Bill Beckner stories, Page 72
New coaches, who share connections, set to lead prolific Westmoreland County programs
When Mike Brown was coming out of Penn-Trafford, a Division II college program took a particular liking to his skills as a defensive back. The school was Mercyhurst, and Brown went on to play four years in Erie for the Lakers. The man who recruited him was assistant coach JT...
Westmoreland high school notebook: Latrobe girls soccer coaches take on 1st season as husband and wife
Jamie Morrison and Ross Campbell will begin their eighth season together as coaches of the Latrobe girls soccer team. This will be their first season, however, as wife and husband. The couple got married in June, nearly a decade after they met during a pick-up soccer game at Hempfield Park....
With typically strong defense, Franklin Regional girls soccer prepares to contend again
Each game it is the same. Invade the opponents’ space and be disruptive. Contest shots and clear the ball. Make them work until their formation rips just slightly enough to allow for a goal or two — enough offense to put a nice shine on a shutout. It’s Franklin Regional’s...
Norwin notebook: Former Knights baseball standout wins Palomino World Series
Summer baseball is more fun when it comes with some hardware. Just ask Norwin graduate Justin Weaver. While you were on vacation, he was on the fast track to a world series ring. A member of the Youngstown, Ohio, Palomino team, Weaver celebrated a Palomino World Series title with 13...
Expect excitement from loaded Norwin boys soccer team
Scott Schuchert is looking at this boys soccer season with eager eyes. “Exciting times,” the veteran Norwin coach said. The Knights always seem to be in the hunt in Class 4A, and it doesn’t appear this season will be any different. Despite falling to eventual champion Pine-Richland in the WPIAL...
Deep backfield gives Latrobe options in running game
When teams prepared to play Latrobe last season, their focus was on stopping bruising running back Robert Fulton. No. 3 was a big problem. With Fulton gone, though, the Wildcats’ rushing attack will branch out like a spider vein. “That’s the nature of high school sports,” Latrobe coach Ron Prady...
With new coach in charge, top playmaker graduated, change comes to Greensburg Salem
Change is a good thing. So believes Ty George, the rookie head football coach at Greensburg Salem. “It’s good in all forms of life,” he said. George took over for Dave Keefer, who guided the Golden Lions for the last decade. He was a member of Keefer’s staff for the...
Senior quarterback takes pride in wearing Jeannette uniform
A family vacation to the Outer Banks in North Carolina included some beach football. Because of course it did. Payton Molter was there. “You know it,” the Jeannette senior quarterback said. “I love spending time with my family. There was like 20 of us in a beach house. It was...
Westmoreland County high school notes: Latrobe’s Ella Bulava out with torn ACL
Ella Bulava, a senior soccer standout at Latrobe and a Maryland commit, will miss the high school season after having surgery for a torn ACL. The injury happened about a month ago while she was playing for her Pittsburgh Riverhounds Academy club team. It follows another setback: She broke her...
Franklin Regional goalkeeper climbs ranks in Olympic Development program
Aris Lamanna has been on a three-month, practically nonstop speed and strength training mission to be the best goalkeeper in the WPIAL, the state and … the country? The Franklin Regional senior hit a benchmark goal Monday as she was named to the United States Youth Soccer East Region Olympic...
Westmoreland County campus clippings: Yough grad Dustin Shoaf among PSAC’s top returning players
Back for his graduate season, Dustin Shoaf is primed to be the focal point of the running game this season at Mercyhurst. The running back from Yough is coming off a career season where he rushed for 635 yards and seven touchdowns for the Lakers, who are trying to flip...
Greensburg Salem’s Julian Stevens mixes personality with athletic ability to lead Golden Lions
A mauler with a mean streak, Julian Stevens has a reputation that precedes him. But there is more to the bruising Greensburg Salem senior tight end and linebacker than meets the eye. Last month, when Golden Lions superfan Jean Rowe died, Stevens led the team into the funeral home and...
Latrobe sees uptick in wins, numbers, expectations
Growth in roster numbers is a good gauge of a football program’s stability. Latrobe looks like it’s on firm ground. With 77 players — up from 62 last year and 44 the previous season — the Wildcats are bursting with interest and improvement. “We had some kids who had played...
