Bill Beckner stories, Page 70

Sara Felder School: Greensburg Central Catholic Year: Senior Sport: Soccer Claim to fame: Felder, a Youngstown State commit, scored her 100th career goal when GCC ran past Steel Valley, 11-0, for its third straight win. She had four goals and two assists in the win for the Centurions (8-3, 8-2),...

Belle Vernon star junior Quinton Martin plans to narrow his list of college scholarship offers to a top 10 soon. Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi, who made a “Pitt stop” at Belle Vernon on Friday night, hopes his Panthers make the cut, especially after watching the senior playmaker. Martin, a running...

From the youth level to varsity, the Norwin cross country teams are outpacing the field with regularity. The boys and girls varsity teams posted perfect 8-0 records during the regular season and were primed for strong finishes at the Westmoreland County Coaches Association meet and in the WPIAL playoffs. “This...

Jaydin Canady likes to play against his former team. The Greensburg Central Catholic senior scored four touchdowns, including one on a 90-yard interception return, as the Centurions overcame a slow start to defeat rival Jeannette, 44-0, on Friday night at Centurion Stadium. Canady ran for 101 yards on five carries...

Tribune-Review Terrific 10 basketball player Alayna Rocco of North Catholic is taking her talents to the Ivy League. Rocco, a Trafford resident, announced Thursday night a verbal commitment to Harvard. Incredibly excited and grateful to say I am committed to the application process at Harvard University! Thank you to everyone...

Keefer to Keffer. Yes, Southmoreland will take some more of that. It’s become the connection heard throughout Alverton on Friday nights, the tandem everyone is talking about around the Scotties’ program. In their first year playing together at the varsity level, Kadin Keefer and Ty Keffer have become a formidable...

Usually this late in the girls soccer regular season, section games are precious and carry heavy meaning in the standings. Unbeaten Mt. Pleasant already had secured its first section title since 2016 and a WPIAL playoff spot by the time it hosted rival Southmoreland on Wednesday night. But the No....

The WPIAL playoffs are just around the corner, with tournament play slated to start late next week. The top four teams in each section qualify for the postseason. The following Westmoreland County teams have secured playoff spots: Norwin (11-4) in Class 4A; Kiski Area (13-3), Franklin Regional (12-4) and Penn-Trafford...

In many years of following and coaching soccer, Al Yeschenko had never seen a “buzzer-beater” on the pitch. With about two minutes to play in a tie game against Brownsville last week, the Belle Vernon boys coach began to prep mentally for overtime and even pulled some players so they...

WPIAL team golf championships When: 10 a.m. Thursday Where: Cedarbrook Golf Course, Rostraver Teams: 3A boys — Central Catholic, Plum, Upper St. Clair, Mars, Moon, Peters Township; 2A boys — Belle Vernon, Sewickley Academy, South Park, Derry, Mohawk, Quaker Valley; 3A girls — Butler, Fox Chapel, Franklin Regional, Moon, North...

Class 5A Big East Plum (3-4, 1-2) at Penn-Trafford (4-3, 1-2) 7:30 p.m. Friday, Warrior Stadium, Harrison City Plum dropped its third straight game, falling 20-6 at South Fayette. The Mustangs scored first on a short touchdown pass from Sean Franzi to Jerome Brazell but gave up 20 unanswered points....

Seton Hill’s new softball coach will inherit a team that has a nice ring to it. Cassie Moore was named the Griffins’ coach Tuesday, replacing Jessica Strong, who resigned in August after a four-season run of success. SB: Cassie Moore Named Seton Hill Softball Coach. Spent previous four years at...

Tears begin to well up in Aryn Askin’s eyes and roll down her cheek as she talks about her soccer players. “We have seen teams change up the way they play against us because they couldn’t break us down, and coaches have noted how hard our girls play,” said Askin,...

Junior goalkeeper Aris Lamanna and a tight-laced defense are not giving up the combination to the vault any time soon at Franklin Regional. You might say the unit has a “zero tolerance” policy on the pitch. Any success the playoff-bound Panthers (9-4-2) have had in recent years — this one...

Pitt-Greensburg was the place for soccer awards last week. The Bobcats women’s team had a pair of honorees as senior Ashley Lucas was named the Eastern College Athletic Conference South Player of the Month. Her teammate, freshman Megan Hickey, was tabbed the ECAC South Region Rookie of the Month. And...

Justine Appolonia was a goal-scoring machine when she played at Yough. The soccer team’s all-time goals leader with 117, Appolonia is now a junior at Youngstown State, and she is becoming more prominent in the Penguins’ attack. Appolonia scored her first career goal for YSU in a 3-0 victory over...

Faster and more physical in the second half, Latrobe seemed to find another gear when it needed to and earned a Section 3-3A girls soccer sweep of visiting Franklin Regional on Monday night with a 2-0 victory before 360-plus fans at Rossi Field. A matchup of WPIAL playoff teams was...

Call it a point of validation. Derry senior golfer Hunter Jurica won the WPIAL Class 2A individual championship last week at Oakmont Country Club, following his opening 74 at Hannastown Golf Club with a 78 at Oakmont for an 11-over-par 152. Derry has risen to become a WPIAL contender in...

Quinton Martin ran left, shedding and side-stepping defenders on the way to a 32-yard touchdown run that was worthy of any highlight show. The Belle Vernon junior running back ended up celebrating with teammates in the far corner of the end zone, only a few feet away from somebody who...

After two successful socials in August and September, the new Westmoreland Sports Club has announced details for meetings in October and November. Dr. Joe Maroon, a UPMC neurologist and triathlon competitor, will speak to members and guests Oct. 13 at Ferrante’s Lakeview. On Nov. 17, the club will hand the...

Tessa Rodriguez School: Belle Vernon Sport: Cross country Class: Junior Claim to fame: The 40-plus-runner field was trying to catch Rodriguez at the Bald Eagle Invitational but did not succeed. Rodriguez ran to a first-place finish in a time of 20 minutes, 18.86 seconds. She also took fifth at the...

Win or lose, stand or fall this hockey season, Norwin will always have 2021. The Knights’ magical postseason run included their first PIHL championship and saw them skate with the Class A Penguins Cup across the ice at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex in Cranberry. The Knights advanced to the...

Jake Gedekoh is old school. He listens to classic rock. He tells it like it is. He likes to get his uniform dirty. “I love to run the football,” the Belle Vernon junior said. “I love the contact.” Infused by the play of Gedekoh and standout Quinton Martin, third-ranked Belle...

Gateway made the loudest statement in the WPIAL last Friday night when it dismantled upstart Hempfield, 60-7, reminding everyone that it is still very much a part of the conversation in the Class 5A Big East Conference. The Gators were, after all, the preseason No. 1 in the classification. Hempfield...