Bill Beckner stories, Page 2
Imani Christian plays fast in 4th quarter, dashes to win over Norwin
Imani Christian had just come back from playing two games at the Governor’s Challenge in Maryland, where the Saints lost two games but played with a 30-second shot clock. Their return to WPIAL play could have come with a stopwatch. Playing faster in the fourth quarter allowed Imani to finally...
High-octane offense has Pitt-Greensburg men’s basketball off to perfect start
If a play doesn’t work out of a huddle for Pitt-Greensburg, the players can ad-lib, no questions asked. It is as much their right as it is their privilege when they take the basketball court. You might even say improvisation is encouraged — because it works. A pop-out 3-point look...
Girls basketball notes: Norwin-Hempfield section showdown picks up intensity
Though Norwin versus Canon-McMillan looks like the premier matchup in Section 2-6A girls basketball, another encounter is becoming more intriguing. Could Norwin (9-0, 2-0) versus Hempfield (9-2, 1-1) be a sneaky-good matchup to watch? Canon-McMillan opened the season as the TribLive preseason No. 1-ranked team, but unbeaten Norwin has taken...
Westmoreland boys basketball notes: Hempfield tinkers with lineup, substitutions
Hempfield boys basketball coach Austin Butler and his staff were none too happy when they saw their team’s energy dip in recent games. So Butler, the first-year leader of the Spartans, mixed things up a bit. At the two-game Greensburg Salem Holiday Classic, Butler used a five-in, five-out rotation in...
Hempfield pulls away from hosts, celebrates win at Greensburg Salem tournament
A locker room thick with the voice of Austin Butler went silent for a few seconds. The mousy squeak of a dry-erase marker followed. Suddenly, exuberance and cheering erupted from Hempfield boys basketball players and coaches as the number seven went up on the board. “Winning is hard,” said Butler,...
Ligonier Valley boys edge Greensburg Central Catholic as Wisniewski hits winner in OT
Mike Wisniewski said he was pulled from the game for taking an ill-advised shot in the second half. No worries. No harm done. The senior guard from Ligonier Valley more than made up for it by hitting the game-winning shot. Wisniewski buried a pull-up jumper from the right wing to...
2025 in Westmoreland County sports: Bevy of titles added to trophy cases, banners
TribLive Westmoreland Sports Year in Review Top 10 local stories of 2025 See that trophy on the shelf? Slide it over a few inches. Now, keep going. And those banners dangling from the rafters? Those are going to need to be updated. Westmoreland County needs a lot more room for...
Westmoreland County campus clips: Latrobe grad Alex Tatsch looks toward future at Penn State
Freshman linebacker Alex Tatsch did not play in the Pinstripe Bowl for Penn State because of an injury. The question now is, will the former Latrobe standout play for the Nittany Lions next season? The answer appears to be yes. With the coaching change — James Franklin out, Matt Campbell...
Greensburg Salem boys blow past Mt. Pleasant, match last season’s win total
Lights in the gymnasium flickered a few times as high winds ripped past Greensburg Salem on Monday evening. The school’s boys basketball team had a similar effect against Mt. Pleasant. Their play was lights-out on the opening day of the Greensburg Salem Holiday Classic. Greensburg Salem started the second half...
Dominant defense carries Hempfield girls to another big win
The Hempfield girls basketball team is beginning to carve out a defensive identity. The proof came in two mercy-ruled games at the Latrobe Wildcat Christmas Tournament, where they gave up a total of 47 points. Hempfield suffocated host Latrobe from the tip and complemented the effort with balanced scoring in...
Westmoreland high school notebook: Pitzer, Powell honored with football all-state recognition
Jayce Powell and Dylan Pitzer play different positions in dissimilar classifications, but the Westmoreland County football standouts share a distinguished honor. Powell, a junior wide receiver at Jeannette, and Pitzer, a burly senior who plays on the lines at Derry, earned all-state recognition from the Pennsylvania Football Writers. Powell was...
Westmoreland County girls basketball notebook: Latrobe using cutting-edge recovery methods
Latrobe might have cornered the market on rest and recovery with the help of physical education teacher Tim Evans. The Wildcats girls team has numerous options when it comes to healing and recharging after practices and games. Even on off days, players can be seen using vibration, compression and shock-wave...
Westmoreland County boys basketball notebook: Belle Vernon loses key player to transfer
Belle Vernon senior guard Curty Wade, one of the team’s top scorers this season, did not play last weekend at the Westmoreland County Coaches Association Showcase at Jeannette and will not return to the team this season. That is because Wade has enrolled at The Kiski School and plans to...
