Bill Beckner stories, Page 44

John Altieri has those pre-tournament butterflies and is anxious to see what the competition looks like. “I’m excited to get going,” the former Norwin standout wrestler said. “I wish I could leave today.” While the feeling is familiar, it not a wrestling tournament that awaits him in two months. No,...

Nick Novak will see if a Dream can come true. The former Franklin Regional and Pitt-Johnstown basketball standout who played seven years professionally overseas plans to play in “The Basketball Tournament” with the DuBois Dream, a semi-pro team in the Premier Basketball League. Novak also played in the event in...

The Westmoreland County Coaches Association added a new event to its calendar. The WCCA’s first baseball showcase will take place at 8:30 a.m. July 17 at Westmoreland County Community College. College coaches will be present to evaluate players graduating in 2023, ’24, ’25 and ’26. Cost for each player is...

Jackson Hutter hopes the Division I college football offer he received this week is the first of many. The rising senior linebacker prospect from Mt. Pleasant received an offer to play at Saint Francis (Pa.) after attending the Red Flash’s camp Tuesday in Loretto. Hutter (6-foot-1, 200 pounds) also recently...

Going from Penn State to Pitt seems borderline taboo, but Josh Spiegel is doing the unthinkable. He is leaving one side of the in-state rivalry for the other. The former Penn-Trafford standout will depart Penn State after three seasons to play his final year at Pitt. A catcher, Spiegel entered...

Since it opened 17 years ago, the National Speed and Strength Academy in North Irwin has become a staple in the training space for local athletes. Former Norwin and Mercyhurst football player Jon LoChiatto, who honed his skills at the academy during his athletically formative years, has taken over a...

Justin Johns does more at Washington & Jefferson than spoil opposing quarterbacks’ Saturdays. An outstanding student in addition to being a standout linebacker, the Franklin Regional product received a prestigious award to cap his junior year. Johns was the male recipient of the Paul Reardon Award, given to a student-athlete...

Norwin will once again have a team in the third annual Tre Cunningham Memorial Basketball Tournament June 22-24 at Jeannette. The boys’ varsity-level event honors the memory of Cunningham, a terrific three-sport athlete at Jeannette who was killed in a motorcycle accident in 2020. Norwin will open against Yough at...

Football is leading Quinton Martin to dollars and scents. The Belle Vernon star verbally committed to Penn State in April and took his official visit to State College earlier this month. In between, Martin signed a name, image and likeness deal with a men’s fragrance company. Martin will endorse smell-goods...

UNIVERSITY PARK — As Hempfield players made their way through the outfield and back to their waiting charter bus early Thursday evening, they took one last panorama of Beard Field at Nittany Lion Softball Park. As they left Penn State, they could have chanted, “We Are!” As in, “We Are!”...

UNIVERSITY PARK — Walled off by a gifted pitcher and unable to manufacture offense with runners on base, Hempfield lost a state softball championship for the first time. Happy Valley wasn’t very for the Spartans, who finally met their match in the PIAA tournament. “We didn’t get that big hit...

A forbidding challenge awaits Hempfield with unbeaten North Penn (27-0), the District 1 champion that features senior ace pitcher Julia Shearer and her ridiculous numbers: 27-0 record, 0.23 ERA, 346 strikeouts and 13 walks in 159 innings. Hempfield (21-3) likely will have to scrape together offense against the left-hander, who...

PIAA softball playoffs Class 6A Championship Hempfield (21-3) vs. North Penn (27-0) 4 p.m. Thursday at Beard Field, Nittany Lion Softball Park, Penn State University TV: PCN Tickets: piaa.org (Hometown ticketing) District seeds: Hempfield 7-1; North Penn 1-1 PIAA titles: Hempfield 4 (1999, 2016, ‘17, ‘18); North Penn 4 (1976,...

Lauren Howard is as promising a freshman as any Hempfield has put in the starting lineup. The third baseman known as “Lou” already has her name in the program record book. Howard scored two runs in Monday’s semifinal win to break a record shared by Ali Belgiovane (2017) and Laura...

If Hempfield wins a fifth PIAA softball championship Thursday at Penn State, it will likely happen in an electric atmosphere. But a win will probably be battery powered. If its four previous state titles are any indication, the pitcher-catcher combo will play a key role for the Spartans (21-3) in...

Tina Madison looked pensive and anxious as her team hit softballs into nets in a light drizzle Monday at St. Francis (Pa.) University. The Hempfield coach was concerned the downcast weather conditions might affect her team in a PIAA Class 6A semifinal against Cumberland Valley. Truth be told, she wasn’t...

LORETTO — Hempfield asked for the pregame music to be turned off while it took infield practice Monday after a half-hour rain delay. The Spartans then proceeded to make a lot of noise on the basepaths. Hempfield jumped on District 3 champion Cumberland Valley early and kept the offense coming...

At this rate, Jack Oberdorf’s postseason award total is going to catch up to his home run total. The senior third baseman from Seton Hill added a prestigious honor as he joined sophomore teammate and pitcher Blake Barker as a Division 2 Conference Commissioners Association All-America honorable mention selection. Oberdorf,...

PIAA softball playoffs Class 6A Semifinals Hempfield (20-3) vs. Cumberland Valley (19-5) 4 p.m. Monday at St. Francis (Pa.) University, Loretto District seeds: Hempfield 7-1; Cumberland Valley 3-1 Winner plays: Winner of 1-1 North Penn (26-0)/3-3 Chambersburg (13-1) in championship 4 p.m. June 15 at Beard Field, Nittany Lion Softball...

In the PIAA softball playoffs, every team can hit. Short game or long, small ball or power shots. But pitching and defense, now that makes for a lethal combination. Take those two and blend them with just the right amount of offense, and the state championship can be well within...

Making the state softball championship would carry special meaning for Hempfield coach Tina Madison, not just because she is a proud alum and former ace pitcher for the Spartans. Hempfield (20-3) can clinch a spot in the PIAA Class 6A title game with a win Monday over Cumberland Valley (19-5)....

New Hempfield girls soccer coach Jim Jones has several goals. His team will settle for one. Jones is set to lead a struggling program into what he hopes are better times. He takes over for Aryn Askin, who is no longer with the team after two seasons. How tough has...

Not many freshmen in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference had a better debut season than Seton Hill’s Jack Whalen, a Norwin alum. The outfielder broke a school record for stolen bases in a season and led the team in a couple of offensive categories, finding his place in the lineup...

The Big 56 Conference, a website that recognizes accomplishments of teams and athletes in the WPIAL’s largest classifications, announced its all-section teams. Class 5A baseball’s Section 1 first team included junior Max Bernadowski (IF) of Franklin Regional and senior Dylan Grabowski (P), junior Brody Hoffman (DH) and Chuck Fontana (OF)...

Hempfield will continue its march toward a fifth state softball championship with a semifinal matchup against Cumberland Valley at 4 p.m. Monday at St. Francis (Pa.) in Loretto. The WPIAL champion Spartans (20-3), in the PIAA semifinals for a 10th time, will look to defeat the District 3 champion Eagles...