Bill Beckner stories, Page 192
Westmoreland campus clippings: Podkul has 2 big games for Grove City women’s basketball
Grove City junior forward Allison Podkul (Hempfield) had a career-high six assists and five steals to go with six points as Grove City (16-2, 8-2) handed Saint Vincent (13-6, 9-1) its first PAC loss of the season 68-65. Junior Madison Kollar (Latrobe) led Saint Vincent with 16 points, and junior...
Westmoreland campus clippings: Franklin Regional grad Kemerer gets huge win for Iowa wrestling
Michael Kemerer has won some big matches in his college wrestling career at Iowa, but the one he registered last Friday night turned heads around the country. Kemerer, a redshirt senior out of Franklin Regional who is ranked No. 2 in the nation at 174 pounds, worked his way past...
Westmoreland notebook: Football realignment brings more local matchups
The WPIAL hit the refresh button on football schedules last week and revealed some intriguing matchups for 2020. In Westmoreland County, teams that have not met for a while, or at all, will play each other next season. Some notable matchups in Week 1 (Sept. 4) include Penn-Trafford at Hempfield,...
Norwin alum Tommy Shirley joins Washington Wild Things
A former WPIAL Most Valuable Player from Norwin is joining the Washington Wild Things. Left-handed pitcher Tommy Shirley, a former Houston Astros draft pick with Triple-A minor league experience, was acquired by the local Frontier League team from the New York Boulders. “We are excited to give Tommy the opportunity...
Westmoreland boys basketball notebook: Derry boys return to playoffs
It’s been 61 years since Derry made back-to-back WPIAL playoff appearances in boys basketball. But the Trojans (7-11, 4-4) ended that miserable drought. They will make a return trip to the postseason after clinching a Class 4A berth with a 50-37 Section 1 win Tuesday over Yough. Other local teams...
Central Michigan offers Jeannette sophomore Brett Birch
Jeannette’s Brett Birch is just a sophomore, but his coaches have noted he can do things that are ahead of his years. The way he runs routes. The way he makes catches in traffic and covers ground on defense. The way he leads by example. “One-hundred percent,” Jayhawks coach Roy...
Penn-Trafford’s versatile Ethan Carr pulls in four Division I offers
Let the Ethan Carr sweepstakes begin. Carr, the on-the-rise football standout at Penn-Trafford, is starting to see the recruiting process unfold months before he begins his senior season. A versatile prospect who played wide receiver, quarterback, running back, safety and outside linebacker for the Warriors last season, the 6-foot-2, 195-pound...
Westmoreland girls basketball notebook: Southmoreland remains perfect
There are three teams left in WPIAL girls basketball with perfect records. Southmoreland (18-0) is one of them. But don’t expect coach Brian Pritts to underscore that point when the Scotties take the floor for practice and games. One of the more detail-oriented coaches in the game, Pritts truly is...
Senior Scala helps accelerate maturing process for Greensburg Central Catholic girls basketball
As one of only three seniors on the Greensburg Central Catholic girls basketball team, Gia Scala was well aware of the Centurions’ inexperience coming into the season. Scala missed six weeks — three games — but her return to the backcourt has accelerated the team’s maturing process. She likes the...
Fox Chapel boys lean on defense for road win over Norwin
Defense. Never leave home without it. That is Fox Chapel’s mantra. It is what they know and what they do best. Defense has helped the Foxes put a stranglehold on Section 3-6A and rise to take their place as the top-ranked team in the WPIAL and state. The team’s calling...
Westmoreland Campus Clippings: Southmoreland’s Stone readies for Duquesne
Super Bowl Sunday will be a sort of homecoming for La Salle freshman basketball player Brandon Stone (Southmoreland), who will join his teammates for an Atlantic 10 game at Duquesne. The 6-foot-11 Stone has played in 18 games, with two starts, and is averaging 3.3 points in 10.3 minutes for...
Westmoreland campus clippings: Bryce Butler fitting in at West Liberty
One of the reasons Bryce Butler wanted to play at West Liberty was because of the Hilltoppers fast-paced style. The freshman swingman is blending in quite well. Butler, a former Latrobe standout, posted his first collegiate double-double, with 14 points and 10 rebounds as West Liberty (14-3, 9-2 Mountain East...
