Bill Beckner stories, Page 80
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...
Westmoreland Saints youth football program folds as Greensburg Central Catholic starts flag, middle school programs
An ordinary Friday turned into All Saints Day. When news began to travel last week that the Westmoreland Saints youth football program out of Greensburg was folding, former players took to social media to pay their respects to the middle school-level team. The Saints are stepping aside now that Greensburg...
2023 Trib HSSN Preseason Football All-Star Team: Belle Vernon’s Quinton Martin
Editor’s note: This is the fifth in a series of 25 profiles of the members of the Trib HSSN Preseason Football All-Star Team. When it came time to make his college decision, Quinton Martin operated on his own terms. No news conference. No three hats lined up on a table....
Franklin Regional soccer players join select team for national tournament in Florida
A handful of Franklin Regional boys soccer players were set to compete on a national stage. The 05 BVB International Academy Premier team, coached by former Franklin Regional coach Thomas Louisy, traveled Florida to play in the United States Youth Soccer National Championship Series. The Franklin Regional players on the...
Westmoreland County high school notebook: Latrobe out to defend 7-on-7 title
Route-runners and defensive backs will exchange moves, and quarterbacks will sharpen their downfield throws Thursday when the 12th Westmoreland County Coaches Association Larry Sellitto Memorial 7-on-7 Passing Tournament returns to Greater Latrobe High School. Sixteen teams will compete for the title beginning at 9 a.m. on four turf fields. Rossi...
St. Francis (Pa.) extends offer to Central Catholic QB Payton Wehner
Central Catholic has more than 100 players signed up for football this season. That includes a rising group of more than 50 freshmen. Once a promising ninth grader himself, quarterback Payton Wehner has come a long way in his time with the Vikings. Suddenly, though, he is all grown up...
After collecting one trophy, Bushy Run American Legion sets sights on the next
After Bushy Run secured the final out and collected its District 31 championship trophy, players shouted, “We won the WPIAL.” The reference is meant to draw a parallel to the high school baseball season, where teams win the WPIAL then play for a PIAA state title. It’s a progression. For...
Penn-Trafford alum Dave Bucar named offensive line coach at Maine
Trafford native Dave Bucar has joined the football coaching staff at Maine. He will coach the offensive line under head coach Jordan Stevens. Bucar was an offensive analyst and assistant offensive line and tight ends coach at Boston College for the last four years. “Dave brings a wealth of experience...
American Legion District 31 announces all-stars
With its season complete, the American Legion District 31 baseball league announced its all-district teams, based on a managers’ vote. Of the 24 first- and second-team players, league runner-up Latrobe led with six, while champion Bushy Run had five. Homer City had three, while Murrysville, Young Township, Hempfield East and...
Bushy Run unseats Latrobe for American Legion District 31 title
Jason Sabol came back four games ago from a torn right hamstring, an injury that plagued him since early March. The setback, which happened during high school tryouts, cost him most of his junior baseball season at Penn-Trafford and most of this American Legion season. The Bushy Run center fielder...
