Bill Beckner stories, Page 38
Dom Rosensteel becomes a leader on offense, defense for Greensburg Salem
Dom Rosensteel is ready to move the sticks. “What I did last year makes me want to be better,” the Greensburg Salem rising senior said. “I want to add 10 more to everything. I know I can do more.” A wide receiver and safety with pedigree, experience and just the...
Westmoreland County campus clippings: Franklin Regional grad Dan Luko transfers to Grove City
Seeking a better comfort zone and opportunity to play, Franklin Regional baseball alum Dan Luko announced he plans to transfer from John Carroll to Grove City. Luko was one of 63 players on the JCU roster and more were expected to be added. He did not appear in a game...
400-meter champ Jerry Davis adds speed to Greensburg Central Catholic roster
Jerry Davis played at Serra Catholic the past two football seasons but did not experience the WPIAL playoffs. Serra qualified both years, but Davis did not play in the postseason. He saw limited time as a freshman, and last year he could not participate in a first-round game because of...
Norwin grad Cam Auld set to be named boys basketball coach at alma mater
It looks like Cam Auld is coming home. Norwin will vote Monday to hire Auld as boys basketball coach, according to school board agenda. A Norwin alum and former basketball player for the Knights, the 26-year-old Auld has been the boys coach at Greensburg Salem for the last two seasons,...
Students from Allegheny Shotokan ‘Viola’ Karate Dojo headed to national team trials
Thirteen students from Allegheny Shotokan “Viola” Karate Dojo qualified to compete this fall in the World Karate Commission National Team Trials Oct. 26-Nov. 1 in Albufeira, Portugal. The local qualifiers are Cameron Klos, Gavin Bilinsky, Dryce Davis, Noelle Kravetz, Riley Evans, Aiden Johnson, Carter Griffith, Sammy Pietrzyk, Gabby Viola, Xander...
7-on-7 competition goes well for Franklin Regional
Franklin Regional coach Lance Getsy isn’t making any preseason predictions based on his team’s performance in 7-on-7 passing competitions, but he sees progress in the repetitions and value in the effort. Franklin Regional had a shot at winning Pool A of the Westmoreland County Coaches Association Larry Sellitto Memorial 7-on-7...
Westmoreland County high school notebook: With pads on, ‘it’s the start of a new year’
After a week of “heat” practices and noncontact drills, WPIAL football teams can begin hitting in full pads Monday with the official start of practice. That means the start of the regular season is less than two weeks away, with Week Zero games set to kick off Aug. 23. Teams...
Hempfield QB Dom Detruf hoping to be cleared after checkup by cardiologist
Hempfield senior quarterback Dom Detruf will see a cardiologist Tuesday for further evaluation of his acute myocarditis, an inflamed heart condition that could limit his participation in training camp and beyond. The cardiologist is Dr. Aryan Aiyer, who also treats Pittsburgh Steelers players. Detruf participated in heat acclimation week, which...
Norwin coach leads title-winning U.S. effort at Fargo nationals
Kyle Martin doesn’t make the annual trek to Fargo, N.D. for the scenery, the Badlands or props from a movie with the town’s namesake. The Norwin wrestling coach travels across the country to win championships while allowing his athletes to experience the thrill of high-level competition. Martin led the Pennsylvania...
New coach DeVito eager to build up Norwin girls soccer team
While she grasps for similarities between the girls soccer programs at Penn Hills and Norwin, Ashley DeVito continually finds herself recognizing the differences. “This is a community where kids grow up together, and there is a lot of excitement with playing together (in high school) … The game is big...
West Point to resume play at LLSWS Friday at new location
Tropical Storm Debby has the upper hand at the Little League Softball World Series. Constant rain left teams sitting on their hands with no games to play for a second straight day in Greenville, N.C. That includes Greensburg’s West Point 12U, which has gone 1-1 in the double-elimination tournament as...
Resurgent Latrobe has star power for move back to Class 5A
Editor’s note: Trib HSSN will publish team-by-team previews for one conference per day until the start of the high school football season Aug. 23. Having coached at Penn-Trafford for a decade, Ron Prady has a good idea what it takes to win in Class 5A. That should help the third-year...
