Bill Beckner stories, Page 50
Westmoreland County campus clippings: Ligonier Valley grad sets javelin record
It looks like Miles Higgins is glad to get outside again. The sophomore from UNC-Wilmington opened the outdoor track and field season with a bang by winning the javelin title at the UNCW Seahawk Invitational. Higgins, a Ligonier Valley graduate, set a school record with a toss of 64.97 meters....
No surprises for battle-tested Norwin, Greensburg Central Catholic girls in state playoffs
The long bus rides. The offbeat gymnasiums. The unfamiliar opponents and schools no one has ever heard of. The PIAA basketball playoffs can be a world of discovery for teams that have never been there. Coaches try to sell the state postseason as “just another game,” but there are noticeable...
Westmoreland County campus clippings: Saint Vincent’s Jaden Gales named PAC’s MVP
A player who puts the power in power forward, Jaden Gales made his presence known every time he took the basketball court this season for Saint Vincent. Whether he was throwing down an alley-oop dunk, running wide and finishing a break or swatting a shot into the second row, Gales...
Westmoreland high school notebook: PIAA basketball playoff pairings, schedule set
The PIAA basketball playoffs will begin this weekend. Times were announced Sunday for first-round games, with higher seeds earning home games. Boys state playoff teams from Westmoreland County are: Franklin Regional in 5A, Burrell and Derry in 3A, Greensburg Central Catholic and Jeannette in 2A and Monessen in A. Franklin...
Westmoreland high school athletes of the week for the week ending March 3, 2024: Kendall Berger and David Mutter
Kendall Berger School: Norwin Class: Junior Sport: Basketball Claim to fame: Berger helped lead Norwin to the WPIAL Class 6A championship with an impressive performance in the semifinals. She scored 18 of her game and playoff career-high 22 points in the second half as Norwin pulled away for a 63-47...
WPIAL champion Norwin girls ‘refused to be outworked’ on title run
Songs, desserts, family. They all came up in conversation during a postgame news conference Friday night at Petersen Events Center as coach Brian Brozeski and eight of his Norwin girls basketball player shared some playful banter with reporters. It was a light and telling session with the newly crowned WPIAL...
Westmoreland County high school notebook: 9 county basketball teams in PIAA field
The PIAA basketball playoff field is set. State first-round games will begin March 8-9. Boys qualifiers from Westmoreland County are Franklin Regional in Class 5A, Derry and Burrell in 3A, Greensburg Central Catholic and Jeannette in 2A and Monessen in Class A. For the girls, it’s Norwin in 6A, Greensburg...
Disciplined lifestyle leads Norwin senior to Navy wrestling team
The military lifestyle appears to suit Nate Campbell. Discipline is nothing new to the Norwin senior wrestler. “I don’t drink or do drugs. I get eight hours of sleep a night. I prioritize academics as well as work out and wrestle every day,” Campbell said. “I put good foods in...
Defense made difference for Franklin Regional in run to WPIAL finals
Franklin Regional boys basketball coach Jesse Reed played in a lot of high-stakes games in his career. From WPIAL and PIAA finals at Greensburg Central Catholic to the NCAA Tournament with American University to professional-level games in Luxembourg, he felt the heat lamps. But facing a WPIAL semifinal as a...
Aliquippa dominates Greensburg Central Catholic to win record-tying 14th WPIAL titleVideo
The term competitive balance has grown attached to Aliquippa in football. There wasn’t much of it in the WPIAL Class 2A basketball championship either. The top-seeded Quips rode scorching-hot shooting and a career day from sophomore Josh Pratt to a one-sided title repeat Saturday afternoon, brushing aside No. 2 Greensburg...
Norwin topples North Allegheny to capture 3rd WPIAL girls basketball championshipVideo
Sweets to the sweet. Norwin girls basketball coach Brian Brozeski, who revealed after Friday’s night’s WPIAL Class 6A title game that he likes to bake, likened his team and its run to championship to making a pie. “It’s the perfect recipe,” Brozeski said, pointing to the eight girls who joined...
2024 WPIAL Class 2A boys basketball championship breakdown: Aliquippa vs. Greensburg C.C.
WPIAL Class 2A boys basketball championship No. 1 Aliquippa vs. No. 2 Greensburg Central Catholic 1 p.m. Saturday at Petersen Events Center On the air: Video livestream: NFHS Network WPIAL titles: GCC 0; Aliquippa 13 (2023, ’16, ’15, ’07, ’06, ’04, ’03, ’00, 1998, ’94, ’88, ’87, ’49) Aliquippa (20-5)...
WPIAL title worth the wait for Greensburg Central Catholic girls
WPIAL champion Greensburg Central Catholic had concerns it might not be sharp for the district final after sitting idle for four days following a semifinal win. That’s not a very long time to wait by most playoff standards, but remember, GCC is a team that played back-to-back-to-back games in January....
