Golf Association Mid-Amateur on Tuesday. Then, she hit the accelerator and raced past everybody. No bumps on this road. Well, maybe one. Miller Gee, the newly named girls golf coach at her alma mater of...
Westmoreland college notebook: Hempfield grad Mackenna Orie finds fit at Arizona
College athletes say it all the time. Their school didn’t “fit,” so they bolted for another one that did. Or, at least that is the idea. That was the case with Mackenna Orie, the former Hempfield standout thrower who announced recently she is leaving one Division I track and field...
With a clothing line, Spencer Lee is in fast lane of NIL movement
“Excuses are for wusses.” You would be hard pressed to find four words that inspired a fan base more than those spoken by Spencer Lee during last season’s NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships. After the Iowa star out of Franklin Regional revealed he had competed — and won his third...
Latrobe grad Brady Pevarnik changing course to Bowling Green
Brady Pevarnik’s college golf career is barely off the first tee, but he is chomping at the bit, ready to prove himself at the Division I level. In search of continuity and a clean bill of health, the former Latrobe standout is on his third college after deciding to transfer...
Greensburg Salem grad Jeff Mankins to play golf at Division I Towson
After limited action and a general growing feeling of discomfort at IUP, Jeff Mankins is leaving the golf program. With three years of eligibility remaining, the Greensburg Salem graduate is transferring to Towson, meaning he will go from a Division II team to one that plays at the Division-I level....
Sewickley’s Carol Semple Thompson returns to competition at U.S. Senior Women’s Open
When career amateur Carol Semple Thompson tees off Thursday, she will make more USGA history. The Sewickley native will have played in more USGA events than anyone — ever. “I believe I have played in 116,” she said earlier this week during a lead-up press conference to the U.S. Senior...
Chris Klimchock looks forward to guiding Pitt-Greensburg men’s basketball in hometown
Chris Klimchock used to be a ball boy at Jeannette boys basketball practices. A peanut-sized toddler who could barely lift a basketball let alone dribble it, he took in the sights and sounds from his father, Rick, who coached the Jayhawks from 1992-2006. He was always in the gym. He...
Hempfield alum Mackenna Orie leaving DePaul track and field program
Mackenna Orie is changing college track and field programs. The former Hempfield standout thrower is transferring from DePaul and will now fling heavy objects at Arizona. Orie just completed her sophomore season. She will join one of the WPIAL’s most decorated and prodigious throwers at Arizona in record-breaker Jordan Geist....
Norwin grad Emily Harrigan starting fresh at Pitt after injury-plagued stint at Rutgers
Calling her next move “a leap of faith,” Emily Harrigan is giving her college soccer career a restart as she gets set to play for Pitt this fall. The former Norwin star who was a two-time Tribune-Review Player of the Year, Harrigan had her patience tested numerous times as injuries...
Legendary Hempfield softball coach Bob Kalp, 7-time WPIAL champ, retires
Bob Kalp carried the torch for the Hempfield softball program until it burned his arm. The coach of the Spartans and face of the program for three decades — 25 years as head coach — is stepping down after a storied career in the WPIAL. Kalp, 76, won seven WPIAL...
Field set for Tre Cunningham memorial basketball tournament
The field is set for the inaugural Tre Cunningham Memorial Basketball Tournament to be played Friday and Saturday at the Jeannette High School gymnasium. Eight high school boys teams will compete in a double-elimination bracket. The event is sponsored by the Jeannette Educational Foundation. Funds will go toward a scholarship...
Penn-Trafford lineman pops up on recruiting radar
Declan Ochendowski knew he wanted to play college football, but it wasn’t that long ago that the incoming senior at Penn-Trafford doubted he would draw attention from Division I programs. The size was there. Penn-Trafford will have one of the largest lines in the WPIAL this fall (more on that...
