Bill Beckner stories, Page 60
Starting 5: A primer for 2023-24 boys basketball season in Westmoreland County
The WPIAL boys basketball season opens Friday. Here are some of the top storylines, teams and players to watch this season in Westmoreland County: 5 storylines • Several bruisers on the low block appear to be opting out this season. Some local football players decided to throw their basketball shoes...
Checking in on past winners of the Bill Fralic Memorial Award
The Bill Fralic Memorial Award for the top interior lineman in the WPIAL will be presented to this year’s recipient during a pancake breakfast Saturday morning at Longue Vue Club in Verona. The award, named after the legendary Penn Hills alum who invented the pancake block and starred at Pitt...
Norwin grad Jack Salopek leaving Western Michigan
Feeling undervalued and underused, Jack Salopek decided the time was right to leave Western Michigan. A growing disconnect led the redshirt sophomore quarterback to go the transfer portal route. Salopek, a Norwin graduate, announced Tuesday he will seek to play for another program. This season was a see-saw for the...
Riverview’s Lola Abraham leads 2023 Trib HSSN girls soccer all-stars
Trib HSSN Girls Soccer All-Stars Fab 15 Player of the year Lola Abraham Sr., F, Riverview Known for scoring goals in bunches, Lola Abraham was an offensive stalwart with the disruptive tendencies of a defender. Slow her down early, she’ll probably burn you late. Braces and hat tricks were only...
Norwin’s Owen Christopher headlines 2023 Trib HSSN boys soccer all-stars
Trib HSSN Boys Soccer All-Stars Fab 15 Player of the year Owen Christopher Sr., MF, Norwin Watch Owen Christopher play soccer and you see his leadership ability. His head is always on a swivel. He sets everyone up, pointing and waving like a Hollywood director, to get the right position,...
With experienced lineup, new coach, Yough girls hoping for another playoff season
Excuse Brian Znavor as he navigates a return to high school basketball. He’s been out of the loop for a bit. “Probably 12 or 13 years,” the first-year Yough girls coach said. “I think cellphones were just getting popular around my last year. I still remember when we had phone...
With top scorer Terek Crosby leading charge, Yough boys pumped up to have strong season
The last whistle of an early afternoon practice gives way to the clang of weights as Yough boys basketball players continue their preseason training. Yough was strong last season. The team is even stronger now, literally. “These kids are working really hard,” coach Jim Nesser said, scouring a crowded weight...
Westmoreland campus clippings: Saint Vincent men’s basketball off to red-hot start
It has been two decades since the Saint Vincent men’s basketball team started 5-0. With a fast-paced style and skilled lineup, SVC is becoming a must-see attraction in Latrobe. The Bearcats were averaging 90 points and winning by a margin of 21 with their 5-0 mark heading into the Thanksgiving...
Westmoreland County high school notebook: Hempfield set to host annual tip-off tournament
High school basketball season starts Friday. Hempfield will be buzzing with local openers at the Spartan Field House on Friday and Saturday. Six boys teams will play in the 19th Hempfield tip-off tournament. On Friday, the matchups are Franklin Regional vs. Connellsville at 4:45 p.m., Penn-Trafford vs. Greensburg Central Catholic...
Franklin Regional notebook: Honors keep coming for former Panthers swimmer
A college freshman now, Aiden Bunker is still reaping the rewards of a terrific career as a student-athlete at Franklin Regional. A 2023 graduate who currently is a swimmer at Villanova, Bunker was named to the USA Swimming Scholastic All-American list, a notable accomplishment for the former WPIAL standout. The...
Norwin notebook: Knights coach picked for all-star game
Norwin boys soccer coach Scott Schuchert led a banner season for the Knights as they won their first WPIAL championship and advanced to the PIAA Class 4A semifinals. For his achievements, Schuchert was selected as the Class 4A coach for the 2023 Western Pennsylvania Soccer Coaches Association boys all-star games...
North Allegheny’s Abigail Stager, Avonworth’s Fiona Mahan earn All-America honors
Abigail Stager and Fiona Mahan led their girls soccer teams on lengthy playoff runs this season, but their accomplishments stretched beyond the scope of the WPIAL and PIAA. Stager, a senior forward at North Allegheny, and Mahan, a junior midfielder for Avonworth, received the highest honor by the United Soccer...