Speedy, versatile Samir Crosby puts team first for Greensburg Central Catholic
As he is preparing for a quick photo shoot in the bleachers at Centurions Stadium, Samir Crosby flashes a smile, then shifts to a mean mug, turning to face the camera each time with delight and gravitas. “Want me to flex?” Crosby says, playfully clutching a football. The sophomore from...
Westmoreland County high school notebook: Official start of football camp right around corner
After weeks of noncontact workouts and five days of heat acclimatization, WPIAL football teams finally will open training camp Monday. The thought of donning full equipment and going full force against teammates gets players’ interest way up. It’s football season again. “Just the excitement of the team and coaches,” Greensburg...
Author Bill Viola Jr. of North Huntingdon urges readers to ‘earn black belt in life’
From inception to completion, Bill Viola Jr.’s latest book, “Common Sensei: How To Earn a Blackbelt in Life” didn’t necessarily have a core audience. Sure, the martial arts crowd was interested because of their vast knowledge of the collective and awareness of influential people in the business, such as Viola....
District golf notebook: Katie Miller Gee wins 2nd WGAWP amateur
Hempfield alum and girls golf coach Katie Miller Gee made sure the fourth time was the charm. After three straight runner-up finishes at the Women’s Golf Association of Western Pennsylvania Amateur Championship, Miller Gee returned to the winner’s circle, capturing her second title at the event Tuesday at Sunnehanna Country...
Derry quarterback is 1 of 11 on football field, 1 of 10 at home
He comes from a big family — we’re talking jumbo package, here — so Mason Beeman is used to being in close quarters with a lot of people. He also is used to earning his keep in a household where he is one of Michael and Trina Beeman’s 10 children....
Fierce competition defines PSAC as season draws near
Coaches in one of the better NCAA Division II football conferences in the country can’t say enough about the competition in their league. Practice began Monday, and teams in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference will kick up dust against each other this fall as they compete for division titles and...
Awards roll in for Belle Vernon grad Viva Kreis
Like a pair of new socks, two more honors rolled in for Belle Vernon alum Viva Kreis. And they are a perfect fit. The 2023 graduate, who bagged the $10,000 Heisman High School Scholarship Award last December and was an honorable mention for the Billie Jean King Youth Leadership Award...
With new coach at helm, Norwin hungry to return to playoffs
If there is a difference between a Norwin kid and a Hempfield kid, Mike Brown is out to find it. After two years at Hempfield, Brown left to become the coach at Norwin. Some saw it as a lateral move — one 5A school to another, one toiling program for...
2023 WPIAL golf preview: Graduation losses leave boys, girls titles up for grabs
The WPIAL boys and girls golf season opens Thursday. Here is a breakdown of the top teams and players to follow this fall. Boys Defending champions Class 3A team: Central Catholic Class 2A team: Sewickley Academy Class 3A individual: Rocco Salvitti, Central Catholic Class 2A individual: Hunter Jurica, Derry Top...
Latrobe’s Maddy Petruzzi commits to Valparaiso
Another Latrobe athlete is set to continue her career at college soccer’s highest level. Junior Maddy Petruzzi announced a verbal commitment to play at Valparaiso of the NCAA Division I Missouri Valley Conference. “Valparaiso has a variety of majors that I’m interested in pursuing, which was my No. 1 focus...
Ross Township’s Nathan Smith to captain 2025 U.S. Walker Cup team
An exemplary amateur golfer in the Pittsburgh area for decades, Nathan Smith can cross another accomplishment off his career bucket list. And this is a big one. Smith, a Brookville native who lives in Ross Township, was selected by the United States Golf Association to captain the 2025 U.S. Walker...
Norwin’s Max McDowell promoted to Triple-A with Phillies
For the third straight season, Max McDowell will be on the doorstep of a major league call-up. A Norwin alum and eighth-year minor leaguer, McDowell received a promotion Monday when he was elevated to the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs, the Triple-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. The 29-year-old catcher played...
