Westmoreland H.S. notebook: Penn-Trafford baseball honoring Maclean Maund

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Saturday, March 21, 2020 | 5:33 PM

The late Maclean Maund was the ace of the Penn-Trafford pitching staff last season.

He helped lead the Warriors to a runner-up finish in WPIAL Class 6A and was named a Tribune-Review All-Star.

Maund was set to play for Seton Hill this spring but was killed in a vehicle accident in January along Route 130 near Jeannette.

His memory will live on, and he will be memorialized whether there is a high school baseball season.

The Penn-Trafford SADD club is raising funds to build a bench in honor of Maund at the Warriors home field at the entrance to the school’s campus.

But there is more.

The baseball team plans to wear Maund’s initials and No. 8 on their game hats.

“‘Mac’ remains in all of our hearts,” Warriors coach Dan Miller said. “We also will look to rename an end-of-season player award in his memory, so his spirit lives on. He was a special young man. I miss him. I’m sure he’ll watch us from above.”

YWCA awards

A number of local girls were honored by the YWCA of Westmoreland County, which canceled its annual awards banquet because of coronavirus but announced its winners nonetheless.

Among the 2020 YWCA Sportswomen of the Year winners from area high schools are: the Greensburg Central Catholic girls golf team (Team of the Year, grades 9-12); Greensburg Salem tennis player Kasey Strokel (Sports Teen of the Year for Individual Excellence, grades 9-12); and softball standout Jane Garver and soccer player/track athlete Tatum Hoffman of Ligonier Valley (Sports Teen of the Year for Excellence in a Team Sport, grades 9-12).

Former Norwin girls basketball team manager Jessica Welch-Mussori is the Sportswoman with Special Needs recipient.

All-star football

A new football all-star game not only could mark the return of the Foothills Classic, which was not played last year, but also the return of two local players who had their seniors seasons cut short by injury.

The Westmoreland County Coaches’ Association and Tri-County Football Coaches’ Association are banding together to present the first BeeGraphix Great 38 All-Star Game, scheduled for June 13 at Trinity.

The game will match players from Westmoreland County against a team made up of players from schools in Fayette, Greene, Washington and Allegheny counties.

Derry running back Justin Huss and Norwin lineman Aaron Bowen were selected to play and, should they accept the invite, would return from injury for a game.

Huss broke his leg during basketball season, and Bowen missed most of his senior season with a foot injury.

Other standouts picked for the Westmoreland team include Gabe Dunlap of Penn-Trafford, Luke Mazowiecki and Ben LaCarte of Greensburg Central Catholic, Gavin Adams and Max Malis of Derry, Kyle Silk of Ligonier Valley and Seth Fischbach of Burrell.

Norwin’s handyman

Brian Mesich wears many hats at Norwin. He is an athletic trainer and also coaches the softball team.

But he also is handy in the artificial turf business. Mesich works with a local company to install turf fields, including Norwin’s new turf infield for softball.

Mesich took some leftover turf from Knights Stadium, which underwent a turf replacement last spring, and carved out a large “N.” He painted it and patched it into the field, between the pitcher’s circle and second base.

In addition, Mesich helped install a rival’s new digs. He worked on a similar project at Penn-Trafford, which added infield turf and a new backstop.

Recruiting

Penn-Trafford senior football player Cole DeFillippo, a tight end and linebacker, will continue his playing career at Grove City.

Tags: Derry Area, Greensburg C.C., Greensburg Salem, Ligonier Valley, Norwin, Penn-Trafford