Westmoreland high school notebook: Penn-Trafford football to honor newest hall of fame class

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Saturday, April 13, 2024 | 9:51 PM

Penn-Trafford football announced its 2024 hall of fame class, which will be honored in the fall.

The newest inductees are Devin Austin (2015), Luke Graham (2010), Jerry Lavelle (1983), Kirk Rogers (2001) and Mike Simpson (2000).

Dan Tarabrella will be inducted as a coach, and the 1961 Penn Joint Indians also will be enshrined.

The Sam DeNillo Sr. Contributor Award recipient is longtime equipment manager Frank Wall.

No hits for Hempfield

A rare thing happened Wednesday: The Hempfield softball team was no-hit.

Seneca Valley and power pitcher Lexie Hames blanked the Spartans, 2-0, as Hames struck out 18 and did not surrender a matchup of the top two teams in 6A.

Top-ranked Hempfield, the defending WPIAL champion that beat the Raiders in last year’s final — Seneca Valley won the title in 2022 — had not been on the wrong end of a no-hitter in more than a decade.

Hames and No. 2 Seneca Valley were the first to keep the Spartans hitless since 2013.

Canon-McMillan pitcher Alayna Astuto tossed a perfect game against the Spartans that year in the WPIAL 4A semifinals, a 5-0 win for the No. 1-seeded Big Macs.

Astuto struck out seven and retired the first 18 hitters in order. No. 4 Hempfield did not have an error but could not start a rally.

Serve and volley

Surging Norwin moved into the No. 3 spot in the latest Western Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association Class 3A poll.

Penn-Trafford is No. 5, and Hempfield sits at No. 9.

Latrobe is ranked No. 4, and Derry is No. 5 in Class 2A.

A pair of local players were recognized as players of the week: Norwin junior Nick Puskaric (3A) and Latrobe junior middle hitter Owen Ward.

Wade offered

Belle Vernon junior football player Alonzo Wade, a versatile multipurpose back, picked up a scholarship offer from NCAA Division II program Central State, in Wilberforce, Ohio.

Wade, who played receiver and outside linebacker, had 68 tackles, 14 for loss, and two interceptions last season for the back-to-back WPIAL and PIAA 3A champion Leopards.

100 for Bartos

Norwin lacrosse standout Griffin Bartos reached 100 points for his career.

The senior reached the milestone with a six-goal game against Hempfield on Tuesday.

Bartos leads the Knights with 17 goals and five assists through seven games.

Recruiting

Three seniors on the Greensburg Central Catholic softball team have made their college decisions. Grace Kindel (Kutztown) and Makenzee Kenney (Randolph) will play softball at the next level, and Macee Magill plans to play golf at Seton Hill.

• Derry senior Brady Angus will play college baseball at La Roche.

• Hempfield senior competitive cheerleader Emerson Murdock will continue her career at Iowa.

Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.

Tags: Belle Vernon, Franklin Regional, Latrobe