Bill Beckner stories, Page 173
WPIAL golf notes: Changes made to girls team tournament format
The WPIAL golf committee moved one of its postseason tournaments to a new venue. The girls Class AAA and AA team tournaments will now be played Monday at Connoquenessing Country Club in Ellwood City. Normally, the girls and boys finals are played at the same site in mid-October at Cedarbrook...
Westmoreland high school boys soccer notebook: Franklin Regional suddenly in seeding talk
One game does not a season make. But can one loss make a playoff seeding? Franklin Regional (7-1) took a rare defeat this week, falling to Section 4-3A neighbor Plum, 2-1, to snap the Panthers’ 45-game unbeaten streak in the regular season. South Fayette and Thomas Jefferson have tied high-toned...
WPIAL Class AA boys championship preview: Sewickley Academy strong again
WPIAL Class AA boys golf championship 9 a.m. Thursday, Allegheny Country Club, Sewickley 2019 champion: JF Aber, Sewickley Academy The field: 44 players will compete for the district title. The breakdown by county — Allegheny (20), Lawrence (8), Westmoreland (5), Beaver (4), Butler (2), Washington (2), Greene (2), Fayette (1)....
WPIAL Class AA girls golf championship preview: Quaker Valley’s Bulger looks for repeat
WPIAL Class AA girls golf championship 10:52 a.m. Thursday, Allegheny Country Club, Sewickley 2019 champion: Eva Bulger, Quaker Valley The field: There are only 12 players in a normally small tournament, and the girls are playing at the same site as the boys, which is not a normal occurrence in...
H.S. football notebook: Jeannette defense getting offensive
Jeannette’s defense is starting to reveal its athleticism and potential. The Class A third-ranked Jayhawks recorded two defensive touchdowns for the second straight week. After allowing 34 points to Clairton in Week 1, Jeannette has yielded six points. Kaelan Piscar returned a blocked punt 10 yards for a score, and...
Norwin soccer player tackles challenges presented by cystic fibrosis
While most students are still sleeping, hours away from their phone alarm sounding to get them up for school, Sydney Willig is up before the sun, wide awake and confronting a disease. She sits up in bed while wearing a vibrating vest, uses two nebulizers and takes numerous medications —...
Westmoreland girls soccer notebook: Loaded with underclassmen, Latrobe on the rise
Latrobe has senior leadership on the soccer field but don’t sleep on the underclassmen who have blended in well and could spell a bright future for the program. “Our team dynamics have shifted quite drastically,” Wildcats girls coach Jamie Morrison said. Latrobe lost only two players to graduation in Madison...
Yough quarterback Tristan Waldier suffers another season-ending injury
In a couple of days, Yough went from not-so-bad news to the worst news of all regarding their starting quarterback. For the second straight year, Tristan Waldier will have his season cut short by a knee injury. Waldier, who injured his right knee in Friday night’s 41-9 loss to South...
Plum boys soccer takes down top-ranked Franklin Regional
Plum senior forward D.D. Flowers thinks his team has as good a chance as anyone to compete for a WPIAL title in Class 3A. After upsetting the two-time defending WPIAL champions, the Mustangs certainly strengthened their case. Flowers had a goal and assisted on another as No. 3 Plum took...
Westmoreland County campus clippings: WCCC women’s cross country nationally ranked
With two wins in as many races to open the season, the Westmoreland County Community College women’s cross country team finds itself in elite company. For the first time, WCCC is ranked No. 2 in the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association national poll. WCCC won...
Trib HSSN WPIAL boys and girls soccer rankings for Sept. 28, 2020
Through Saturday’s games Girls Class 4A 1. Fox Chapel (5-0) 2. Peters Township (4-0) 3. Butler (5-0) 4. North Allegheny (4-1) 5. Mt. Lebanon (3-1) Class 3A 1. Mars (5-0) 2. Plum (4-0) 3. Belle Vernon (4-1) 4. Connellsville (3-0) 5. Franklin Regional (5-0) Class 2A 1. North Catholic (4-0)...
Westmoreland high school football notebook: Latrobe holds its own
It was a nonconference game that probably won’t get much attention, but it had plenty of fireworks, nonetheless. The bold-faced headline? Underdog Latrobe went score-for-score with a ranked opponent in a Class 5A shootout. The Wildcats fell to No. 5 Upper St. Clair on Friday at Memorial Stadium, 52-45. They...
