Bill Beckner stories, Page 151

Editor’s note: This is the ninth in an 18-part series profiling nominees for the Westmoreland County Scholar-Athlete Excellence Awards. All Justin Cramer needs is a challenge. Tell him the quarterback is quick to the outside and he’ll show you how slow he can make him look. Tell Cramer his wrestling...

Josh Pajak thought about taking a break from coaching after he left the Mt. Pleasant girls soccer program. He was set for an extended vacation from the game. Then the Southmoreland girls job opened, and he began to entertain the thought of leading a team at his alma mater. Pajak...

Century Soccer is one of the region’s most popular clubs, and it continues to help churn out dozens of college recruits. The club was headed toward a record-breaking year for next-level commitments before the coronavirus, but it likely will set a new mark as recruiting begins to return to normalcy...

Tanner Froelich said his team’s “why” is greater than any other team’s when it comes to the disappointment felt by the cancellation of the college baseball season, the evil work of the debilitating coronavirus. “We had such a great start to the year,” said Froelich, a redshirt freshman catcher for...

Editor’s note: Each day, Trib HSSN will spotlight WPIAL spring athletes whose senior years were cut short by the coronavirus pandemic. With a soft-spoken demeanor and somewhat unassuming presence at the plate, Ashley Orischak can be deceiving. If you want to hear the Hempfield senior softball player make noise, put...

Judging by Jimmy Mastroianni’s enthusiasm, he is more than ready to get started coaching the Penn-Trafford girls soccer team. “Make no mistake,” he said. “We are looking to take it to the next level.” Mastroianni takes over for Jackie Bartko, who resigned after five successful seasons leading the Warriors. Bartko...

Still wanting and waiting, the PIHL is holding out hope it can finish its postseason. But numerous factors must fall into place for high school hockey teams to return to the ice. League commissioner John Mucha said Friday the six varsity playoff games — five Penguin Cup games that include...

Editor’s note: This is the sixth in an 18-part series profiling nominees for the Westmoreland County Scholar-Athlete Excellence Awards. Nate Ward and Samantha Nemeth have a lot in common. Both are outstanding soccer players with college careers in their best sport awaiting them. Both also have a flair for the...

Health officials are trying to stop the spread. Burrell football coach Shawn Liotta still is teaching teams how to run it. Liotta refers to the football offense, not the coronavirus, when he addresses a captive audience via his laptop computer. The coronavirus’ spread, though, has not stopped coaches like Liotta...

Editor’s note: Each day, Trib HSSN will spotlight WPIAL spring athletes whose senior years were cut short by the coronavirus pandemic. Coming to terms with the new normal is half the battle for high school senior athletes who had their spring seasons ripped from their grasp. The waves of fear...

One of the great joys of an injured athlete is the day they can return to live action. The day the wait is over, when all of the rehab and patience-testing cashes in its coins. But that day will have to wait for Ryan Hood. The sophomore baseball player from...

Editor’s note: This is the third in an 18-part series profiling nominees for the Westmoreland County Scholar-Athlete Excellence Awards. A pair of 4.0 students and three-sport athletes from Derry had as much to give in the classroom as they did in athletics. Justin Huss and Kamryn Kelly found a way...

With 39 standouts committed to play collegiate soccer, and more on the way, the Pittsburgh Riverhounds Development Academy announced a program record for graduating players. “The variety of schools that the players will be attending shows the positive impact of our developmental platform and recruiting network,” RDA director Scott Gibson...

Add another Latrobe hockey standout to the Wichita Falls Warriors’ roster. Forward Alex Walker signed a tender contract to play for the Warriors, a team in the North American Hockey League. Walker, a junior, joins Latrobe teammate Lane Ruffner, a defenseman who signed with Wichita in December. Walker and Ruffner...

With schools closing across the state, high school sports also were shut down for the spring by the PIAA. In line with that decision, local organizations such as the Westmoreland County Coaches Association also have been affected by the paralyzing restrictions of the coronavirus. The association’s spring and summer schedule...

Editor’s note: Each day, Trib HSSN will spotlight WPIAL spring athletes whose senior years were cut short by the coronavirus pandemic. Annalia Paoli plays a mean shortstop. But did you know the senior softball star from Albert Gallatin also plays the guitar and violin? The down time over the last...

Sarah Liberatore often was asked about her college interest, beginning last year when, as a junior, the basketball standout from Hempfield was beginning to surface on the radars of Division I coaches. But she opted to keep her decision close to the vest, saying she would rather wait until the...

Franklin Regional boys soccer fans can relax. Anthony DiFalco isn’t going anywhere. There have been rumblings the star sophomore forward and two-time WPIAL champion was considering leaving to join a professional academy. DiFalco, who already has Division I interest, did spend a few days training in January with D.C. United,...

Each time Alvis Rogers sits down to watch another episode of “The Last Dance,” the 10-part ESPN miniseries about Michael Jordan and the 1997-98 Chicago Bulls, he is time-warped back to his college days at Wake Forest when he and the Demon Deacons went against Jordan and North Carolina. Rogers,...

A former IUP football lineman is taking his talents north. Expect the landscape to be familiar to Matt Guevremont. A 6-foot-4, 335-pound tackle, Guevremont was taken by the BC Lions in the fifth round of Thursday’s Canadian Football League Draft. He is a native of Pickering, Ontario. The Vancouver-based Lions...

Editor’s note: Each day, Trib HSSN will spotlight WPIAL spring athletes whose senior years were cut short by the coronavirus pandemic. Goal-oriented and driven to overpower hitters, softball pitcher Logan Hartman was nearing the school record at Frazier for career strikeouts. “But unfortunately now, I can’t get it,” Hartman said....

The latter stages of his senior basketball season took a sharp turn into the abyss, and Cam Nusser admits he could have done some things differently to avoid the unfortunate outcome. The fiery guard from Belle Vernon was here again, gone again throughout the Leopards’ run in the WPIAL and...

Editor’s note: Each day, Trib HSSN will spotlight WPIAL spring athletes whose senior years were cut short by the coronavirus pandemic. Four-sport athletes don’t have much free time on their hands to begin with, so the shelter-in-place order has wreaked havoc on their daily schedules and preparation. But the down...

Ever since Spencer Lee stepped onto the Iowa campus, he has dominated opponents. He is a two-time NCAA champion. The junior also has taken on a big-time reputation in the wrestling world. He is one of the most popular names in the sport. Now, the Franklin Regional alum has a...