Bill Beckner stories, Page 185
After losing ace to graduation, Mt. Pleasant softball eager to prove doubters wrong
Mt. Pleasant had its 15 minutes of fame last season when it made the MaxPreps national softball rankings. The Vikings checked in at No. 18 late in the year and went on to play in the WPIAL Class 4A championship game and made the PIAA semifinals. (They lost both games...
Mt. Pleasant baseball hopes to use hard-nosed approach to earn another playoff bid
Like many teams, Mt. Pleasant baseball is not sure when it will play its first game, but at any rate, coach Chris Firmstone likes the makeup of his team. The Vikings’ season-opening trip to Myrtle Beach was canceled by the school district due to escalating safety concerns over the coronavirus....
Westmoreland campus clippings: Latrobe grad Biss picks up honors for Shippensburg
Shippensburg basketball standout Jake Biss had a career season, and his efforts were recognized. The junior from Latrobe was named to the Division II Conference Commissioners Association (D2CCA) All-Atlantic Region First Team. Biss, who was the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Eastern Division Athlete of the Year, was the point guard...
Westmoreland notebook: European trip on hold for Penn-Trafford soccer standout Schlessinger
Nathan Schlessinger’s soccer career is beginning to take off. The sophomore from Penn-Trafford was selected to play for the 2004 Olympic Development Program National Team, a prestigious honor for a player his age. The ODP team was scheduled to travel next month to Barcelona, Spain, to compete in the Mediterranean...
Postpone, don’t cancel spring sports: Frazier softball player starts online petition to PIAA
A Frazier senior softball player has started an online petition to influence the PIAA’s upcoming decision on what to do with the spring sports season in the state. Emi Curcio, a key player for the defending PIAA Class 2A champion Commodores, hopes the movement she began Friday will sway the...
PSAC, PAC, AMCC college leagues shut down spring sports seasons
Three state college leagues have chimed in on the coronavirus scare with the best interest of student-athletes and fans in mind, each joining a sports world that has gone dark in the last few days. The Division II Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference, and the Presidents’ Athletic Conference and Allegheny Mountain...
Lancaster Catholic ends Southmoreland’s dream season in PIAA second round
BEDFORD — The party is over for Southmoreland. Perennial power Lancaster Catholic raced to a commanding lead, held off a late flurry and bounced the Scotties from the state playoffs, 64-56, ending the high-wire act that had reached the PIAA Class 4A second round. The Scotties made it respectable by...
Despite heart-breaking ending, Belle Vernon boys basketball proud of effort
After 48 minutes of basketball, Belle Vernon senior forward Jared Hartman was so emotionally wrung out and exhausted, he collapsed to the court and just sat there in a daze. He was numb after playing in a game for the ages. “I have never been a part of something like...
Lancaster Catholic outlasts Belle Vernon in 4OT epicVideo
ALTOONA — Lancaster Catholic won’t get to re-watch the last portion of its insane PIAA second-round win, and it’s unfortunate. “We had someone filming and our iPad died in the seventh quarter,” Crusaders coach Joe Klazas said. “We’ll have a lot to remember, I can tell you that.” The game...
Westmoreland Campus Clippings: Penn State’s Maddie Holmberg honored again
Maddie Holmberg, a Penn State senior and Hempfield alum, was named the United Track & Field Cross Country Coaches Association Mid-Atlantic Region Field Athlete of the Year. She is a repeat winner of the award, which has a lot of words in its name but almost seems fitting in that...
Pieces in place for Hempfield softball’s quest for 6th straight WPIAL crown
Even by Hempfield’s lofty standards, last year was somewhat of a surprise. The Lady Spartans started slow, took a pair of haymakers to the chin from North Allegheny and Penn-Trafford and looked like they might be in for a slow climb to get into playoff form again, let alone title-winning...
Hempfield baseball to lean on pitching depth, work ethic
Hempfield could take some time to find its identity on the baseball diamond, and 13th-year coach Tim Buzzard is in no hurry to see that happen. “We still have things to figure out,” Buzzard said. “We have to see which kids blend and mesh. You really don’t know until you...
Westmoreland PIAA basketball capsule for March 11, 2020
Today’s game Class 4A Second round Southmoreland (25-1) vs. Lancaster Catholic (26-3) 6 p.m. at Bedford High School Winner plays: Winner of Northern Lebanon (23-4) and Danville (25-3) on Saturday in quarterfinals (time, site TBD) Coaches: Brian Pritts, Southmoreland; Charlie Detz, Lancaster Catholic Players to watch: Sarah Pisula, Southmoreland (Sr.,...
