Bill Beckner stories, Page 8
Westmoreland soccer playoff preview capsules for Thursday, Oct. 16
WPIAL soccer playoffs Boys Class 3A Preliminary round Ringgold (8-8) at Belle Vernon (7-10-1) 6:30 p.m. Thursday, James Weir Stadium, Belle Vernon Winner plays: At 1-Hampton (14-2-2) 12:30 p.m. Saturday in first round Players to watch: Izaiah Wilson, Ringgold; Jackson Pressel, Belle Vernon Throw-ins: Ringgold tied Laurel Highlands for fourth...
‘It will come down to matchups’: Westmoreland County soccer teams learn WPIAL playoff pairings
When Franklin Regional reached the WPIAL boys soccer finals last season, the Panthers were slight underdogs as the No. 7 seed. If they get back to Highmark Stadium, it won’t be as much of a surprise. The Panthers are No. 3 this time in what appears to be a wide-open...
Breaking down the 2025 WPIAL boys soccer playoffs
Here’s a look at the 2025 WPIAL boys soccer playoffs: Class 4A Favorite: Peters Township powered its way to the Section 2 title with a defense that allowed just seven goals. The Indians were the No. 2 seed last year and reached the semifinals. Anthony Maiello is the top goal...
3 teams chasing elusive 3-peat as WPIAL announces boys, girls soccer playoff pairings
It’s been 34 years since a WPIAL boys soccer team won three straight district championships. A pair of teams have a chance to three-peat this season. South Park (17-1) and Bentworth (17-0) were awarded No. 1 seeds in the WPIAL playoffs, the Eagles in Class 2A and the Bearcats in...
Westmoreland County boys soccer notebook: Playoff berth especially sweet after Hempfield’s struggles
Hempfield faced a must-win game last Thursday to extend its season. The Spartans (5-10) came through in the clutch. They played inspired soccer, blanking Gateway, 4-0, to clinch their first WPIAL playoff spot since 2014. Braden Crowe scored two goals and assisted another, and Isaac Pugliese and Tyler Gilpin also...
Mt. Pleasant claims section title, runs win streak to 7 with shutout of Charleroi
Mt. Pleasant boys soccer coach Floyd Snyder wore a gray suit with a red and blue tie and dress shoes and capped his outfit with a blue visor to lead his team Tuesday night. The coach looked dapper in his senior night attire, the 18th year he’s dressed up for...
Norwin runner Annie Czajkowski commits to Pitt
Pitt picked up a commitment from one of the state’s top distance runners as Norwin senior Annie Czajkowski pledged to the Panthers for track and cross country. Czajkowski chose Pitt over other offers from Rutgers, Delaware and Duquesne. She also talked to Penn State and Georgia. Her brother, Noah, is...
Westmoreland County girls soccer notebook: 11 area teams advance to playoffs
The WPIAL will release playoff brackets around 1 p.m. Wednesday on Trib HSSN. The local field of teams is set at 11. They are: Norwin (14-2), Penn-Trafford (9-6-1) and Latrobe (8-6) in Class 4A; Franklin Regional (14-3) and Kiski Area (7-3) in 3A; Belle Vernon (13-4-1), Burrell (9-5-2), Mt. Pleasant...
Westmoreland campus clippings: Saint Vincent volleyball coach Sue Hozak gets 700th win
Longtime Saint Vincent women’s volleyball coach Sue Hozak is among the most successful coaches in the nation. She has the wins to prove it. Hozak, who has guided the team since 1985, picked up her 700th career win as SVC defeated visiting Geneva, 3-0, in a PAC match at Carey...
Westmoreland County high school notebook: Hempfield senior looks to play 2 ways at Mercyhurst
If all goes as planned, Chase Sikorski will be fielding ground balls one day and coming out of the bullpen the next when he heads off to play college baseball. The Hempfield senior believes he will be a utility man — a pitcher and infielder — at Mercyhurst, where he...
Westmoreland athletes of the week: Hempfield’s Preslee Horchak, Mt. Pleasant’s Damien Ohler
Preslee Horchak School: Hempfield Class: Senior Sport: Volleyball Claim to fame: Horchak is always in the mood to help her teammates. The setter recently reached 1,000 career assists while helping Hempfield to a 10-3 record and a first-place tie with Penn-Trafford. She had 32 assists in a 3-2 win over...
Westmoreland high school football notebook: Injuries pile up for Hempfield ahead of must-win game
Hempfield’s injury list is growing, along with a sense of urgency. The Spartans saw three linemen and a receiver/defensive back leave the field and not return in Friday night’s flat 47-8 loss to Seneca Valley. Linemen Jake Wiederstein (arm), Brock Heisler (hand) and Noah Helfrich (shoulder) and receiver Nick Marquis...
