Bill Beckner stories, Page 149

A bright spotlight followed Bailey Cartwright when she played high school soccer at Greensburg Central Catholic, one so bright it was more like a heat lamp sometimes for the star forward. Her goal-scoring barrage became a sort of spectacle as record after record fell and the Centurions meandered through each...

It is not quite “The Fish Who Saved Pittsburgh.” No, this story is more along the lines of, “The Fisch Who Wooed Pittsburgh,” and it is a tale of devotion, determination and fulfillment. In a couple of years, Pitt super fan Aidan Fisch went from being a team manager on...

North Allegheny is the best place for high school sports in Pennsylvania. That is according to Niche.com, a Pittsburgh-based site that gathered analytic information and personal reviews from people in school districts, and weighed things such as number of sports and championships won to hatch a list of the top...

AAU basketball has yet to return after extensive delays caused by the coronavirus outbreak, but a local organization is ready to tip and plans to give coaches, families and fans a look at their talent pool through a different prism. The Wildcats Select, founded by co-directors Nate Perry and Tom...

With the NCAA “dead” period — the time when college coaches cannot have contact with potential recruits — extended to July 31, basketball players who usually wade in the AAU recruiting waters at this time of year have been left to their own devices. AAU season has yet to begin,...

In another step geared toward keeping the health and safety of student-athletes first, the NCAA Division III Administrative Committee announced it will lengthen the preseason for sports teams for 2020-21. The move looks to provide a cushion of preparation time as college athletics begin to swing toward a measured return...

Striker Seon Ripley, a former standout at Seton Hill, is headed for a semi-professional soccer stint in the Northern Premier League, which covers all of Northern England and parts of the Midlands. Ripley signed with Ossett United F.C., a team that plays in the Division One North West. The Sheepicorns...

It is a challenge, but Melvin Fox does his best to stretch his memory back — way back. Six decades back, to a time when a ticket to a minor league baseball game went for six bucks, a sharp suit cost $75 and groups of farmhands lived with host families...

Zach Kokoska might be on a baseball field or camped out at a Marriott hotel in South Florida on Wednesday and Thursday during the MLB Draft. Either way, the power-hitting outfielder will have his cell phone turned on. The former Latrobe star and Gatorade Pennsylvania Player of the Year has...

Each time he swats a drive down the center of the fairway with a gentle cut or hard fade, Palmer Jackson improves his game. With each flip wedge or curling putt, he is dialing in to something more. Whether it is physical swing mechanics or a sharper mental approach, Jackson...

The waiting game continues for the Westmoreland County Coaches Association 7-on-7 football championship. Don’t write off the event just yet. The county organization wants to have the annual passing tournament July 18 as scheduled but needs the go-ahead from the state in the way of Gov. Tom Wolf’s phased return...

Bob Kovalcin did not coach a game this season at Latrobe, but the man who came out of retirement to lead the Wildcats softball team has spent the last couple of weeks conducting exit meetings with his players. The asterisk-stamped season never happened because it was claimed by coronavirus restrictions....

Derry Legion baseball manager Joe Lynch is as eager as he is nervous to see a return of summer baseball. The revamped Westmoreland County American League Baseball, a slight deviation from the District 31 league that will return in 2021, is set to begin next weekend. New safety guidelines will...

A Westmoreland County league champion in two of the last three years, Bushy Run is eager to start the summer baseball season. There is one slight problem: The team does not have a home field — yet. “We play in about a little more than week, so it’s tough,” manager...

Travel softball will return to Pennsylvania later this month and players and coaches, particularly those who missed out on the high school season, are bubbling with anticipation to play again. When they finally return to the field, they will be met with a laundry list of new safety guidelines brought...

The college golf season was cut short by coronavirus restrictions, but IUP coach Dan Braun continues to clean up with postseason awards. A small but impressive body of work in 2019-20 has garnered Braun the Atlantic Region Coach of the Year. The award was announced by the Golf Coaches Association...

Doug Kelly is the recommended candidate to be the next boys basketball coach at Penn-Trafford. He is expected to be approved at the next school board meeting, set for June 15, according to a source. The district advertised in-house first and then posted the job online for a couple of...

While taking a year off for personal reasons, Amber Cernuto was able to watch Southmoreland girls basketball from a different vantage point. She didn’t mind buying tickets to see this team play. Even from the bleachers, the former assistant coach could see the budding talent and potential from a group...

Editor’s note: Each day, Trib HSSN will spotlight WPIAL spring athletes whose senior years were cut short by the coronavirus pandemic. Tori Radvan will have plenty of memories from her prep sports career. Wins and hardware. Home run trots and match-turning spikes. The senior from Freeport was a standout softball...

Regrets? Surprisingly, you won’t get any from Alona Sleith. A softball star at Saint Vincent who had two years left to play, Sleith gave up the game to try her hand at coaching. A former all-region and all-conference player who led the Bearcats in batting average (.392) and RBIs (40)...

Editor’s note: Each day, Trib HSSN will spotlight WPIAL spring athletes whose senior years were cut short by the coronavirus pandemic. No one can question whether Emi Curcio’s voice was heard. The proof lies in an online petition she set up a few months ago. One that generated a brow-raising...

Baseball is going to two-game, home-and-home series on consecutive days for section games next season. Think of Penn-Trafford hosting Norwin on a Monday, then traveling to play the Knights on Tuesday. But imagine if the new look also was added to softball. Granted, baseball has pitch-count rules, and softball does...

Latrobe saw fit to honor three-sport athlete A.J. Rock with its second Charles U. Findley Endowed Fund Scholarship. Rock, a senior who played football, wrestled and ran track, plans to attend the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and will begin his service in July. A team leader, Rock was...

With 16 players signed up for the fall season, Jeannette’s girls soccer team is not hurting for numbers. And with interest up organically, the Jayhawks’ new coach won’t have to do much recruiting. Peyton Clark was named coach this week, and she is anxious to get started when summer workouts...

Editor’s note: Each day, Trib HSSN will spotlight WPIAL spring athletes whose senior years were cut short by the coronavirus pandemic. Softball teams coached by Art “Dutch” Harvey are expected to bring air-tight defense to the field every game. Harvey, the coach at Yough, expects nothing less than error-free play....