Community support swells for Southmoreland girls hoops
Carson’s Catering in Scottdale welcomed the Southmoreland girls basketball team in for a buffet dinner after Saturday’s PIAA playoff win — the first in the state postseason for the Scotties. Pasta, chicken parmesan, hot sausage, stuffed shells, ravioli, soup and salad — all of it, on the house. A carb...
Locals Oberdorf, Myers garner MAAC softball honors
Marist teammates and former Westmoreland County and WPIAL softball standouts Claire Oberdorf and Kiley Myers swept the latest Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference player of the week honors. Oberdorf, a third baseman out of Greensburg Salem, was tabbed player of the week and Myers, who is from Latrobe, was the pitcher...
Westmoreland PIAA basketball capsule for March 10, 2020
PIAA basketball playoffs Boys Class 4A Second round Belle Vernon (20-7) vs. Lancaster Catholic (24-3) 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at Altoona High School Winner plays: Winner of Imhotep Charter (20-8) and Montoursville (21-5) on Friday in quarterfinals (time, site TBD) Coaches: Joe Salvino, Belle Vernon; Joe Klazas, Lancaster Catholic Players to...
Westmoreland campus clippings: Pitt-Greensburg coaches honored by AMCC
Brody Jackson led Pitt-Greensburg to one of the best regular seasons in the history of the men’s basketball program. He was recognized for the accomplishment by being named the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference Coach of the Year. His counterpart, Hayley Schaetzle, received the same conference honor on the women’s side...
Spencer Lee semifinalist for nation’s top amateur athlete award
Spencer Lee is considered one of the top amateur athletes in the nation. The proof certainly is in the results: two NCAA wrestling titles at Iowa and an All-American career so far at the collegiate level. The Franklin Regional grad and Hawkeyes junior is now up for an award representative...
Spencer Lee finally breaks through for Big Ten title, aims for third national title
It’s hard to believe Spencer Lee has never won a conference title before Sunday. The Iowa wrestler has won everything else at the college level, and always strives for something greater. But he finally added Big Ten gold to his decorated career. Lee, a junior out of Franklin Regional, was...
IUP men, women seeded first in NCAA Atlantic Regional, will host opening games
The road to the Elite Eight will run through Indiana. IUP made it a double-dip for No. 1 seeds Sunday night when the NCAA announced pairings for the Division II men’s and women’s basketball tournaments. Both IUP teams earned top seeds and home games in the Atlantic Regional, which means...
Similarities abound, Belle Vernon and Soutmoreland learn second-round sites
The Belle Vernon boys and Southmoreland girls have more than a few things in common as they trek through the PIAA basketball playoffs. Not only are both in Class 4A but also are the last remaining teams from Westmoreland County in this year’s postseason. Both earned silver medals in the...
Southmoreland makes PIAA girls basketball playoffs debut to remember
Having never been to the PIAA girls basketball playoffs, Southmoreland wasn’t quite sure what was in store Saturday afternoon in its state tournament debut. Would there be nerves playing in front of another large crowd? Of course. Was the thought of a potential trip-up lurking in the shadows? Maybe a...
Westmoreland high school notebook: Derry’s Bushey to golf at Cal (Pa.)
Derry senior Aidan Bushey did not start playing competitive golf until high school, so in the beginning of his budding career he had no idea the sport would be so beneficial to his future. He looks back fondly on the first time he put a tee in the ground and...
WPIAL champion Laurel Highlands bounced from PIAA tournament in 1st round
Laurel Highlands had grown accustomed to winning close games, almost to the point of expecting them to happen. Good, down-to-the-wire games had become their calling card in the playoffs. The Mustangs won’t blow you out, they said, but they’ll give you quite a show. Call it a law of averages...
Westmoreland PIAA basketball preview capsules for March 7, 2020
Today’s games Boys Class 3A first round Ligonier Valley (23-3) vs. Carlynton (15-9) 1 p.m. at Greater Johnstown Winner plays: Winner of Fairview (23-2) and Beaver Falls (14-8) on Wednesday in second round Coaches: John Berger, Ligonier Valley; Mike Kozy, Carlynton Players to watch: Michael Marinchak, Ligonier Valley; Chauncie Mickens,...
