Bill Beckner stories, Page 221
Kromka scores 1,000th career point as SVC nabs top seed in PAC
Senior forward Tom Kromka picked the perfect time to reach a milestone. The Saint Vincent basketball standout scored his 1,000th career point Saturday during the host Bearcats’ 80-73 senior day victory over Chatham before 912 at Carey Center. Kromka, a Gateway graduate who transferred from Carnegie Mellon after his freshman...
Saint Vincent women secure top seed for PAC tournament
The Presidents Athletic Conference women’s basketball championship will go through Latrobe. Saint Vincent secured the top seed and home-court advantage for the tournament, set to run Monday through Saturday. The Bearcats (21-4, 15-1) get a double-bye — as does second-seeded Washington & Jefferson (18-7, 13-3) — to the semifinals, to...
Helm’s hot hand leads No. 7 Greensburg Central Catholic past Geibel in WPIAL 1st round
Members of Greensburg Central Catholic’s boys basketball team knew senior Geoff Helm would have to figure into an opening-round playoff victory. But the team didn’t plan on seeing a second quarter like the one Helm had on Friday night. Helm, a Shippensburg recruit, poured in 14 of his game-high 29...
Tri-State PGA announces award winners
Each year, the Tri-State PGA Section recognizes the top contributors to its organization and the district golf community. Award winners for this year were announced this week. They are as follows: Golf Professional of the Year: Tom Beeder, Grandview Golf Club Teacher of the Year: Chuck Scally, Scally’s Golf Center...
Seton LaSalle boys eliminate Southmoreland at WPIALsVideo
Seton LaSalle eliminated the hyphen from its name a while back. A hot start Saturday afternoon helped the Rebels eliminate Southmoreland from the WPIAL boys basketball playoffs. No. 4 seed Seton LaSalle hit 9 of its first 12 shots to build a double-digit lead, then held off a mild first-half...
Impressive Jeannette rolls past Springdale in WPIAL Class 2A openerVideo
With the offense flowing like a fountain and the defense locked in and smothering Springdale, Jeannette boys basketball coach Adrian Batts grew more impressed with his team. By day’s end, he was comfortable calling the Jayhawks’ playoff opener their most complete game of the season. Senior forward Marcus Barnes had...
Westmoreland basketball playoff preview capsules for Tuesday’s games
Tuesday’s games Boys Class 6A first round No. 8 Penn-Trafford (14-8) vs. No. 9 Peters Township (15-7) 8 p.m. Tuesday at Mt. Lebanon Winner plays: No. 1 Pine-Richland (20-2) on Saturday in quarterfinals Coaches: Jim Rocco, Penn-Trafford; Gary Goga, Peters Township Points scored/allowed: Penn-Trafford, 61.0/55.8; Peters Twp., 60.6/53.6 ppg avg...
Westmoreland campus clippings: SVC softball player Sleith earns national recognition
Saint Vincent softball pitcher Alona Sleith is expected to have a big sophomore season. But it isn’t just her coaches, teammates and Presidents’ Athletic Conference opponents who have the expectations. Sleith, a Yough graduate, was named Monday to the Schutt Sports and National Fastpitch Coaches Association National Player of the...
Virginia’s Bridget Guy breaks pole vault record … again
Bridget Guy just keeps raising the bar at Virginia. The Hempfield graduate and redshirt senior has broken the school pole vault record three straight weeks, the latest instance coming over the weekend at the Tiger Paw Invitational in Clemson, S.C. Guy cleared 14 feet, 4.5 inches on her first try...
Westmoreland notebook: Jeannette to hold public meeting about artificial turf
Rumblings of Jeannette getting artificial turf at McKee Stadium began months ago, but rumors and innuendo could become fact as district officials take proactive steps to advance the process. The district will have a public meeting at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday in the high school cafeteria to present details, including cost...
Behrend’s Robbie McMaster sets program volleyball record
Robbie McMaster can dig it. A senior libero for the Penn State Behrend volleyball team and a Norwin graduate, McMaster recently became the program’s all-time leader in career digs, breaking Derek Polishen’s mark of 606 set in 2015. McMaster had 12 digs in a 3-0 win over Adrian, the fourth...
Westmoreland campus clippings: Former P-T kicker transfers to Shippensburg
Nick Tarabrella had two signing days. The first when the strong-legged kicker was coming out of Penn-Trafford to solidify his pledge to Ashland (Ohio). When he had a change of heart, the college sophomore found himself signing his name again last Wednesday, only with a different Division II program: Shippensburg....
