Bill Beckner stories, Page 112

With lightning in the area and storms approaching, play was suspended Tuesday afternoon at the 121st U.S. Amateur at 1:34 p.m. There were 243 players that had not finished the second round of stroke play at Longue Vue Club and Oakmont Country Club when the stoppage occurred. The top 64...

Yough graduate Nicole Sleith Schaffer was one of the most feared softball pitchers to play at Robert Morris. She struck out more than 900 hitters over four seasons and once tossed a perfect game to extend her team’s season. She will go down as one of Northeast Conference’s all-time greats,...

Oakmont Country Club will host the U.S. Amateur for the sixth time beginning Monday. The USGA’s national championship was last played at the storied course in 2003 — 84 years after the first amateur was staged there. Past champions include Nick Flanagan (2003), Steve Melnyk (1969), Willie Turnesa (1938), Bobby...

Left, right, center. Doesn’t matter. JJ Matijevic can spray the baseball all over the park — and deep into the bleachers — with some of the best middle-order hitters in the minor leagues. But the Norwin graduate wants to prove he can hit home runs in the majors, too. He...

Katie Miller Gee took a one-stroke lead into the final round of the Pennsylvania Women’s Golf Association Mid-Amateur on Tuesday. Then, she hit the accelerator and raced past everybody. No bumps on this road. Well, maybe one. Miller Gee, the newly named girls golf coach at her alma mater of...

College athletes say it all the time. Their school didn’t “fit,” so they bolted for another one that did. Or, at least that is the idea. That was the case with Mackenna Orie, the former Hempfield standout thrower who announced recently she is leaving one Division I track and field...

“Excuses are for wusses.” You would be hard pressed to find four words that inspired a fan base more than those spoken by Spencer Lee during last season’s NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships. After the Iowa star out of Franklin Regional revealed he had competed — and won his third...

Brady Pevarnik’s college golf career is barely off the first tee, but he is chomping at the bit, ready to prove himself at the Division I level. In search of continuity and a clean bill of health, the former Latrobe standout is on his third college after deciding to transfer...

After limited action and a general growing feeling of discomfort at IUP, Jeff Mankins is leaving the golf program. With three years of eligibility remaining, the Greensburg Salem graduate is transferring to Towson, meaning he will go from a Division II team to one that plays at the Division-I level....

When career amateur Carol Semple Thompson tees off Thursday, she will make more USGA history. The Sewickley native will have played in more USGA events than anyone — ever. “I believe I have played in 116,” she said earlier this week during a lead-up press conference to the U.S. Senior...

Chris Klimchock used to be a ball boy at Jeannette boys basketball practices. A peanut-sized toddler who could barely lift a basketball let alone dribble it, he took in the sights and sounds from his father, Rick, who coached the Jayhawks from 1992-2006. He was always in the gym. He...

Mackenna Orie is changing college track and field programs. The former Hempfield standout thrower is transferring from DePaul and will now fling heavy objects at Arizona. Orie just completed her sophomore season. She will join one of the WPIAL’s most decorated and prodigious throwers at Arizona in record-breaker Jordan Geist....

Calling her next move “a leap of faith,” Emily Harrigan is giving her college soccer career a restart as she gets set to play for Pitt this fall. The former Norwin star who was a two-time Tribune-Review Player of the Year, Harrigan had her patience tested numerous times as injuries...

Bob Kalp carried the torch for the Hempfield softball program until it burned his arm. The coach of the Spartans and face of the program for three decades — 25 years as head coach — is stepping down after a storied career in the WPIAL. Kalp, 76, won seven WPIAL...

The field is set for the inaugural Tre Cunningham Memorial Basketball Tournament to be played Friday and Saturday at the Jeannette High School gymnasium. Eight high school boys teams will compete in a double-elimination bracket. The event is sponsored by the Jeannette Educational Foundation. Funds will go toward a scholarship...

Declan Ochendowski knew he wanted to play college football, but it wasn’t that long ago that the incoming senior at Penn-Trafford doubted he would draw attention from Division I programs. The size was there. Penn-Trafford will have one of the largest lines in the WPIAL this fall (more on that...

Sal Frelick went undrafted out of high school but built his brand in college, watched his stock rise and became a sought-after prospect. On Tuesday, the first-round draft pick became a millionaire. Frelick, a Lexington (Mass.) product with ties to Greensburg, signed a contract with the Milwaukee Brewers. Terms of...

Remembered as a teammate who could lighten the mood when football created tense moments like it can, Brandon Peterson left quite an impression on the Southmoreland football team. He is missed more every day. The team will honor their fallen friend by wearing his number 15 on the back of...

The Tribune-Review and the TribLive High School Sports Network are profiling each member of the 25-player Trib HSSN Preseason Football All-Star team. The players will be recognized Thursday during HSSN Media Day at Kennywood Park. For more than two years, Cade Yacamelli ate like there was no tomorrow. Three heavy...

A familiar face was hired Monday night as the new athletic director at Jeannette. Adrian Batts, a boys basketball coach in the district for 16 years — 13 as the head coach — will take over AD duties immediately. He replaces Ryan Hayden, who resigned from the part-time position after...

Tristan Waldier is back on the field for the Yough football team, medically cleared after season-ending knee injuries two years in a row. Waldier, who returned to action at the WCCA 7-on-7 tournament last week at Latrobe, tore the ACL in his right knee in Week 4 last season. That...

The Tribune-Review and the TribLive High School Sports Network are profiling each member of the 25-player Trib HSSN Preseason Football All-Star team. The players will be recognized Thursday during HSSN Media Day at Kennywood Park. Devin Whitlock plays football in cursive. Whether he is taking a handoff and speed-bursting up...

When she begins her new job, Diane Metzger said she will not have to focus on fixing something that isn’t broken. That is for sure. The new Norwin girls soccer coach, who is an alum and former goal-scorer for the Knights, knows what kind of program she is about to...

IUP has an eye on two Southmoreland basketball standouts. The Crimson Hawks landed one and hope to get the other. Rising senior forward Gracie Spadaro gave IUP a verbal commitment Saturday, only days after receiving an offer. Junior point guard Olivia Cernuto, meantime, might mull over her offer a little...

When he was an assistant at Robert Morris, Mike Brown recruited football players from Hempfield, so he was familiar with the program. That he is a Penn-Trafford grad also added to his knowledge of the success-starved Spartans. Brown knows about the ire of fans and alumni, even the casual observer,...