Bill Beckner stories, Page 206
Seton Hill announces latest hall of fame class
Seton Hill announced its newest athletic hall of fame inductees. The four-member class features lacrosse player Matt Delmonico (Class of 2014), men’s basketball player Chris Giles (2012), football player Antwarn Jones (’10) and women’s soccer player Nicky Pergar (’08). • Delmonico, a three-time All-American, holds career school records for points...
St. Francis women, Waynesburg men taking international trips
Preparations for basketball season are beginning a little earlier this year for a pair of area programs. The St. Francis (Pa.) women and Waynesburg men are taking international trips that are a blend of team-bonding, competition and culture. St. Francis will leave Tuesday for Australia, while Waynesburg will spend more...
New athletic director Ryan Hayden brings youthful enthusiasm to Jeannette
Ryan Hayden peered out from the press box at McKee Stadium as workers smoothed over gravel and continued to prepare the historic field for artificial turf. The Jeannette faithful are awaiting the big reveal. Count Hayden among them. “It’s a good time to be around here,” Hayden said. “Everyone is...
Palmer Jackson maintains hot streak with Hannastown club title
Palmer Jackson is one of those rare, up-and-coming amateur golfers who has the uncanny ability to capture lightning in a bottle. Just when you thought the recent Franklin Regional grad from Murrysville couldn’t get any better on the course, he started another hot streak. Some might say Jackson’s favorite club...
Franklin Regional’s Andrew Muraco commits to Coastal Carolina
Andrew Muraco always dreamed of playing Division I baseball but the actuality he could do so began to take shape last year when he was a freshman at Franklin Regional. After two seasons at the high school level — and a growing reputation as a gamer in travel baseball —...
Former Hempfield QB Justin Sliwoski leaving Pitt
Justin Sliwoski knew he wasn’t heading into an idealistic situation when he walked on at Pitt. The strong-armed quarterback out of Hempfield figured he could possibly find a niche with the Panthers as a backup or third-stringer — and be ready in the wings as a just-in-case guy. He’d pay...
Hannastown Golf Club brings out best from Westmoreland County and beyondVideo
Do the math on this one. Longtime accomplished amateur golfer Sean Knapp lives in Oakmont. He has played some of the best courses in the country. He won a national championship — the U.S. Senior Amateur — two years ago. The 57-year-old Knapp has been one of the country’s top...
Former Bearcat Aaron Smetanka ready to help Saint Vincent ‘regain its footing’
It’s late July and Saint Vincent College is alive with the sights and sounds of football. But that is nothing new. The Pittsburgh Steelers have called Latrobe their preseason training camp home for more than five decades. The home-standing Saint Vincent Bearcats, who will overlap three days with the Steelers...
Bill Fralic Award to recognize WPIAL’s top lineman
The late Bill Fralic was never one for attention. But the mountain of a football player, who blocked and tackled better than most at Penn Hills and Pitt before a pro career he spent mostly with the Atlanta Falcons, enjoyed being able to make a difference in the lives of...
Pitt-Greensburg names Kelsey Oddis as cross country coach
Kelsey Oddis was a two-sport standout during her undergraduate days at Pitt-Greensburg, excelling in both cross country and basketball with the Bobcats. Now, she will have multiple coaching titles at her collegiate alma mater. Already a women’s basketball assistant at UPG, the Burrell graduate will take over the school’s men’s...
Derry’s Adams, Ligonier Valley’s Spiker pull in offers from St. Francis (Pa.)
Like the big boys themselves, Division I college interest in area linemen keeps growing in size. St. Francis (Pa.) is following suit with a number of other FCS schools in the market for front-line talent by making inroads to Westmoreland County programs. Two more local players received scholarship offers this...
Pitt alum Sheldon Jeter helps U.S. team win 3×3 title
Sheldon Jeter is bringing home a gold medal from the Pan American Games. The Pitt and Beaver Falls alum helped the USA men’s 3x3 basketball team to a championship at the Games, played at the Coliseo Eduardo Dibo in Lima, Peru. Jeter, a member of the Maine Red Claws, an...
