Titans’ renovated stadium in works

Westminster College officials recently released plans for a $1.7 million stadium renovation project at Memorial Field and Harold Burry Stadium.

In addition to lighting, and an all-new artificial turf , the plans include the Joseph B. Fusco Plaza and an entrance way named in memory of Jerry C. Neff, a Westminster board of trustees member and Towering Titan Organization co-founder who passed away in October 2007. He was a basketball player at Westminster in the early 1950s and a member of the Titan Sports Hall of Fame.

The popular Fusco, a one-time football standout for the Titans, went on to become coach at Westminster, leading the Titans to four NAIA national championships from 1972-90.

He was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 2001.

Work is already underway replacing the grass surface with the new FieldTurf brand synthetic surface. It was always a picturesque stadium with a lake located at one end. When the renovations are complete, the stadium will maximize scheduling opportunities for football and other athletic and campus activities.

“The great thing about artificial turf is its flexibility for serving difference sports and activities,” said Westminster athletic director Jim Dafler. “This project will end up benefiting just about every student at Westminster College.”

The construction of Joseph B. Fusco Plaza has yet to begin, but plans have been approved and construction should start in the near future.

Thousand-point scorers

It seems like every day another Mercer County basketball player is hitting the 1,000-point mark in career scoring.

The latest to accomplish the feat was Greenville High’s Larae Tymochko, who hit the mark with a 14-point performance against Wilmington. Tymochko became the third Greenville player in history to reach the milestone.

Also hitting the 1,000-point plateau was Reynolds’ Chris Laverty, who scored 31 points in a Region 2-AA clash against Sharpsville. Only a junior, Laverty set a school record in the contest with nine 3-pointers as the Raiders won, 69-51.

Another sharpshooter, Farrell’s Marsell Holden, reached 1,000 career points in a 79-43 win over Kennedy Catholic. Holden started his high school career at Farrell, then competed one year at Kennedy Catholic before returning to Farrell prior to this season.

Farrell has another 1,000-point scorer in Donald Jackson, who reached the mark with an 18-point performance against Lakeview in a 70-64 win. Jackson became the fifth Farrell player (boys and girls) to surpass the milestone.

Kennedy Catholic’s Kyle Randall led all Mercer County players with 624 points this season. Randall has also surpassed the 1000-point career mark.