Bill Beckner stories, Page 11

Trent Holler and Memphis smashed West Virginia. The result on the football field wasn’t terribly one-sided: Memphis 42, WVU 37. The smashing happened after the game. Following the Scooter’s Coffee Frisco Bowl, Holler, Memphis’ mammoth redshirt senior center, took a sledge hammer to a block of concrete painted with a...

Latrobe basketball players have been channeling teams of the past, maybe moreover, a style of the past, during their fast start to the season. It’s been like the Wildcats circa 2015-18 at times, with rapid-moving play and quick-triggered possessions pushing scores into the 70s and filling the refurbished “Den” with...

Sixteen boys basketball teams will play in the sixth Westmoreland County Coaches Association Shootout on Saturday at two locations, Jeannette and Hempfield. The annual event gives local fans a chance to see multiple county teams before the holidays. The schedule is as follows: At Hempfield — Southmoreland vs. Greensburg Salem,...

At times, Kendall Berger had the look of a go-to scorer last season when Norwin became a WPIAL champion for a third time. She looked polished in critical possessions, unafraid of big moments. When the Knights needed a basket, they knew they could trust in Berger, who often drove the...

There were only nine undefeated teams in WPIAL girls basketball at the start of the week. Two of them were from Westmoreland County: Penn-Trafford (7-0) and Hempfield (6-0). The others were Woodland Hills (3-0), South Fayette (6-0), Peters Township (5-0), Our Lady of the Sacred Heart (5-0), Deer Lakes (6-0),...

You might say Uniontown was zoned in. Zoned in on a big section game and now zoned in on a trip to the beach. The Red Raiders went to a 3-2 zone in the second half and slowed down uptempo Latrobe, forcing the Wildcats into mistakes. Their offense complemented the...

The unbeaten Seton Hill women’s basketball team (10-0) jumped seven spots to No. 7 in the D2CSC poll, while remaining No. 1 in the Atlantic Region rankings. In addition, and perhaps more significantly, the Griffins vaulted seven spots to No. 14 in the WBCA Division II Coaches Poll. The 10-0...

With a wide smile framing his face, Chuck Bellisario proudly placed gold medals around the necks of Deer Lakes boys basketball players last winter at Pitt’s Petersen Events Center. It was a ceremonious cap to back-to-back Class 3A titles. On Monday, Bellisario received some praise of his own. The conductor...

South Park’s Shelly Thropp next month will be just the second woman to be inducted into the Pennsylvania Soccer Coaches Association Hall of Fame, joining Jodie Chmielewski of Pine-Richland. Another longtime WPIAL girls soccer coach, Wayne Capra, also will be inducted Jan. 25 during the PSCA awards banquet at the...

Named after a band called “Emerson Drive,” Latrobe senior Emerson Skatell is in perfect rhythm with her college choice. Skatell signed a national letter of intent to run track and cross country at NCAA Division I Lehigh of the Patriot League. “When I went on my official visit, the team...

Greensburg Central Catholic junior Ashlyn Black was named to the Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association Class A All-State Team for the second time in her prep career. Black, a right-side hitter, powered the Centurions to their fourth WPIAL championship and third PIAA title. She wasn’t the only player from Westmoreland County...

Proof that his wrestlers measure up does not always come in the form of pins or lofty spots on the medal stand. No, coach Kyle Martin and his staff have raised a different type of bar at Norwin as they raise young men and women. Ask him to project how...

Defending WPIAL champion Norwin rebounded from a tough 51-50 season-opening loss to Penn-Trafford with two wins at the State College tournament and another over District 9 power Kennedy Catholic. After a 49-40 win over Abington Heights, Norwin pushed past State College, 48-42, as Kendall Berger scored 17 points. In their...

After winning its first two games of the season at the Mike Rettger Tournament, the Franklin Regional boys basketball team dropped two straight at the 20th Hempfield tipoff tournament. Coach Jesse Reed was looking for better starts from his team, which has fallen behind early in games and had to...

The fourth quarter greeted Latrobe with less than ideal circumstances. Three starters had four fouls, another had three and Gateway had a seven-point lead in the Section 1-5A boys basketball opener. Mass disqualifications seemed inevitable. “A lot of teams would have packed it in there. They wouldn’t think they had...

With a rotation that serves up more reinforcements than the Christmas help at the mall, Penn-Trafford and its long bench are becoming more of a challenge for teams every time they take the court. And, so far, every game has been a win. The third-ranked Lady Warriors broke away from...

Paul Sapotichne said he didn’t sleep a wink the night before Friday’s opening game at the Hempfield tipoff tournament. Back for a second stint at Greensburg Salem, Sapotichne had coached in over 40 season openers, but this one felt different. “I wasn’t sure what to expect,” said Sapotichne, 71, who...

Offensive stalwarts who scored goals as effectively as they created them, a pair of WPIAL soccer standouts received elite recognition Wednesday. Latrobe’s Robin Reilly and Tyler Prex of Seneca Valley, both senior midfielders, were named High School All-Americans by the United Soccer Coaches. Reilly, a West Virginia commit who has...

Hempfield’s girls know how tough Section 2-6A play is going to be, so they are ramping up by playing the best possible defense they can. “Our help defense is better, and we’re sharing the ball better than in previous years,” guard Mads Pevarnik said. “We work on our shell drill...

Preseason No. 1 Uniontown was relieved to get out of Penn-Trafford with a win in the Section 1-5A boys basketball opener. Penn-Trafford led only briefly in the first quarter but took the Red Raiders to the limit with a second-half rally that nearly set off the upset alerts. Uniontown watched...

At most of his football coaching stops, Tim Bukowski stayed seven years. That was the case at Monessen, Charleroi, Clairton and, now, Southmoreland. “I am not making it to eight,” said Bukowski, who recently turned in a letter of resignation following his seventh season with the Scotties, the third as...

Common denominators in games help to reveal a team’s identity, and Penn-Trafford continues to build on its strengths. Well-rounded guard play again complemented the post, and defense bailed out a shaky-at-times offense as the third-ranked Lady Warriors kept their record clean with a 53-27 victory over Franklin Regional in a...

Third-year men’s basketball coach Ben Wilkins and his Seton Hill Griffins are finding ways to win again, and people are noticing. Wilkins recently was named the HoopDirt.com Division II Coach of the Week. The Griffins (9-2, 2-2 PSAC West) picked up wins over Pitt-Greensburg and Glenville State, the latter on...

Hempfield’s girls are starting to believe in the merits of team defense. The proof is in the “daggers” and “turkeys.” Daggers are recorded when Hempfield gets a defensive stop and scores right after it. Turkeys, like bowling, are when the Lady Spartans collect three defensive stops in a row. With...

Add another postseason honor to Robin Reilly’s resume. Reilly, the talented soccer player from Latrobe who is set to enroll early and continue her playing career at West Virginia, was one of three WPIAL players to earn the latest accolade. She was a United Soccer Coaches Fall East All-Region selection....