Bill Beckner stories, Page 97
New coach keeps positive outlook as Jeannette girls basketball eyes rebound
The climb back to respectability is steep for Anna Leonard, the new girls basketball coach at Jeannette. But she is ready to scale the challenge and doesn’t plan to look down. “I’m not nervous. I’m excited,” Leonard said. “It’s not just a challenge for the girls, it’s a challenge for...
Moon’s Hailey Longwell wins Moe Rosensteel Award
Her team did not lose a single game and celebrated a pair of championships. But a postseason award really seemed to cap a perfect season for Hailey Longwell. She was the engine that made the Tigers go. The senior midfielder from Moon was named the recipient of the fourth Moe...
Norwin notebook: Group of standout seniors make college commitments
Norwin athletes put pen to paper on college signing day Nov. 9. Eight Knights signed letters of intent to play at the next level, in four sports. Signees were: Madie Kessler (softball, St. Francis, Pa.); Emma Novotnak (softball, Gannon); Alyssa Aquilio (soccer, Clarion); Faith Steen (soccer, Saint Vincent); Grace Ketter...
Hempfield girls look to keep offseason momentum rolling
Some offseason success and a taste of victory has the Hempfield girls basketball team beaming with confidence and believing it can win more games than it loses. The Spartans won a summer league at the Greensburg YMCA, went undefeated at the Seton Hill Shootout, finished 5-1 at the Cal (Pa.)...
With young roster, Hempfield boys embark on rebuilding year
It is a harsh reality in sports. Teams rebuild. Fans can’t believe it’s true. Players don’t want to acknowledge it. Coaches hope it never happens to them. Even good programs that compete hard every year, like Hempfield, have to start over. “Yeah, this is the first time we’ve had to,”...
Rosters set for inaugural WCCA all-star volleyball match
A new event has joined the Westmoreland County Coaches Association sports rotation. Players from 16 teams will converge on Ligonier Valley for the first WCCA All-Star Girls Volleyball Match at 6 p.m. Tuesday. The all-senior event will feature East vs. West with players selected by coaches. Rosters are as follows:...
Guard play could provide spark for Greensburg Central Catholic girls basketball team
A move to a new section is just logistics to Greensburg Central Catholic. The new digs come with no guarantees and don’t mean another perfect record in section games like last season. And they surely do not ensure a 23rd straight WPIAL playoff berth. That still has to be earned,...
Greensburg Central Catholic boys basketball returns plenty
Greensburg Central Catholic will open boys basketball practice Friday with no starters. Sure, there are three players who appeared regularly in the starting five last season, but fourth-year coach Christian Hyland is not labeling them as first-stringers just yet. “Everything is on the table,” Hyland said. “The guys who compete...
Shaye Bailey’s hat trick torches Greensburg CC, sends Freedom to Class A state title game
Looking more like she was ready for the homecoming court than someone who had just played a soccer game, Shaye Bailey cradled a bouquet of roses as she talked to reporters on a bitter cold Wednesday night in Monroeville. White, pink, red: The flowers complemented the Freedom junior’s scarlet uniform....
Get to know the new site of the PIAA soccer championships
The PIAA soccer championships will move to a new venue this year with eight title games set for Friday and Saturday at Eagle View Middle School’s Bobby Rahal Toyota Field on the campus of Cumberland Valley High School in Mechanicsburg. Since 1998, the state finals have been played at HersheyPark...
Seasoned roster has Franklin Regional girls in position to succeed
The girls basketball roster at Franklin Regional last year had a mix of guards and forwards, varying heights and positions. What it didn’t have was a senior. Not one. So coach Bernie Pucka is hoping a young group comes back battle-tested and tempered when practice tips off Friday. “It elevates...
Franklin Regional boys look to build on flashes of excellence
Franklin Regional is looking for more consistency, start to finish, end to end. “We want to string together good possessions, string together more stops and string together more wins,” Panthers coach Jesse Reed said. Last year, the Panthers (7-14, 5-7 Section 3) did not win more than two games in...
Murrysville’s Palmer Jackson invited to Walker Cup ‘tryout’
Two starts on the PGA Tour. A strong fall season in South Bend. Now, this? Palmer Jackson continues his meteoric rise in college golf and an invitation to a Walker Cup practice is another point of validation. Jackson, a senior at Notre Dame and a Franklin Regional graduate, will join...
