Bill Beckner stories, Page 217
Westmoreland high school lookahead: Week of March 18, 2019
Highlights of the week ahead in Westmoreland County high school sports: MONDAY Boys basketball: Monessen (18-9) will try to continue its magical run through the state tournament. The Greyhounds, the last remaining county team in the PIAA playoffs, will take on Vincentian (19-8) in the Class A semifinals, also known...
Jeannette grad “ShowBoat” Robinson gets serious about basketball HOF nomination
Dribbling circles around helpless Washington Generals, making half-court shots while blindfolded and throwing buckets of confetti on flinching fans made people laugh for years. But when Lamont Robinson took a brief timeout from comedy basketball to acknowledge a more serious moment, one that knocked the spinning ball off his finger,...
Westmoreland notebook: YWCA to honor Hempfield softball
When it comes to awards and championships, Hempfield softball wins in bunches. The Spartans won their fourth straight WPIAL title last season, then followed with a third consecutive PIAA title — a record in the state’s largest classification. All that winning produced another repeat for the team with the YWCA...
Inspiring Mt. Pleasant senior back on diamond after cancer, surgeryVideo
Dom Giallonardo is not even. His legs are unbalanced because he does not have a right hip and is missing half of his pelvis. He had a cancerous tumor removed from his hip in 2015 and endured countless hours of chemotherapy. But he beat the disease known as Ewing’s sarcoma...
Mt. Pleasant softball team rebuilds with new coachVideo
Several Mt. Pleasant softball players left the practice field one day last week but didn’t head to the parking lot to catch a ride home or drive away like they had in the past. Instead, they disappeared into the field house behind the football stadium. What was so intriguing behind...
Mt. Pleasant baseball focuses on bringing runners home
Chris Firmstone does not get bogged down with or obsess over statistics. The Mt. Pleasant baseball coach couldn’t tell you who led the team in a certain category last year or what opponents batted against the Vikings. He is not an analytics type of guy. Keep your sabermetrics to yourself....
Peters Township girls top Norwin in PIAA basketball quarterfinalsVideo
Norwin knew if it had a chance against Peters Township, the game would have to resemble a 12-round heavyweight fight. The Knights would have to trade punches with the unbeaten Indians and be able to go back and forth. Norwin got a few uppercuts in late, but Peters Township ultimately...
Westmoreland campus clippings: Seton Hill lacrosse player drafted
Seton Hill is sending another lacrosse player to the pros. Senior long-stick midfielder Brett Craig was picked by the Atlanta Blaze in the fifth round of the Major League Lacrosse Collegiate Draft. He was the 39th overall pick but the first from a Division II program. The reigning Great Midwest...
Scorpion admires Groat as grandfather and broadcaster
Dozens of Dick Groat stories have been shared in around Pitt basketball circles in the past few days since word surfaced that the longtime courtside broadcaster and sidekick to Bill Hillgrove was parting ways with the Panthers after 40 years. Steve Scorpion knows those stories, and many more, only he...
Mt. Pleasant’s Alincic changes college commitment
On the eve of her senior season, Mt. Pleasant softball player Carolyn Alincic is changing her college plans. The fast-throwing strikeout pitcher announced Thursday she is decommitting from Division II Dominican (N.Y.) and instead will play at Division I Morehead State (Ky.). Alincic said “many obstacles have presented themselves along...
Senior leaders use past experiences to help Norwin girls prepare for PIAA quarterfinal matchup
When Emily Brozeski and Jessica Kolesar were freshmen, they were part of Norwin’s varsity scout team. They helped get the WPIAL-champion Knights ready for intense, later-round playoff games. “They would want us to come in and (simulate) speed and fly around,” Brozeski said. “We learned a lot from that team.”...
Westmoreland basketball notebook: Norwin family trees grow with playoff success
Family connections tend to follow successful sports programs at the high school level. The same last names tend to surface over and again as teams make postseason runs. Family trees branch into playoff trees. That is the case at Norwin where the girls basketball program has become a perennial power...
