Bill Beckner stories, Page 2
Westmoreland County baseball notebook: Behind Aiden Drotos, Penn-Trafford rallies for section title
A rise in recruiting stature came with challenges for Aiden Drotos, admittedly so for the junior left-handed pitcher from Penn-Trafford. His game developed and rounded into form over the summer. He was suddenly hitting 90-plus mph on the radar gun, and buzz began to swirl. College coaches started showing interest,...
Defending champions Mars, Mt. Lebanon awarded No. 1 seeds for 2026 WPIAL girls lacrosse playoffs
Mt. Lebanon and Mars are chasing more hardware in WPIAL girls lacrosse. The Blue Devils (3A) and Fightin’ Planets (2A) are the No. 1 seeds in this year’s playoff tournaments. Two-time defending champion Mt. Lebanon (13-1), the highest-scoring team in the classification at 15.3 goals per game, will try to...
Mt. Lebanon, Peters Township earn top seeds for 2026 WPIAL boys lacrosse playoffs
Peters Township (Class 2A) and three-time defending champion Mt. Lebanon (3A) are the No. 1 seeds for the WPIAL boys lacrosse playoffs, which begin Tuesday and Wednesday. Section 1 champion Peters Township (14-2) has two WPIAL titles but hasn’t won a trophy in eight years, with its wins coming back-to-back...
Preparing for adversity has helped Seton Hill baseball team construct record-setting season
Some of the best college baseball teams in the country face the same adversity as those struggling to win. Even perennial powers such as Seton Hill are susceptible to getting banged up during the wear and tear of a long season. Contrary to what the Griffins’ impeccable image shows —...
Westmoreland County softball notebook: Hempfield eager to add to storied history
Hempfield’s winning tradition is certainly not lost on coach Tina Madison or her players. In fact, it is an essential part of the softball team’s structure and identity. The Spartans (19-1) are primed for another postseason run, with a respectful nod to their past. The defending WPIAL Class 6A champions...
Pitching, defense do it again as Penn-Trafford wins section title
Two consecutive days of superb pitching and defense are a lot to ask of any high school baseball team, especially one facing the stiff winds of a section-title chase. But Penn-Trafford is starting to realize those are the things that put it in this position to start. And those are...
Westmoreland County college notes: Greensburg CC grad takes conference golf honors at John Carroll
John Carroll junior Wade Boyle, a Greensburg Central Catholic alum, was medalist at the North Coast Athletic Conference Men’s Golf Championship at Avalon Lakes Golf Club in Warren, Ohio. Boyle shot 3-over-par 219 (72, 75, 72) and won the Bob Nye Award as the low scorer. Boyle had been building...
Westmoreland County campus clips: Former Latrobe soccer star to transfer from West Virginia
Robin Reilly is looking for a new team. The West Virginia soccer player and former Latrobe star entered the NCAA transfer portal after one season in Morgantown. Reilly played in only three games last season, seeing more action with the Pittsburgh Riveters pre-professional team in the offseason. She made her...
Penn-Trafford defense stands out in victory over Franklin RegionalVideo
Pitching to contact is the usual plan for Dom Delio, but the Penn-Trafford right-hander needs his defense to make plays behind him to get the maximum effect. In his latest start, the defense made so many putouts and played so crisply that Delio was left shaking his head and grinning,...
High-scoring Latrobe eager for inaugural WPIAL flag football playoffs
Latrobe sophomore quarterback Natalia Scekeres faces a lot of first-and-10 situations. She and her teammates will get their first playoff challenge this week. Scekeres and the high-scoring Wildcats are champing at the bit and ready to move the sticks in their postseason debut, a historic marker for a sport sanctioned...
Westmoreland H.S. notebook: WPIAL to release boys volleyball playoff pairings this week
The WPIAL will announce seedings and opening pairings for the boys volleyball playoffs Friday. The tournaments are scheduled to begin May 11. The finals are May 20-23 at AHN Arena in Peters Township. The PIAA playoffs open June 2. The top three teams in each section — and ties —...
Norwin notebook: Boys track team keeps section winning streak alive
One impressive streak continued, while another finally ended. The Norwin track and field teams traveled to Hempfield to run, jump and throw for more section championships. The boys extended their section winning streak to 32 with a 78-72 win over the Spartans, while the girls fell, 80-70, to see their...
