Bill Beckner stories, Page 218
Westmoreland high school notes: P-T’s Lisbon gets first 2 D-I offers
A running back with breakaway speed, one who averaged nearly 9 yards a carry last season, has his first two Division I offers. Penn-Trafford junior Caleb Lisbon is expected to draw many more offers, but Navy will be the pace car after the Midshipmen offered last week. Fordham followed a...
Fresh legs, strong shooting key opening-round PIAA win for Norwin girlsVideo
HOLLIDAYSBURG — Playing with confidence, fresh legs and resolve following a gut-wrenching elimination from the WPIAL semifinals, the Norwin girls basketball team opened the state playoffs with a lively victory. The Knights returned to the PIAA tournament after a two-year absence and rang up a dozen 3-pointers, shared the ball...
Roundball Classic rosters announced
Event director Allen Deep released rosters for the Roundball Classic all-star basketball games, set for April 12-13 at Geneva College. There will be seven games over two days at Metheny Fieldhouse. More than 200 senior players were selected. On April 12, there will be three boys games, including East vs....
Point Park’s Shields is NAIA’s top athlete, again
What Anna Shields has done at Point Park will become legendary long after she graduates. It will tough to forget her “run” of success. Arguably the fastest woman in Pittsburgh for the duration of her college running career, Shields achieved elite status and stayed there. For the fifth time, she...
Ligonier Valley boys chasing first PIAA win in 3 decades
Ligonier Valley has a proud sports heritage — not exactly the reason the Rams play in the Heritage Conference, but rather fitting nonetheless. The boys basketball team has seen a surge in recent seasons and many of those proud followers around the program feel this is the group that will...
Kennesaw State’s Amani Johnson tabbed ASUN’s top freshman
Amani Johnson, the former WPIAL scoring champion from East Allegheny, was unanimously voted the top freshman basketball player in her college team’s conference. The 5-foot-6 guard at Kennesaw State was named the Atlantic Sun Conference Freshman of the Year. Johnson, who scored 2,345 points in high school, was named ASUN...
Westmoreland PIAA basketball capsules: Games for March 8-9, 2019
Boys basketball Class 5A First round Franklin Regional (17-7) vs. Lower Dauphin (24-3) 6:30 p.m. Friday at Milton Hershey HS Winner plays: Winner of Johnstown (19-2)/Elizabethtown (16-12) on Tuesday Coaches: Steve Scorpion, Franklin Regional; Rick Attivo, Lower Dauphin Players to watch: Nick Leopold, Sr., G, FR; Luke Hedrick, Sr., G,...
5 district athletes to watch at NCAA D-I Indoor Track & Field
The NCAA Division I Indoor Track & Field Championships will be contested Friday and Saturday in Birmingham, Ala. Here are five district athletes to watch at the meet: Jordan Geist, So. Arizona (Knoch) — A record-breaker and bona fide “stud” in his sport growing up, Geist drew crowds away from...
Decision time nearing for Franklin Regional’s Nick Leopold
Franklin Regional’s Nick Leopold soon will find himself at a fork in the road. The senior two-sport standout has some options to consider when it comes to making his college decision. Football or basketball? Defensive back or point guard? Which level? Leopold, who will lead the Panthers (17-7) against Lower...
Longtime coach D.P. Harris leaving Saint Vincent hoops program
For the first time in more than a decade, Saint Vincent is looking for a men’s basketball coach. Don Paul “D.P.” Harris, the man in charge of the Bearcats for 16 years, stepped down to take a position at a college in Florida. The Bearcats just finished a 22-5 season...
Westmoreland campus clippings: Penn State’s Holmberg set for NCAA indoor championships
Penn State’s Maddie Holmberg was named U.S Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Field Athlete of the Year in the Mid-Atlantic Region. She will compete in the NCAA indoor championships this week in Birmingham, Ala. Holmberg, a senior and a Hempfield graduate, took seventh in the pentathlon last...
WPIAL athletes garner all-state honors for indoor season
Athletes from WPIAL schools were lauded by the Pennsylvania Track & Field Coaches Association with the organization’s all-state teams for the indoor season. Hempfield’s MacKenna Orie and Zachary Kinne of North Allegheny, state champions in the shot put and 3,000-meter run, respectively, were first-team selections. Jared Bannon of Hempfield (60-meter...
Hempfield’s Brose up to eight Division I offers
Hempfield’s Fintan Brose is pulling in offers in pairs. Seemingly each week, the junior football lineman is attracting scholarship opportunities two at a time. The 6-foot-3, 280-pound tackle announced two additional offers within the past week, in Navy and Princeton. Honored and thankful to receive an offer from the United...
