Bill Beckner stories, Page 184
Notre Dame standout, Franklin Regional grad Palmer Jackson receives local golf award
Each time he swats a drive down the center of the fairway with a gentle cut or hard fade, Palmer Jackson improves his game. With each flip wedge or curling putt, he is dialing in to something more. Whether it is physical swing mechanics or a sharper mental approach, Jackson...
Westmoreland high school notebook: No decision yet on 7-on-7 tournament
The waiting game continues for the Westmoreland County Coaches Association 7-on-7 football championship. Don’t write off the event just yet. The county organization wants to have the annual passing tournament July 18 as scheduled but needs the go-ahead from the state in the way of Gov. Tom Wolf’s phased return...
PIAA’s spring sports cancellation especially tough for new softball, baseball coaches
Bob Kovalcin did not coach a game this season at Latrobe, but the man who came out of retirement to lead the Wildcats softball team has spent the last couple of weeks conducting exit meetings with his players. The asterisk-stamped season never happened because it was claimed by coronavirus restrictions....
Mix of excitement, anxiety as Derry prepares to start Westmoreland County Baseball League action
Derry Legion baseball manager Joe Lynch is as eager as he is nervous to see a return of summer baseball. The revamped Westmoreland County American League Baseball, a slight deviation from the District 31 league that will return in 2021, is set to begin next weekend. New safety guidelines will...
Bushy Run eager to play ball again but still looking for home field
A Westmoreland County league champion in two of the last three years, Bushy Run is eager to start the summer baseball season. There is one slight problem: The team does not have a home field — yet. “We play in about a little more than week, so it’s tough,” manager...
Travel softball teams returning to action, trying to get used to coronavirus guidelines
Travel softball will return to Pennsylvania later this month and players and coaches, particularly those who missed out on the high school season, are bubbling with anticipation to play again. When they finally return to the field, they will be met with a laundry list of new safety guidelines brought...
IUP’s Dan Braun named top golf coach in Atlantic Region
The college golf season was cut short by coronavirus restrictions, but IUP coach Dan Braun continues to clean up with postseason awards. A small but impressive body of work in 2019-20 has garnered Braun the Atlantic Region Coach of the Year. The award was announced by the Golf Coaches Association...
Former Franklin Regional coach Doug Kelly expected to get Penn-Trafford boys basketball job
Doug Kelly is the recommended candidate to be the next boys basketball coach at Penn-Trafford. He is expected to be approved at the next school board meeting, set for June 15, according to a source. The district advertised in-house first and then posted the job online for a couple of...
Former assistant Amber Cernuto takes over Southmoreland girls basketball program
While taking a year off for personal reasons, Amber Cernuto was able to watch Southmoreland girls basketball from a different vantage point. She didn’t mind buying tickets to see this team play. Even from the bleachers, the former assistant coach could see the budding talent and potential from a group...
Senior Spotlight: Freeport 2-sport standout left her mark on diamond
Editor’s note: Each day, Trib HSSN will spotlight WPIAL spring athletes whose senior years were cut short by the coronavirus pandemic. Tori Radvan will have plenty of memories from her prep sports career. Wins and hardware. Home run trots and match-turning spikes. The senior from Freeport was a standout softball...
Saint Vincent’s Sleith hangs up cleats to get head start on coaching career at alma mater
Regrets? Surprisingly, you won’t get any from Alona Sleith. A softball star at Saint Vincent who had two years left to play, Sleith gave up the game to try her hand at coaching. A former all-region and all-conference player who led the Bearcats in batting average (.392) and RBIs (40)...
Senior Spotlight: Frazier softball star who started PIAA petition made her voice heard
Editor’s note: Each day, Trib HSSN will spotlight WPIAL spring athletes whose senior years were cut short by the coronavirus pandemic. No one can question whether Emi Curcio’s voice was heard. The proof lies in an online petition she set up a few months ago. One that generated a brow-raising...
Westmoreland high school notebook: Softball teams still taking it 1 game at a time
Baseball is going to two-game, home-and-home series on consecutive days for section games next season. Think of Penn-Trafford hosting Norwin on a Monday, then traveling to play the Knights on Tuesday. But imagine if the new look also was added to softball. Granted, baseball has pitch-count rules, and softball does...