Latrobe football seeking opponent for next week
Latrobe suddenly is looking for an opponent for next week after Gateway had to shut down activities because of a covid-19 issue. Two Gateway students tested positive for covid-19, forcing the school to close down for five days. As a result, this past Friday night’s Gateway vs. Pine-Richland nonconference game...
Franklin Regional girls volleyball embraces No. 1 ranking
When the Western Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association released its first set of rankings for the new season, Franklin Regional players and coaches were surprised, thrilled and honored to see their team No. 1 in Class AAA. “We were very excited,” senior outside hitter Nicole Currens said. “We were saying how...
Norwin runners benefit from strength-in-numbers mentality
Norwin cross country isn’t always about crossing the finish line first. Or last, for that matter. Coach Brian Fleckenstein likes to take to social media, particularly Twitter, to make the sport more fun. It is something that has bonded his runners. “Running is hard,” the coach said. “Our sport is...
Norwin notebook: Girls soccer team’s long section winning streak comes to close
Norwin girls soccer coaches and players were not altogether thrilled when the WPIAL two-year realignment cycle brought some change to their section. They couldn’t have been. That’s because Fox Chapel was added to the mix in Section 3-4A. That immediately drew concern. After all, the Foxes almost upset Norwin in...
Mt. Pleasant defense bottles up SouthmorelandVideo
Mt. Pleasant leaned on its defense to keep Southmoreland from making it three straight wins in their historic, 46-game series that dates back 56 years. It was one big stiff-arm for the Vikings who, the rivalry aside, suddenly are a half-game out of first place in the Interstate Conference. The...
WPIAL committee to meet to discuss potential tweaks to soccer playoff format
The WPIAL soccer playoffs could look similar to previous years, but that is not a certainty as a condensed, 32-day regular season winds into late September. A format change could be in order when the WPIAL soccer committee meets next Friday to review the season. As it stands, the top...
After short stay in minors, Chase Rowe returns to La Roche baseball
It’s as if Chase Rowe never left. Rowe, who resigned as the baseball coach at La Roche last year to take a job in the minor leagues, has returned to lead the Redhawks once again. A Knoch and Slippery Rock graduate, Rowe had been the hitting coach for the Norwich...
Norwin boys soccer uses quick-strike offense to top Penn-Trafford
Scoring early has become a trend for the Norwin boys soccer team. The Knights found the net 13 seconds in against Connellsville and struck inside the first five minutes against Latrobe. Fast starts have helped keep the fifth-ranked Knights ahead — and unbeaten. On Thursday night, it was more of...
Westmoreland County don’t miss high school football matchups for Week 3
Class 6A Hempfield (1-1, 1-1) at Mt. Lebanon (0-1, 0-1) 7 p.m. Friday, Mt. Lebanon Stadium, Mt. Lebanon After beating Norwin in Week 1, the Spartans were punchless offensively and were blanked by third-ranked Seneca Valley, 38-0. The Raiders held Hempfield to 59 yards rushing. … Mt. Lebanon began the...
Mt. Pleasant boys soccer dominates out of the gates
In soccer, defense often leads to offense. But there are cases where the opposite is true. Take Mt. Pleasant, which shut out its first four opponents by a combined score of 28-0. “Our offense definitely is where our momentum comes from, but we have a strong defense that keeps us...
Westmoreland boys soccer notebook: Franklin Regional still doing what it does best
Franklin Regional allowed a goal in its second game of the season. And another in the fourth. A cause for alarm in Murrysville? Not exactly. The two-time defending WPIAL champion Panthers are 5-0 and doing what they do best: possess the ball, keep it away from opponents and prey on...
H.S. football notebook: Derry’s backup plan working out at QB
When Paul Koontz, a senior who has proven himself as the starting quarterback at Derry, went down with a season-ending knee injury, the Trojans did not panic. Koontz was a third-year starter. But first-year coach Vince Skillings knew he had a formidable backup waiting in the wings in senior Nick...
Westmoreland County girls soccer notebook: Norwin tackling tough section schedule
Norwin girls soccer coaches and players were not altogether thrilled when the WPIAL two-year realignment cycle brought some change to their section. They couldn’t have been, mainy because of one team. Fox Chapel was added to the mix in Section 3-4A. That immediately drew concern. After all, the Foxes almost...
