District College category, Page 14
Penn-Trafford’s Rapp twins exceled in larger roles for Geneva softballVideo
Because they are twins, Maddy and McKenzie Rapp, not surprisingly, do a lot together. Even as softball players, they formed their own battery at Penn-Trafford, with McKenzie pitching and Maddy catching. So it should be equally unsurprising that the sisters took on larger roles for the Geneva softball team this...
Kiski Area grad Karly Keller ramps up toward helping Grove City women’s soccer defend its PAC title
Karly Keller rose at 7:30 a.m., as she had done each day, to begin her workout, which, typically, would last about 90 minutes. Not unusual for a college athlete. There are few breaks when it comes to keeping in tune for the next season. The difference for Keller, a Kiski...
Westmoreland County campus clippings: Jeannette’s Marcus Barnes earns preseason honor
HeroSports.com came out with its top 30 FCS safeties for 2024 and a local player made the list. Marcus Barnes, a redshirt senior at William & Mary, checked in at No. 29 after an impressive ‘23 season. Barnes, a Jeannette graduate, is on pace to be a future NFL Draft...
Championship softball coach Chris Brunson leaving Mt. Pleasant for Waynesburg University
Championship softball coach Chris Brunson is making the jump to the college level as he leaves the Mt. Pleasant high school team to head to Waynesburg University. Brunson resigned after leading Mt. Pleasant for the last six seasons and accepted the Yellow Jackets’ head coach position. He replaces Brett Shimek,...
Westmoreland County campus clippings: Seton Hill baseball players honored for defense
Three Seton Hill baseball players were lauded for their outstanding defensive play this season. Grad students Jack Oberdorf (Greensburg Salem) and Owen Sabol (Norwin), the Griffins’ third baseman and shortstop, and senior catcher Braden Durham were named to the All-American Baseball Coaches Association Atlantic Region Defensive Team. Seton Hill tied...
Addition of Hiram allows PAC to split into 2 divisions in several sports; football coaches eager for new format
First, administrators at Hiram approached Presidents’ Athletic Conference officials about joining as an affiliate member for men’s volleyball. It was a welcome request for PAC brass. The conference was set to sanction men’s volleyball for the first time in 2025, and the Terriers would grow the PAC to seven teams...
Freeport grad Jarrett Heilman, Plum grad Evan Azzara find new homes via transfer portal
Last month, Jarrett Heilman entered the transfer portal after three successful seasons with the Mercyhurst baseball team and a fourth that never materialized because of an elbow injury and subsequent surgery. The Freeport graduate, the 2023 PSAC West Pitcher of the Year, now has a new home for his final...
Westmoreland County campus clippings: Hempfield grad Phil Fox earns All-America honors at Pitt
Pitt closer Phil Fox (Hempfield) needs more space on his trophy shelf and more nails for his wall of plaques. Nailing down wins has become his forte. The rising redshirt junior was named to the American Baseball Coaches Association/Rawlings All-Region First Team and All-America third team following a splendid season...
Coaching change, change of position help Hempfield grad Forsyth have breakout year for Seton Hill women’s lacrosseVideo
In southwestern Pennsylvania, lacrosse is still relatively anonymous. While lacrosse has grown here recently, the area still lags behind the likes of Massachusetts, Upstate New York and Maryland — even eastern Pennsylvania — in terms of the sport’s popularity. So it wouldn’t be a stretch to say it’s outside of...
Burrell grad Armstrong battles through thumb injury to post solid freshman season for Gannon softballVideo
Adjusting to college softball is difficult enough. Doing it while coping with an injury is even tougher. When that affliction is a partially torn thumb ligament and the player dealing with it is a pitcher, that adds to the degree of difficulty. That’s the Cliffs Notes version of pitcher Katie...
Newly armed with scholarships, Westmoreland County Community College basketball attracting top local recruits
A boost in classification and the ability to offer athletic scholarships for the first time is allowing Westmoreland County Community College to cast a much wider net in the local basketball recruiting game. Players who once were untouchable are now willing to give the junior college path a look. “It...
Westmoreland County campus clippings: Norwin grad makes Pan Am wrestling team
Norwin alum Kurtis Phipps qualified to wrestle in the U23 Pan American Championships on June 21-22 in Rionegro, Colombia. The Bucknell senior qualified in Geneva, Ohio, by reaching the 61kg finals of the U23 Freestyle Nationals. Phipps went 5-0 and advanced to the best-of-three finals before losing twice to Ohio...
