Bill Beckner stories, Page 179
Family tradition helps convince former GCC standout Klimchock to transfer from Clarion to Bethany
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...
Supporters rally behind Greensburg Salem champion runner after ATV crash
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...
St. Francis tabs James Downer as AD
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...
Penn-Trafford football standout Ethan Carr takes his versatility to Villanova
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....
NJCAA moving fall sports, winter postseasons to spring
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...
New Yough football coach Chris Chunko tackling unorthodox offseason
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...
Hempfield state wrestling champ Ethan Berginc commits to Army
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...
NCAA Division III athletes won’t lose year of eligibility if teams play less than half a season
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...
Brett Craig, former Seton Hill lacrosse standout, to play for Philadelphia Barrage
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...
St. Francis coaches plan golf marathon for mental health awareness
As golf coaches at St. Francis (Pa.), Lisa Warrilow and Derek Tyson usually are the ones giving instruction, organizing practices, setting lineups and parading around in carts at college tournaments. But on July 22, they will be the players to watch. Warrilow, the women’s coach, and Tyson, who leads the...
Former Southmoreland softball slugger on mend after shoulder surgery
Adeline Nicholson pushed a rock up a hill for the better part of three years. A worsening shoulder injury nagged her college career and threatened to stop it. But somehow, Nicholson did not let it slow her down. She played through some pain at Slippery Rock for two years and...
Carnegie Mellon shuts down fall sports
With growing concern over the widespread coronavirus spike that has made its way to Allegheny County, Carnegie Mellon will not participate in fall sports, the university announced Wednesday. Sports that will be shelved are football, cross country, golf, soccer, tennis and women’s volleyball. All but football and volleyball field men’s...
Penn-Trafford sports workouts resume with safety modifications
Penn-Trafford resumed athletic workouts Tuesday but with new provisions to its health and safety guidelines. The school’s voluntary summer conditioning for fall sports teams was paused Friday after Gov. Tom Wolf gave clarification on mask-wearing for indoor and outdoor workouts and discussed the importance of self-quarantining after out-of-state trips. Penn-Trafford’s...
Division III Presidents’ Athletic Conference limits fall sports to league games
The NCAA Division III Presidents’ Athletic Conference will limit its fall sports teams’ schedules to conference games only, a move announced by the league Tuesday. All fall sports, except football, are looking at a start date of Sept. 1. Football teams are set to begin their nine-game schedules on Sept....
Former Mt. Pleasant softball standout changes course, transfers to Alderson Broaddus
Meadow Uncapher is hitting the reset button again on her college softball career. A rising junior out of Mt. Pleasant, Uncapher is leaving St. Francis (Pa.) to play at Alderson Broaddus (W.Va.). The move will take her from a Division I to a Division II program, but she believes it...
Seton Hill product Nate Davis inks pro hoops deal with team in Germany
Late in his senior season at Seton Hill, Nate Davis said the stars would have to align for him to continue playing basketball past college. He must have wished upon one because it’s happening. Davis, the second-leading scorer in Griffins history, is set to embark on a professional career after...
La Roche names Cody Golon as its lacrosse coach
La Roche turned to a former Seton Hill player and offensive-minded assistant to lead its men’s lacrosse program. The university announced the hiring of Cody Golon as its head coach. A former assistant at Peters Township High School and a Baldwin grad, Golon was an assistant at Seton Hill the...
Former Slippery Rock star Micah Till turns pro
Micah Till was a wrecking ball around the basket at Slippery Rock. The 6-foot-7, 250-pound forward could rebound with the best in NCAA Division II basketball, but he was far from one-dimensional. He graduated as the only Rock player with at least 1,000 points, 500 rebounds, 100 blocks, 100 steals...
Derry’s Bushey, Norwin’s Federovich overcame personal challenges to excel
Aidan Bushey and Matt Federovich do not know each other, but they have more than a few things in common. Both were star athletes at their respective high schools, Bushey at Derry and Federovich at Norwin. They were playmakers and lead-by-example teammates. Each will play a sport in college and...
West Penn Amateur postponed amid Allegheny County order
With an alarming increase of positive covid-19 cases surfacing daily in this corner of the state, the Western Pennsylvania Golf Association thought best to postpone one of its marquee events. The 120th West Penn Amateur, scheduled for July 6-7 at Allegheny Country Club, has been shelved until a later date...
Westmoreland County baseball notebook: Hot bats get Yough off to good start
Yough has been spending a lot of time on the basepaths so far in the Westmoreland County American League. And even more time clearing them. Through eight games, Yough (6-2) had scored 66 times to take a substantial lead in runs over the other eight teams in the summer wooden...
From Sidney Crosby to Jim Brown, ranking the greatest high school athletes of all time
Pro football legend Jim Brown was good at lacrosse. Jackie Robinson, long before he broke the color barrier in baseball, was a two-time tennis singles champion. Hockey suited pitcher Tom Glavine well, home run hitter Alex Rodriguez was a terrific quarterback, and NBA guard Danny Ainge, they say, could have...
Former GCC standout AnnaMarie Gatti promoted to assistant with St. Francis (Pa.) softball
When she played college softball, AnnaMarie Gatti was known as a drop-ball pitcher, one who could induce ground ball outs to stifle opposing rallies. But now that she has entered the coaching ranks, the former WPIAL star is on the rise. Gatti, an overpowering pitcher at Greensburg Central Catholic before...
Penn Hills’ Longue Vue Club celebrating 100th anniversary, gearing up for next year’s U.S. AmateurVideo
This place has come a longue way. Situated high atop Penn Hills Township, the venerable Longue Vue Club is celebrating its 100th anniversary with a look at its storied past and an eye toward a promising future. Longue Vue, a registered National Historic Place and one of the top multiservice...
Chartiers Valley hoops star Aislin Malcolm adds Penn State offer
Fast-rising basketball talent Aislin Malcolm welcomed another scholarship offer Wednesday as Penn State came calling. Malcolm, a 5-foot-10 guard and two-time WPIAL champion who has not lost a game in her high school career at Chartiers Valley, adds the Nittany Lions to an expanding list of offers. She has others...
