Bill Beckner stories, Page 2
Hoffer steps down after 4 seasons as Yough football coach
Some coaches put more into a football program than they get out of it. Numerous attempts at a rebuild end up becoming a skipping record. Even with the best intentions in place, moving a mountain — in this case, Cougar Mountain — is a lot harder than it looks. That...
Westmoreland County college notebook: Saint Vincent bowlers return to NCAA Tournament
The Saint Vincent women’s bowling team is headed back to the NCAA Tournament, a Division III power among a cluster of Division I and II programs, and the Bearcats will roll on at the local regional. Saint Vincent (45-3), which has the best winning percentage in the nation, will take...
Westmoreland County players picked for CJ2K vs. The World Charity Classic
Four local basketball players were selected to play in the We Got Next Concrete Jungle 2K vs. The World Charity Classic games Saturday at Aliquippa. The girls game starts at 1 p.m. with the boys to follow at 3. Greensburg Central Catholic senior Erica Gribble will play for the CJ2K...
Westmoreland County softball notebook: Wildcats do double duty on gridiron, diamond
The best girls flag football teams in the WPIAL will probably be the ones with the most multi-sport athletes. One thing is for sure: Latrobe’s team has some good softball players. Natalia Scekeres and Morgan Maiers are among them. Scekeres is the quarterback, and Maiers is a rangy wide receiver...
Franklin Regional shakes off early deficit, rolls past Penn Hills in section opener
Faced with a surprise two-run deficit in his team’s home and Section 1-5A baseball opener, junior pitcher Nico Fioravanti didn’t show much concern. He shrugged off Penn Hills’ quick start because there was a lot of game left. Well, at least a few more innings. “The first inning was a...
Westmoreland County baseball notebook: Teams head south for sunnier days
More teams are coming to grips with the reality that if you want to play games early in the season, you’ll probably have to do so out of state. Another cold, wet stretch of weather greeted many teams when the season began last week. Boosters clubs and their fundraisers helped...
Penn-Trafford reverses fortune, tops Latrobe
There was no comeback for Latrobe this time. Senior pitcher Dom Delio and his Penn-Trafford teammates made sure of it, finishing what they started to earn a series split. Less than 24 hours after Penn-Trafford blew an eight-run lead and lost in extra innings, the Warriors put up an early...
Westmoreland high school notebook: Triumph and tragedy intersect in poignant weekend
Sports are filled with where-were-you-when moments. Highlight plays, iconic individual performances and banner wins often stick with fans and communities. Just the same, so do somber moments and events, like young people whose lives were taken too soon, or the loss of well-respected figures who became the face of their...
Westmoreland campus clippings: Saint Vincent swimmer Dzurica earns 3 All-American honors
Saint Vincent senior swimmer Jacob Dzurica came home with three All-American nods from the NCAA Division III Championships in Indianapolis. Dzurica, a Hempfield graduate, earned All-American honors in the 50-yard freestyle (19.79 seconds) as he finished fourth, the 100-yard freestyle (44.01), good enough for seventh — he swam a school-record...
Westmoreland high school notebook: Breen officially named Norwin boys soccer coach
Carter Breen got an up-close-and-personal look at being a head coach in 2023 when Norwin penalty-kicked its way to its first WPIAL boys soccer championship. Breen, Norwin’s all-time leading goal scorer with 68, was an assistant coach and stepped in as interim head coach when Scott Schuchert was suspended and...
Former Norwin standout Carter Breen, 25, takes over boys soccer program
Carter Breen got an up-close-and-personal look at being a head coach in 2023 when Norwin penalty-kicked its way to its first WPIAL boys soccer championship. Breen, Norwin’s all-time leading goal scorer with 68 tallies, was an assistant coach that year and stepped in as interim head coach when Scott Schuchert...
Norwin softball ready to challenge Hempfield again
A fully embraced underdog, Norwin softball has become a regular contender in WPIAL 6A. The team made the WPIAL final two years ago and the semifinals last year. With seven seasoned returning starters coming back, the softball Knights are aiming for another postseason run. Norwin will try to push top-ranked...
Norwin notebook: Baseball grad steals show at Seton Hill
Some say Jack Whalen was a recruiting steal for the Seton Hill baseball program. The Norwin alum has a record to prove it. Whalen, a senior outfielder, is now the all-time leader in stolen bases in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference, with 118. Through 13 games this season, he had...