Westmoreland PIAA basketball playoff capsules for games of March 15
Boys Class A Quarterfinals Nazareth Prep (21-3) vs. Monessen (17-9) 6 p.m. Friday at Keystone Oaks Winner plays: Winner of Vincentian Academy (18-8)/Cornell (21-5) on Monday in semifinals Coaches: Nehemiah Brazil, Nazareth Prep; Dan Bosnic, Monessen Players to watch: Tre Harvey, Sr., F, Nazareth Prep; Dishon Howell, Sr., G, Monessen...
Former Penn-Trafford RB Gay leaving Air Force
John Gay IV wants to be a more traditional college student, which he hopes can make him a more traditional college football player — and maybe lead to something further. The former Penn-Trafford standout running back is leaving the Air Force Academy and will transfer to Lafayette, a FCS program...
Campus clippings: Transfers finding success on diamond
Change has been good for a few local athletes who have found new homes this spring sports season. Tommy Pellis transferred from Penn to Seton Hill, seeking a better on-field opportunity and a chance to play baseball in the area where he grew up. Pellis, a junior infielder out of...
WPGA opens Frank Fuhrer III Hall of Fame
Moving day for the Western Pennsylvania Golf Association a year ago brought it to a new home on Pittsburgh’s North Side. A spacious and classic-style red brick building — as vintage-looking as an Arnold Palmer cardigan — not only allowed the organization to stretch its legs but also afforded them...
Nazareth Prep continues impressive postseason run with PIAA 2nd-round victory
There is a sense of the unknown surrounding Nazareth Prep, the tiny private Catholic school situated along Ohio River Boulevard in the Allegheny County borough of Emsworth. One thing is quite clear, however, regarding that obscure third-year WPIAL member, the former Holy Family Academy: The Saints know how to play...
YWCA of Westmoreland County announces award winners
Several individual and team winners were announced this week for the annual YWCA Sportswomen of the Year Awards Banquet set for 5:30 p.m. April 15 at the Ramada Inn, Greensburg. Sports Girl of the Year for Excellence in a Team Sport: Morgan Phillips Sports Teen of the Year Excellence in...
Norwin girls overwhelm opponents with depth, substitutions
Usually by state playoff time, basketball teams have pared their rotations down to a workable number, maybe six or seven players. They go with what got them there and don’t mess with chemistry. Championships have been won with minimal depth. Then there is this year’s Norwin girls team. As the...
Seton Hill’s Craig drafted by MLL team
Seton Hill is sending another lacrosse player to the pros. Senior long-stick midfielder Brett Craig was picked by the Atlanta Blaze in the fifth round of the Major League Lacrosse Collegiate Draft. He was the 39th overall pick but the first chosen from a Division II program. The reining Great...
WPGA offers assistance for golf rules changes
Trying to figure out some of the new rule changes in golf can be enough to cause a club toss. That might result in said club being damaged. But wait, there is a new rule for that. A club damaged during a round can now continue to be used, “even...
PSAC basketball teams set for NCAA tournaments
Seven teams from the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference were selected to play in the NCAA Division II basketball tournaments. Conference winners received automatic spots in the postseason brackets, while 40 at-large bids went to teams chosen by the tournament committee. There are eight regional tournaments (8 teams each) that will...
Westmoreland campus clippings: County wrestlers qualify for NCAA championships
What would the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships in Pittsburgh be without a Pittsburgh presence? No need to fret. When it comes to star power at the tournament, the question might be, who isn’t from Pittsburgh? Several talented Westmoreland County wrestlers qualified for nationals, set to take place March 21-23...
Westmoreland high school lookahead: Week of March 11, 2019
TUESDAY Girls basketball: The state playoffs will continue for Norwin as the Knights take on Northhampton, a District 11 school near Philadelphia, in the second round of the PIAA Class 6A playoffs. The game tips at 5 p.m. at Cumberland Valley High School in Mechanicsburg. Boys basketball: Monessen, the last...
Beaver Falls’ pressure, rebounding too much for Ligonier ValleyVideo
JOHNSTOWN — Ligonier Valley didn’t overlook Beaver Falls, an opponent with a sub-.500 record and fifth-place standing in the WPIAL. The Rams knew the Tigers had speed and would try to press them out of the building. The pressure was fast and furious as expected, but it wasn’t the only...
