SPORTS DIGEST || YSU’s Beathard headed to Illinois St.

YSU’s Beathard headed to Illinois St.

YOUNGSTOWN

Kurt Beathard, who spent last fall as Youngstown State’s wide receivers coach, was hired as Illinois State’s offensive coordinator.

Before arriving at YSU, he was an offensive coordinator for Gardner-Webb (2012), Eastern Kentucky (2003-06), Bucknell (2002) and Western Carolina (1996-2001). He is the second Penguin assistant to leave this offseason, joining tight ends coach Mark Mangino, who was hired as Iowa State’s offensive coordinator.

Kennedy Catholic may end football

HERMITAGE, PA.

Kennedy Catholic is close to dropping its football program, according to Father Michael P. Allison, president of the Shenango Valley Catholic School System.

Under a proposed agreement, Kennedy Catholic and Sharon would share athletes in several sports, including football. According to WFMJ-TV, the Kennedy Catholic football team had six players transfer before last season and finished the season with 17 players.

The cooperative agreement has been approved by the Kennedy Catholic Board of Directors. Sharon’s board of education will vote on the proposal next week. Kennedy would be the fifth program in District 10 to drop football in recent years, according to the Erie (Pa.) Times-News.

Westminster soccer earns ethics award

KANSAS CITY, Kan.

The Westminster College women’s soccer team received the National Soccer Coaches Association of America Silver Team Ethics Award, given to teams that accumulated no red cards and a maximum of five yellow cards during the 2013 season.

In all, 256 teams received either the gold, silver or bronze version, which recognizes teams that exhibit fair play, sporting behavior and adherence to the laws of the game, as reflected by the number of yellow caution cards or red ejection cards they are shown by referees throughout the season.

In 2013, Westminster (11-7-2, 6-1-2) finished third in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference.

Harlem Globetrotters returning to Covelli

YOUNGSTOWN

The Harlem Globetrotters will return to the Covelli Centre at 7 p.m. on June 29.

Tickets range from $23 to $75 and can be purchased online at ticketmaster.com, by phone at 800-745-3000 or in person at the Covelli Centre box office.

Chaney’s Smith holds design competition

PHILADELPHIA

Chaney High graduate Brad Smith, a wide receiver for the Buffalo Bills, is accepting submissions for “Design for Brad Smith,” a fashion design competition for emerging U.S. fashion designers.

Applicants are required to “like” Brad Smith’s Facebook fan page (facebook.com/bradsmithfanpage) and use pre-selected swatches from Mood Fabrics as inspiration. For official rules and guidelines go to www.designforbradsmith.com. The competition ends Jan. 23.

Blaney inducted into sprint car hall of fame

KNOXVILLE, IOWA

Hartford native Dave Blaney will be among the eight inductees for this year’s National Sprint Car Hall of Fame, which will take place on May 31.

Blaney raced in the United States Automobile Club (USAC) Silver Crown Series in 1984 and won the national touring series’ championship. He won his first World of Outlaws race at Tri-City Speedway in 1985 and won the championship in 1995. In 1997, he won the Gold Cup, the Eldora Speedway event and the Knoxville Nationals, which is considered the premiere event in sprint car racing.

Reporting prep results

The Vindicator encourages coaches and statisticians to report prep results by email (sports@vindy.com) or fax (330-747-6712). Phone calls (330-747-1478) are also acceptable but emails and faxes are strongly preferred. Deadline is 10:30 p.m.

Staff/wire reports