Former Penn-Trafford standout kicker Nick Tarabrella switching college programs
Nick Tarabrella had two signing days. The first when the strong-legged kicker was coming out of Penn-Trafford and pledged to Ashland (Ohio). The second came last Wednesday when he had a change of heart. Tarabrella, a sophomore, found himself signing his name with a different Division II program this time:...
Saint Vincent’s Alona Sleith named to softball watch list
Saint Vincent softball infielder and pitcher Alona Sleith is expected to have a big sophomore season. But it isn’t just her coaches, teammates and Presidents’ Athletic Conference opponents who have the ready-made expectations. Sleith, a Yough graduate, was named Monday to the Schutt Sports and National Fastpitch Coaches Association National...
St. Francis star Zinobile to have jersey number retired
It wouldn’t be Legends Night at St. Francis (Pa.) without Jess Zinobile in the house. St. Francis will honor one of its all-time great women’s basketball players Saturday at DeGol Arena in Loretto by raising her No. 22 jersey to the rafters. The Red Flash (9-12, 6-3) host Central Connecticut...
Westmoreland campus clippings: Queen is 3-point king at W&J
Sophomore Zach Queen became the 3-point king this season for the Washington & Jefferson basketball team. Queen, a Hempfield graduate, set the school record with 3-pointers in a season with 69. The mark came in Saturday’s 80-76 home victory over Thiel in overtime. His record-breaking basket with 4 seconds left...
Saint Vincent to play doubleheader at Pirates’ spring training site
Pitchers and catchers will report — along with the rest of the Saint Vincent baseball team. Saint Vincent will head south next month to open the season, but with a bonus. The Bearcats will play a doubleheader at LECOM Park in Bradenton, Fla., the spring training home of the Pittsburgh...
Westmoreland campus clippings: Seton Hill baseball picked to win PSAC
Its field has been covered in snow lately, but the Seton Hill baseball team already is thinking about the upcoming season — and the expectations that will come with it. The Griffins again are the preseason favorite in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference. After back-to-back conference titles, Seton Hill was...
UPG’s Seigfreid named AMCC player of week
Sophomore guard Cam Seigfreid was rewarded Monday for one of his most productive stretches of the season for the Pitt-Greensburg men’s basketball team. A Penn-Trafford graduate, Seigfreid was named Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference Player of the Week after leading the Bobcats (7-14, 4-10) to a 2-1 week. The 6-foot-2 Seigfreid...
W&J’s Zach Queen breaks school 3-point record
Sophomore guard Zach Queen became the 3-point king this season for the Washington & Jefferson basketball team. Queen, a Hempfield graduate, set the school record with 3-pointers in a season, with 69. The mark came in Saturday’s 80-76 home victory over Thiel in overtime. His record-breaking 3 with four seconds...
Appleby’s big second half helps IUP women defeat Seton HillVideo
IUP point guard Carolyn Appleby said she didn’t feel any added pressure returning to Greensburg. But even a senior can have nerves on the basketball court, right? “No, there never is,” said Appleby, a Greensburg Central Catholic graduate. “We have scorers anywhere on our team and our bench. That’s what...
Maria Palarino nets 1,000th career point for St. Francis (N.Y.)
Maria Palarino became the 17th player in St. Francis Brooklyn women’s basketball history to score 1,000 career points. The 5-foot-10 senior guard out of Penn-Trafford took a cross-lane pass and made a scooping, left-handed layup off the glass with 3:02 left in the second quarter Monday night to reach the...
Star receiver Ardell Brown leaving Seton Hill for UConn
Ardell Brown is proof the new NCAA transfer portal works. The big-play wide receiver from Seton Hill asked to have his name thrown into the hat so he could test the waters. Brown, a redshirt junior, knew he had a monster season for the Griffins and could draw a peek...
Westmoreland campus clippings: Burns sets record for Point Park women’s basketball
Michelle Burns, a sophomore guard at Point Park and a Hempfield graduate, broke the school record for 3-pointers in a game Thursday, connecting on 9 of 13 attempts — for a career-high 33 points — in a 91-62 victory over visiting Asbury. Burns, who made 11 of 17 shots overall,...
Norwin grad Jenna Cole picks up AMCC honor
Jenna Cole is a criminal justice major at La Roche. She may work in that field one day, but until then she’ll continue to bring decency to the paint for the Redhawks women’s basketball team. Cole, a 6-foot junior forward out of Norwin, was lauded for her latest efforts Monday...