Rickie Fowler paying tribute to Arnold Palmer at Bay Hill
PGA Tour player Rickie Fowler once again will personally honor the late, great Arnold Palmer this week at The King’s signature event, the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill Club and Lodge in Orlando, Fla. Fowler will team with his sponsor, Puma, and the Arnold Palmer Foundation to pay homage...
Penn State’s Rivers, Holmberg pick up track & field hardware
Penn State pulled a sweep in the women’s regional track & field awards. Nittany Lions Danae Rivers (track) and Maddie Holmberg (field) were named U.S Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association athletes of the year in the Mid-Atlantic Region. Both women will compete in the NCAA Division I...
Westmoreland campus clippings: Slippery Rock’s McQuaide reaches nationals
After placing fifth last year at the NCAA Division II track and field championships, pole vaulter Courtney McQuaide will get another shot to raise the bar. A redshirt senior at Slippery Rock and a former outdoor national champion in her event, McQuaide is one of 16 athletes from the PSAC...
Seton Hill women set to play IUP in PSAC quarterfinals
PSAC Women’s Basketball Tournament Quarterfinals Seton Hill (19-10) vs. IUP (23-3) 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Kovalchick Center, IUP Coaches: Mark Katarski, Seton Hill; Tom McConnell, IUP Top scorers: Megan Marecic, GS, G, Seton Hill (18.8 ppg); Carolyn Appleby, Sr., G, IUP (17.3 ppg) Video feed: Winner plays: Winner of West...
Franklin Regional boys excited for ‘another chance to play’ in state tournament
A sense of finality seemed to wash over Franklin Regional boys basketball players, coaches and fans after the Panthers lost to Moon in the WPIAL Class 5A quarterfinals at West Allegheny. It was almost like the year-end banquet was the next event on the schedule, not the PIAA playoffs. Some...
Penn-Trafford RB Lisbon draws Navy offer
A running back who averaged nearly nine yards a carry last season has his first Division I football offer. Penn-Trafford junior Caleb Lisbon is expected to draw many more offers, but Navy will be the leader of the pack. Lisbon (6-foot, 195 pounds) rushed for 1,329 yards last season and...
Seton Hill women continue surge, beat UPJ in PSAC Tournament
Momentum is an intangible yet palpable thing in basketball. But it can go for miles. Need proof? Look no further than the Seton Hill women’s team. After leaving a trail of upsets on the end of their regular-season schedule, the Griffins carried their late-year surge into the PSAC Tournament. The...
Norwin girls ready to ‘come back even stronger’ for PIAA playoffs
Jayla Wehner called on a motivational quote to help erase a tough semifinal loss and fast-forward to what lies ahead for the Norwin girls basketball team. “We feel like we aren’t done yet, and we believe that we haven’t played our best basketball yet,” the Norwin junior guard said. “Coming...
Westmoreland campus clippings: Saint Vincent’s Davis makes splash
Saint Vincent senior swimmer Jacob Davis again will compete on a national stage. Davis earned a spot in the NCAA Division III Championships set for March 20-23 in Greensboro, N.C. He qualified in three events: the 100- and 50-yard freestyles and the 100-yard breaststroke. His time of 44.16 seconds in...
Hot-shooting Biss tabbed PSAC East player of week
At Shippensburg, happiness is Biss. Sophomore basketball player Jake Biss continues to assert himself into a viable go-to role for the Raiders (22-6, 16-4 PSAC East), and is developing into one of the PSAC’s top scorers. His scoring average has been on a steady incline, a result of his well-rounded...
Nedley off to fast start for Penn softball
From Penn-Trafford to Penn, Emma Nedley has not missed a beat. After just weekend of college softball, the freshman center fielder is off to a fast start, and with it, has collected some early-season accolades. Nedley was named Ivy League Rookie of the Week after going 8 for 17 at...
Westmoreland PIHL playoff capsules for March 4, 2019
Monday’s games PIHL Penguins Cup Class AA First round Hempfield (12-7) vs. Pine-Richland (18-0-1) 7:30 p.m. Monday at Baierl Ice Complex, Warrendale Winner plays: Latrobe (14-4-1) or Hampton (10-7-2), March 13 at RMU Island Sports Center, Neville Island Goals for/against: Hempfield, 121/78; Pine-Richland, 112/32 About Hempfield: The Spartans advanced to...