Franklin Regional goalkeeper Aris Lamanna named TribLive Westmoreland girls soccer player of the year
Player of the Year Aris Lamanna Sr., Goalkeeper, Franklin Regional Not many goalkeepers in the WPIAL have stood guard like Aris Lamanna has over her prodigious four-year career at Franklin Regional. Consider: She posted a shutout in 50% of her starts — 31 clean sheets in 62 games — and...
WPIAL champ Owen Christopher of Norwin claims TribLive Westmoreland boys soccer player of year award
Player of the Year Owen Christopher Sr., Midfielder, Norwin Call him the cornerstone, the building block, the pillar. Whatever the case, Owen Christopher held the Norwin boys soccer team up as the Knights made history. Norwin’s world was more interesting with Christopher in it. The Knights won their first WPIAL...
‘Team’ is the word for WPIAL champion Belle Vernon
As a postgame press conference wound into its final question and answer Friday night at Acrisure Stadium, Braden Laux grabbed the microphone. “I’d like to say one more thing,” the senior quarterback from Belle Vernon said. “Our line … Without them, we wouldn’t be at this table with this trophy....
Back to back for Belle Vernon: Leopards shut out Avonworth in Class 3A title gameVideo
It wasn’t dazzling plays or finesse that propelled Belle Vernon to a championship this time. No, the Leopards got some dirt under their fingernails on the cold sod Friday at Acrisure Stadium, using a firm-handed defense to limit Avonworth in a 26-0 victory that produced a title repeat. This win...
With talent, experience, Norwin girls aim to be among WPIAL’s top contenders in Class 6A
With four starters and a number of key reserves back from a WPIAL and PIAA semifinal team, Norwin girls basketball is aging well. Aging like a fine … well, let the coach tell you. “You have different collections every year,” coach Brian Brozeski said. “The feels are always different. It’s...
Despite heavy graduation loss, Norwin boys basketball reloads to compete in Section 2-6A
With only one player back who saw varsity playing time and a roster scrubbed clean by graduation, the Norwin boys are rebuilding but not panicking. “Teams and players are a lot different in February than they are in November,” third-year coach Lance Maha said. “This doesn’t freak me out. “There...
Replacing Tiffany Zelmore won’t be easy, but cupboard’s not bare for Mt. Pleasant girls
It’s not every season a coach has to replace an all-time talent, but Mt. Pleasant girls basketball’s Scott Giacobbi has that challenge in front of him this winter. Tiffany Zelmore, the second-leading scorer in program history, graduated last season after piling up 1,629 points over her four-year career. “You’re not...
With ground broken, new Mt. Pleasant boys coach turns focus to future
What has happened with Annie Malkowiak is a history-making achievement. But for now, she will file it under past history. Malkowiak is ready to live in the present as the groundbreaking new boys basketball coach at Mt. Pleasant. “I started watching film of last year’s team, and I turned it...
Westmoreland County high school football notebook: Linebackers lead Leopards
Matt Humbert describes his inside linebackers as having “nonstop motors.” “Relentless speed,” the coach from Belle Vernon said. “So damn quick.” But that is not the impressive part of the middle two players — and a reserve — who play on the back level of the Leopards’ 4-4 defense. It...
In WPIAL championship rematch, Avonworth poses threat to Belle Vernon repeat bid
Avonworth and Belle Vernon were having spells of déjà vu, even a little total recall, as they prepared to meet for the second year in a row for the WPIAL Class 3A football championship. Many of the same players suited up for the title at Acrisure Stadium a year ago...
Latrobe soccer player Ava Yurko chooses Youngstown State
Add another Division I college soccer commit to the list at Latrobe. On the same day she was named to the Pennsylvania Soccer Coaches Association All-State list, junior defender Ava Yurko announced Tuesday a verbal commitment to Youngstown State, bringing the Latrobe girls’ total of D-I commits in the last...
Dozen from WPIAL named to girls’ soccer all-state list
The Pennsylvania Soccer Coaches Association announced its girls all-state list Tuesday. Twelve from the WPIAL were selected, including three of the four goalkeepers, in seniors Aris Lamanna of Franklin Regional, Serayah Leech of Moon and Kate McEnroe of Mars. The list also included this year’s Moe Rosensteel Award winner, midfielder...
Westmoreland County campus clippings: Norwin grad Kurtis Phipps wins at Navy Classic
Bucknell senior wrestler Kurtis Phipps (Norwin) went 4-0 and won an individual title at the Navy Classic. Phipps defeated No. 31 Jake Va Dee of Nebraska in the 133-pound finals. He also had a technical fall and a major decision on the way to the championship. Army: Sophomore 125-pounder Ethan...
