Bill Beckner stories, Page 176

Greensburg Central Catholic soundly defeated Class 3A No. 3 Washington, 50-34, on the second day of the Greensburg Salem Holiday Classic. Coaches were praising the team’s defensive efforts, particularly how the Centurions performed in a 1-2-2 zone press. First-year coach Christian Hyland was asked when the new defense was introduced...

Danielle Rosso was expected to be a key contributor for the Norwin girls basketball team, but not even coach Brian Brozeski expected this type of production from the 5-foot-8 junior combo guard. With senior guards Olivia Gribble and Jayla Wehner forming a skilled scoring tandem, the Knights expected to build...

Look for homecomings to be a popular theme among some local college basketball players as the calendar turns to 2020. A number of area alums will return to the region with their teams as conference play heats up. Cal (Pa.) senior Monica Burns (Hempfield) probably will draw a crowd of...

The Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference was well-represented on the Don Hansen Football Gazette NCAA Division II All-Super Region 1 teams, which were released this weekend. Harlon Hill Trophy winning quarterback Rolan Rivers III of Slippery Rock was named offensive player of the year, while Shawn Lutz of Slippery Rock picked...

Iowa star wrestler Spencer Lee, a junior 125-pounder and two-time NCAA champion, pulled out of the reputable Ken Kraft Midlands Championships in Hoffman Estates, Ill. due to a medical forfeit. Lee reached the semifinals but forfeited to Mike DeAugustino of Northwestern, allowing DeAugustino to advance to Saturday night’s finals to...

As the sun sets on another year in local sports, it’s time to look back on the best stories of 2019 in Westmoreland County. There were championships, comebacks, program rebirths and coveted recruits. The final year in the second decade of the 2000s featured repeat winners and playoff newcomers and...

Another Hempfield lineman has accepted an invitation to play football at the next level. Senior Ryan Cross, another key blocker for a Spartans unit that helped put up more than 200 rushing yards per game, is headed to St. Francis (Pa.) as a preferred walk-on. He will have a spot...

Greensburg Salem saved its best for last, but it wasn’t enough to get around Hempfield, which fended off the Golden Lions’ late surge in the final game of the Greensburg Salem Holiday Classic. After scoring just 13 points in the first half — a testament to Hempfield’s shot-challenging defense —...

WPIAL-bound Ligonier Valley’s days of dominating the District 6 Heritage Conference might be over, but the Rams left lasting memories. They also had a run of outstanding individual talent, some considered among the best in the state. That point was validated Saturday when the Pennsylvania Football Writers Class 2A All-State...

Jeannette football players and coaches will say they did not reach their full potential as a team this season. The Jayhawks made it to No. 1 in the Class A state rankings but ended the year with losses to Clairton and Sto-Rox, the latter defeat coming in the WPIAL quarterfinals....

Penn-Trafford junior guard Allie Prady was hoping she and her teammates would get out of the gates faster than they had in recent basketball games. The Warriors would rather wind up and go early than have to rally late. “We haven’t started out good in the first quarter lately, so...

Derry started the season with one win in its first five games, so the Trojans needed a victory a week ago in their Section 1-4A opener. What they didn’t need was a devastating and potentially season-changing injury to their one of their best players. Tears were shed and many emotions...

Christmas time means holiday basketball tournaments, and there are a few notable ones in the area Friday and Saturday. Two local round-robin events to watch will be at Penn-Trafford and Greensburg Salem. The Penn-Trafford Holiday Tournament, which has girls and boys games (two of each Friday and Saturday), features Norwin...

Latrobe is hoping to get sophomore Anna Rafferty back after the holiday break. The 6-foot-1 forward makes a difference. She has been strong on the low block on offense and a shot-altering presence on defense for the Wildcats (2-4, 0-3), who are looking to dig out of an early hole...

Three Westmoreland County wrestlers helped lead Bucknell to a 39-7 win Friday over Long Island. No. 15-ranked Zach Hartman (Belle Vernon) won by pin at 165 pounds. Senior 174-pounder Mitch Hartman (Belle Vernon) won by decision, and senior Drew Phipps (Norwin) scored a major decision at 197. Phipps has not...

Monessen finished the football season with 13 players. Six are seniors. Barring an unlikely boom in participation, that does not bode well for the proud program’s future. With possible dire times ahead, coach Mikey Blainefield handed in his letter of resignation after three seasons. The writing on the wall was...

A familiar name is set to take over the Latrobe softball program. Bob Kovalcin, who guided the Wildcats from 2004-12, was hired as coach. Kovalcin, 62, guided Latrobe to three WPIAL titles in 2007, ‘08 and ‘11, along with several PIAA playoff appearances. He was an assistant from 1998-03. He...

Cal (Pa.) women’s basketball coach Jess Strom, of Steel Valley and Penn State fame, reached 200 career wins for the No. 9-ranked Vulcans Friday in a 67-60 victory over West Chester. Only seven other women’s basketball coaches in the PSAC have 200 or more wins. Strom is 200-53 in nine...

Derry senior basketball player Justin Huss broke his right leg Friday night in the Trojans’ emotional 59-57 victory over visiting Freeport. Huss went up for a rebound with 2 minutes, 44 seconds left in the second quarter and came down awkwardly. He crashed to the baseline, writhing in pain. The...

It was one of those games where the simplest tasks seemed the most difficult to execute. Passes, layups, even rebounds did not come easy. Nothing was crisp. What did seem to work smoothly for Hempfield in its section opener at Norwin, however, was how its seniors handled a double-digit lead....

For the third straight year, Lamont “Showboat” Robinson is on the ballot for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. The Jeannette graduate is known for having a pivotal role in comedy basketball when he played for three Harlem teams: the Globetrotters, Roadkings and Clowns. Among the list of candidates...

After a successful launch of an all-sports hall of fame last year, Jeannette saw fit to make the venture a tradition. To that end, the district announced the second Jayhawk Athletic Hall of Fame class Friday. The 2019 inductees are: • Earl Highlands (Class of 1963, basketball) • Greg Hall...

Latrobe could feel the lead slipping away, a lead that never quite seemed safe against a Penn Hills team that felt itchy going against a zone, like it was wearing a wool Christmas sweater and wanted to rip it off. To that end, ugly had to suit the Indians aesthetically,...

Latrobe began the season looking for a scorer, the next go-to guy who could keep the high-scoring Wildcats in contention for a WPIAL playoff berth and maybe more. While the team has started slow — 2-5 — with some painfully close losses along the way, senior Michael Noonan looks to...