Bill Beckner stories, Page 223
Regula resigns as Derry girls basketball coach
Matt Regula’s stay was short at Derry, his departure not altogether by his choice. But he looks back on his time coaching the girls basketball team at his alma mater with pride. “It gave me the chance to prove that I can be a successful head coach,” said Regula, who...
Western Pennsylvania sites announced for Drive, Chip & Putt
The Western Pennsylvania Golf Association announced local qualifiers for the 2020 Drive, Chip and Putt competition that culminates in a year at Augusta National Golf Club. Registration is underway. Local qualifying sites include: Willowbrook Country Club, Allegheny Township — June 12 Green Oaks Country Club, Verona — June 13 JC...
Hempfield product Harrell to play in national 3-on-3 tournament
Now that his college career is over, Kason Harrell has every intention of playing professional basketball. The wheres and whens have yet to be worked out, but the Purdue Fort Wayne senior knows he’ll be playing against some of the country’s best players in the interim. Harrell, a Hempfield graduate,...
Penn-Trafford moves games to Seton Hill
To counter changing field conditions in Harrison City, Penn-Trafford is moving some baseball and softball games to the artificial turf fields at Seton Hill University. Last year, the Warriors softball team played Hempfield at Seton Hill. The baseball games set to be played at the Greensburg campus include: Wednesday: vs....
RMU’s Vatakis snags dual-honor from NEC
Dana Vatakis is a rare dual-award-winner in the Northeast Conference this week. The freshman softball player at Robert Morris was named NEC Pitcher of the Week and Co-Rookie of the Week. A Monessen graduate, Vatakis made five appearances last week for the Colonials (5-20, 0-1), carding three complete games and...
Westmoreland campus clippings: Big week for Saint Vincent baseball
Saint Vincent senior Bobby Finn tied a school record when he hit three home runs in the second game of a baseball doubleheader Sunday against Chatham in a 20-3 victory. Finn finished 4 for 5 with six RBIs for the Bearcats (10-3, 3-0), who had 19 hits in the win....
IUP women advance to national semifinals
IUP is headed back to the NCAA Division II Final Four. The Crimson Hawks women built a 10-point lead by halftime and cruised past Azusa Pacific (Calif.), 73-60, in the Elite Eight on Tuesday at Old Dominion in Columbus, Ohio. Carolyn Appleby (Greensburg Central Catholic) scored a team-high 17 points,...
Fundraiser started for wrestler who lost father during NCAAs in Pittsburgh
Steve Sprague watched his son, Michael, wrestle his final college match Friday in Pittsburgh. About 30 minutes after the match ended, Steve Sprague suffered “a cardiac event” and died. Now friends are trying to raise money for the grief-stricken family with a GoFundMe page. Michael Sprague is a senior 149-pound...
Six Saint Vincent athletes honored by PAC
Saint Vincent had a good week. The proof is in the accolades. A half-dozen Bearcats athletes from four sports were recognized by the Presidents’ Athletic Conference. Two baseball players and two from the softball team were honored. Junior Jimmy Malone was named PAC Pitcher of the Week. He allowed seven...
Campus clippings: Marc Bucci returns to take over Pitt-Greensburg soccer
Marc Bucci already was familiar with the men’s soccer program at Pitt-Greensburg, having served as an assistant coach in 2017. That made his transition to head coach of the Bobcats a little easier. Bucci will take over the program following the departure of Dan Keefe, who left to become an...
Westmoreland high school lookahead: Week of March 25, 2019
MONDAY Baseball: Teams will try to get in games as the WPIAL season dodges wet weather. A full slate of nonsection action includes Greensburg Central Catholic at Steel Valley, Burrell at Kiski Area, Greensburg Salem at North Hills, Indiana at Norwin, Monessen at Bentworth and Southmoreland at Mt. Pleasant. Softball:...
Westmoreland high school notebook: Ligonier Valley’s Jablonski gets offer
Ligonier Valley already has one football lineman who is drawing Division I attention in junior Michael Petrof. Now, it has two. Junior Christian Jablonski last week received his first offer, from Cornell. The school also offered Petrof, a 6-foot-2, 275-pound two-way tackle who who already had offers from Fordham, Yale,...
