By: Bill Beckner Jr.


Tuesday, December 31, 2024 | 6:01 AM

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From youth levels to the Olympics, Westmoreland County athletes shined in 2024 with a common denominator: a chase for gold.

They raised championship banners on the court and field, on the mat and in the pool, taking communities with them on memorable title runs — from Oakland to Washington, Peters Township to Shippensburg, Hershey to Paris.

The trips were worth it.

Here are the top 10 local sports storylines of the year:

10. Penn-Trafford baseball wins its first WPIAL title: The Warriors scored four runs in the fourth inning and played sound defense to edge Bethel Park, 4-3, in the WPIAL Class 5A championship at Wild Things Park in Washington.

Ian Temple had a two-run triple for the Warriors, who were seeded seventh and upset Fox Chapel and Franklin Regional to reach the final.

The thrilling run, chock full of fundamentally sound baseball, ended with a 3-2 loss to Hollidaysburg in the PIAA quarterfinals. Penn-Trafford finished 21-4.

9. Franklin Regional boys basketball reaches WPIAL, PIAA finals: With shades of the magical 1997 season following them, the Panthers made the district and state finals, settling for silver both times.

With defense and a fast-paced offensive style fueling the effort, Franklin Regional finished 27-4 after a respectable 59-48 loss to Philadelphia power Imhotep Charter in the PIAA Class 5A title game in Hershey.

The Panthers battled injuries and missed the playoffs two years in a row before their meteoric rise in ’24.

8. Latrobe’s Alex Tatsch commits to Penn State: A coveted four-star linebacker, Tatsch gave the nod to Penn State over dozens of other Power 4 programs, including Notre Dame, USC, Pitt, West Virginia and Stanford.

Tatsch, the most heavily recruited player in Latrobe football history, made the trip to University Park to tell coach James Franklin and his staff in person that he would sign to play for the Nittany Lions.

Tatsch, a disruptive defender who gave the offense a boost as a running back, only played four games this season because of a shoulder injury.

He had surgery and is hoping to begin training again in four months. He has enrolled early at Penn State.

7. Local referee dies at HS basketball game: Michael Roebuck was about to take the court for the second half of a junior varsity game at Mt. Pleasant when he collapsed and later died on the way to the hospital.

Roebuck was 45. His death stirred the local basketball community and left family and friends of the first-year official heartbroken.

A number of local schools held a moment of silence for Roebuck at games that followed. The Yough-Mt. Pleasant varsity game that was scheduled to follow the JV game Roebuck worked, was postponed to a later date.

6. Norwin, GCC girls win WPIAL titles: Girls basketball has been a high point for the area in recent seasons with constant contenders, but it had been eight years since a team won a WPIAL championship.

Local teams brought home two titles from Pitt’s Petersen Events Center.

Norwin (23-4) won its first title, in Class 6A, since a repeat in 2015-16, and its third overall with a 56-41 win over rival North Allegheny.

A steady senior nucleus led by Lauren Palangio, Ava Kobus and Bailey Snowberger, and a strong supporting cast, propelled the Knights.

Greensburg Central Catholic (23-7), meantime, captured the Class 2A title, its first since 2007 and sixth in program history. A 62-41 win over Serra Catholic was part of a string of lopsided wins in the postseason for the Centurions.

Standout Erica Gribble, senior Mya Morgan and others helped to form a dominant lineup.

Norwin reached the PIAA quarterfinals, while GCC finally bowed out in the state semifinals for the second straight season.

5. West Point Little League makes run: West Point 12U, with players from Hempfield, Latrobe and Fox Chapel, made a run to the Little League Softball World Series in Greenville, N.C.

With games televised by ESPN, the girls and their coaches had a brush with celebrity.

Coach Tina Madison played in the LLSWS when she was a star pitcher. This time, her two daughters, Jayelyn and Jocelyn Luft, played in the event.

After an early loss, West Point won three straight in the loser’s bracket, but fell a win short of the championship game.

The team captured Pennsylvania and Mid-Atlantic Regional titles to reach the LLSWS.

West Point, a feeder program for Hempfield’s powerhouse teams, has 38 state championships.

4. GCC volleyball wins WPIAL, PIAA titles: Quietly but effectively, Greensburg Central Catholic owned the volleyball court in WPIAL and PIAA Class A.

The Centurions won their fourth WPIAL title — as a No. 3 seed — and doubled down by capturing their third state championship.

GCC rallied from two section losses against Frazier to sweep the Commodores, 3-0, in the WPIAL final.

GCC edged Linville Hill Christian in the state championship, 3-2.

Ashlyn Black, Eva Denis, Erin Grace and others contributed to a thrilling run for GCC (21-3).

3. Landon Sidun wins PIAA title as freshman: Norwin’s first-year wrestler came into the program with high expectations, and he did not disappoint.

Sidun kept a local streak going by winning a state title with a 6-3 win over Curtis Nelson of Ridley in the 114-pound Class 3A final at Hershey’s Giant Center.

Westmoreland County has produced a PIAA wrestling champion for 30 straight years.

Sidun, ranked No. 1 in the country in his weight class when he lost to Santino Sloboda in the WPIAL semifinals a week prior to states, refocused and took state gold.