Sal Frelick, first round pick with Greensburg ties, gets hefty signing bonus from Milwaukee Brewers
Sal Frelick went undrafted out of high school but built his brand in college, watched his stock rise and became a sought-after prospect. On Tuesday, the first-round draft pick became a millionaire. Frelick, a Lexington (Mass.) product with ties to Greensburg, signed a contract with the Milwaukee Brewers. Terms of...
Southmoreland to honor late alumnus with football helmet sticker
Remembered as a teammate who could lighten the mood when football created tense moments like it can, Brandon Peterson left quite an impression on the Southmoreland football team. He is missed more every day. The team will honor their fallen friend by wearing his number 15 on the back of...
Trib HSSN Preseason WPIAL Football All-Star team: Cade Yacamelli, Penn-Trafford
The Tribune-Review and the TribLive High School Sports Network are profiling each member of the 25-player Trib HSSN Preseason Football All-Star team. The players will be recognized Thursday during HSSN Media Day at Kennywood Park. For more than two years, Cade Yacamelli ate like there was no tomorrow. Three heavy...
Jeannette basketball coach Adrian Batts adds athletic director duties
A familiar face was hired Monday night as the new athletic director at Jeannette. Adrian Batts, a boys basketball coach in the district for 16 years — 13 as the head coach — will take over AD duties immediately. He replaces Ryan Hayden, who resigned from the part-time position after...
Westmoreland high school notebook: Waldier on his way back again
Tristan Waldier is back on the field for the Yough football team, medically cleared after season-ending knee injuries two years in a row. Waldier, who returned to action at the WCCA 7-on-7 tournament last week at Latrobe, tore the ACL in his right knee in Week 4 last season. That...
Trib HSSN Preseason WPIAL Football All-Star team: Devin Whitlock, Belle Vernon
The Tribune-Review and the TribLive High School Sports Network are profiling each member of the 25-player Trib HSSN Preseason Football All-Star team. The players will be recognized Thursday during HSSN Media Day at Kennywood Park. Devin Whitlock plays football in cursive. Whether he is taking a handoff and speed-bursting up...
Norwin alum Metzger expects smooth transition as new coach of girls soccer team
When she begins her new job, Diane Metzger said she will not have to focus on fixing something that isn’t broken. That is for sure. The new Norwin girls soccer coach, who is an alum and former goal-scorer for the Knights, knows what kind of program she is about to...
Westmoreland notebook: Southmoreland duo could become IUP teammates
IUP has an eye on two Southmoreland basketball standouts. The Crimson Hawks landed one and hope to get the other. Rising senior forward Gracie Spadaro gave IUP a verbal commitment Saturday, only days after receiving an offer. Junior point guard Olivia Cernuto, meantime, might mull over her offer a little...
New Spartans coach Brown eager to turn Hempfield football into winners
When he was an assistant at Robert Morris, Mike Brown recruited football players from Hempfield, so he was familiar with the program. That he is a Penn-Trafford grad also added to his knowledge of the success-starved Spartans. Brown knows about the ire of fans and alumni, even the casual observer,...
Trib HSSN Preseason WPIAL Football All-Star team: Anthony Speca, Central Catholic
The Tribune-Review and the TribLive High School Sports Network are profiling each member of the 25-player Trib HSSN Preseason Football All-Star team. The players will be recognized July 22 during HSSN Media Day at Kennywood Park. The leading tackler as a freshman at Central Catholic, Anthony Speca immediately became a...
Liam Ponsonby, 7, ascends in world of motocross racing
Liam Ponsonby just turned 7. He has been riding motorcycles for about a year, but he sure knows his way around the mini machine and the tracks on which he competes. Forget about being able to reach the handle bars. Ponsonby is reaching for championships. Ponsonby, who is going into...
Norwin product Phipps to help coach Seton Hill
Former Norwin and Bucknell wrestling standout Drew Phipps will join the staff at Seton Hill as a graduate assistant. Phipps served as an assistant at Bucknell, which he graduated from in 2020, last season. He piled up 99 wins at the collegiate level and was a two-time NCAA qualifier and...
