Bill Beckner stories, Page 96

The Latrobe basketball roster is like a map of Western Pennsylvania. There is always a Butler. But we’re not talking about a city or county, here. Instead, it’s a last name that seems to be branded into the scorebook — one that has become synonymous with the Wildcats’ program. This...

The Franklin Regional gymnasium fell silent for about 40 minutes Tuesday night when Greensburg Salem sophomore center Kaitlyn Mankins went down with a grim injury. “The girls were sobbing,” Golden Lions girls basketball coach Rick Klimchock said. “There were tears everywhere.” Mankins was coming off a pick-and-roll late in the...

When she was a freshman, Belle Vernon’s Viva Kreis sat courtside at various stops and watched all 12 WNBA teams play, interviewed several players and met her favorite player, Diana Taurasi. The summer tour was part of a project about women’s pro basketball becoming more prominent. Over the passage of...

A work in progress for some time, the Pitt-Greensburg Athletics Hall of Fame has arrived and has its inaugural class. Five individuals and two teams that helped put the Bobcats on the college map will be enshrined Feb. 18 during a ceremony at the school’s Wagner Dining Hall. The inductees...

A Greensburg Central Catholic student brought a bass drum into the student section, but an official told him it was not permitted, so it was removed from the raucous gymnasium. Instead of a drum, GCC beat Jeannette. With a revved-up second half after a surprisingly slow start, the No. 2...

With offense relegated to half-court sets and fouls piling up, the more patient team was going to have the advantage down the stretch. Woodland Hills played like it had that trait in its back pocket and methodically pulled away from upstart Greensburg Salem, which played its first Section 4-5A girls...

John Luckhardt once said, “I’ve never been talented, never been good looking, never been smart.” The former Cal (Pa.) and Washington & Jefferson football coach can say he is a hall of famer. And a member of a pretty good class, at that. Luckhardt will be inducted into the College...

Kadyn Hannah did not need much adjustment time as a freshman on the La Roche men’s basketball team. The Franklin Regional alum stepped into the starting five from Day 1 and has helped push the Redhawks (5-5) to four straight wins. The statement game for the 6-foot-5 forward came Saturday...

Belle Vernon has been one of the top football teams in WPIAL Class 4A for nearly half a decade. The Leopards have reached the semifinals four straight years and made the finals at Heinz Field in 2019 and ‘21. Class 3A, brace yourself because here come the Leopards. Belle Vernon...

Brennan Marion has been on the Texas football staff for less than two weeks and he already has tossed a lasso at WPIAL recruiting territory. Marion, a Greensburg Salem alum who coached wide receivers at Pitt this season before taking the same job with the Longhorns, extended scholarship offers to...

Landon Butler said he practiced free throws a few hours before game time Friday night. “I made like 25 of 35,” the Latrobe junior guard said. He said he and his teammates sometimes attempt 50 free throws a day in practice. It’s a good thing. The Wildcats needed accuracy from...

Sophomore guard Elle Snyder knows her role on the Latrobe girls basketball team. “I am a shooter,” Snyder said with stern confidence. She was a pace-setter Thursday night, showing her shooting touch in the Wildcats’ 57-29 victory over visiting Franklin Regional in a Section 4-5A game. Snyder did her damage...

Basketball has been the center of Nasheed “Nas” Thompson’s universe for a long time. From his youth days in his birthplace of Philadelphia, to his time on the high school team at Clearfield in Pennsylvania District 9, to now being a senior at Jeannette, he has grown to love the...

The Greensburg Central Catholic boys basketball team didn’t play a home game in 2020. Because of covid cancellations and schedule-shuffling, the Centurions had to wait until Jan. 8 last season, after the calendar flipped to 2021, to play on their home floor. Now the team is letting out a collective...

A pair of WPIAL girls soccer standouts and Pittsburgh Riverhounds Academy players were selected to play in a national showcase. Franklin Regional senior Sydney Lindeman and Pine-Richland junior Ava Boyd made the cut for the Elite Clubs National League Florida National Selection Games, set for 6 p.m. Saturday at Premier...

It was a girls game played on night when the spotlight shined on the top boys basketball action in the WPIAL. But Greensburg Salem at Southmoreland still lived up to its billing Tuesday. There weren’t a lot of points, possessions were precious and defense was the order of the day...

For Southmoreland, it’s not as much about the loss as it is what happens after it. The Scotties, who were ranked No. 1 in WPIAL Class 4A, were upset Monday at Belle Vernon, 52-40. Belle Vernon (6-2) is no slouch. Everything went the Leopards’ way, and they seemingly couldn’t miss...

Derry is on the verge of hiring a new football coach. According to the agenda for its Thursday meeting, the district will recommend Mike Arone to take over the program. Arone is an associate principal at Derry Area High School. He was an assistant coach for 20 years at Homer-Center....

Veteran college football assistant coach Joe Rudolph, a Belle Vernon native, is leaving Wisconsin to join the staff at Virginia Tech. Rudolph, a former offensive coordinator at Pitt, had two stints at Wisconsin and also coached at Nebraska. He will serve as the Hokies’ run game coordinator and offensive line...

Skyy’s the limit. Western Michigan big-play wide receiver Skyy Moore, a sophomore with two years of eligibility left, will declare for the NFL Draft. Moore, a Shady Side Academy graduate from New Kensington, was a catch-everything threat this season for the Broncos, pulling in 95 receptions for 1,292 yards and...

On two previous occasions this season, Hempfield scored 77 points — and lost. The Spartans are playing an exciting brand of basketball with kickout 3-pointers, quick passes and transition layups, but they haven’t been getting the results they’ve wanted. They had seen enough Tuesday night in the Section 3-6A opener....

Belle Vernon dunked No. 1 Southmoreland then went for a dip. Leopards girls basketball players told their coach, Kaitlyn Slagus, they would jump into the school swimming pool if they knocked off the visiting Scotties. Moments after the final horn sounded Monday night, the team was off to make good...

Someone has been missing from Pitt-Greensburg men’s basketball practices and games lately. Assistant coach Alan Heter suddenly has vanished. Call it a disappearing act by the former Montour and Point Park standout player. But don’t limit Heter to that trick only. He can pull off a few more on the...

Olivia Gribble did a lot of winning on the basketball court at Norwin. That trend is continuing in college. A sophomore guard at Marietta, Gribble has helped power the Pioneers to a 10-1 start. Gribble is the team MVP; at least she was in a Christmas tournament. She had a...

The Latrobe boys basketball team never played a holiday tournament game, but it did get called for traveling. In a strange scheduling snafu, the Wildcats were jilted after a long bus ride to the Ohio border. The team drove more than 100 miles to play in the Farrell Tournament on...