Bill Beckner stories, Page 73
2023 Trib HSSN Preseason Football All-Star Team: Central Catholic’s Anthony Speca
The Harry Truman quote is on his cell phone screen for quick reference. “It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit.” Anthony Speca of Central Catholic believes those words can be applied to his football team. “From a team standpoint, we have...
Explosive offense has Southmoreland in position for big year
Attend a Southmoreland football game. Stay for the fireworks. Or, is it the other way around? The Scotties have developed into one of the top passing teams in the WPIAL, slinging the ball around the field with purpose and fearlessness. But don’t pigeon-hole them just yet. There is more than...
Moon girls soccer ranked 2nd in United Soccer Coaches’ preseason poll
Moon dropped to Class 3A last season as part of the latest two-year high school sports enrollment cycle. The Tigers’ girls soccer team, though, just keeps rising. After running the table last season and winning WPIAL and PIAA championships with a perfect 24-0 record, the Tigers will start the 2023...
Norwin wrestlers help Team PA to strong showing at junior nationals in Fargo
Like most hopefuls who play the Powerball lottery, Landon Sidun has the right attitude when he goes into a wrestling tournament. A confident, clear-headed attitude. “If you don’t think you can win, why go?” the rising freshman at Norwin said after he hit the jackpot. Sidun became a national champion...
Derry out to break streak, reestablish winning identity
Derry has been living in the shadow of a losing streak that dates to the disruptive covid season of 2020. But second-year coach Mike Arone and the Trojans are committed to stopping it. With a new system now a year old, they are ready to do a little pushing back...
Closure of Alderson Broaddus affects a number of athletes with WPIAL ties
Rumors swirled around campus. The whispers were brooding. But was there any validity to it all? On Monday, student-athletes at Alderson Broaddus found out there indeed was. It was all true. Alderson Broaddus, the private Baptist university in Phillippi, W.Va., is preparing to shut down because of financial difficulties. As...
Westmoreland County campus clippings: Jeannette grad Marcus Barnes named preseason All-CAA
William & Mary football was picked to repeat as champion of the Coastal Athletic Association. A local player is expected to have an impact on that title run. Senior Marcus Barnes, a Jeannette graduate, was named an All-CAA honorable mention at safety. The 6-foot-3, 185-pound Barnes played in 13 games,...
Westmoreland County softball players offer knowledge, experience to youths during clinics, lessons
As Courtney Poulich leans in to give a wide-eyed softball player some hitting advice, she can’t help but get nostalgic. “Giving lessons teaches us to appreciate the sport even more, and we are constantly mastering our skills by teaching others,” said Poulich, a Mt. Pleasant graduate and a rising junior...
High school notebook: Belle Vernon’s Martin among those up for vote as best player in the nation
Quinton Martin is talented, but will he be the best high school football player in the country this season? It’s a matter of opinion, for now. SBLive (Scorebooklive.com) recently asked that question and gave a list of 20 players, including Martin, who will be up for a fan vote that...
2023 Trib HSSN Preseason Football All-Star Team: Norwin’s Jackson Pons
When his team was flagged for a hold last week during the championship of the Westmoreland County Coaches Association Larry Sellitto Memorial 7-on-7 Passing Tournament at Latrobe, Norwin’s Jackson Pons showed his frustration. He threw up his hands and walked away from the play. First-year coach Mike Brown reeled in...
Franklin Regional grad Jackson returning to Notre Dame golf team for 5th year
Palmer Jackson knows what it is like to be under par on the golf course. But his college golf career is plus-one. Jackson, a standout out of Franklin Regional, announced he will play a fifth year at Notre Dame, delaying his plans to turn professional. “I really want to go...
Sal Frelick making rapid progress with Brewers, plus local updates from MLB pipelines
“Better Call Sal” is becoming a popular catchphrase among the Milwaukee Brewers fanbase. It even made its way to T-shirts. Just a few days ago, the message was more like, better call up Sal. The Brewers did promote their prized prospect, Sal Frelick, and he has not disappointed. He is...