Legendary Hempfield softball coach Bob Kalp dies at age 80
“Let’s go to work.” Bob Kalp would say those words when an inning turned over, and his Hempfield softball teams took the field to play defense. No matter the opponent, score or situation, he would clap his hands, set his fielders and nestle into the coaching box at third base...
Greensburg Central Catholic girls revel in state championship victory after tough WPIAL final loss
HERSHEY — Asked how long it would take her to eat the 1-pound chocolate bar that was tucked under her arm like a math textbook, Jayla Peterson pulled back. “I don’t even like chocolate,” the senior guard from Greensburg Central Catholic said. “They can all have it.” But what about...
Greensburg Central Catholic girls win program’s 2nd state title
HERSHEY — Greensburg Central Catholic girls basketball coach Chris Skatell is an attorney whose face appears on two billboards on Route 30 in Westmoreland County. It was his players who had their name up in lights Thursday night, state champions for the first time in 29 years. Senior standouts Erica...
Westmoreland softball notebook: Hempfield twins showing promise early
Two games is a small sample size, but if it is any indication of the impact the Luft twins are going to have on Hempfield softball, opponents are in trouble. Jayelyn and Jocelyn Luft, the twin daughters of coach Tina Madison, came out swinging at the season-opening KSA Spring Training...
Westmoreland County college notebook: Pitt-Greensburg’s Trent Rozich earns postseason honors
Trent Rozich had a senior season to remember at Pitt-Greensburg. The bulky, 6-foot-6 forward led the Bobcats in points (16.6), rebounds (5.6) and assists (4.3) per game. He was named to the D3Hoops.com All-Region Second Team. This weekend, the AMCC Player of the Year and All-AMCC first team selection will...
Westmoreland County baseball notebook: Healthy Luke Williams boosts Franklin Regional
One good sign for Franklin Regional at the start of a new baseball season is the return of shortstop Luke Williams, who injured his ankle in a WPIAL Class 5A first-round playoff loss to Bethel Park and went through months of rehabilitation. The talented senior is healthy and ready to...
2026 PIAA Class 3A girls basketball championship breakdown: Greensburg C.C. vs. Holy Redeemer
PIAA Class 3A girls basketball final Greensburg Central Catholic vs. Holy Redeemer 6 p.m. Thursday, Giant Center, Hershey On the air: PCN; NFHS Network PIAA titles: Greensburg Central Catholic 1 (1997), Holy Redeemer 0 Greensburg Central Catholic (23-7) Coach: Chris Skatell Projected starting lineup No., Name, Ht., Cl., Pos. 12,...
Greensburg CC girls look to cap memorable run against Holy Redeemer in state final
If you go by which team has more wins against district champions in the PIAA tournament, Greensburg Central Catholic is the slight favorite to win the Class 3A girls basketball state championship. GCC (23-7) will take on District 2 runner-up Holy Redeemer (22-8) for the title at 6 p.m. Thursday...
Greensburg CC girls out to follow in footsteps of ’97 ‘Comeback Kids’
Greensburg Central Catholic has rolled through the PIAA playoffs with little resistance, a program with a look in its eye and a goal on its mind. “We want a state championship,” senior guard Erica Gribble said. It remains to be seen if the Centurions (23-7), who have a winning margin...
Greensburg Central Catholic star Erica Gribble finally plays a ‘home’ game
With the crowd gone, her teammates on the bus and her parents waiting for her in the lobby, Erica Gribble did a quick panorama of a quiet Norwin gymnasium. The noise was gone, but the sentiment remained. “I had never played here before tonight,” the Greensburg Central Catholic star point...
Greensburg Central Catholic finally solves rival Shady Side Academy in state semifinals
The fourth act of a play is often referred to as the resolution or the finale. In its fourth matchup of the season against Shady Side Academy, Greensburg Central Catholic was sharp from the second the curtain went up until it took its final bow in a surprisingly one-sided Western...
Westmoreland Campus Clippings: Seton Hill’s Norwin alum Whalen grabs PSAC all-time stolen bases record
Some say Jack Whalen was a recruiting steal for the Seton Hill baseball program. The Norwin alum has a record to prove it. Whalen, a senior outfielder, is now the all-time leader in stolen bases in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference, with 118. Through 13 games this season, he had...