Erica Gribble sparks Greensburg Central Catholic past Serra Catholic for 6th WPIAL titleVideo
Erica Gribble had played on the court at Petersen Events Center only one time before, as an innocent third grader. “It was like a youth game where we got to play at halftime,” the sophomore from Greensburg Central Catholic said. “We were there to watch my sister play.” Alayna Gribble,...
2024 WPIAL Class 6A girls basketball championship breakdown: Norwin vs. North Allegheny
WPIAL Class 6A girls basketball championship No. 1 Norwin vs. No. 3 North Allegheny 7 p.m. Friday, Petersen Events Center On the air: Video livestream: NFHS; Audio broadcast: North Allegheny Sports Network WPIAL titles: North Allegheny 6 (2023, ’21, ’20, ’18, ’17, 1972); Norwin 2 (2016, ’15) Norwin (20-3) Coach:...
2024 WPIAL Class 5A boys basketball championship breakdown: Moon vs. Franklin Regional
WPIAL Class 5A boys basketball championship No. 1 Moon vs. No. 2 Franklin Regional 9 p.m. Friday, Petersen Events Center, Pittsburgh On the air: Audio broadcast: Trib HSSN; Video livestream: NFHS WPIAL titles: Franklin Regional 0; Moon 4 (2017, ’06, ’05, ’04) Moon (22-3) Coach: Gino Palmosina Projected starting lineup...
After semifinal celebration for the ages, Greensburg Central Catholic eyes program’s 1st WPIAL title
Water splashed around the locker room and puddled on the floor at Gateway on Tuesday night as Christian Hyland walked into a dousing after a semifinal victory over Northgate. The fifth-year boys basketball coach of Greensburg Central Catholic had nowhere to go as streams from players’ water bottles soaked him,...
For WPIAL finals-bound Franklin Regional, it’s always basketball season
Franklin Regional specializes in basketball. Maybe that best explains why the Panthers will play for their first WPIAL boys basketball championship Friday night at Petersen Events Center. It will be No. 2 seed Franklin Regional (23-2) and No. 1 Moon (22-3) vying for the Class 5A title at 9 p.m....
Ellwood City boys punch ticket to PIAA playoffs by eliminating Yough
In addition to being a 2,000-point scorer in his basketball career, Ellwood City senior Joe Roth is a high-level swimmer who competes for WPIAL and PIAA titles. He swims for Riverside, which co-ops with Ellwood City. On Wednesday night, he sent Yough’s season to the bottom of the pool. In...
Norwin coach Brozeski brings big-picture perspective to title game
After he left the court to visit with his parents and family on the concourse at Peters Township’s AHN Arena on Monday night, Norwin coach Brian Brozeski was asked a question. What was the first thing that popped into your head as the final buzzer sounded? Brozeski didn’t pause: “Thank...
Former GCC track star Corinn Brewer working to bring women’s decathlon to the Olympics
Decathlete Corinn Brewer is working to change the Olympics. A lofty sounding goal? Yes. But not to the former Greensburg Central Catholic track and field standout who is a first-year multi-event athlete and pole vaulter at Lehigh. Brewer is pushing for the games to add the women’s decathlon, an event...
2024 WPIAL Class 2A girls basketball championship breakdown: Serra Catholic vs. Greensburg C.C.
WPIAL Class 2A girls basketball championship No. 1 Greensburg Central Catholic vs. No. 3 Serra Catholic 7 p.m. Thursday at Petersen Events Center On the air: Audio broadcast: Trib HSSN; Video livestream: NFHS WPIAL titles: Serra Catholic 4 (2005, ’03, 1999, ’92); GCC 5 (2007, ’06, ’03, 1997, ’91) Serra...
Westmoreland County high school basketball notebook: The Pete to be packed with county teams
Five Westmoreland County teams are headed to Petersen Events Center this weekend to compete for WPIAL basketball championships. That is a county record for finalists in one year. But there is a lot more in common for the teams than a trip to the “Pete.” The Franklin Regional (5A), Burrell...
Oh, baby: Hyland attends birth of daughter, then guides GCC boys to WPIAL title game
It was a hectic but incredibly rewarding Tuesday for Greensburg Central Catholic boys basketball coach Christian Hyland. The fifth-year coach became a dad for the first time, and now his team will get to play for its first WPIAL championship. Less than an hour after Hyland and his wife, Kellie,...
Westmoreland high school basketball playoff preview capsules for Feb. 28, 2024
WPIAL basketball playoffs Boys Class 3A Consolation tournament Derry (15-7) vs. Shady Side Academy (17-8) 6 p.m. Wednesday at Fox Chapel Winner: Earns fifth place in the WPIAL for the PIAA tournament Players to watch: Stanley Rajkovich, Derry; Seamus Riordan, Shady Side Academy Layup lines: Derry secured a state playoff...