GCC grad Pellis finds comfort zone with Seton HillVideo
Tommy Pellis tried to make it work at Penn, tried to find solace in his environment on and off the baseball diamond. He gave it two years in Philadelphia — more than enough time, he thought, to try to blend in and become established. But coming to terms with the...
Belle Vernon football getting help from new weightlifting aid
Opening day of spring sports in the WPIAL was greeted with, sigh, a dose of snow and cold. Meanwhile, a Tsunami hit in Rostraver. Belle Vernon’s football team was continuing to get ready for the fall with its new training tool. The Leopards added ew technology to their weight-lifting program,...
Next up for IUP women: The Elite Eight
The IUP women’s basketball team will be seeking a second straight trip to the NCAA Division II Final Four. The Crimson Hawks (29-3), seeded third in the Elite Eight (national quarterfinals) will meet No. 6 Azusa Pacific (28-5) at noon on Tuesday at Ohio Dominican’s Alumni Hall in Columbus as...
Pitt-Greensburg hires Bucci as men’s soccer coach
Marc Bucci already was familiar with the men’s soccer program at Pitt-Greensburg, having served as an assistant coach in 2017. That made his transition to head coach a little easier. Bucci will take over the program following the departure of Dan Keefe, who left to become an assistant at Lincoln...
Campus clippings: Frelick making impact at Boston College
Sal Frelick did not play high school baseball in Westmoreland County, but the fast-rising star at Boston College has plenty of fans watching his progress from afar. Frelick, a freshman outfielder, still has family and friends in the Greensburg area, and he continues to impress. Frelick, who was named the...
Seton Hill remembers Fogle’s ‘true passion’
Seton Hill is mourning the loss of a man who gave four decades worth of commitment to the university and Griffins athletics. John Fogle, a former women’s soccer coach and athletic director on “The Hill,” died Tuesday. Fogle was a member of the school’s inaugural hall of fame class in...
Bisignani wins NCAA Elite 90 Award
Mikayla Bisignani has proven she can balance academics and athletics at the college level, throwing the discus and swimming in overlapping seasons at Johns Hopkins, all while maintaining a perfect grade-point average. The Greensburg Central Catholic graduate was lauded for her efforts Tuesday night when she was announced as the...
Mt. Pleasant’s Giallonardo invited to be Wild Things’ special guest
Dom Giallonardo could be in for a “Wild” night. The Mt. Pleasant senior who is inspiring more people each day with his comeback story of how he beat cancer twice, was invited to be a special guest at a Washington Wild Things baseball game in the summer. After the team...
Southmoreland baseball looks to change direction under new coach
Southmoreland baseball will be “governed” differently from now on. Al Govern begins his first year as the Scotties’ head coach and is embarking on one of those everybody-buys-in, culture-changing projects. His passion for the venture alone could be what ignites a change in a down-in-the-dumps program. “It needs a change,”...
Southmoreland ready to defend WPIAL title with 8 returning startersVideo
Southmoreland kicked up a thrilling celebration last year after dismantling defending state champion South Park to win the WPIAL Class 3A softball championship on the carpet at Seton Hill. The title run was historic, something the program in Alverton had not seen before. Scotties coach Todd Bunner wants nothing more...
Campus clippings: Belle Vernon’s Slagus leads Bucknell to NCAA Tournament
Tournament MVP Kaitlyn Slagus and her teammates are going to the Big Dance. Slagus, a 6-foot-2 senior forward, scored a game-high 23 points to power the top-seeded Bucknell women’s basketball team to a 66-54 victory over No. 2 American in the Patriot League championship game Sunday in Lewisburg. Bucknell (28-5)...
Latrobe raising funds for Scott Munchinski, local coach with leukemia
Latrobe is rallying around one of its own. Friends of Scott Munchinski have started a GoFundMe page to help pay for medical costs and other expenses as he battles Acute Myeloid Leukemia. In the fight with you @ScottMunch73 You got this. Munchinski Family Jason Thomas (@ramblerjay) March 19, 2019...
Hempfield softball has extended trip home from State Capitol after bus breaks down
Stranded but still enjoying the ride, the state softball champions didn’t let a broken down bus dampen their trip to the state capitol. Hempfield, the only three-peat state champions in the PIAA’s largest classification, were stuck on the Turnpike for just more than two hours Monday evening after their school...