Norwin hockey turns page after taking lumps last season
Coming off a 1-19 season, second-year Norwin hockey coach Denny Zeravica wants to take what he and his players learned from bouts of adversity and apply it to present times. Last year was last year. That ice has melted. “Even though we had a down year in regard to winning,...
Seneca Valley comes up big in ground game, dominates Hempfield
Seneca Valley had been practicing the play it calls “White Whale” for weeks. When offensive tackle Tommy Wuychek, big No. 68, turned the trick play into a “Big Man” touchdown — a 3-yard pitch and run in the second quarter — the Raiders knew it was their night. A whale...
Sellout expected for Mt. Pleasant-Southmoreland football, tickets limited
Russ Grimm Field will be jam-packed for Friday night’s Class 3A Interstate Conference football matchup between Mt. Pleasant and Southmoreland. Southmoreland officials are urging fans to arrive early. Online ticket sales were stopped after orders reached 1,500, athletic director Brian Pritts said. A limited number of remaining tickets, which are...
Plum boys soccer clinches 7th straight section title after scoreless tie against Norwin
A section-championship boys soccer match didn’t get a victor, but it proved to be an ideal tune-up for the upcoming WPIAL playoffs. Norwin and Plum settled on a 0-0 draw on a cold Thursday night at Mustang Stadium in their second Section 1-4A game of the season. Even with the...
Westmoreland County H.S. football notebook: Penn-Trafford shows flair for dramatic
Penn-Trafford is showing a penchant for late-game flair. Just like they did against Moon earlier in the season, the fifth-ranked Warriors rallied in the second half last week to get past rival Gateway, 33-23, in Class 5A Big East play. Gateway took a 23-7 lead into halftime before the Warriors...
Ayres sets program shutout record as Franklin Regional girls top Elizabeth Forward
Addison Ayres saves most of the shots she faces, but the Franklin Regional senior goalkeeper couldn’t save herself after Wednesday night’s game. As the Panthers gathered in their customary circle after a 5-0 Section 4-3A girls soccer victory over visiting Elizabeth Forward, Ayres didn’t see junior teammates Grace Copeland and...
Westmoreland County boys soccer notebook: Franklin Regional getting healthy, building momentum
Franklin Regional is getting healthy. That could be bad news for other boys soccer teams in WPIAL Class 3A. “The more we start to get healthy, the more depth we have,” Panthers coach Nick White said. “When we put guys in, the level doesn’t drop.” Senior Keaton Sheetz and sophomore...
Westmoreland County girls soccer notebook: As section title shows, ‘Norwin is back’
Norwin has secured its first outright section championship since 2019, a sure sign the Knights (12-2) are back to being WPIAL title contenders again. “Yes, Norwin is back,” junior Siena Ali said. Senior Nicole Bown and her classmates on the team have seen both ends of the spectrum. When they...
Norwin clinches 1st outright section title in 6 years with win over Penn-Trafford
Fifth-ranked Norwin secured its first outright section championship since 2019 and ran its winning streak to 11 with a 1-0 victory over Penn-Trafford on Monday night in a Section 1-4A girls soccer game teeming with playoff atmosphere at Norwin Knights Stadium. The longtime Westmoreland County rivals staged another one of...
Westmoreland County campus clippings: Penn-Trafford grad David Newsom wins Grove City Invitational
With sophomore David Newsom out in front as the medalist, the Saint Vincent men’s golf team won the Grove City Invitational at Grove City Country Club. Newsom, a Penn-Trafford graduate, shot 3-under-par 69 to win the individual title by two shots. The lefty finished with six birdies and carded a...
High school notebook: Westmoreland cross country championships set for Wednesday
The Westmoreland County Coaches Association Cross Country Championships will be Wednesday at Westmoreland County Community College. The boys varsity race begins at 3 p.m., followed by girls varsity at 3:40 and junior varsity at 4:20. Returning champions are the Norwin boys and girls (3A), and the Greensburg Salem girls (2A)...
Westmoreland high school athletes of the week, Oct. 5, 2025: Franklin Regional’s Allyssa Velasquez, Penn-Trafford’s Jordan Tucek
Allyssa Velasquez School: Franklin Regional Class: Senior Sport: Soccer Claim to fame: Velasquez has emerged as one of the top goal scorers in the WPIAL. She is second in Westmoreland County in goals — to Morgan Gesinski of Mt. Pleasant — with a career-high 18. She had back-to-back hat tricks...
Westmoreland high school football notebook: Crosby, Brown go toe-to-toe in rivalry game
Samir Crosby didn’t get a win in what was likely his final game at Jeannette, but the elusive senior star from Greensburg Central Catholic still put on a show in front of his hometown family and friends. A day after getting cleared to play after suffering a concussion two weeks...
