Westmoreland high school notebook: Gera, Hauck earn scholarships

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Sunday, April 18, 2021 | 5:27 PM

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The WPIAL awarded $1,000 scholarships to 20 student-athletes, including a pair of girls from Westmoreland County.

Local winners were Bella Gera of Hempfield and Julia Hauck of Penn-Trafford.

Other girls winners were Brooke Bauer of Knoch, Danielle Bryant of Pine-Richland, Jacquelyn Jardini of Sewickley Academy, Nadia Lape of Mohawk, Tegan Poerio of The Ellis School, Melissa Riggins of Shady Side Academy, Sophia Shi of Upper St. Clair and Jenna Vogen of Canon-McMillan.

Winning the boys awards were Colin Barrett of Mt. Lebanon, Jake Bode of Peters Township, Gideon Deasy of Riverview, Dalton Dobyns of Moon, Evan Lewis of Elizabeth Forward, Connor McMahon of Canon-McMillan, Jake Pugh of Thomas Jefferson, Charley Rossi of South Fayette, Teddy Ruffner of Mars and Matt Turzai of North Allegheny.

For the second year in a row, the accompanying luncheon was canceled.

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FR volleyball coach

Franklin Regional will name a girls volleyball coach Monday night, and the recommended candidate is Rachel Frye.

A Kiski Area graduate, Frye has coached at Obama Academy and with Westmoreland Elite Volleyball. She also played collegiately at Penn State Behrend.

Frye stands to replace Mike Feorene, who resigned after nine seasons. He guided the Panthers to their first WPIAL championship and a PIAA runner-up finish in the fall.

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Sisters sign with colleges

Franklin Regional’s volleyball sisters, Alexa and Ashley Feorene, have signed with NCAA Division II programs.

Alexa is headed to Kutztown, and Ashley will play at Pitt-Johnstown. The duo helped Franklin Regional (21-3) win its first WPIAL championship in the fall, and the team added a PIAA runner-up to its historic run.

The girls’ father, Mike Feorene, resigned as coach in January after eight seasons. He said this was the first time — in a year of firsts — that the program produced a Division I player (Aly Kindelberger, DePaul) and two Division II players.

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New coach

Greensburg Central Catholic has a new girls volleyball coach to lead its perennially strong program.

Former assistant Angela Komoroski takes over the post after the resignation of Courtney Stynchula.

GCC finished 16-1 and was the WPIAL Class A runner-up last fall.

Komoroski was an assistant for two years. Her new assistant will be Erin Leonard, the current coach of the seventh- and eighth-grade team.

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Recruiting

Penn-Trafford junior Troy Hohman announced on Twitter on Friday that he is committing to N.C. State for wrestling.

The two-time PIAA qualifier placed fourth in the state in 2021 after compiling 26-6 record. Hohman’s career record is 68-30.

• Yough senior center fielder Samantha McGhee will continue her softball career at Penn State Fayette.

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

Tags: Franklin Regional, Greensburg C.C., Hempfield, Penn-Trafford, Yough