Bill Beckner stories, Page 204

Greensburg Central Catholic senior Bryce Kurpiel is a unique case in the recruiting game. He had no scholarship offers for football, yet could end up on a Divison I-FCS roster next season. Here’s his story: Kurpiel, who is from Ligonier, wanted to attend a college that offered a five-year physician’s...

Penn Hills has been one of the top defensive girls basketball teams in the WPIAL all season. The spark that ignites the engine has been relentless, wall-to-wall pressure. Add that hassling style to a healthy lineup, and Penn Hills has the look of a title contender in WPIAL Class 5A....

Saint Vincent left no doubts about who is the best team in the Presidents Athletic Conference. The top-seeded Bearcats rolled to their first conference title with a 70-48 victory over No. 2 Washington & Jefferson on Saturday night at Carey Center in Latrobe. The Bearcats wrap up their first PAC...

Veteran Canon-McMillan coach Rick Bell had a few defensive strategies lined up for Latrobe, but it took him some time to decide which one to open with in Saturday afternoon’s playoff game. “On the bus ride over, that’s when I figured out what we’d do,” Bell said. “I figured, what...

Jack Salopek knows the recruiting process soon might be coming at him hot and heavy, like a rush linebacker in a Friday night conference game. But the Norwin junior quarterback is adjusting and seems prepared for the onslaught. “I think I’m handling it pretty well,” he said. “I try not...

WPIAL boys basketball playoff preview Class A Semifinals No. 4 Monessen (15-8) vs. No. 1 Vincentian (15-7) 8 p.m. Monday at Peters Township Winner plays: Winner of No. 2 Cornell (19-3)/No. 3 Nazareth Prep (17-3) at 7 p.m. Thursday in championship at Petersen Events Center. Coaches: Dan Bosnic, Monessen; Tim...

This is what total domination in a swimming pool looks like. Senior Mark Patterson was named Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference Swimmer of the Year for the second straight time. But that was a mere formality. What he did to earn the award is the impressive part. The Norwin graduate won...

Franklin Regional and Moon had to wait a few extra minutes to take the court Friday night while the crowd from the first game of the playoff doubleheader cleared out at West Allegheny. Moon wouldn’t get out of the Panthers’ way, either. In a matchup of defensive-minded teams, the third-seeded...

Greensburg Central Catholic had no illusions about Cornell and its standout junior guard, Kaden DiVito. The Centurions knew the Raiders would present a challenge in the WPIAL Class A boys basketball quarterfinals, but some self-inflicted issues did not help their cause in a one-sided defeat that snowballed downhill. It was...

Franklin Regional has developed a playoff connection with Moon in the WPIAL boys basketball playoffs. The Panthers (17-6), the No. 6 seed in Class 5A, will take on No. 3 Moon (18-4) again on Friday night at West Allegheny. Some will remember — others would like to forget — Franklin...

To Jeannette, it seems like Sewickley Academy is lurking around every corner at boys basketball playoff time. There seems to be no escaping the perennially strong Panthers. The teams will meet again at 8 on Friday night for the fourth straight postseason — the third time in four years in...

Saturday’s games Boys WPIAL Class 6A Quarterfinals No. 2 Latrobe (18-2) vs. No. 7 Canon-McMillan (15-8) 3 p.m. Saturday at Norwin Winner plays: Winner of No. 3 Mt. Lebanon (19-3)/No. 6 Fox Chapel (16-7) on Wednesday in semifinals Coaches: Brad Wetzel, Latrobe; Rick Bell, Canon-McMillan Points scored/allowed: Latrobe, 71.4/60.9; Canon-McMillan,...

Another Hempfield softball player has committed early to a Division I college. Standout sophomore Ashley Orischak, a key designated hitter for the Spartans last season during their run to a third straight PIAA title and a WPIAL four-peat, gave a verbal commitment to St. Francis (Pa.). There, she plans to...

Boys Class 5A Quarterfinals No. 6 Franklin Regional (17-6) vs. No. 3 Moon (21-1) 8 p.m. Friday at West Allegheny Winner plays: Winner of No. 2 Penn Hills (19-3)/No. 7 Montour (15-8) Tuesday in semifinals Coaches: Steve Scorpion, Franklin Regional; Adam Kaufman, Moon Points scored/allowed: Franklin Regional 59.1/47.4; Moon, 64.2/46.3...

The adjustment period for a few area softball pitchers has been like their throwing speed on the radar gun: glove-popping fast. Freshmen Bailey Parshall, Meadow Uncapher and Dana Vatakis have jumped into the pitching circle with urgency and efficiency. The former Westmoreland County stars are taking the momentum from their...

Meadow Uncapher took a roundabout path to Division I softball, but St. Francis (Pa.) is glad the freshman pitcher found her way to Loretto. Uncapher, a former pitcher and infielder who won WPIAL and PIAA championships at Mt. Pleasant, won her first two starts for the Red Flash (5-4) and...

Boys basketball Class A Quarterfinals No. 7 Greensburg Central Catholic (17-6) vs. No. 2 Cornell (18-4) 8 p.m. Thursday at Peters Township Winner plays: Winner of No. 3 Nazareth Prep (16-3)/No. 6 Union (17-6) Monday in semifinals Coaches: Greg Bisignani, Greensburg CC; Bill Sacco, Cornell Points scored/allowed: Greensburg CC, 58.2/48.7;...

In WPIAL basketball, playoff experience knows no bounds. Its importance can’t be overstated, its benefits can be immense. Franklin Regional only has one player with substantial experience from last year’s Class 5A runner-up finish in senior guard Nick Leopold. But experience will come with time for his teammates, who were...

Boys Class 4A First round No. 10 Derry (12-7) vs. No. 7 Blackhawk (9-13) 8 p.m. Wednesday at North Allegheny Winner plays: No. 2 Ambridge (14-8) Saturday in quarterfinals. Coaches: Tom Esposito, Derry; Brooks Roorback, Blackhawk Points scored/points allowed: Derry, 57.8/56.6; Blackhawk, 60.8/58.4 Players to watch: John Kerr, Sr., F,...

The Presidents’ Athletic Conference women’s basketball championship will go through Latrobe. Saint Vincent secured the top seed and home-court advantage for the tournament, set to run Monday through Saturday. The Bearcats (21-4, 15-1) get a double-bye — as does second-seeded Washington & Jefferson (18-7, 13-3) — to the semifinals, to...

The adjustment period for a few area softball pitchers has been like their throwing speed on the radar gun: glove-popping fast. Freshmen Bailey Parshall, Meadow Uncapher and Dana Vatakis all have jumped into the pitching circle with urgency and efficiency. The former Westmoreland County stars are taking the momentum from...

This is what total domination in a swimming pool looks like. Senior Mark Patterson was named Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference Swimmer of the Year for the second straight time. But that was a mere formality. What he did to earn the award is the impressive part. The Norwin graduate won...

Senior forward Tom Kromka picked the perfect time to reach a milestone. The Saint Vincent basketball standout scored his 1,000th career point Saturday during the host Bearcats’ 80-73 senior day victory over Chatham before 912 at Carey Center. Kromka, a Gateway graduate who transferred from Carnegie Mellon after his freshman...