Greensburg Central Catholic baseball player Anthony Grippo commits to Penn State
A new NCAA recruiting rule kicked in earlier this month. It prevents college coaches from communicating with prospects until Aug. 1 of their junior year. When that day rolled around for Anthony Grippo, his cellphone “blew up.” The rising junior from Greensburg Central Catholic had more than 20 calls or...
West Point overcomes superstition at Little League Softball World Series
Superstitions have long been a part of sports. Tiger Woods always wore a red shirt when he walked onto a golf course on Sundays. Michael Jordan used to wear his college practice shorts from North Carolina under his Chicago Bulls uniform shorts. Wade Boggs had to eat chicken before every...
Norwin boys soccer team gets to work in defense of WPIAL championship
Veteran boys soccer coach Scott Schuchert had a message for his Norwin players when they lined up to run sprints during a conditioning workout this week at the Turner Valley Soccer Complex. “Winning isn’t fun.” Say what, coach? At that moment, he could have replaced “winning” with “running” and it...
Risk pays off for West Point in Little League Softball World Series elimination game
Load the bases. Live with the result. With one out and runners at second and third for Italy’s Emilia Romagna Little League in the bottom of the fifth, Tina Madison pulled her defense into the pitching circle for a talk — a rather calm talk, all things considered. “Relax,” the...
Led by QB Tristyn Tavares, Norwin returns to Class 6A
A summer paving project caused some temporary parking inconveniences at Norwin Knights Stadium. For workouts, football players had to park high atop the field at the middle school and walk down the hill. Similarly, Norwin is back in the WPIAL’s highest classification for football. The Knights hope for a transition...
Hempfield set to take on Class 6A schedule again
Year 2 appears to have greeted Nick Keefer with more structure and the feeling of a greater sense of eagerness among his lot of 80-plus football players. “We have great kids here, and they are always ready to go to work,” said Keefer, the coach at Hempfield. “We were together...
West Point to face Italian team at Little League Softball World Series
West Point will play its second game of the Little League Softball World Series at 9 a.m. Tuesday in Greenville, N.C. The elimination bracket game was moved up an hour due to pending weather in the forecast. It will be shown on ESPN Plus. West Point needs to defeat Emilia...
Norwin softball standout rolls with changes, commits to Maine
The build-up to the decision was stressful. The reasoning behind it, though, made perfect sense. Recent Norwin graduate Bailey Snowberger had her future plans locked in: Go to Holy Cross, blend in and continue her excellent play as a shortstop at the college level. Kimberly Stiles, the coach at Holy...
Westmoreland County high school notebook: Football season begins with ‘heat week’
A PIAA custom since its inception in 2013, “heat week” is the unofficial start to high school football training camp, and it opens Monday around the state. Players, who will don helmets and shoulder pads but can’t hit, are required to attend five consecutive days of heat acclimatization before the...
Mon Valley team reaches Pony League World Series
Mon Valley won’t have to travel far to play for a world-renowned youth baseball championship. The local team of 13- and 14-year olds advanced to the Pony League World Series set for Aug. 9-14 at Lew Hays Pony Field in Washington, Pa. Mon Valley will open the double-elimination tournament 4:30...
Saint Vincent names D.P. Harris full-time athletic director
Saint Vincent ensured stability in its sports programs with the promotion of D.P. Harris to full-time athletic director. Harris, who will continue as the men’s basketball coach, had served as interim AD for the past year. SVC president Father Paul Taylor, O.S.B. called the move a “pivotal decision.” “He has...
West Point adds to winning tradition with trip to Little League Softball World Series
For the opening ceremony of the Little League Softball World Series, teams were asked to submit a song and a fast fact to organizers and ESPN. Greensburg’s West Point 12U team will walk out to the beat of “Black and Yellow” by Wiz Khalifa. As for the fast fact, coach...
New Franklin Regional boys soccer coach focuses on building rapport, fitness
When Nick White was an assistant boys soccer coach at Fox Chapel, the Foxes took late-summer trips to team camps. It became part of their voluntary training schedule. The week-long bonding events were a build-up to the start of the WPIAL season. “Getting to know the boys on a deeper...
