Bill Beckner stories, Page 114

Dan Sierk is as much a student of the game as he is a fierce, run-blocking tight end and an edge-turning defensive end. An incoming senior at Hempfield, Sierk is a load at 6-foot-5 and 240 pounds. But it takes more than size and skill to play college football at...

The Westmoreland Elite 17 Black volleyball team qualified for the USA Volleyball Girls Junior National Tournament, which was set to begin Saturday in Las Vegas. The team, coached by Greg Lockley, consists of Sydney Andrews (Penn-Trafford), Rebecca Hess (Greensburg Central Catholic), Julia Kubera (Franklin Regional), Anna Novak (Burrell), Isabella Panasko...

USA Baseball certainly didn’t have to scour the globe to find its Olympic closer. The notion doesn’t even make sense. But that is what it did to locate Scott McGough. And the organization found McGough in a rather ironic location — Japan. McGough, a Plum and Oregon alum who bounced...

Home runs make the crowd ooh and aah, like fireworks or a photo finish. They also can get minor leaguers promotions. Right, JJ Matijevic? Call what the former Norwin standout and Houston Astros prospect is doing a power trip. After showing he can still go yard with the best of...

Diane Metzger is the new girls soccer coach at Norwin. A former player for the Knights, she was a member of the 1996 PIAA championship team before graduating in 2000. A goal-scorer from the midfield, she played college soccer at Grove City. Metzger replaces Lauren Karcher, who resigned after seven...

With lightning in the area, the last round of the 37th Frank B. Fuhrer Jr. Invitational was forced into a weather delay around 1 p.m., just as the final twosome was walking off the course. All that is left to settle is a sudden death playoff between leaders Chase Koepka...

Steve Scorpion admits he almost died. “I stopped breathing three times and coded twice,” the former Franklin Regional boys basketball coach and standout player said. “I thought it was all over for me. When I woke up, I knew God saved me because he had a greater purpose for me....

Essentially playing with a rental set of clubs, Chase Koepka grinded his way into contention in his first Frank B. Fuhrer Jr. Invitational. The younger brother of four-time major champion Brooks Koepka, Chase lost his clubs and clothes in transit when he left Hartford, Conn., after playing in the PGA...

Carlow senior Olivia Miller earned the respect of her opponents during the indoor and outdoor track and field seasons. Now, she is being held in high regard by every athletic director in the River States Conference. Miller, a Ligonier Valley graduate, was named the RSC Female Athlete of the Year...

2021 Tribune-Review Westmoreland Softball All-Stars Player of the year Haylie Brunson Mt. Pleasant, Sr., IF Haylie Brunson has to be filed under “toughest softball players to get out in the state.” The Mt. Pleasant senior, who hit second in a fully loaded lineup that propelled the Vikings to WPIAL and...

Behind the scenes, Joe Blahovec could be carving out a path to a Division I football career. The incoming senior at Greensburg Central Catholic has been raiding prospect camps as the summer forges ahead toward a new season, and recently he caught the eye of an FCS program that recruits...

Xander Smith is chasing a dream to play college football at the highest level possible. But his vehicle to get there differs from most. While the sophomore at Norwin plays wide receiver and defensive back, his specialty is long snapping. He lives it, breathes it and works tirelessly at it....

Xander Smith is chasing a dream to play college football at the highest level possible. But his vehicle to get there differs from most. While the sophomore at Norwin plays wide receiver and defensive back, his specialty is long snapping. He lives it, breathes it and works tirelessly at it....

Carlow senior Olivia Miller earned the respect of her opponents during the indoor and outdoor track and field seasons. Now, she is being held in high regard by every athletic director in the River States Conference. Very high regard. Miller, a Ligonier Valley graduate, was named the RSC Female Athlete...

Emily Harrigan is coming home. The former Norwin star has left Rutgers and will have three years of eligibility when she arrives at Pitt to continue her soccer career. Harrigan, a redshirt sophomore, has battled hamstring problems for the last three years as she tries to get into a rhythm...

John Gay IV did not plan to announce his next college move on Father’s Day, but his coincidental timing would have made his late dad proud. Gay IV, a former Penn-Trafford football standout who recently put his name in the NCAA transfer portal as part of his plan to leave...

Junior Sam Hartman found his way into the fast lane all season for the Seton Hill track and field team. That meant he was probably on the fast track to postseason accolades, too. Sure enough, the two-time national champion earned himself the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Athlete of the Year....

A future college outfielder, Mary Smithnosky had to reaffirm to herself that she was a pitcher in her final high school softball season. The position in the circle had to be more than a facade to the senior from Mt. Pleasant, more than a column on the roster. If Smithnosky...

The NCAA transfer portal has been a happening place for college athletes from Westmoreland County. A number of area names have popped up in the portal, which essentially is a free agent pool for players looking to start over and latch on with a new program. Colleges can see the...

UNIVERSITY PARK — Mt. Pleasant took extra time to board the team bus for the ride home Friday from Penn State after the Vikings won the PIAA Class 3A softball championship. A large contingent gathered for photos with the trophy. Coach Chris Brunson tried to direct traffic, but seemed overwhelmed...

Devin Whitlock reeled in his first Division I football scholarship offer. He hopes it will be the first of many to come. The rising senior at Belle Vernon announced an offer from Youngstown State, a program that often tries to cast a net over the WPIAL to land top players...

In many ways, Anthony DelleFemine is living proof that to gain something, you have to give something up. But how much can one man lose before he reaches a breaking point? There are days when the former Norwin football standout believes in curses and voodoo dolls. Days when he asks,...

Norwin was well-represented on the Big 5/6 Conference all-section baseball and softball teams. The Big 5/6 recognizes team and individual accomplishments in the WPIAL’s two highest classifications. Norwin baseball had three first-team selections in Setion 2: Jake Kendro, Jack Whalen and Jake Bazala, along with second-teamers Ty Stecko, Alex Gabauer,...