PIHL announces all-star teams
The top hockey players in the PIHL will converge on Robert Morris University on Jan. 25 for the league’s annual all-star games. The five-game schedule at RMU Island Sports Center has Division 2 Gold vs. Division 2 Blue; Class A (1) Gold vs. Class A (1) Blue; Class 2A (2)...
Penn-Trafford boys rally, get late basket from Ponko to defeat Latrobe
Nick Ponko caught the basketball at the high post, turned into an open lane and completed a frantic rally He took two dribbles and scored with a left-handed layup with 4.1 seconds remaining to lift Penn-Trafford to a 67-65 comeback victory over Latrobe in another Section 1-5A nailbiter between the...
Kiski Area football coach Colyn Haugh resigns, takes position in CFL
Colyn Haugh called Tuesday a “bittersweet day” because he officially was moving on from one opportunity to the next in his coaching career. After one season in charge of the Kiski Area football program, Haugh announced he is stepping down as coach. As for the next chapter, Haugh, a Franklin...
Westmoreland County campus clippings: Penn-Trafford grad Nick Turowski repeats as Amateur Player of the Year
West Virginia sophomore Nick Turowski was a repeat winner of the Pennsylvania Golf Association’s W.C. Fownes Jr. Amateur Player of the Year. Turowski, a Penn-Trafford graduate, earned 155 points for a substantial lead over the other candidates. The Hannastown Golf Club member again bagged an award that “exemplifies the highest...
Jeannette boys take care of business against 6A Norwin
Given the fact Jeannette was leading but not in complete control, Jayce Powell felt the need to be vocal in the huddle. He fired up the Jayhawks with his voice, but his game also did a lot of talking. The junior guard scored 11 of his 16 points in the...
Westmoreland high school notebook: Greensburg Central Catholic’s Brewer picks Bucknell
Grant Brewer made his college commitment official and then went into relaxation mode. The Greensburg Central Catholic senior joined his family for a vacation to Peru a few days after signing a letter of intent to compete in track and field at Division I Bucknell. It seems like an appropriate...
Franklin Regional boys get benefit of late goaltending call, earn hard-fought victory over Gateway
With the score tied in the closing seconds, Webber Rankin emerged from a crowd of players and found himself wide open in the lane. He caught Alec Masten’s pass in stride and went up for a layup. The shot was blocked fiercely out of bounds by Gateway’s Mykel Bruce-McCrommon. But...
Westmoreland boys basketball notebook: WCCA showcase on tap this weekend
Ten local boys teams will gather at a pair of county gyms Saturday for the Westmoreland County Coaches Association Boys Basketball Showcase. The round-robin event will be played at Greensburg Salem and Jeannette. The schedule is as follows: At Greensburg Salem: Ligonier Valley vs. Greensburg Salem, 1:30 p.m.; Hempfield vs....
Westmoreland campus clippings: Offensive lineman Dane Levi gets plenty of interest after entering portal
Interest is picking up for offensive lineman Dane Levi (Belle Vernon). Since he put his name in the NCAA transfer portal, Levi (6-foot-3, 295 pounds) has picked up Division II offers from Slippery Rock, Lake Erie, Bluefield State, West Chester, Saint Anselm, Gannon and Clarion. Levi has three years of...
After 4 seasons at Wisconsin, Penn-Trafford grad Cade Yacamelli enters transfer portal
Cade Yacamelli wants to finish his college football career with an exclamation point, not a question mark. The former Penn-Trafford star feels unfulfilled and somewhat unproven, like he still has much to offer a Division I running backs room. But there still is time and a soon-to-be suitor. If Yacamelli...
Former Penn-Trafford RB Cade Yacamelli will enter transfer portal after 4 years at Wisconsin
After dropping on the depth chart, Wisconsin’s most experienced running back is rushing out the door. Former Penn-Trafford running back Cade Yacamelli announced Tuesday he is departing the Badgers after four years and will enter the NCAA transfer portal. The redshirt junior rushed for 571 yards and two touchdowns and...
Westmoreland Campus Clippings: Seton Hill volleyball coaching legend Rick Hall retires
Rick Hall used to play on beer-sponsored pro beach volleyball tours. He might have time to hit the sand again. After 41 seasons, Hall is retiring as women’s volleyball coach at Seton Hill. The Griffins’ hall of famer finished with a record of 822-453. “After 41 years, countless practices, bus...
