Bill Beckner stories, Page 39
2024 Trib HSSN Preseason Football All-Star Team: Latrobe’s John Wetzel
A team that didn’t have a playoff win for 54 years has two in the past two seasons, and John Wetzel has a lot to do with it. Latrobe’s quarterback and three-star safety has developed into of the WPIAL’s top dual threats. Last year, he passed for 1,289 yards and...
Westmoreland County campus clippings: Jeannette grad Marcus Barnes on East-West Shine Bowl watch list
Expectations are high for Jeannette alum Marcus Barnes, who is primed for his senior football season at William & Mary. A safety, Barnes was selected to the East-West Shrine Bowl 1,000, a watch list for the annual senior all-star game set for Jan. 30 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas....
Westmoreland high school notes: Softball could adopt communication devices
A key rule change could alter the way coaches and catchers communicate on the softball field. If the PIAA adopts a new rule, starting next season teams will be permitted to use electronic devices for one-way communication to the catcher during games. The rule was passed by the National Federation...
Pirates draft pick Ager traces roots to baseball family in Westmoreland County
When Matt Ager came to Pittsburgh in 2015, he went to a game at PNC Park and watched the Pirates’ Gerrit Cole pitch against Clayton Kershaw and the Los Angeles Dodgers. Ager, a 21-year-old pitcher the Pirates drafted in the sixth round earlier this month out of UC Santa Barbara,...
Greensburg Central Catholic girls basketball ready for new class
Greensburg Central Catholic was a class above the competition in WPIAL Class 2A last girls basketball season when it captured its sixth district championship. Next season, the Centurions won’t be able to defend their title because they are moving up a classification, to 3A. The move is because of a...
Latrobe, Seton Hill alum Kollar gets promoted to Padres’ Triple-A affiliate
A day after his 26th birthday, pitcher Jared Kollar received a gift: a promotion in the minor leagues. Kollar, a Latrobe and Seton Hill alum, is headed to Triple-A with the San Diego Padres. His 9-3 record and 3.04 ERA in 15 starts were good enough to earn him a...
Norwin alum Noah Czajkowski commits to Pitt baseball team
When he put his name into the national free-agent database known as the NCAA transfer portal, pitcher Noah Czajkowski hoped to garner interest from Division I baseball programs nearer to where he grew up. That one such suitor was Pitt came as a pleasant surprise and a welcome bonus. Czajkowski,...
Hempfield QB Dom Detruf sidelined with heart condition, vows to return this season
As his teammates ran routes, threw and caught passes and defended throws, Dom Detruf looked on with interest. He stood on the field, holding a football and a towel and barked out directions and advice like a coach. The junior quarterback from Hempfield would rather have been playing, but he...
Greensburg Central Catholic’s Samir Crosby set to take control of offense
Samir Crosby could have a special season in store for the Greensburg Central Catholic football faithful. The Centurions’ gamer has created enough exciting plays — in a myriad of ways — in two years to attract several NCAA Division I college programs and a half-dozen scholarship offers. Harvard, Buffalo, Fordham,...
Westmoreland County campus clippings: Julie Bolden named UPG’s women’s basketball coach
Pitt-Greensburg has a new women’s basketball coach. Julie Bolden will take over the Bobcats after two seasons as an assistant and recruiting director at Division I Dayton. She also worked as a video coordinator at Hofstra for one year. An Ohio native, Bolden replaces Darien Lantz, who coached for two...
Norwin grads climbing college baseball ladder via transfer portal
A pair of former Norwin baseball players from the class of 2022 are changing college programs. Both tested the waters of the NCAA transfer portal. Ty Stecko, who began his college career at Mount St. Mary’s, recently announced a commitment to Eastern Michigan. The rising junior infielder leaves the Metro-Atlantic...
Westmoreland County high school notebook: Pair of players earn camp honors
Two local football players were named most valuable players at the 2Tenths Speed & Agility Top 150 Camp last weekend at Shady Side Academy. The event featured some of the top returning players in the WPIAL, several of them from Westmoreland County. Southmoreland freshman quarterback Anthony Smith was the top...
District 31 American Legion baseball unveils all-star team
Division champions Latrobe and Bushy Run each had seven selections as District 31 American Legion baseball league announced its all-star players for the season. District champion Latrobe, along with Hempfield East, Bushy Run, and Murrysville will play in the Region 7 tournament this weekend in Claysburg. District 31 held its...