PIHL selects October players of the month
With the season more than a month old already, the PIHL announced its first batch of players of the month. October’s best performers selected by the league are Trey Gallo of North Allegheny (Class 3A), Wes Schwarzmiller of South Fayette (2A), Owen Tutich of Greensburg Salem (A) and Ben Korol...
Palmer Jackson set to play in RSM Classic on PGA Tour
Amateur Palmer Jackson is beginning to get used to this PGA Tour thing. The Murrysville native and Franklin Regional graduate will tee it up Thursday at the RSM Classic in St. Simons Island, Ga. Jackson, a senior at Notre Dame, received a sponsor exemption into the event, his second in...
PIAA postpones soccer, field hockey semifinals to Wednesday
The PIAA didn’t want teams to deal with the cold temperatures, snow and wintry mix that hit the state Tuesday. As a result, the association postponed all boys and girls soccer and field hockey semifinal games to Wednesday. All games will be played at the same times and sites. Two...
Westmoreland campus clippings: Seton Hill off to 2-0 start under new coach
Mt. Pleasant native Ben Wilkins, the new men’s basketball coach at Seton Hill, is already getting positive results out of program that has lacked them in recent years. The Griffins are 2-0 so far after wins against Notre Dame (Ohio) and Alderson Broaddus. It is their first 2-0 start since...
Mt. Pleasant girls soccer team makes good on vow to do something ‘special’
At the start of the playoffs, coach Rich Garland posed a question to his girls soccer players at Mt. Pleasant. “I said, ‘Do you want to just play, or do you want to do something special?’ ” the coach said Monday night as he oversaw a low-key practice in 33-degree...
Former Hempfield standout signs pro hoops contract with Cyprus team
Kason Harrell’s professional basketball career lives on. Many players in his situation feel like they are alone on an island as they chase down their dream. Harrell, a Hempfield graduate who has been training vigorously in the offseason, literally will be on an island in his next venture. He signed...
Westmoreland soccer playoff preview capsules for games of Nov. 16, 2022
Today’s games Girls Class 2A Semifinals Mt. Pleasant (21-2) vs. General McLane (15-5-1) 7 p.m. Wednesday at Slippery Rock High School, Slippery Rock Winner plays: Winner of 3-1 Wyomissing (21-1)/4-1 Central Columbia (23-0) in championship, 10 a.m. Saturday at Eagle View Middle School, Mechanicsburg. District finish: Mt. Pleasant 7-2; General...
WPIAL’s top linemen named finalists for 4th annual Bill Fralic Memorial Award
As expected, six finalists were announced for the fourth Bill Fralic Memorial Award, which honors the top senior football interior lineman in the WPIAL. But more news came out of Monday morning’s press conference at The Western Pennsylvania Sports Museum at Heinz History Center. Mainly that the museum will now...
Westmoreland campus clippings: Pitt-Greensburg women’s soccer sweeps conference honors
The women’s soccer team at Pitt-Greensburg made some more room for postseason awards as it played in the NCAA Division III Tournament. UPG, which fell 6-1 to Case Western Reserve over the weekend in the first round, swept the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference hardware. Senior forward Ashley Lucas was the...
High school notebook: Greensburg Central Catholic places 3 on All-WPIAL roster
Boys soccer season ended early with no local teams advancing past the WPIAL quarterfinals. But several players were recognized on the All-WPIAL lists that came out last week. Among them was Greensburg Central Catholic senior forward Carlo Denis, who was named the Class A player of the year by the...
Return of Alex Thomas gives boost to Norwin hockey team
Norwin hockey coach Mike Robinson sometimes finds himself watching Alex Thomas instead of coaching him. But, at last, Robinson has a front-row seat along the boards to watch the dynamic forward perform for the defending PIHL Class A champions. “He has this way of making guys look silly,” Robinson said....
Derry golfer Hunter Jurica commits to Saint Francis
Hunter Jurica can hit long drives. He considers Loretto a relatively short drive from Derry. The opportunity to continue his golf career at a college not far from home was too good to pass up, so the senior standout and WPIAL champion made a verbal commitment to Saint Francis (Pa.)...
