Bill Beckner stories, Page 192

Recent Hempfield graduate Gavin Mayo has been named for the second consecutive year to the National Interscholastic Swimming Coaches Association Boys High School Swimming All-America Team. The 6-foot-3 Mayo, a North Carolina recruit, won the WPIAL Class AAA title in the 50-yard freestyle in a time of 20.60 seconds. He...

An annual homecoming weekend match will be particularly special for the Seton Hill women’s volleyball team in the fall. On Oct. 12, when the Griffins host Bloomsburg at 1 p.m., the school will retire the No. 9 jersey of fallen teammate Maggie Murray. Murray, a 2018 graduate, died as a...

The ball went through the basket — swish — and a smile curled up on the shooter’s face. Yes, this is the stuff. How I’ve missed you, old friend. Austin Butler was out of basketball for the last three months as he recovered from shoulder surgery. But the former Latrobe...

Fresh off a strong junior season at Seton Hill, third baseman Tommy Pellis is honing his skills in the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League, touted as the premier summer league in New York. A utility infielder for the Albany Dutchmen, Pellis was named a reserve for the PGCBL All-Star Game...

John Stevens helped lead Norwin to an undefeated wrestling season in 1959. That team featured seven Westmoreland County champions. It can now say it features a Thiel College hall of famer. Stevens will be one of a half-dozen inductees going into the Thiel Athletics Hall of Fame during a ceremony...

After a breakthrough college wrestling season, Pitt’s Micky Phillippi will get his shot at worlds. The reigning ACC champion and NCAA Tournament qualifier at 133 pounds, Phillippi will be a fill-in at the U23 World Championships Oct. 28 through Nov. 3 in Budapest, Hungary. Phillippi, a Derry graduate who won...

Three-year assistant coach Bobby Over was promoted to head coach of the Seton Hill track & field and cross country programs. “From day one, Seton Hill has felt like home to me,” Over said. “I am very excited to be able to continue to work with the athletes that make...

This week has been a real thrill for the “Trill.” Kenny Wells, a former Seton Hill relief pitcher with the social media name, “Kenny Trill,” signed this week with the Danville Braves, the Advanced-Rookie level affiliate of the Atlanta Braves. He made his minor league debut on the Fourth of...

Humbled and motivated by mistakes, slugger JJ Matijevic is back in the swing of things. Matijevic, a minor leaguer with the Houston Astros, recently returned from a 50-game suspension for violating league rules pertaining to the use of banned drugs. The former Norwin and Arizona star twice failed a test...

The Tribune-Review and the TribLive High School Sports Network are profiling each member of the 25-player Trib HSSN Preseason WPIAL Football All-Star team. The players will be recognized July 23 during a HSSN Media Day live broadcast at Kennywood Park. When Derrick Davis gets into a rhythm carrying the football,...

Mackenna Orie took up track and field, throwing events in particular, because she watched her sister, Sam, heave heavy objects during meets. It looked fun. Challenging and burdensome, maybe, but something she wanted to try. Four years later, Orie is following in her sister’s footsteps as a Division I thrower....

The Tribune-Review and the TribLive High School Sports Network are profiling each member of the 25-player Trib HSSN Preseason Football All-Star team. The players will be recognized July 23 during HSSN Media Day at Kennywood Park. There is good news and bad news coming out of Gateway football camp this...

Former Pitt player and Beaver Falls standout Sheldon Jeter will suit up for the inaugural U.S. Pan American Games 3x3 basketball team. Jeter, who plays for the Maine Red Claws of the NBA G-League, is a 6-foot-8 rookie forward. He was chosen by a selection committee after he played in...

Tee times are out for the 119th Western Pennsylvania Golf Association Amateur Championship set for Monday through Wednesday at fabled Oakmont Country Club. The field is set at 78 players. Last year, Oakmont’s Sean Knapp claimed a record-tying eighth title in the event, which was delayed for 48 days after...

The theme during the 2018 girls golf season in the WPIAL was quite similar to that of the boys: Teams and individuals were reluctant to hand over titles. North Allegheny and Greensburg Central Catholic each cruised to their fourth straight WPIAL championships at Cedarbrook. Congratulations to the North Allegheny Girls...

Sewickley Academy has set the standard in WPIAL boys golf. The Panthers won an unprecedented sixth consecutive district team championship last fall to pace a series of repeat performances in the WPIAL postseason. Dynasties continued on the links. Turtle Creek had the boys record for consecutive team titles, winning five...

Freedom was fearless — and Sharpless — on the way to a WPIAL girls soccer championship and a PIAA runner-up finish in Class A last fall. Freedom offense dominates Bentworth for WPIAL Class A girls soccer title #WPIAL #TribHSSN @FASDBulldogs TribLive HSSN (@TribLiveHSSN) November 3, 2018 Led by the...

Local minor-leaguer JJ Matijevic is back from his league-imposed 50-game suspension. The former Norwin and Arizona star, who is trying to climb the ranks with the the Houston Astros, was penalized by the commissioner’s office after he failed a drug test for a second time. The drug he used was...

West Allegheny turned WPIAL title game disappointment into PIAA glory. The Indians bounced back from a razor-thin, 1-0 loss to Franklin Regional to win four consecutive state playoff games — including a 4-0 win over Strath Haven in the finals for their 14th shutout of the season — to celebrate...

Demetrious Cox likes to stay up on trendy fashions when he can, and if he didn’t already have a mean sock game, he will now. Cox, a Jeannette native who is primed to go to training camp with the Cincinnati Bengals, teamed up with “solemade,” a sock company out of...

Michael Palaschak has been a PIAA volleyball official for 13 years and has worked a number of local high school matches. But now the Norwin graduate is set to take over the women’s team at Westmoreland County Community College. The school announced it has hired him as head coach. “I...

Carolyn Appleby gathered numerous accolades after a prosperous senior season on the basketball court at IUP. So, what’s one more? Appleby on Tuesday was named the IUP Women’s Senior of the Year as part of the school’s Crimson and Gray athletic awards. She also took home the school’s postseason player...

Robert Morris freshman Kristyna Mala was selected to the Czech National Softball Team which will play in the European Championships June 30 through July 6 in Ostrava, Czech Republic. Mala made the All-NEC Rookie Team this season as she hit .250 with 10 runs, three doubles and four RBIs in...

Joe Lewandowski is bringing home the gold. The Point Park men’s basketball coach took Team USA to Amsterdam this week for the FIBA 3x3 World Cup and the Americans finished with a perfect 7-0 record to win the championship. The U.S. team captured the title for the first time in...

Determination and patience led Jassan Eubank to a special day, one he always envisioned but approached with caution for fear it might not happen. The former Greensburg Central Catholic standout, two years removed from high school football — and two years into a college career he rerouted based on belief...