Bill Beckner stories, Page 176
Running game, defense take precedence at Norwin
With a nonexistent running game, a problem that was compounded by a multitude of injuries to its offensive line, Norwin struggled to move the football last season. Rifle-armed quarterback Jack Salopek threw it 303 times but often had to scramble to avoid a rush. Salopek is off to Western Michigan,...
Hempfield looks to stay healthy in 2020
Ninth-year coach Rich Bowen wonders what might have been last year had his Hempfield Spartans not been ravaged by injuries early in the season. An exciting offense, powered by star running back Nathan Roby, and a hold-it-together defense still allowed the Spartans to finish 4-6. But a 2-6 mark in...
Increased roster numbers boost Avella
Low roster numbers have plagued Avella before, but coach Ryan Cecchini can assure you, he’s shaken all he can from the bushes in the school district. He has exhausted his recruiting in the school halls options. The football team had between 12 and 16 players for summer workouts and, “We’ll...
Uptick in numbers helps Bentworth’s confidence
J.J. Knabb, a teacher at Bentworth who doubles as the football coach, took over lunch duty last year so he could get the word out about his team’s sparse roster. If there were football players camouflaged into the student body, his goal was to find them. “It gave me a...
Numbers up at Monessen, but Greyhounds are young
Rumblings about Monessen possibly folding its proud football program because of low roster numbers were quickly stamped out when Shane Swope was hired during the winter to lead the Greyhounds. Numbers actually began to grow over a coronavirus-disrupted spring and summer as Swope, a former Yough assistant, began his mission...
Westmoreland notebook: 5 soccer players on All-American game watchlist
Fifteen WPIAL players are up for the country’s premier soccer all-star game. Five hail from Westmoreland County. The watchlist for the 10th High School All-American Game was announced last week, and the WPIAL is well-represented, particularly on the girls side with 11 of the 30 nominees picked from Pennsylvania coming...
WPIAL volleyball teams grappling with indoor coronavirus safety restrictions
Girls volleyball teams in the WPIAL are beginning to feel like the walls are closing in on them. Volleyball is an outlier in the fall season because it is the only indoor sport, so it is up against tighter covid-19 safety guidelines. The virus, experts say, thrives in enclosed spaces,...
PAC tennis, golf teams join contact sports on sidelines
Saint Vincent was primed to begin women’s tennis season. Opening day at Grove City was less than a month away. Finally, there would be some real, live college sports played. Then the racket strings popped. Initially, the NCAA Division III Presidents’ Athletic Conference sought to play “low contact risk” sports...
GCC quarterback finds workout partner in Terrelle Pryor
Offseason training has made Nate Dlugos a better quarterback mechanically and has boosted his confidence. It also has given the Greensburg Central Catholic sophomore a pretty good practice partner. Dlugos has been throwing passes to Terrelle Pryor, the former Jeannette star and NFL free agent wide receiver. Dlugos and Pryor...
14 WPIAL players nominated for All-American soccer games
Fourteen WPIAL players have a chance to play in the country’s premier soccer all-star games. The watch list for the 10th High School All-American Game was announced this week and the WPIAL is well-represented, particularly on the girls side with 11 of the 30 nominees from Pennsylvania coming from District...
Washington & Jefferson grad Nick Vento earns Division III baseball all-decade honors
Coronavirus times gave D3baseball.com a chance to shine a spotlight on its best players a little ahead of schedule. With the pandemic wiping out the 2020 college season, the website had more time to compile a list of the top talent of the past 10 years. A former WPIAL player...
Passion for sport drives Seton Hill grad Jenna Kaufman to pro hoops career in Ireland
Jenna Kaufman was ready to sling her basketball high-tops over the telephone wires when she returned home to Damascus, Md. from Ireland following a year in the Victory Scholar program. By all accounts, her basketball career was complete. But after more time passed — more time that did not include...
WPIAL girls golf preview: GCC dynasty sets sights on 6th straight title
Since WPIAL girls golf went to two classifications in 2012, eight team champions have been crowned. But one team has hoarded the trophies handed out each October at Cedarbrook Golf Course. Greensburg Central Catholic has won the last five titles and has its sights on a six-peat as a new...
