Bill Beckner stories, Page 93

Westmoreland County’s contributions to the WPIAL girls basketball playoff field are set. In Class 6A, local rivals Norwin (15-4, 12-1) and Penn-Trafford (11-8, 8-5), who will meet Thursday night at Penn-Trafford in the Section 1 finale, have qualified. In 5A, Latrobe (14-3, 10-1) is back in the postseason after reaching...

A number of basketball coaches expressed their admiration for the WPIAL’s decision to allow higher-seeded teams to host first-round and quarterfinal playoff games last season because of the pandemic. The WPIAL was listening. Home sweet home will be the theme again as the league uses the same format for this...

Ron Frederick couldn’t wait to begin his dream job as the head football coach at Southmoreland. The school district will make sure the late coach’s job becomes official. Southmoreland will follow through with Frederick’s posthumous hiring at Thursday’s meeting, which comes one week after the 40-year-old died unexpectedly. Frederick was...

Playing with a sense of playoff urgency, Hempfield pieced together a Section 3-6A win and moved a step closer to securing a postseason berth. Then came the waterworks. “I could cry right now,” coach Bill Swan said, soaked in a white T-shirt, dress pants and damp dress shoes. “These guys...

Palmer Jackson is one of 30 golfers up for the 2022 Ben Hogan Award, presented to the nation’s top golfer among all college divisions for his play over the past 12 months. Jackson, a junior at Notre Dame and a Franklin Regional graduate, joins a watch list that includes 17...

The entrance to Derry’s Trojan Stadium is going to look quite different in the near future. Through charitable donations the Derry Area School District Foundation described as “major,” the stadium gateway will undergo renovations this summer. The entry way will include a larger ticket booth, updated restrooms, a new concession...

After a 39-8 season that included a 23-4 mark in conference play, the Seton Hill baseball team is favored to win the PSAC West Division. The Griffins won the Atlantic Regional title and advanced to the NCAA Division II Tournament. The team returns PSAC West Rookie of the Year Owen...

Down to seven players, a hobbled leading scorer and a section schedule wearing thin on opportunities, the Derry girls basketball team played on with flickering playoff hopes. Yes, these Lady Trojans, who could have mailed it in weeks ago, kept reaching upward toward fourth place in the Section 1-4A standings....

Mountain East Conference Player of the Week Bryce Butler continues to round out his game at West Liberty. The 6-foot-5 sophomore guard had one of his best all-around games as the Division II No. 5-ranked Hilltoppers won for the 15th time in 16 games by holding back West Virginia State,...

Palmer Jackson leaked some oil in Sunday’s final round but still managed his top victory to date at the Jones Cup Invitational at Ocean Forest Golf Club in Sea Island, Ga. Jackson, a Notre Dame junior and Franklin Regional graduate, closed with a 4-over-par 76 in challenging weather conditions but...

Athletically, Ryan Bushey went to college to play baseball. But he is the gym-rat type, a sign of his affection for basketball that still lingers beyond high school. He likes to shoot around and play pick-up games, even if it’s against players from the men’s basketball teams at Mt. Aloysius,...

Senior Aaron Stasko was a jack-of all-trades type for Greensburg Central Catholic football. He played wide receiver, defensive end and long snapper for the Centurions. The third position mentioned looks to be what he will do at the next level. The 6-foot-3, 200-pound Stasko committed to Duquesne as a preferred...

The pool is undergoing a remodel at Norwin, but that doesn’t mean swimming talent has dried up. The Knights boys and girls programs have learned to cope with the inconvenience, even rallying around it through another WPIAL season. “We have been busing to nearby East Allegheny High School to practice...

It was a head-turning win if there ever was one. The Norwin girls basketball team dismantled No. 1 North Allegheny, 56-31, on Jan. 27 to move into a first-place tie with the Tigers in Section 1-6A. North Allegheny was undefeated at the time (15-0) and had won 33 straight section...

The Franklin Regional hockey team was gearing up for its final four games of the season as the Panthers build toward another PIHL Class 2A playoff run. The Panthers were narrowly trailing Armstrong in the East Division. Both teams were 12-2, but Armstrong’s one overtime loss had the River Hawks...

Getting defensive stops against Fox Chapel is a task much easier said than done. The Foxes move the ball with crisp passes and keep the offense flowing with cuts and screens. They can play fast or slow and don’t make a ton of mistakes. That’s why they’re a WPIAL title...

Allen Deep, who orchestrates a number of in-season charity showcases and the annual Roundball Classic after the basketball season, has two more events lined up for this weekend. Greensburg Central Catholic’s boys and girls, and the Belle Vernon boys, will participate. Both 10-game events will be Saturday and Sunday and...

A winning streak can be euphoric and demanding, enjoyable and stressful. Teams savor the sensation but crave more. They can’t let up. Monessen’s boys basketball team has won 10 in a row and has moved into the Trib HSSN Top 5 in Class 2A. The fifth-ranked Greyhounds (13-4) aren’t ready...

While he has big shoes to fill, Ryan Larsen is excited to begin his quest as the next head football coach at Carnegie Mellon. “I cannot wait to get to work,” said Larsen, who was announced Thursday as the replacement for longtime coach Rich Lackner, who stepped down after 36...

Tyree Turner and Brevan Williams scored inside and out. Anthony Semelka tipped in a miss, and Ryan Appleby swatted a shot into the student section. Dylan Parsons zinged a no-look pass to Franco Alvarez for an easy two. It was that kind of night for No. 2 Greensburg Central Catholic...

Monessen has a unique girls basketball roster. Three seniors, no juniors, five sophomores and two freshmen. That’s more like a gym class than a varsity team. But the Greyhounds have turned into a playoff contender as they chase a title in Section 2-A. Seniors Mercedes Majors (21 points per game),...

Greensburg Central Catholic is charging down the floor on a break. Sophomore guard Mya Morgan pulls the break just long enough for senior forward Bailey Kuhns to cut across the paint and get open. Two points for Kuhns. Assist, Morgan. It’s like they’ve done this a million times. A couple...

How does a team lose by seven on the road and win by 32 at home against the same opponent? “Our guys worked their butts off defensively,” said Franklin Regional coach Jesse Reed, whose Panthers split their season series with Latrobe in a big way, rolling to a 68-36 victory...

Saint Vincent has a new men’s soccer coach. Matt Davis will take over the program in the fall. “With the college’s strong academic reputation and commitment to the full student-athlete experience, I’m excited to get to work to build this program into a winning one that our players, alums and...

Once Greensburg Central Catholic adjusted to visiting Winchester Thurston’s pressure and sophomore guard Mya Morgan found her shooting touch Monday night, it was the Centurions’ game to lose. No. 5 GCC tempered a stagnant first half with a much better second and took care of the Bears, 45-31, to move...