Seton Hill athletic programs have dealt with tragedy before
Seton Hill once again is mourning the tragic loss of someone from one of its athletic programs. Freshman baseball player Maclean Maund was killed Saturday from injuries he sustained in a vehicle accident on Route 130 near Jeannette. The 19-year-old was a budding, left-handed pitcher who led Penn-Trafford to the...
Deaths of former classmate, Kobe Bryant put win in perspective for Penn-Trafford boys
It was a day of reflection and proper perspective for the Penn-Trafford boys basketball team. A 64-43 win over Jeannette in the final game of the Shootout at Seton Hill showcase Sunday night was nice. It eradicated the bad taste of a section loss to Latrobe two days earlier. But...
Westmoreland high school notebook: Soccer teams face changes to sections
A new PIAA enrollment cycle means realignment of WPIAL sections in all sports. Soccer has not joined the six-classification movement, but there are notable changes that will affect the local scene. The most significant change for Westmoreland is on the girls side, where longtime Class A rivals Greensburg Central Catholic...
Norwin girls defeat Hempfield in Shootout at Seton Hill
Norwin plans to play in front of big crowds and in potentially foreign gyms with large courts as a season of high expectations continues toward the WPIAL and PIAA postseason. So playing in the Shootout at Seton Hill came with its advantages. Norwin got more out of the event than...
Westmoreland high school notebook: Norwin baseball loaded again
Expectations always are high in the Norwin baseball program, and that’s before the college commitments start rolling in. The Knights have had talent-heavy teams before, but the one they expect put on the field this spring looks loaded. The team has three Division I commits in sophomore shortstop Jake Kendro...
Saint Vincent set to host 1st men’s volleyball match in school history
Saint Vincent added men’s volleyball this season, the 24th sport at the Latrobe college. On Sunday, the newest team will make its home debut. The Bearcats (0-2) will take on Penn State Behrend at 1 p.m. at the Carey Center. “It’s going to take a lot of momentum and energy...
Mars uses ‘Max Effort’ to get past section foe Franklin Regional
It was Military Appreciation Night at Franklin Regional, and players from both teams, the Panthers and Mars, wore T-shirts in pregame warm-ups emblazoned with the words, “Max Effort,” across the chest. That’s what fourth-ranked Mars needed to finally push past the Panthers, 53-42, and earn a Section 3-5A victory Friday...
Signing day draws near for Jeannette grad Robert Kennedy
Decision time is nearing for Robert Kennedy, but the former Jeannette football star is not tipping his hand. Kennedy, a standout safety at Lackawanna College, has plenty of Division I scholarship offers to mull over, which was his goal when he opted for the junior college route in 2018. Now,...
College floor, atmosphere attract teams for ‘Shootout at Seton Hill’
Each March for the past few years, when teams get their section schedules for the following WPIAL season, Allen Deep begins to plan out his list of high school basketball showcase events. The event director with Hoops for a Cure often gets numerous requests from teams to play in the...
Westmoreland boys basketball notebook: Depth boosts Franklin Regional
Franklin Regional has more depth than it did at the start of the season, and the longer bench could be what gets the Panthers into the WPIAL Class 5A playoffs. The Panthers (8-9, 5-4), who have won four in a row and five of their last six, have been using...
Hard-working Jeannette boys basketball team soaring after slow start
Apparently, there are no actual days off at Jeannette. The boys basketball team did not have practice Monday as coach Adrian Batts gave his players a long weekend. Yet a number of them funneled into the gym after school to get some shots up. They even pulled out the seldom-used...
Undefeated Southmoreland girls making noise, clamping down on opponents
The locker room at Southmoreland used to be a quiet place, all the ambiance of a library. These days, though, it’s like a heavy metal concert mosh pit before games. “It gets rowdy,” Scotties sophomore guard/forward Gracie Spadaro said. “We all jump around and bang on lockers. Last year, it...
Campus clippings: No slowing down Pitt-Greensburg women’s basketball
The Pitt-Greensburg women’s basketball team is on a roll. The Bobcats made it five straight wins with a 58-45 victory over D’Youville on Monday as the Bobcats outscored the hosts in the fourth quarter, 18-4, in Buffalo, N.Y. Junior Nadege Durand powered UPG (9-7, 7-4) with 25 points and 19...
