Paul Schofield stories, Page 102
Derry names Skillings next football coach
Vince Skillings was an all-state running back at Derry from 1974-77. Now Skillings, 61, returns to his alma mater to coach his beloved Trojans. It’s his first head-coaching job. Skillings was hired by the Derry Area School District’s school board to replace highly successful coach Tim Sweeney, also a Derry...
Yough American Legion baseball team eager to start summer ball
Yough American Legion baseball coach Craig Spisak has an advantage over other coaches in the Westmoreland County League. He’s also the Yough High School coach. Spisak was preparing his team for the varsity season when the coronavirus wrecked the season. But when District 31 president and Region 7 director Jason...
Gene Walter breezes to Tri-State PGA win
Gene Walter finished his first competitive round of the season with a birdie on Wednesday at Wildwood Country Club. He didn’t realize that his 20-foot putt that lipped out was for eagle. He thought he was putting for birdie. It didn’t matter. All he had to do to win the...
Tri-State PGA kicks off season
Opening day for the Tri-State PGA season is Wednesday with the Head Professional Championship at Wildwood Country Club in Allison Park. There will be 32 golf club professionals teeing it up. The Tri-State PGA schedule has been delayed for more than two months. Rob McClellan, Gene Walter and Jason Martin...
Recreational baseball is a go in Westmoreland CountyVideo
A rainbow appeared over Latrobe’s Legion-Keener baseball field Friday afternoon as a handful of players from the Latrobe American Legion team got together for a workout. Latrobe coach Jason Bush pointed to the sky and indicated it was a sign of good things to come for baseball and softball players...
Latrobe grad, Holy Cross basketball player Austin Butler recovering from surgery
Austin Butler’s mother, Michelle, wasn’t convinced she wanted to put her son through shoulder surgery for a second consecutive year. But she and husband Eric went ahead with it for Austin’s peace of mind, and she said she is happy with the decision. Butler, a 2017 Latrobe grad and senior...
Ligonier Valley sending 11 players into college football
There is a reason the Ligonier Valley football team has been outstanding the past four seasons. The graduating senior class — which went 51-4 with four Heritage Conference titles, four Appalachian Bowl titles, two PIAA District 6 Class AA titles and four consecutive trips to the District 6 championship game...
Senior Spotlight: Denied shot at 3-peat, Brownsville state champ moving on to NC State
Editor’s note: Each day, Trib HSSN will spotlight WPIAL spring athletes whose senior years were cut short by the coronavirus pandemic. It was graduation day for the seniors at Brownsville Area High School on Tuesday. The seniors went to a private ceremony at the school, and one by one they...
Senior Spotlight: North Allegheny jumper looking forward to Princeton career
Editor’s note: Each day, Trib HSSN will spotlight WPIAL spring athletes whose senior years were cut short by the coronavirus pandemic. Students at North Allegheny have two more weeks of school to finish before they can enjoy the summer. And while the coronavirus has closed high schools and stopped athletics...
Penn State’s Maddie Holmberg named track All-American
Maddie Holmberg’s career at Penn State isn’t quite over. It was announced recently that she was granted another season to compete in track and field for the Nittany Lions. On top of that, the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association announced Tuesday that Holmberg, along with...
Hannastown trio wins Westmoreland County Golf Association scramble
When cold and snowy weather postponed the Westmoreland County Golf Association’s 3-Man Scramble, tournament officials didn’t know what the delay would do to the tournament’s turnout. It did wonders. Twenty-six teams participated in the event at The Madison Club, and the Hannastown Golf Club trio of Mark Goetz, Jeff Hovanec...
Senior Spotlight: Hempfield javelin champ keeps goals in sight
If things were normal around the world, and we know they’re not, Hempfield Area senior Jake Boord would be in Shippensburg competing in the PIAA Track and Field Championships. But the coronavirus took that opportunity away from Boord and hundreds of athletes from across the state. Still, Boord remains positive...