2. Lily King, Mt. Pleasant swimmers win more titles: King continued her ascent into the elite of WPIAL swimming, winning WPIAL and PIAA titles in the 100- and 200-yard freestyle races, including a state-record time of 48.93 seconds in the 100 free at the state finals.

King’s teammate, Kiersten O’Connor, also added to her medal collection. She has 10 WPIAL medals and nine from the PIAA meet. She won WPIAL and PIAA titles in the 50 free and helped the 200 relay to a win.

The Mt. Pleasant girls won back-to-back WPIAL and PIAA team titles.

King, who also holds the state mark in the 50 free, has collected six WPIAL championships, six state titles and four relay gold medals in her historic career.

An N.C. State commit, King finished 23rd at the Olympic Trials in the 50 free.

Mt. Pleasant has three other Division I signees, all seniors this season, in O’Connor (UConn), David Mutter (Alabama) and Joseph Gardner (Pitt).

1. Spencer Lee, Bridget (Guy) Williams make Olympics: The wrestling sensation who is Spencer Lee reached the pinnacle he’d been striving for since most of his life, qualifying for the Olympics in Paris, where his mother was born.

The nation — not just a throng of supporters in Murrysville — tuned in to watch Lee go for gold at the summer games.

The former Franklin Regional and Iowa star lightweight put on a show on a worldwide stage, reaching the final in the 57 kg weight class. He fell, however, 4-2, to Japan’s Rei Higuchi after Higuchi scored a late takedown, his second of the match, and settled for silver.

Lee, 26, who overcame knee injuries multiple times to return to competing at a high level, added to an indelible resume on the mat. He was a three-time PIAA champion, four-time WPIAL champion, three-time NCAA champion, and five-time NCAA All-American.

Williams, a Hempfield and Virginia grad, also made her way to France, qualifying in the pole vault and making a run to the finals.

Williams, 28, didn’t clear 4.55 meters and finished outside of the top 20 qualifiers. She took first place at the team trials earlier in the summer.

A PIAA title winner in the pole vault and two-time state champ in the 400 relay, she helped Hempfield win back-to-back PIAA team titles.

Williams won two ACC individual titles and was a college All-American three times.

Honorable mentions

• Hempfield cheerleading won a WPIAL title.

• Latrobe’s Luke Willochell won his third PIAA wrestling title, while Eli Carr of Hempfield brought home his second title from Hershey.

• The PIAA sanctioned girls wrestling for the first time, and three local girls won WPIAL titles: Ava Golding (Kiski Area, 136 pounds), Jo Dollman (Norwin, 142) and Octavia Walker (Norwin, 170).

• Seton Hill baseball coach Marc Marizzaldi earned his 700th win.

• Greensburg Salem, Penn-Trafford and Burrell all reached the PIHL finals.

• Lorenzo Gardner of Monessen scored 62 points in a basketball game.

• Former Jeannette and West Virginia star wrestler and current Franklin Regional coach Matt Lebe, along with veteran TribLive sports reporter Paul Schofield, were inducted into the state wrestling hall of fame.

• Jeannette’s Robert Kennedy signed a free-agent deal with the Los Angeles Chargers. He was released but re-signed to the team’s practice squad.

• Derry’s Sophia Mazzoni won WPIAL and PIAA javelin titles. Her throw of 161 feet, 10 inches was the best in the state. She later won a title at the New Balance Nationals before committing to Auburn.

• Peyton Murray of Hempfield won back-to-back PIAA track and field titles in the discus. Murray is a Notre Dame commit.

• The Greensburg Central Catholic girls golf team saw its WPIAL title-run end at nine in a row.

• Baseball relief pitcher Phil Fox (Hempfield/Pitt) was selected in the MLB draft.

• Ligonier Valley softball pitcher Cheyenne Piper threw three consecutive no-hitters, including two in the WPIAL playoffs.

• The Trafford Junior American Legion and Bushy Run American Legion baseball teams made runs in the state playoffs. It was Bushy Run’s first appearance in the state tournament.

• Belle Vernon junior Gabby Dusi won back-to-back WPIAL tennis singles championships.

• The Norwin boys cross country team won a WPIAL title for the first time since 1977.

• Southmoreland’s Anthony Smith became just the second freshman quarterback in WPIAL history, the first in Westmoreland, to throw for 2,000 yards in a season.

• Jeannette football pulled upsets against Neshannock and Greensburg Central Catholic to reach the WPIAL semifinals.

• Local football alums Trent Holler (Latrobe) and Marcus Barnes (Jeannette) declared for the NFL Draft.

• Paul Sapotichne returned to coach the Greensburg Salem boys basketball team and posted his 400th win with the program.

-Saint Vincent men’s basketball coach D.P. Harris notched his 400th career win.

In memoriam

• Seton Hill hoops coach Connor Laverty.

• Former Latrobe softball coach Rick Kozusko.

• Former Serra Catholic, Yough, Waynesburg University, Hempfield and Greensburg Salem football coach Rich Bowen.

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

Tags: Belle Vernon, Derry Area, Franklin Regional, Greensburg C.C., Greensburg Salem, Hempfield, Jeannette, Latrobe, Ligonier Valley, Monessen, Mt. Pleasant, Norwin, Penn-Trafford, Southmoreland, Yough