Norwin grad Elijah Dunn perseveres through injuries, helps IUP baseball team make D-II World SeriesVideo
Truth be told, Elijah Dunn would have liked to contribute more to the IUP baseball team this season. But a series of injuries, including a broken big toe, hampered his availability. So the Norwin grad tried to make the most of it when he was in the lineup, and his...
Burrell grad Zach Miller plays role perfectly in helping IUP baseball team reach World SeriesVideo
IUP baseball coach Steve Kline remembers the encounter with Zach Miller well. Kline was entering his second year as the Crimson Hawks’ baseball coach, and Miller approached him in an on-campus parking lot. Miller, a Burrell grad, spent his initial college days at Cal (Pa.) but never took the field...
Miscues costly for IUP as Crimson Hawks’ run in D-II World Series ends
CARY, N.C. — The IUP baseball team had to come a long way to make it to the semifinals of the Division II College World Series. But advancing through the losers’ bracket of the double-elimination tournament was easy compared to what it took to get this far. So even though...
IUP baseball earns 3rd straight win at Division II College World Series
Turning away elimination for a third straight time in the NCAA Division II College World Series, surging IUP baseball pushed on and now sits one win away from the national championship game. Elijah Dunn, a Norwin product, went 2 for 4 with a home run, double, four RBIs and two...
Jake Black’s 8 shutout innings propel IUP baseball to Division II College World Series semifinalsVideo
Jake Black allowed two hits over eight shutout innings, and Elijah Dunn’s RBI single helped lift IUP to a 1-0 victory over Point Loma (Calif.) in a Division II College World Series elimination game Wednesday in Cary, N.C. No. 5-seeded IUP (40-17), now one of the final four teams remaining...
PAC moving to 2 divisions next year in 3 sports
The NCAA Division III Presidents’ Athletic Conference will split into two divisions for men’s and women’s basketball, and women’s volleyball beginning in 2025. The conference will be 12 schools strong with the addition of Hiram, which returns to the league in 2025-26. There will be two, six-team divisions — North...
Former Latrobe state champ takes on head coaching job in NCAA Division I tennis
From a high school and college star to a 10-year professional and now a budding college coach, Joelle Kissell has experienced success at just about every level of tennis. The Latrobe graduate and Hostetter native is about to embark on her newest venture. Kissell is taking her knowledge of the...
IUP ousts top-seeded Central Missouri from Division II College World Series
The No. 5-seeded IUP baseball team secured the program’s first victory at the NCAA Division II College World Series on Monday, defeating top-seeded Central Missouri, 4-3, in Cary, N.C. IUP (39-17) scored runs in the second and fifth innings and plated two more in the bottom of the eighth to...
One-season wonder: Seton Hill’s Natasha Bernett places 4th in 2 events at Division II track and field championshipsVideo
As Seton Hill’s Natasha Bernett stepped in front of the blocks for her last collegiate track and field event — the NCAA Division II 100-meter hurdles final — she couldn’t help but smile. That was not her usual on-track demeanor. She always had a game face, one so intense that...
Freeport grad Tori Radvan ends softball career with solid senior season for Pitt-JohnstownVideo
When Tori Radvan walked onto the field for Pitt-Johnstown softball’s senior day, she was escorted by her older sister, Kristie. It was a fitting curtain-closer for Tori’s softball career. Three years earlier, when Kristie was a senior and Tori was a freshman with the Mountain Cats, Kristie suffered a torn...
Westmoreland County campus clippings: Franklin Regional’s Palmer Jackson caps NCAA career
When Palmer Jackson tapped in for par on the ninth hole at Omni La Costa North Course in Carlsbad, Calif., last weekend, he brought an end to a shining college golf career at Notre Dame. Now, the turning-professional talk officially can begin. The grad student and Franklin Regional product tied...
IUP falls to Point Loma in 1st round of Division II College World Series
The No. 5-seeded IUP baseball team suffered a 2-1 defeat to No. 4 Point Loma (Calif.) in the first round of NCAA Division II College World Series on Saturday in Cary, N.C. First baseman Brady Yard knocked in the lone run for IUP in the top of the eighth inning....
IUP earns No. 5 seed in 1st NCAA Division II College World Series appearanceVideo
Following a dramatic 2-1 series victory over Seton Hill in the Atlantic Region Super Regionals last weekend, the IUP baseball team made history, qualifying for the NCAA Division II College World Series for the first time. The Crimson Hawks (38-16), led by coach Steve Kline, earned the No. 5 seed....