AJGA revises schedule; Southpointe tournament set for August
The American Junior Golf Association updated its schedule Thursday. Play will resume June 7 with a qualifier for the AJGA Invitational at Sedgefield, Archdale, N.C. The tournament runs from June 8-12. The AJGA holds tournaments throughout the country and will be coming to Southpointe Golf Club near Canonsburg on Aug....
Penn-Trafford freshman Mallory McRae achieves hunting’s rare ‘Triple Trophy’
Mallory McRae already accomplished something her dad didn’t while hunting: kill a bear. But the Penn-Trafford freshman recently achieved a rarity: She killed a bear, a buck and a turkey in the same license year. McRae, 14, achieved the “Triple Trophy” honor after getting her turkey earlier this month in...
Sen. Toomey, panel of officials encourage return for youth baseball, softball leagues
While MLB haggles over the start of its season, efforts also are being made to get youth sports — namely baseball and softball — back on the field. Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Lehigh Valley, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee Subcommittee on Healthcare, held a virtual roundtable Thursday about youth baseball...
Greensburg shuts down season for baseball, softball, soccer programs
There won’t be any baseball, softball or soccer games played this summer in the City of Greensburg. The Greensburg Parks and Recreation Department canceled its summer programs Tuesday because of the coronavirus. The programs, which were supposed to begin in April, originally were postponed. The decision affects hundreds of city...
Westmoreland County Golf Association season set to tee off
Snow and chilly temperatures forced the Westmoreland County Golf Association to postpone its first event of the season May 9. It might have been a blessing as the field nearly doubled in the three-man scramble event that will start at noon Saturday at The Madison Club. “It turns out that...
USGA cancels U.S. Open qualifying, leaving Franklin Regional grad Jackson disappointed
Palmer Jackson was enjoying the day on a lake in Cambria County when he learned the news Monday that the United States Golf Association was cancelling all qualifiers for championship events. That means even though Jackson had received exemption to participate in the sectional qualifier, he won’t get a chance...
WPGA announces revamped schedule
On the day the United States Golf Association announced it was canceling qualifying tournaments for the U.S. Open, the Western Pennsylvania Golf Association was releasing its updated 2020 schedule. WPGA executive director Terry Teasdale was cleaning the office Monday after unveiling the revamped schedule and trying to get ready for...
Derry set to finalize football coaching candidates list
Derry athletic director Brett Miller is finalizing the list of candidates for the Trojans’ football coaching position that opened when Tim Sweeney left to accept the same job at Baldwin last month. Sweeney energized a program that was 0-10 and outscored by more than 50 points per game in 2013...
Hempfield to interview athletic director candidates this weekVideo
Hempfield Area School District is moving forward in its search for a new athletic director after Greg Meisner resigned April 3. Meisner served as the district’s athletic director since 2005. Meisner, 60, is a Valley grad who went on to play defensive line at Pitt and in the NFL. He...
Tri-State PGA ready to return June 3
After a delay of more than two months, local professional and amateur golfers will be able to compete in various tournaments in the area beginning in June. The Tri-State PGA finalized its updated schedule Thursday, and the Western Pennsylvania Golf Association will be releasing its updated schedule Monday morning. The...
Senior Spotlight: Greensburg Salem hurdler had sights set on school record
Editor’s note: Each day, Trib HSSN will spotlight WPIAL spring athletes whose senior years were cut short by the coronavirus pandemic. Greensburg Salem senior hurdler Brenden Lewis was looking forward to his final track season. He was coming off a successful indoor season where he placed fourth in the state...
Central Valley grad earns 2nd consecutive golf management scholarship
When Will Mann learned that Brianna Fleming earned her second-consecutive PGA WORKS Golf Management University Scholarship, he said he was surprised but not surprised. Fleming is a sophomore at Coastal Carolina and a 2018 graduate of Central Valley who is majoring in business management that specializes in the school’s PGA...
Senior Spotlight: Indiana runner has eye on nationals, career at Pitt
Editor’s note: Each day, Trib HSSN will spotlight WPIAL spring athletes whose senior years were cut short by the coronavirus pandemic. The WPIAL track and field championships would have been held Thursday at Slippery Rock University. Indiana senior Kendall Branan doesn’t need a reminder; he knows the date of when...
