Bill Beckner stories, Page 175

The NCAA Division III Presidents’ Athletic Conference is postponing “high- and medium-contact” sports including football, men’s and women’s soccer, women’s volleyball and men’s and women’s cross country, to the spring because of the coronavirus outbreak. Women’s tennis and men’s and women’s golf, considered “low-contact” sports, are allowed to continue in...

The inaugural Western Pennsylvania Summer Baseball League, an offshoot of a WPIAL season that never happened because of the coronavirus outbreak, announced its playoff pairings. The single-elimination tournament has 24 teams and opening-round games begin Monday. The semifinals are set for Aug. 1 at Boyce-Mayview Park in Upper St. Clair....

Pitt-Greensburg is playing it safe. The university disclosed Thursday that it is postponing fall sports for the 2020 season amid continued concerns over the spread of coronavirus. The fall season normally runs from August to October and includes men’s and women’s soccer, women’s tennis, women’s volleyball, golf and cross country....

Another area college conference won’t play sports in the fall. The North Coast Athletic Conference announced Wednesday, “with tremendous regret,” it is suspending athletics until the end of December. The NCAC is an affiliate of NCAA Division III and features Allegheny College in Meadville as one of its members. The...

Referees could be wearing masks and gloves and using hand-held whistles in high school football games if proposed guidelines become the norm, and the PIAA moves forward with football season. A local official said the possible uniform additions for those wearing stripes could take effect this fall if there is...

The Western PA Bruins girls basketball program is known for producing Division I college recruits. Girls receiving scholarship offers and committing to top-level teams seems like an almost daily occurrence during the summer months. The outfit is like a factory when it comes to connecting talent to the next level....

Who knew a fluctuating and uncertain summer on the baseball diamond would turn out to be such a sure thing for Latrobe? The Jethawks not only jelled early in the new-look Westmoreland County American League but they kept the momentum on full blast and rolled to a regular-season title. Latrobe...

West Hempfield suspended play in the Westmoreland County American Baseball League over health concerns. As a result, it had its regular season record wiped away. The team was 4-5 but is now 0-0 and considered the last-place team out of nine in the standings. A West Hempfield player might have...

From their smiles and expressions to their in-game flair, Cody Sabol brings out the best in Pittsburgh sports greats through his paintings. The fast-rising, 24-year-old artist who graduated from Norwin has crafted stunning portraits of James Conner, Ben Roethlisberger, Sidney Crosby and many others. A speed-painter who also works as...

A pair of former WPIAL standouts from Westmoreland County are joining the coaching ranks as graduate assistants at Mercyhurst. Chris Ralph, a former top-tier goalkeeper for Penn State Behrend, will help with the men’s soccer team. Ralph is a Franklin Regional graduate. Devin Austin, meantime, who starred as a wrestler...

Face coverings, as mandatory and maligned as they are these days, don’t have to be dull. The masks, meant to guard against the spread of covid-19, can be jazzed up with a little creativity. Belle Vernon is using them as a fundraiser for its premier early-season soccer tournament. Proceeds from...

Nick Fleming did not have a junior baseball season at Norwin because the PIAA canceled fall athletics due to health concerns over the coronavirus. But that hasn’t stopped him from drawing attention from college programs. The 6-foot-3, 215-pound incoming senior received a pair of Division I scholarship offers this week,...

When Woody Hayes spoke, Vince Skillings listened. A former Derry football star who is taking the reins of his high school alma mater as a first-year head coach, Skillings played defensive back for the legendary Hayes at Ohio State. New coaches often bring new schemes. When asked if Derry will...

Two-sport athlete Claire Oberdorf, who just finished a decorated career at Marist, is among 259 Division I nominees for the NCAA Woman of the Year Award. Athletes from Division II and II also are eligible, with 126 and 220 nominees for those divisions. Of all the nominees, 128 played multiple...

Asa Klimchock is chasing rings. But the former Greensburg Central Catholic basketball player will do so with a different college program. Klimchock is transferring from Clarion, a Division II school in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference, to Bethany (W.Va.) of the Division III Presidents Athletic Conference. The 6-foot, 195-pound guard...

The Greensburg Salem track and field and cross country community, along with program supporters and friends alike, are rallying around recent alum Maddy Murtland, who was involved in a near-fatal ATV accident on July 6. Greensburg Salem track and field and cross country coach Nathan Snider started a GoFundMe page...

James Downer is set to take charge at St. Francis (Pa.) as the school’s new athletic director. He replaces Erika Renwick, who had been serving as interim AD. “This is a tremendous opportunity to join a university with a legacy of success and a profound commitment to intercollegiate athletics,” Downer...

Ethan Carr navigated unprecedented times in college football recruiting. He connected with coaches via his web cam and relied on his junior season highlights to do the rest of the talking during the most critical time in the process. Showcases and camps were wiped from his schedule and never happened....

The National Junior College Athletic Association is moving some of its fall sports to the spring due to health and safety concerns over covid-19. The adjusted plan for 2020-21 includes changing football, soccer and volleyball from fall to spring sports. Cross country and Division III women’s tennis will remain in...

Unorthodox and fluid, the first few months of Chris Chunko’s rookie year as a head football coach have been a slow but surprisingly steady process. The job did not come with a how-to manual, especially one that included a section on negotiating the effects of a global pandemic. Football has...

A PIAA wrestling championship scene-stealer has committed to an NCAA Division I program. Hempfield 113-pounder Ethan Berginc, the Class AAA state champion this past season, announced Thursday he will continue his mat career at Army. Berginc, an incoming senior who attends Jeannette but benefits from a co-op with Hempfield, defeated...

College athletes playing upcoming NCAA Division III sports during the covid-19 era will not have to burn a year of eligibility if their team completes 50% or less of its maximum contests. The decision to offer a blanket waiver for 2020-21 was announced Thursday by the D-III administrative committee. The...

Former Seton Hill All-American Brett Craig is extending his lacrosse career. Craig will play for the Philadelphia Barrage of Major League Lacrosse after spending the 2020 season with the Colorado Mammoth of the National Lacrosse League. Philadelphia announced its roster this week. A defensive standout, Craig played in eight games...