Northgate aims to end lengthy losing streak
Northgate had a young roster last year when it struggled and finished winless. The Flames’ losing streak, which dates to 2017, reached 24 games. But hope flickers on the eve of a new season. “We’ve been young the last couple years,” third-year coach Mike Fulmore said. “We have had some...
Greensburg native Rocco Mediate within reach of Phil Mickelson at PGA Tour Champions event
After 36 holes of the Charles Schwab Series, Phil Mickelson is in prime position to win his debut on the PGA Tour Champions. But a cigar-chomping veteran from Greensburg isn’t far behind on the leaderboard and is out to spoil Lefty’s fun at the rare, early-week tournament. Rocco Mediate followed...
Norwin track coach Harry ‘Bucky’ Hickle included family in passion
A championship family man and a championship coach, Harry Hickle was loyal to his loved ones and his student-athletes. If Norwin’s track and field teams were winning — and they won a lot — he was happy. Victories by the Pittsburgh Steelers, Pirates and Notre Dame didn’t hurt, either. Watching...
Seton Hill product Trevor Blondin reaches goal of professional basketball contract
Plan B never was an option for Trevor Blondin. The former Seton Hill basketball standout wanted to play his sport professionally. Make that, expected to play his sport professionally. “It’s something I’ve dreamed about since I was a kid,” Blondin said. “Anybody that’s ever asked me, ‘What do you want...
Charlie Swink leaving post as Southmoreland AD with pride
Charlie Swink was there to see the football team’s breakthrough season. He witnessed the championship run of the softball team, a state-championship wrestler and he looked on as the girls basketball team made history. But Swink’s days around the Southmoreland athletic department are over, at least for now. Swink recently...
Norwin grad Max McDowell earning his stripes with Yankees taxi squad
One day Max McDowell was out of a job, a pro baseball catcher with nowhere to play. The next he was wearing pinstripes and practicing on the hallowed grounds of Yankee Stadium. McDowell, a former Norwin standout who played with four teams in five years in the minor leagues but...
Gordon Vietmeier rallies to win Tri-State PGA Senior title
Gordon Vietmeier started the second round of the Tri-State PGA Senior Section Championship three shots behind Jim Cichra, who posted a pace-setting 65 to open the tournament. But as Cichra faded Friday, Vietmeier seized the opportunity and rallied for a one-shot win over Cichra and Joe Boros at Green Oaks...
Whole country might be watching what Pennsylvania decides about fall sports
The PIAA will meet at 3 p.m. Friday, presumably to make its final decision on the fate of fall high school sports in Pennsylvania. To play or not to play? The association’s action finally will give member schools a concrete initiative with which to move forward. It is not hyperbole...
Westmoreland County H.S. notebook: Another school, Southmoreland, needs an AD
Another Westmoreland County school district is looking for an athletic director. The local AD carousel continues to turn as Southmoreland has a vacancy after the resignation of Charlie Swink. The head of Scotties athletics since 2010, Swink plans to stay as the district’s transportation director. This means six county schools...
Western PA Bruins players continue to gather basketball offers
An extended “dead” period in NCAA recruiting during the covid-19 shutdown did not stand in the way of the Western PA Bruins girls AAU basketball program. The Bruins continue to be a prime target for Division I college coaches who know where to take their scholarship offers. Those offers have...
Ligonier Valley’s football schedule down to 5 games
Ligonier Valley is set to makes its WPIAL debut for its second stint in the league this fall. The Rams have not played in the WPIAL in 50 years. But the football team is hurting for games. The Rams will open the season — should it be played — with...
Oakmont’s Devin Gee wins Tri-State PGA match play event
Devin Gee continued his sizzling summer on the golf course. The head professional at storied Oakmont Country Club downed five opponents to capture the three-day Tri-State PGA OMEGA Match Play Championship at Southpointe Golf Club in Canonsburg. Gee, who earlier this season won the Tri-State Open, held off Sharon’s Denny...
