Westmoreland high school notebook: Volleyball all-star game up next on WCCA calendar

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Sunday, October 26, 2025 | 5:40 PM

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The next event on the Westmoreland County Coaches Association calendar is the girls volleyball all-star game. The match will be played Nov. 19 at Ligonier Valley High School.

After that, the boys basketball showcase will be Dec. 20 at Jeannette and Greensburg Salem.

The WCCA wrestling tournaments will be Jan. 9 (girls) and Jan. 10 (boys) at Greensburg Salem.

Also in 2026, the girls and boys bowling championships will be Jan. 17 at Hillview Lanes, and the girls and boys swimming championships are set for Jan. 23-24 at Derry.

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Tavares player of week

Norwin senior quarterback Tristyn Tavares was named the big-school Mr. PA Football, per a fan vote, for Week 9.

Tavares accounted for 244 yards and two touchdowns in a 24-21 victory over Canon-McMillan that kept the Knights in the WPIAL 6A playoff race.

MrPaFootball.com will choose big- and small-school state players of year in February. Tavares is eligible for that award.

The website named Southmoreland its small-school team of the week for weeks 4 and 8, and Penn-Trafford took the big-school honor in Week 7.

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Jacked up

Wide receiver Jack Kopas left his mark on the Hempfield football record books.

Kopas last week etched his name in three places, setting program marks for career receptions (109) and single-season receptions (61) and touchdowns (10).

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Courting Peterson

Recruiting is picking up for Greensburg Central Catholic senior basketball player Jayla Peterson.

The standout guard, who has helped GCC to back-to-back WPIAL championships, added two notable offers last week, one from a Division II program.

Wheeling offered Peterson, a 5-foot-8 combo guard.

She has numerous Division III opportunities, including at Farleigh Dickinson-Florham and Carlow.

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Recruiting

Standout softball pitcher Grace Stein of Jeannette committed to Pitt-Greensburg.

Stein last season went 14-5 with a 1.04 ERA and 196 strikeouts and in 101 1/3 innings. She also hit .417 with three homers, eight doubles and 23 RBIs.

She has more than 500 career strikeouts.

• Hempfield softball player Joey Cline will continue her playing career at Cal (Pa.).

The slap-hitting infielder helped Hempfield win its ninth WPIAL championship last season.

Cline is a legacy commit. Her mother, Carlee (Yaquinto) and aunt, Lauren (Yaquinto) Monzak played at Cal.

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

Tags: Greensburg C.C., Hempfield, Jeannette