2024 Trib HSSN Preseason Football All-Star Team: Latrobe’s Alex Tatsch
Alex Tatsch essentially has more stars in his recruiting rating (four) than he does years of high school football. The Latrobe stud linebacker didn’t play much as a freshman and didn’t catch the eye of major college coaches until he was a junior. “He was 5-10 when he was in...
Penn-Trafford wins WCCA 7-on-7 football tournament
The championship plaque and the balance of power at the Westmoreland County Coaches Association Larry Sellitto Memorial 7-on-7 football passing tournament are back in the hands of Penn-Trafford. The Warriors, a perennial contender in the event, reached the final for the 10th time in 13 years and claimed their sixth...
Westmoreland County campus clippings: Norwin grad up for NCAA Woman of the Year award
Duquesne’s Emily Brozeski (Norwin) is one of 17 graduating student-athletes from the Atlantic 10 Conference nominated for the NCAA Woman of the Year award. A track and field standout, Brozeski will look to advance with the winner’s fate in the hands of a selection committee. The NCAA award originated in...
Franklin Regional designated hitter emerges as all-state performer
Surprised wasn’t the right word, but Darren DeRiggi did not fully expect to have all-state honors arrive on his doorstep at the conclusion of high school baseball season. He had just completed a crackling junior campaign where he accomplished his initial goal of starting for the Panthers. That was the...
2024 Trib HSSN Preseason Football All-Star Team: Steel Valley’s Donald Barksdale
Get this. A six-touchdown game last season against Burrell could have been a nine-touchdown game for Donald Barksdale. Nine touchdowns. A heaping 54 points — from one guy. “Three were called back,” Barksdale said with a sigh. “Penalties.” There is a reason Steel Valley football coach Ray Braszo calls his...
Westmoreland County high school notebook: Hempfield football assembles eclectic coaching staff
Hempfield second-year football coach Nick Keefer has assembled a unique mix of assistants for a new season. One will be of interest to local basketball fans. Longtime hardwood coach Jim Nesser has joined the Spartans and will work with defensive backs. Nesser, who previously helped out at Greensburg Central Catholic...
Experienced assistant ready to move into head coaching role with Ligonier Valley boys
Ligonier Valley’s new boys basketball coach could feel a magnetic pull, almost a calling to be the loudest voice from the bench. The game is in his bloodline. The glimmer in Dante Porter’s eye began to show in his third season as an assistant with the Geibel boys basketball team...
Head-clearing trip to Japan helped refocus Spencer Lee for Olympic bid
Frustrated with nagging injuries, Spencer Lee said he thought about putting wrestling down for a while, maybe even shelving it altogether. Had he done that, though, he wouldn’t be heading to Paris to represent his country and compete for Olympic gold. He took a break, reflected and let his body...
Belle Vernon braces for life after Quinton Martin
Begrudgingly, Belle Vernon braced for the departure of No. 25. When Quinton Martin’s high school playing days were over. The Leopards knew the time would come, so they prepared for it. But reality is setting in with training camp just over a month out. “Life without Q, I’ve said that...
Jeannette’s Ciara Gregory soars to coaching position at Kentucky
The astonishment of what she is doing, the gravity of the situation she finds herself in, is not lost on Kentucky assistant women’s basketball coach Ciara Gregory. Sometimes at practice, she looks around Rupp Arena and pinches herself. The dream-chasing kid from Jeannette continues her ascent in the college coaching...
Latrobe grad Jared Kollar racking up wins for Padres’ Double-A affiliate
Jared Kollar is not considered a top 30 prospect in the San Diego Padres’ farm system, but his stock certainly isn’t falling, either. The right-hander from Latrobe who starts for the San Antonio Missions in Double-A has 15 wins in two seasons in the minors. This season, he is 8-3...
Derry senior doesn’t need high school soccer to earn scholarship to Robert Morris
Derry doesn’t have a girls soccer team. But the school has at least one outstanding girls soccer player. A Division I player, at that. Alayna Williams, a rising senior who plays for and trains with the Pittsburgh Riverhounds Developmental Academy, will continue her playing career at Robert Morris. Williams, a...
