Bill Beckner stories, Page 83

There was a WPIAL “last chance” track and field meet going on Tuesday at Norwin. Simultaneously, on the upper part of the campus, there also was a “last chance” softball game. With its season hanging in the balance, Norwin took care of business in the Section 2-6A finale, delivering a...

Emily Brozeski won the heptathlon in record fashion Sunday at the Atlantic 10 Track and Field Championships in Richmond, Va. The Duquesne sophomore and Norwin graduate captured gold with a school-record 5,122 points, posting first-place finishes in the 100- and 200-meter dashes and long jump. She took second in the...

Jack Bridges had been out of the Franklin Regional baseball lineup since early April with an elbow injury. Clearly, the senior was glad to be back Monday. He and his teammates elbowed Kiski Area from the playoff race. Bridges and senior teammate Ryan DalCanton both went 3 for 4 —...

Kevin Wanichko is the new men’s cross country coach at Saint Vincent. The Latrobe native will have a busy sports year: He already coaches the men’s and women’s track and field teams, and the women’s cross country team. An SVC alum, Wanichko replaces Andrew Herr, who resigned after 18 seasons...

Caden Smith didn’t choose football. Football chose him. “Football is the most fun,” the Franklin Regional senior said, comparing the game to his other sports (basketball, baseball). Smith has excelled in all three, earning first-team all-conference/section in each one. He had college interest in those sports, too. But football will...

Liz Tapper School: Hempfield Sport: Track and field Year: Junior Claim to fame: Tapper puts on a show when she throws the discus — and often other events, too. She holds the No. 1 distance in the event in the state (164 feet, 4 inches), a mark that also ranks...

There is no offseason for the Norwin wrestling program. A Norwin graduate and a rising standout competed recently in national competitions. Kurtis Phipps, a sophomore at Bucknell, and Landon Sidun, who is set to make the jump from junior high to varsity wrestling, competed at the United States Marine Corps/USA...

Mt. Pleasant softball standout Katie Hutter has changed her college plans. Initially an Akron commit — a decision she made in fall 2020 — Hutter decommitted because of a coaching change. The senior has opened her recruiting. Hutter, a .593 hitter and shortstop, will likely play outfield in college....

Ligonier Valley senior softball pitcher Maddie Griffin will throw out the ceremonial first pitch before the Pittsburgh Pirates play the St. Louis Cardinals on May 22 at PNC Park. The Sunday game starts at 11:35 a.m. Griffin recently threw a 21-strikeout perfect game against Seton LaSalle that turned heads around...

After two decades on the sidelines, IUP women’s soccer coach Adel Heder is retiring. A former Kiski Area boys soccer coach from 1987-2001, Heder guided the IUP program since ‘01. His overall record of 220-139-24 is the best in program history and he led the Crimson Hawks to two regular-season...

Fresh off its first section title since 1999, upstart East Allegheny used Thursday’s nonsection baseball game at Greensburg Central Catholic for extra reps. Both teams already had clinched WPIAL playoff spots. Now is the time to fine-tune, tweak and tinker. “Everyone got an at-bat,” Wildcats coach Mike Cahill said. “We...

Senior shortstop/pitcher Anthony Govern said this season was “playoffs or bust” for Southmoreland. He didn’t flinch when he said it. The Scotties have lived up to their long-time-coming goal of reaching the postseason, qualifying for the first time since 2008. The team was 6-6 overall and 5-5 in Section 4-3A...

Ty Stecko remembers when his baseball bat seemed to weigh more than he did. “I was always tall, but I was really skinny,” the Norwin slugger said about his stature in youth baseball. “I had to put some weight on.” Once a scrawny lamp post, Stecko has grown into a...

Morgan Ryan hopes to help Seton Hill softball reach the finals of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Tournament. Right after she is done with her own finals. Ryan, the Griffins’ standout grad student pitcher, did not join the team for the PSAC playoff opener Wednesday in Quakertown. She is expected...

Yough plays its home games on Cougar Mountain in Sewickley Township. But softball coach Dutch Harvey is lobbying to rename his team’s home address. “It’s become Dinger City here,” Harvey said. Yough isn’t traditionally a leave-the-yard kind of team, but the Cougars are developing a reputation that says otherwise as...

The owner of a 21-strikeout perfect game and three no-hitters this season, Ligonier Valley senior pitcher Maddie Griffin has all the physical tools to dominate in the circle. She has proven that beyond a doubt over the last season-plus of WPIAL and PIAA softball. But the Youngstown State commit, who...

Penn-Trafford baseball coaches and players talked about the importance of hitting and throwing first-pitch strikes against section champion Latrobe. They also discussed ways to possibly drum up offense if they were to earn a Section 1-5A sweep against the Wildcats. It all worked out according to plan, and the Warriors...

Seton Hill announced the hiring of Adrian Blewitt as women’s soccer coach. He replaces Zak Kruger, who was not retained after three seasons. Blewitt spent three years as the head women’s soccer coach at Army West Point and also served as head coach at Arkansas Little Rock for five seasons...

Despite pitching one of the best games of his baseball career, Allen Novacek did not earn a decision Monday afternoon. But his team did, and it was as exciting as it was important. “That’s all that matters,” the Yough senior said. Junior Gavin Roebuck delivered a two-run, walk-off single in...

The Price was right this season at Pitt-Greensburg. Junior tennis standout Turner Price, a Penn-Trafford graduate, was named the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference Player of the Year for the third time in his career. The award was not given out in 2020. Price finished 7-0 in conference singles play and...

Maddie Griffin School: Ligonier Valley Sport: Softball Year: Senior Claim to fame: One of the most dominant arms in the WPIAL, Griffin pitched the fifth perfect game of her high school career, doing so in head-turning fashion Monday as she struck out all 21 in a 3-0 victory over Seton...

The Pittsburgh Steelers’ seismic move to select Pitt quarterback Kenny Pickett in the first round of the NFL Draft had fans buzzing, debating and reminiscing. While Pitt has only had one other quarterback go in the first round — former Central Catholic great Dan Marino — Pickett actually followed a...

Franklin Regional pulled a section double-dip this spring, winning team titles in boys and girls track and field for just the second time in program history. Both teams posted 6-0 section records. Seventh-year coach Bob Ralston knew he had talent but wasn’t sure if it was full-on section-winning kind of...

Unbeaten in five Section 1-3A meets, the Norwin boys and girls track and field teams pulled off a four-peat: four outright section titles in as many years — the run includes co-titles in 2017. But coach Tim Van Horn thinks the Knights could be in line for larger goals. “I...

Several Norwin wrestlers took part in the Ultimate Club Duals freestyle tournaments April 24 in State College. The Knights claimed their first trophy in freestyle competition, taking third place with a 6-2 record. Home sweet home? The Norwin softball team thought it finally was going to play on its home...