Latrobe honors senior A.J. Rock with Findley Scholarship
Latrobe saw fit to honor three-sport athlete A.J. Rock with its second Charles U. Findley Endowed Fund Scholarship. Rock, a senior who played football, wrestled and ran track, plans to attend the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and will begin his service in July. A team leader, Rock was...
Mt. Pleasant grad Peyton Clark named Jeannette girls soccer coach
With 16 players signed up for the fall season, Jeannette’s girls soccer team is not hurting for numbers. And with interest up organically, the Jayhawks’ new coach won’t have to do much recruiting. Peyton Clark was named coach this week, and she is anxious to get started when summer workouts...
Senior Spotlight: Catcher Hannah Christner was a hit for Yough softball
Editor’s note: Each day, Trib HSSN will spotlight WPIAL spring athletes whose senior years were cut short by the coronavirus pandemic. Softball teams coached by Art “Dutch” Harvey are expected to bring air-tight defense to the field every game. Harvey, the coach at Yough, expects nothing less than error-free play....
Senior Spotlight: Penn-Trafford’s Robbins finds confidence during ‘miracle’ lacrosse career
Editor’s note: Each day, Trib HSSN will spotlight WPIAL spring athletes whose senior years were cut short by the coronavirus pandemic. John Robbins uses the word miracle to describe his lacrosse ventures. He literally holds his varsity letter close to his heart. “Four years ago, I was considered not good...
Aspiring sports broadcaster from Latrobe wins inaugural Rick Starr Award
In the not too distant future, Hannah Mears envisions herself standing on the sideline at a packed professional stadium or arena, microphone in hand and dream realized, chiming in on what is happening in the big game. The recent Penn State graduate already can’t wait for the first timeout so...
Greensburg Salem grad Claire Oberdorf honored as Marist’s co-Sports Person of the Year
Even though she made it look easy, Claire Oberdorf doesn’t own a copyright notice for playing two sports at a Division I school. The taxing feat has been done before and probably will be attempted again. She owned the endeavor, nonetheless. But here is what sets her apart from the...
H.S. notebook: Baseball, softball sections get new look next spring
WPIAL baseball and softball will take on a different look next spring. The league realigned its sections for the 2020-21 season, and a number of Westmoreland teams will move to new classifications and sections. Three area baseball teams — Penn-Trafford, Derry and Mt. Pleasant — are dropping one classification. Penn-Trafford...
Senior Spotlight: Thomas Jefferson pitcher overcame obstacles to become one of WPIAL’s best
Editor’s note: Each day, Trib HSSN will spotlight WPIAL spring athletes whose senior years were cut short by the coronavirus pandemic. Bella Bucy was born with a rare, congenital hand condition called symbrachydactyly. The Thomas Jefferson senior has underdeveloped, shorter fingers on her right hand. As a result, she was...
Connellsville’s Luke Peperak headed to Pitt
All-state forward Luke Peperak is taking his soccer talents to Pitt, where he hopes to follow in his brother’s footsteps. The senior from Connellsville will graduate with the most goals in his school’s history (87). He netted 33 as a senior. His brother, Alex, played at Pitt from 2016-19 and...
Carnegie Mellon golfer Jason Li finalist for national player of the year award
The last two years, he was a semifinalist. Now, Jason Li is a step closer to winning a prestigious golf award. Li, a junior at Carnegie Mellon and a graduate of Sewickley Academy, is a finalist for the NCAA Division III Jack Nicklaus National Player of the Year Award, presented...
Hempfield grad Kason Harrell shines in Irish league, hopes for G League opportunity
Adjusting to the time change in Ireland was a challenge, and not drawing a whistle when he attacked the rim like Michael Jordan used to against the “Bad Boy” Detroit Pistons also took some getting used to. Kason Harrell learned the Irish eat large quantities of potatoes, night life in...
Senior Spotlight: Elizabeth Forward’s Pinneri puts out fires on, off the field
The softball seemed suspended in the air before it drifted into foul territory at Latrobe. Jordan Pinneri gave chase late in last year’s WPIAL Class 4A championship, sprinting and eventually corralling the putout behind first base. It was a defensive gem but, more importantly, the second out in a 1-2-3...
