Bill Beckner stories, Page 67
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...
Riverview’s Lola Abraham wins Moe Rosensteel Award as top WPIAL girls soccer player
One of the most prolific goal scorers in the state, Lola Abraham of Riverview, was named the recipient of the fifth Moe Rosensteel Award, given to the WPIAL’s best girls soccer player. Abraham, a Pitt commit, led the Raiders to their first WPIAL championship appearance and a runner-up finish in...
Westmoreland County campus clippings: Greensburg Salem grad up for national college football award
Greensburg Salem alum Brennan Marion, the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at UNLV, is one of 57 finalists for the Broyles Award, which recognizes the top assistant coach in college football. A journeyman who has found success at most of his coaching stops, including Pitt and Texas, Marion joined the...
Westmoreland high school notebook: Franklin Regional’s Bunker lauded
A college freshman now, Aiden Bunker still is reaping the rewards of a terrific career as a student-athlete at Franklin Regional. The 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: Senior earns all-star volleyball invitation
Senior outside hitter Jillian Pensenstadler was set to represent Norwin at an all-star volleyball event. The inaugural Westmoreland County Coaches Association girls volleyball match was a rousing success last fall, so it was a no-brainer for organizers to bring the event back. This year’s match was scheduled for Nov. 21...
Hempfield girls basketball wants to push pace this season
Bob Madison has been coaching girls athletics long enough to have reached a universal truth, at least one that rings true in his mind. “Girls work harder than boys,” the first-year Hempfield girls basketball coach said. “They have this innate nature to want to learn and listen. The boys like...
Hempfield boys ready to reap rewards from growing pains
Last season was a series of gradual improvements interrupted by teaching moments for the Hempfield boys basketball team. The Spartans lost their first two section games by a combined 90 points but won two of their final three to settle at 8-14 overall and 3-7 in Section 2-6A. Section coaches...
Local pro Mark Goetz advances to final stage of Korn Ferry Q-school
Mark Goetz secured future starts on the Korn Ferry Tour, but he wants more. The 25-year-old Greensburg native and Hannastown Golf Club member tied for first in the second stage of tour Q-School with a 19-under-par total of 269 at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail at Highland Oaks —...
Belle Vernon football turns attention toward WPIAL repeat
Friday was the first official practice date for WPIAL basketball season, but Quinton Martin and some of his teammates are not ready to take the court yet — if at all. Martin, who currently doesn’t plan to play basketball this year, was busy Friday night rushing for 152 yards and...
Westmoreland County high school notebook: Coach returns to Ligonier Valley girls basketball
Ligonier Valley named a new girls basketball coach four days before the official start of practice. The coach not only is an alum but the all-time leading scorer for the program (1,606 points) and a Rams Hall of Famer. Christy (Clark) Hajjar, a 1991 graduate, was hired Monday to replace...