Monessen powderpuff game to benefit families of Altomore, Madzey
Monessen’s senior class is looking to give back while remembering a friend and helping another. The seniors will play a powderpuff football game at 5:30 p.m. Sunday at Memorial Stadium. Organizers hope the fundraiser will allow seniors to purchase a memorial bench for Amari Altomore, who was killed in a...
Sal Frelick, who has ties to Greensburg, makes memorable debut for Brewers
After a scintillating major-league debut, Sal Frelick left American Family Field with his ears ringing from the loudest applause he has ever heard. And it was all for him. Frelick, a fast-rising prospect who has ties to Greensburg, banged out three hits in as many at-bats, drove in a pair...
Brewers call up Sal Frelick, who has ties to Greensburg
Sal Frelick, a Milwaukee Brewers farmhand who has ties to Greensburg, was called up to the big club Saturday. Frelick, 23, who is MLB Pipeline’s No. 17 overall prospect out of Triple-A Nashville, is set to bat sixth and play right field Saturday night when the Brewers host the Atlanta...
Franklin Regional grad Michael Krauza rejoins pro baseball team
Michael Krauza is back with the Cleburne Railroaders, an American Association of Professional Baseball team that is a “partner league” of Major League Baseball, after a brush with the minors. Partner teams have no direct affiliation to MLB teams but can produce big-league prospects. Krauza, a right-handed pitcher out of...
Confidence at an all-time high for Norwin grad Jack Salopek at Western Michigan
Quarterback Jack Salopek has never been a rah-rah screamer — in the huddle, at practice or otherwise. You might say he is like a vault emotionally with the way he carries himself and how he plays football. The Norwin alum has always let his game do the talking, and he...
Norwin notebook: Viola dojo competitors shine at national championships
The Allegheny Shotokan “Viola” Karate Dojo had the most qualifiers advance from the World Karate and Kickboxing Commission National Championships last month in Detroit, Mich. The North Huntingdon-based dojo had 17 competitors advance. The top four finishers in each division earned a spot on Team USA, which consists of top...
Westmoreland County high school notebook: Yough welcomes new girls soccer coach
Yough’s girls soccer team will have its third coach in three years with the hiring of Robert Broadwater, a Pennsylvania state trooper and former Yough middle school coach. Broadwater also served as an assistant with Mike Veychek, who resigned after one season coaching the Cougars. Broadwater was a varsity assistant...
2023 Trib HSSN Preseason Football All-Star Team: Central Catholic’s Payton Wehner
Lying in a hospital bed about three years ago, Payton Wehner took inventory of his world. “That was a point in life where, honestly, if I could go back, I wouldn’t change a thing,” said Wehner, Central Catholic’s senior quarterback. Not the wildcat play that resulted in a season-ending injury?...
Yough, Hempfield girls basketball coaches resign
Hempfield and Yough are looking for girls head basketball coaches. Tom Brush resigned at Hempfield, a place where he has coached since 2018. Mike Gerdich, meanwhile, stepped down at Yough following the team’s first playoff trip in 10 years. Brush said his decision is work-related. Since his schedule changed, he...
Latrobe wins WCCA 7-on-7 tourney for 2nd time in row
As John Wetzel walked off the field Thursday, he made it clear to his teammates he was far from tired. His arm wasn’t sore. His legs were fine. He was charged up. “I’m ready to play another one,” the Latrobe quarterback said with a smile. Transfixed on validating last year’s...
Scott Morrison to coach Westmoreland County Community College men’s basketball team
Scott Morrison has been itching to get back into coaching. After spending a season as an assistant for the women’s basketball team at Westmoreland County Community College last year, he is primed to take over the men’s program. Morrison, a former athletic director at Yough and a Norwin alum, was...
Yough’s Kendalyn Umbel commits to play soccer at YSU, won’t play high school season
Like a penalty kick in a shootout, Kendalyn Umbel has lined up her Division I college soccer future — with two years left in her high school career. Umbel, a rising junior at Yough who does not plan to play for the high school team this season, announced a verbal...
Longtime Southmoreland coach, teacher Brian Pritts takes on athletic director role
It was a promotion Brian Pritts was proud to accept. A true “Southmoreland guy” would be. Pritts is set to take over as athletic director at Southmoreland, his alma mater and a place where he has taught and coached since 1995. The former Southmoreland girls basketball coach had been the...
