Bill Beckner stories, Page 37

League scoring leader Ryan Saginaw of undefeated Bishop Canevin was among the four senior forwards selected as the PIHL’s players of the month for January. Saginaw, who has 70 points on 46 goals and 24 assists, was the top pick for Division 2. The other top players are Evan Benscoter...

A third meeting between neighboring districts could be on the horizon. Franklin Regional (20-2), the No. 2 seed in WPIAL Class 5A, could face No. 7 Gateway (16-6) if the teams advance to the quarterfinals. Both play at 7 p.m. Monday. Franklin Regional hosts No. 15 Mars (10-12), while Gateway...

WPIAL basketball playoffs Boys Class A First round 13-Summit Academy (4-13) at 4-Monessen (17-4) 7 p.m. Friday Winner plays: 5-Union (13-10) Wednesday in quarterfinals (time, site TBD) Section finish: Summit Academy T-4th, Section 3; Monessen 1st, Section 2 Players to watch: Austin Hindman, Summit Academy; Lorenzo Gardner, Monessen Layup lines:...

Latrobe hopes to make a splash in the WPIAL Class 5A girls basketball playoffs, right after the team dries off. First-year coach Mackenzie Livingston told her girls if they defeated Penn-Trafford last Thursday to clinch a playoff berth, she would jump into the school’s swimming pool, located near the gym....

It is not hyperbole to say a special postseason could be in store for Westmoreland County basketball teams — a lengthy, compelling postseason that generates county-wide interest. The talent is there, right alongside the potential. The WPIAL playoffs are scheduled to begin this weekend, and some local teams could be...

As a player and coach, Tracy McDonald has been around Penn-Trafford volleyball for the better part of 25 years. She began coaching the Warriors right out of college. “I already have a deep connection to this program and my players,” McDonald said. “I plan to continue to share my love...

When Jesse Reed played Division I college basketball, he and his American University teammates made the NCAA Tournament. Now, Reed has the Franklin Regional boys in the WPIAL’s big dance. The third-year coach finally broke through — and in a big way — as the Panthers (19-2) earned the No....

Class 6A Favorite: With a strong backbone of nonsection games, Norwin strengthened its resume. It has not lost to a WPIAL team this season and did not drop a section game. Four starters are back from a WPIAL and PIAA semifinal team. The Knights, who rely on defense and depth,...

Five-time All-American wrestler Michael Kemerer, a former standout at Franklin Regional and Iowa, is joining the coaching staff at Brown. Kemerer was an NCAA finalist in 2021 at 174 pounds. In December, he posted on “X,” formerly known as Twitter, that he planned to return from competitive wrestling “after some...

Brian Brozeski doesn’t wade too far into the waters of bracketology. The Norwin girls basketball coach would rather look at a playoff bracket as an extension of his team’s schedule. Take it and move on, no questions asked. “Anything can happen,” Brozeski said. “Look at our boys soccer team. There...

Kiersten O’Connor School: Mt. Pleasant Sport: Swimming Class: Junior Claim to fame: O’Connor won the 100-yard backstroke and 200-yard freestyle, while also swimming lead-off legs of the first-place 200-yard medley relay and 400-yard freestyle relays in a 99-84 victory over Kiski Area. Earlier this season, she won the 100-yard backstroke...

Gardner points are usually reserved for WPIAL football tiebreakers. On Friday night, Gardner points went into basketball record books. Monessen senior guard Lorenzo Gardner made history as he scored 64 points to set the Westmoreland County single-game scoring mark, breaking the previous record of 61 by Eric Roslonski of Southmoreland...

Dom Pecora, who served as the head football coach at East Allegheny for the past 11 seasons, is joining Penn-Trafford’s staff as a volunteer assistant. Pecora resigned in January after guiding East Allegheny to eight consecutive playoff appearances. He had a record of 67-48. The Wildcats went 9-3 this season...

Norwin pushed its way into the WPIAL Class 3A team wrestling quarterfinals before running into top-seeded Trinity. The Knights, seeded No. 8 in the 19-team bracket, defeated Plum in the first round, 39-27, before falling to Trinity, 43-19. Jack White (152 pounds) opened the Trinity match with a major decision...

Norwin leads the league in smiles. Watch the girls play basketball and you see an infinite loop of happy moments. High-fives and fist-bumps interrupted by hugs and pats on the back. It looks like fun to play for this team. Senior guard Ava Kobus makes a high-arcing 3-pointer that seems...

Franklin Regional picked up a big 45-42 win over Penn Hills on Jan. 26 to stay afloat in the WPIAL Class 5A playoff race. But the Panthers weren’t finished. With senior point guard Angelina Brush back and healthy, they dispatched of Kiski Area, 53-38, to move to 5-5 in Section...

With the outcome of another game that had a direct effect on theirs already decided, the Latrobe boys basketball team took the court and played for pride. Despite shutting out Gateway in the second quarter, the Wildcats couldn’t earn a season sweep of the visiting Gators and fell 55-53 on...

When the fourth quarter came around, upset-hungry Seneca Valley stopped attacking. Norwin, in turn, went into full attack mode and never took its eye off the prize. The prize was an undefeated section championship, the first for the Lady Knights since 2015-16, the year they won their most recent WPIAL...

Adrian Batts never has missed the WPIAL playoffs as coach of the Jeannette boys basketball team. He’s 14 for 14, including, of course, the 2020-21 season when the WPIAL had an open tournament because of the covid pandemic. But he thought this year might challenge his streak. Not end it,...

Yough and Mt. Pleasant are doing their best to remember late basketball referee Michael Roebuck. Yough set up a collection this week to raise money for the family of Roebuck, who collapsed and died last Friday while working the Yough at Mt. Pleasant junior varsity game. Roebuck, 45, was a...

There is something about looking to the sky that fascinates Hailey Johnson. A Monessen senior basketball player, Johnson wants to be a pilot and plans to go to flight school at Bowling Green next year. Until then, she will continue to rip rebounds down as they bounce off the rim....

Three Westmoreland County girls basketball teams — Franklin Regional, Latrobe and Yough — are on the playoff bubble heading into the final night of section play. The top four teams and ties for fourth place in each section make the playoffs. Franklin Regional (7-14, 6-6) has done all it can...

If Franklin Regional needed a pick-me-up in a section-clinching victory, junior Drew Devola was ready to deliver. The 6-foot-1, 255-pound reserve forward scored nine points, grabbed eight rebounds, came up with a late steal and made a 3-pointer as No. 2 Franklin Regional celebrated its first section championship since 2018...

Duquesne senior Sadie Wetzel (Latrobe) moved into a tie for second place on the Dukes’ all-time performance list in the the high jump with a third-place leap of 1.72 meters at the Akron Invitational. She tied Shannon Taub, who is an assistant coach for the Dukes. Wetzel has set a...

A coaching change has not deterred the McKeesport girls basketball team from its ultimate goal. “We want to win a championship — that comes first,” senior 6-foot forward Rachael Manfredo said Monday night after the No. 2-ranked Tigers had their way with Penn-Trafford, 64-37, in a Section 3-5A game in...