Bill Beckner stories, Page 20

Nate Ward had planned to play one last season of college soccer closer to home at Duquesne. But the grad student transfer shifted gears and ended up at St. Louis playing for a nationally ranked program. Ward, a Greensburg Central Catholic graduate, played four years at Indiana of the Big...

The Westmoreland County Coaches Association will host its annual boys golf championship Thursday at Latrobe Elks Golf Course. With two-time winner Nick Turowski of Penn-Trafford now playing at West Virginia, the field is more open. The long-hitting Turowski won last year with a 4-under-par 68, adding a title to his...

Alex Tatsch might be heading to Penn State to play linebacker, but the Latrobe senior made it clear this summer he had plenty to give the Wildcats as a running back. Remember, Tatsch was limited last season with a labrum tear that required offseason surgery. Now that he is at...

Norwin girls volleyball finished 3-11 overall and 1-7 in Section 3-4A, which put the Knights in last place. That means there is room for improvement for veteran coach Mary Ellen Ferragonio and her players. Seven returning starters give the team a reason for optimism. Ferragonio said it is too early...

A matchup of first-year coaches in Section 3-3A boys soccer went to Franklin Regional’s Nick White, whose Panthers rang up three second-half goals to pull past Ryan Hankey’s Penn-Trafford team, 3-1, in the section opener Aug. 29. “P-T came out strong, and they were really strong in the back,” said...

Greensburg Salem honored its conference championship football teams from 2003 and ’04 before Friday night’s kickoff. Then, the current Golden Lions took the field looking like a team with similar aspirations. Greensburg Salem continued its best start since 2011, making it a perfect 3 for 3 in home games to...

On a night when shots were plentiful and goals piled up, Latrobe was more impressed by its defensive play and limiting Belle Vernon’s potent offense in its latest soccer victory. “The defense created the chances,” said senior forward Roman Agostoni, who had a hat trick in the Wildcats’ 5-0 win...

Monessen is the highest-scoring team in WPIAL football through two weeks with a brow-raising, 60.5-point average. The Greyhounds, who hadn’t started 2-0 since 2018, have laid out a tapestry of big plays while scoring in a number of ways. A key playmaker is TyVaughn Kershaw, a junior running back, who...

Freshman Tori Yurt said she wanted to be more “useful” to the Penn-Trafford girls soccer team after a slow start to the season. How’s this for useful? The 6-foot forward scored two goals to set the pace and propel Penn-Trafford to a 3-2 victory over host Latrobe in the Section...

When Derry scored two goals to pull even with Hempfield, Michael Crowe, Hempfield’s coach, just let it roll. “We, as coaches, didn’t have to say much at halftime,” Crowe said of Tuesday night’s boys soccer game. “Just a few words of calming encouragement, and the boys took it upon themselves...

Mt. Pleasant is off to a strong start to the season. The Vikings (3-1) put up 20 goals, including 10 in a 10-0 win over Brownsville in the Section 4-2A opener. Aidan Johnson leads the team with seven goals. He had four in a 5-0 win against Derry. Ten players...

When Billy Bryant went to Jeannette, he was the Jayhawk mascot. He donned the furry, red-and-blue uniform and the bird head with the bright yellow beak. “If that doesn’t tell you how much Jeannette sports mean to me, I don’t know what will,” Bryant said. “It’s sad what we’re going...

Yough has struggled with low roster numbers in recent seasons, and with standout Youngstown Stat commit Kendalyn Umbel choosing not to play prep soccer this year and in 2023, the Cougars appeared headed for an uphill climb. But they won three of their first four games, scoring 10 goals in...

Patrick Edwards is making his way up the college basketball coaching ladder. The 2018 Norwin graduate was named director of basketball operations at Dayton, his alma mater. “Basketball has always been a love of mine growing up,” Edwards said. “I realized I wanted to coach, specifically at the college level,...

Jim Croushore played 18, then went one more. But he’s packing up his clubs as the top man on the WPIAL golf steering committee. Croushore stepped down before this school year after 19 years on the committee. The former chairman is a principal at Burrell’s Bon Air Elementary School, and...

Golf professional Anthony Santilli knew the expectation when he took over as the girls golf coach at Greensburg Central Catholic. Win it all and pose for photos with the trophy. That is what the Centurions have done consistently for nearly a decade. It’s what they know. They are the nine-time...

Hempfield took the field Friday night in its home opener with a surprise starter at quarterback. Junior Dom Detruf, who tried to keep his medical clearance Wednesday under wraps, returned after limited practice time this summer because of myocarditis — an inflamed heart. “We tried to keep it quiet,” Detruf...

Jiana Patterson School: Hempfield Class: Junior Sport: Soccer Claim to fame: Patterson, a transfer from Greensburg Central Catholic, has made an immediate impact with the Spartans. The talented forward scored two goals as Hempfield defeated North Hills, 2-1, to break an 18-game losing streak. Patterson also scored a goal in...

Good things can happen when most of your returning starters are seniors. The Franklin Regional girls soccer team will lean on experience from a group that has been around the block a few times in WPIAL Class 3A. Key 12th grade returnees include offensive centerpiece Abby Paterline (MF/F), Brooke Blakley...

Franklin Regional boys soccer’s third coach in four years is getting the response he wanted from his players. They showed up to work this summer. “Our voluntary workouts were very well attended, the effort and energy was fantastic, and the boys put in a lot of work in preparation for...

Annie, get your run. Norwin junior Annie Czajkowski opened the cross country season with a bang as she ran to victory at the Riverside Classic Night Invitational at Riverside High School in Ohio. Czajkowski posted a time of 18 minutes, 31.46 seconds to hold back Elena Barrall of Manheim Township...

If Norwin gets back to the WPIAL girls soccer playoffs after a two-year hiatus, it will be a group effort. New coach Ashley DeVito said under no circumstance should any of her girls should play a full, 80-minute game. “We have so much depth and talent,” she said. “I intend...

With an experienced group of seniors as a pillar, Norwin has its eyes on a WPIAL Class 4A repeat. If the Knights do go back-to-back, veteran coach Scott Schuchert believes his veterans will pave the way. “We have the strongest core of seniors I’ve ever had from top to bottom,”...

Classic ingredients can go a long way on a high school football Friday night. Running game. Defense. Special teams. Mix them up, and it’s a winning recipe. Franklin Regional did that to hold back a Hempfield team that was inspired by the return of its quarterback, winning 49-26 on Friday...

A matchup of first-year coaches in Section 3-3A boys soccer went to Franklin Regional’s Nick White, whose Panthers rang up three second-half goals to pull past Ryan Hankey’s Penn-Trafford team, 3-1, in the section opener Thursday night in Harrison City. “P-T came out strong, and they were really strong in...