Bill Beckner stories, Page 15

Standouts Toryn Fulton and Ciara Camacho are finally seniors — it seems like they have been in the Panthers lineup for much longer than four years — so that means one more season of bashing softballs to the gaps and over fences. The pair of Division I recruits will look...

It is not often that a WPIAL softball team can say it has two Division I-level pitchers on the same staff. Opponents might get to see both of them in the same game. Hempfield features a high-level duo in senior Riley Miller and junior Julia Varhola, who bring a combination...

Latrobe freshman Natalia Scekeres found out only minutes before her first varsity softball game she would be leading off. She took it in stride and embraced the opportunity, and the Wildcats followed her lead. “I wasn’t nervous,” the up-and-coming shortstop said. “We know we can hit. If our bats come...

One Westmoreland County baseball team was in midseason form for spring training. Franklin Regional opened the season with a three-game sweep at the Jackie Robinson Sports Complex in Vero Beach, Fla. The Panthers (3-0) defeated Wissahickon, 7-2, in the first game as Jonah Willochell pitched five strong innings. Liam Bernadowski...

Pitt-Johnstown redshirt junior Isaiah Vance (Hempfield) finished as a national runner-up at the NCAA Division II wrestling championships in Indianapolis. Vance is now a two-time All-American. The fifth seed, Vance won with a couple of decisions and a major decision to reach the finals, then lost to Maryville’s Ryan Heerman,...

A new spring season has arrived, and a number of local baseball and softball teams made the TribLive HSSN preseason rankings. For baseball, Hempfield starts the spring at No. 3 in Class 6A, Belle Vernon is No. 3 in Class 4A and Greensburg Central Catholic is No. 4 in A....

As the late Tom Petty sang, waiting is the hardest part. Greensburg Central Catholic earned a spot in the PIAA Class 2A boys basketball semifinals but has to sit a week between games. The Centurions (26-3) will play Sewickley Academy (23-5) at noon Saturday at Peters Township in the western...

With blood dripping from his elbow, Samir Crosby had to come out of the game and have a teammate shoot the second of his two free throws late in his team’s most important basketball game of the season. “It’s always physical when we play Jeannette. Honestly, I didn’t think I...

Cam Rowell knew he wanted to make a fast impact in the Presidents Athletic Conference. An array of steals, fast-break layups and punctuation slam dunks later, the Washington & Jefferson freshman is a rookie of the year. Rowell, a Franklin Regional graduate, capped his debut basketball season by winning the...

A Norwin graduate claimed a major award in Presidents Athletic Conference basketball. Grove City senior guard Mara Polczynski was named the conference defensive player of the year. Polczynski, known for her ability to force turnovers in the backcourt, had 80 steals and led the Wolverines with 6.5 per game. She...

A section championship. A runner-up finish in the WPIAL. Another trip to the state playoffs. The Norwin girls basketball team’s season finally came to an end with a 49-38 loss at Altoona in the PIAA 6A first round. The Knights finished 15-8 a year after winning their third WPIAL title...

The Seton Hill women’s basketball team took a 15-point lead into halftime and went on to hold back Kutztown, 89-75, in the first round of the NCAA Division II Tournament at Edinboro. The Griffins (24-6), who set a single-season program record for wins since the team joined the NCAA in...

Good weather doesn’t have much of a track record at this time of year, so it was somewhat surprising that the softball season started on time Friday, a sun-splashed opening day and 70-plus-degree temperatures greeting WPIAL teams. What wasn’t surprising was Hempfield starting a new season with a victory. “It...

Boys Class 2A Quarterfinals Jeannette (25-2) vs. Greensburg Central Catholic (25-3) Noon Saturday at Norwin District-seed: Jeannette 7-1; Greensburg Central Catholic 7-5 Winner plays: Winner of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart (21-7)/Sewickley Academy (22-5) in semifinals March 22 (time, site TBD) Coaches: Adrian Batts, Jeannette (16th year); Christian Hyland,...

Two basketball teams from Westmoreland County remain in the PIAA postseason. They will face each other this weekend for a spot in the Class 2A boys final four. That the matchup is one of the county’s best rivalries is a treat for local fans. Jeannette (25-2) and Greensburg Central Catholic...

Liam Gallagher wore a different jersey number in the PIAA basketball second round, going with No. 4 instead of his usual 14. The old jersey wasn’t available to the senior guard from Greensburg Central Catholic, but there is a reason. “I ripped it in half after the Union (loss in...

With six Division I college commits, Hempfield is primed for another run at WPIAL and PIAA championships. Of course, last year did not include any titles, but the Spartans are refocused — and humbled — after they were dealt a surprising loss by Norwin in the WPIAL 6A semifinals. High...

This was not the same Our Lady of the Sacred Heart team that Greensburg Central Catholic beat to advance to the WPIAL finals 18 days earlier. No, this was an entirely different opponent from the tip to the final horn, and this version will go down as the team that...

Jeannette boys basketball coach Adrian Batts said he was concerned Saturday as his team prepared to open the PIAA playoffs. It wasn’t that he thought Jeannette was going to lose. It was just the uniqueness of following a WPIAL title that made him unsure of what to expect. “It was...

Boys Class 2A Jeannette (24-2) vs. Northern Cambria (15-12) 7 p.m. Wednesday at Greater Johnstown High School District seeds: Jeannette 7-1; Northern Cambria (15-12) 6-2 Winner plays: Winner of 7-5 Greensburg Central Catholic (24-3)/7-4 Neshannock (22-4) Saturday in quarterfinals (time, site TBD) Players to watch: Markus McGowan, Jeannette; Caleb Dolney,...

Seton Hill will play in the NCAA Division II women’s basketball tournament for the first time in 15 years. Accepting an at-large bid Monday, the third-seeded Griffins (23-6) will begin play at noon on Friday against No. 6 Kutztown (22-11) at Edinboro’s McComb Fieldhouse in Erie. Seton Hill beat Kutztown...

A pair of local products claimed major awards in Presidents’ Athletic Conference basketball. Grove City senior guard Mara Polczynski (Norwin) was named the conference defensive player of the year, while Washington & Jefferson freshman guard Cam Rowell (Franklin Regional) claimed newcomer of the year honors. Polczynski, known for her ability...

Boys Class 5A Second round Latrobe (21-6) vs. Greater Johnstown (25-1) 7 p.m. Tuesday at Pitt-Johnstown District-seed: Latrobe 7-6; Greater Johnstown 6-1 Winner plays: Winner of Chartiers Valley (24-3)/Montour (25-2) on Friday in quarterfinals (time, site TBD) Players to watch: John Wetzel, Latrobe; Dante Tisinger, Greater Johnstown Layup lines: Latrobe...

The win meant everything to Brad Wetzel. Everything. The four-hour bus trip home across the state Friday night from Exeter Township was a joy ride. The 23rd-year coach enjoyed every second of Latrobe’s victory, including celebrating it with his son, John, the senior point guard. Assistant coach Eric Butler, Wetzel’s...

When Franklin Regional saw what Seneca Valley was doing, the district decided to sprinkle a little salt on its athletics programs — S.A.L.T. that is. The acronym stands for Student Athlete Leadership Team, a program Franklin Regional formed to enhance and direct forward its sports teams and athletes. Think of...