Latrobe’s Hanna Green qualifies for world championships in 800 meters
Hanna Green represented the Red, White and Blue quite well. The elite runner from Latrobe posted a second-place finish in the 800-meter run Sunday night at the Toyota USA Track & Field Championships in Des Moines, Iowa. Green, who was a standout at Virginia Tech after graduating from Latrobe in...
Westmoreland high school notebook: Standout linemen abound in area
It is no secret: Lineman looks to be the premier position his season in Westmoreland County football. Area teams should be well-protected up front with a number of Division I prospects pushing the pile. Belle Vernon rising senior Hayden Baron is one of them as he continues to find his...
Hempfield’s Monica Burns to play final college season at Cal (Pa.)
Monica Burns took a year off from college basketball, a decision made for personal reasons but one that ultimately scrubbed away her final season at Wheeling Jesuit. The standout guard would have been a redshirt senior had she played. The year removed seemed like an eternity for Burns, a bona...
WPIAL players make TopDrawerSoccer all-region, all-state teams
The all-things-soccer website, TopDrawerSoccer, which covers recruiting and ranks teams on a nationwide scale, released its high school all-region and all-state teams for the 2018 fall season. The WPIAL was well-represented on the boys and girls teams. Four district players made the site’s All-Mid-Atlantic Region teams: West Allegheny graduate and...
Jeannette’s Demetrious Cox hopes to earn stripes with Bengals
While Demetrious Cox has other things lined up for after football, the former Jeannette standout is far from ready to begin the descent on his pro career. Cox is set to begin training camp this weekend with the Cincinnati Bengals after spending most of last season on the team’s practice...
Stone getting to know La Salle basketball program
Brandon Stone has been in Philadelphia since January, training and getting to know his new coaches and teammates at La Salle. The former Southmoreland basketball standout and incoming freshman, who finished his prep career at Christ School (N.C.), is beginning to adjust to his new surroundings, confident in his decision...
Latrobe softball pitcher Tallman back in circle, anticipating 2020 season
Perhaps the greatest what-if story of the 2019 WPIAL softball season was Latrobe pitcher Jordan Tallman. The fast-throwing sophomore had a spot among the WPIAL strikeout leaders before an injury sidelined her for the final six games of the regular season and sent Latrobe’s year into somewhat of a tailspin....
Belle Vernon lineman Baron pulls in second FCS offer
It is no secret: Lineman looks to be the premier position his season in Westmoreland County football. Area teams should be well-protected up front with a number of Division I prospects pushing the pile. Belle Vernon rising senior Hayden Baron is one of them: He continues to find his way...
Greensburg CC grad Dom Eisaman transferring to Saint Vincent
With increased patience and a change of scenery, Dom Eisaman is hoping for increased playing time as he continues to wait for his chance to be a college quarterback. A slow start to his playing career at the next level can be attributed to various reasons, the least of which,...
Jeannette names new soccer coaches: Delaney Cortazzo, Arthur Cicero
Jeannette’s boys and girls soccer programs will be under new direction this fall season. The school district this week hired a pair of head coaches: Delaney Cortazzo (girls) and Arthur Cicero (boys). Cicero is a teacher at Adelphoi Education and a graduate of Saint Vincent, where he played soccer for...
Jeannette approves Ryan Hayden as athletic director
Jeannette this week approved the hiring of Ryan Hayden as the district’s new athletic director. He replaces Bill Petko, who resigned to accept a position in the Connellsville School District. Hayden, 27, a Hempfield graduate, where he played football and baseball, is a sixth-grade teacher at Jeannette. He played four...
IUP’s DiAndreth wins Johnstown league batting title
After leading the IUP baseball team with a .340 batting average in his freshman season, Nick DiAndreth opted to hone his skills in a summer league, as has become customary for aspiring players. DiAndreth took his hot bat with him. The Hempfield graduate went on to win the regular-season batting...
Four IUP basketball players joining pro leagues
IUP was so so good at times last season, the Crimson Hawks looked like a pro team. Maybe there was a reason. Following one of the program’s best runs, IUP announced Monday that four recent grads have signed to play professional basketball overseas. Forward Jacobo Diaz is joining Marín Peixegalego...