Penn-Trafford junior Drotos picks Penn State for baseball
Division I college coaches have been following Aiden Drotos around this high school baseball season, seeking his verbal pledge to their program. It’s still early in the process, but the Penn-Trafford junior decided it was time to connect with one. Drotos announced a commitment Friday to Penn State. He has...
Youth movement: Westmoreland County schools turn to young coaches to lead programs
That Yough alum Scott Houseman is taking over his alma mater’s football program just eight years after his high school playing career ended is impressive. He is all of 26 years old. That the former Albany lineman is making his first head coaching job more about his family than himself,...
Franklin Regional notebook: Panthers shine at WCCA championships
Junior Sean Cartwright continued his breakthrough season with a record-breaking performance at the 103rd Westmoreland County Coaches Association track and field championships at Mt. Pleasant. Cartwright won three events — the 110-meter hurdles and the high jump, and ran a leg of the first-place 400-meter relay. His time of 14.09...
No issues for Hempfield pitcher this time as Spartans down Norwin
A sub-par performance by her standards in the first game against Norwin gave Julia Varhola pause. Her confidence didn’t waver, but she knew that day was somewhat of an anomaly. “It gave me motivation,” the Hempfield senior pitcher said. “This game, I wanted to show who I really am.” Pulled...
Belle Vernon sophomore Aubrey Brown lands 2nd Division I offer
Aubrey Brown has showcased her basketball talent in the WPIAL for the past two seasons, and more college coaches are taking notice. The 6-foot-2 forward from Belle Vernon added a second NCAA Division I scholarship offer this week, from Mercyhurst of the Northeast Conference. Brown already had an offer from...
Field set for 1st WPIAL flag football playoffs
The WPIAL will punctuate its newest sport with a postseason tournament. The first WPIAL girls flag football playoff bracket is set. Sixteen teams will open play Tuesday at four “regional” sites: North Allegheny, Mt. Lebanon, Gateway and Montour. Those sites will host first-round and quarterfinal games. The top four teams...
Norwin, Penn-Trafford football standouts get Division I offers
Division I college football coaches are on the prowl for talent at this time of year, and two Westmoreland County players have emerged on their radar. Norwin’s Maxsym Fierle and Nick Ponko of Penn-Trafford picked up scholarship offers this week. Both are juniors. Fierle, who is 6-foot-4 and 265-pounds, was...
Hempfield’s offense too much for Penn-Trafford in clash of defending softball champions
This power softball matchup had it all. The defending WPIAL Class 6A champion against the defending PIAA 5A champion. It featured a pair of teams that already clinched section championships and had matching 13-game winning streaks. Both were looking for a playoff tune-up against like competition. Hempfield had more offense...
Westmoreland County baseball notebook: Latrobe wins Altoona Curve Classic
Latrobe took a break from the stress of a section title chase, but that didn’t stop the Wildcats from chasing a different title. Latrobe made its regular trek to Altoona to play in the two-day Altoona Curve Classic. With three wins and no losses last weekend, the Wildcats (16-2) won...
Westmoreland softball notebook: Norwin displays grit this season
Norwin is showing some fight as WPIAL softball tilts toward playoff time — the team’s favorite time of the year in recent seasons. After giving Hempfield a game earlier in the season, the Lady Knights pulled into a second-place tie with Seneca Valley in the eight-team Class 6A section. Norwin...
Westmoreland college notebook: Derry grad Sophia Mazzoni makes mark at Auburn
Sophia Mazzoni called last year’s PIAA track and field championships “a good warm-up for college” and “what I needed going into the SEC.” The Derry graduate and three-time WPIAL champion was already beyond her years when she won two state titles in the javelin before moving on to Auburn. The...
Luke Williams’ presence on basepaths helps Franklin Regional edge Plum in Section 1-5A baseball
A Section 1-5A baseball game turned into a chess match after top-ranked Plum rallied to tie Franklin Regional in the top of an adventurous seventh inning. As usual, the king piece on the board was Franklin Regional speedster Luke Williams. Williams gave another opponent something to think about and another...
Norwin puts itself in line for Section 2-6A baseball title with convincing win over Mt. Lebanon
Norwin baseball is playing with confidence and pointy elbows as the regular season stretches to a finish. The fifth-ranked Knights have muscled their way into the Section 2-6A title race with two games remaining after a mostly one-sided 11-4 victory over No. 3 Mt. Lebanon in their series opener on...
