Bill Beckner stories, Page 28

Belle Vernon packs a lot more than uniforms for football games. As the Leopards load the bus for a trip to Mechanicsburg and the PIAA Class 3A championship game, they will cram in several iPads and charts, along with a big-screen television and a canopy. A high-tech program with its...

Norwin’s girls looked taller and stronger when they took the court against rival Penn-Trafford. A coach joked that someone stretched the players out in the offseason. No, it’s just a reflection of intense conditioning and the returning WPIAL and PIAA semifinalists getting into game shape. Norwin, the No. 2-ranked team...

A pair of coaches with local ties are taking home awards after impressive seasons with their respective teams. Brennan Marion, a Greensburg Salem alum and the offensive coordinator at UNLV, and Troy defensive coordinator Greg Gasparato, who has family in Jeannette, were selected as Light on College Sports assistant coaches...

He teared up before it happened in person, and he tears up when he watches it again on video. “I still get chills when I think about it,” Belle Vernon senior defensive back Adam LaCarte said. “I had tears in my eyes just as we were about to line up...

Pitt-Greensburg announced its 2024 Athletics Hall of Fame class. It includes a team, an administrator and a pair of athletes. The inductees are the 2002-03 women’s basketball team, Dr. Frank Cassell, men’s soccer star Adam DiCarlo (Class of 2006) and cross country runner Zach Kocian (‘08). • The women’s team...

Terek Crosby let his hair down for Saturday night’s final of the Yough Cougar Tip-off Invitational. But the Yough senior didn’t feel comfortable. “I didn’t have a hair tie,” Crosby said. “My hair was bothering me. It was in my face.” His mom gave him a tie at halftime, and...

Redshirt junior lineman Trent Holler, a Latrobe native, is entering the NCAA transfer portal. The 6-foot-2, 306-pound center played the last two seasons at Marshall and will be a graduate transfer. Boston College offered him a spot soon after his announcement Saturday. He played in 11 games this season and...

Jeannette started with five and ended with three, but still almost won. The Jayhawks girls basketball team, which only has five players, took a four-point lead into the fourth quarter against Northgate on Saturday at the Aquinas Academy Tournament, but fell short 27-24 despite playing the final five-plus minutes with...

Student totals came out last week, but the next two-year enrollment cycle for high school teams will kick in next fall. A number of local programs will be in new classifications. In football, Norwin and Hempfield are moving back to Class 6A after two years in 5A. Latrobe and Kiski...

Matt Miller said Courtney Dunn wanted to be a running back several years ago when the senior lineman was coming up in the McKeesport football program. “His mom told him, ‘You’re too slow to run the ball. Get back to your position,’ ” said Miller, McKeesport’s coach. “We don’t want...

An all-Franklin Regional matchup in a post-college wrestling match with Olympic-qualifying possibly on the line? Yes, local fans will take a tall glass of that. Spencer Lee, the superstar who went on to a brilliant and albeit injury-plagued college career at Iowa, met Nico Megaludis, a former Penn State standout,...

While he was far from overweight, Franco Alvarez worked on slimming down in the offseason so he could be faster on the basketball court. Looking fit and trim, the 6-foot-5 senior forward from Greensburg Central Catholic helped his team melt off a fourth-quarter deficit and get past Penn-Trafford, 72-63, in...

The WPIAL girls basketball season opens Friday. Here are some of the top storylines, teams and players to watch this season in Westmoreland County: 5 storylines • It could be a long and interesting postseason for at least two area teams. The question is, which one will go farther, Norwin...

The WPIAL boys basketball season opens Friday. Here are some of the top storylines, teams and players to watch this season in Westmoreland County: 5 storylines • Several bruisers on the low block appear to be opting out this season. Some local football players decided to throw their basketball shoes...

The Bill Fralic Memorial Award for the top interior lineman in the WPIAL will be presented to this year’s recipient during a pancake breakfast Saturday morning at Longue Vue Club in Verona. The award, named after the legendary Penn Hills alum who invented the pancake block and starred at Pitt...

Feeling undervalued and underused, Jack Salopek decided the time was right to leave Western Michigan. A growing disconnect led the redshirt sophomore quarterback to go the transfer portal route. Salopek, a Norwin graduate, announced Tuesday he will seek to play for another program. This season was a see-saw for the...

Trib HSSN Girls Soccer All-Stars Fab 15 Player of the year Lola Abraham Sr., F, Riverview Known for scoring goals in bunches, Lola Abraham was an offensive stalwart with the disruptive tendencies of a defender. Slow her down early, she’ll probably burn you late. Braces and hat tricks were only...

Trib HSSN Boys Soccer All-Stars Fab 15 Player of the year Owen Christopher Sr., MF, Norwin Watch Owen Christopher play soccer and you see his leadership ability. His head is always on a swivel. He sets everyone up, pointing and waving like a Hollywood director, to get the right position,...

Excuse Brian Znavor as he navigates a return to high school basketball. He’s been out of the loop for a bit. “Probably 12 or 13 years,” the first-year Yough girls coach said. “I think cellphones were just getting popular around my last year. I still remember when we had phone...

The last whistle of an early afternoon practice gives way to the clang of weights as Yough boys basketball players continue their preseason training. Yough was strong last season. The team is even stronger now, literally. “These kids are working really hard,” coach Jim Nesser said, scouring a crowded weight...

It has been two decades since the Saint Vincent men’s basketball team started 5-0. With a fast-paced style and skilled lineup, SVC is becoming a must-see attraction in Latrobe. The Bearcats were averaging 90 points and winning by a margin of 21 with their 5-0 mark heading into the Thanksgiving...

High school basketball season starts Friday. Hempfield will be buzzing with local openers at the Spartan Field House on Friday and Saturday. Six boys teams will play in the 19th Hempfield tip-off tournament. On Friday, the matchups are Franklin Regional vs. Connellsville at 4:45 p.m., Penn-Trafford vs. Greensburg Central Catholic...

A college freshman now, Aiden Bunker is still reaping the rewards of a terrific career as a student-athlete at Franklin Regional. A 2023 graduate who currently is a swimmer at Villanova, Bunker was named to the USA Swimming Scholastic All-American list, a notable accomplishment for the former WPIAL standout. The...

Norwin boys soccer coach Scott Schuchert led a banner season for the Knights as they won their first WPIAL championship and advanced to the PIAA Class 4A semifinals. For his achievements, Schuchert was selected as the Class 4A coach for the 2023 Western Pennsylvania Soccer Coaches Association boys all-star games...

Abigail Stager and Fiona Mahan led their girls soccer teams on lengthy playoff runs this season, but their accomplishments stretched beyond the scope of the WPIAL and PIAA. Stager, a senior forward at North Allegheny, and Mahan, a junior midfielder for Avonworth, received the highest honor by the United Soccer...