District College category, Page 16
Westmoreland County campus clippings: UPG’s Melanie Mienke sets program strikeout record
Junior softball pitcher Melanie Mienke (Plum) etched her name into the Pitt-Greensburg record book. The veteran righthander became the Bobcats’ all-time leader in strikeouts when she fanned 11 in a 6-3 victory over Wells Express. Her total climbed to 241. The previous record was held by Marley Lafferty, who pitched...
After run to ACHA nationals, Latrobe grad Vinny Amatucci transitions quickly to Saint Vincent baseball season
Latrobe is the one place Vinny Amatucci would rather be. He’s a local fella, and he usually doesn’t stray. “I live in the Third Ward. We call it ‘The Hill,’ up on St. Clair Street,” said the 20-year-old sophomore at nearby Saint Vincent, where he’s been a busy guy, majoring...
Hard work, new approach help Burrell grad Elizabeth Clark have breakout season for Edinboro softball
For the past few weeks, Elizabeth Clark has spent the hours between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. instructing a classroom full of young children. It’s one of the requirements as she works toward a degree in early childhood and special education at Edinboro. When asked what subject she hopes to...
Fox Chapel grad reaching goals on Saint Vincent golf team
Brevin Urso put himself in position for a strong finish to his senior season during the fall. With how the Presidents’ Athletic Conference men’s golf championship is set up, one round is played in the fall while the other two are played in April. Urso, a Fox Chapel Area graduate...
Duquesne, Robert Morris alter football schedules, add Mercyhurst for 2024
Duquesne and Robert Morris announced scheduling alterations to their 2024 football season Friday, with both teams now set to face the Mercyhurst in the Lakers’ inaugural campaign at the Division I level. Mercyhurst revealed earlier this month that 24 of its athletic programs would be making the jump from the...
Westmoreland County campus clippings: Derry grads John Kerr, Mark Pavlik earn postseason awards
Derry has a strong presence on the Penn State men’s volleyball team. It also loomed large at postseason award time. A pair of Derry alums — a high-energy hitter and his veteran coach — are taking home some top-notch hardware. Grad student John Kerr was named the Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball...
Westmoreland Campus Clippings: Franklin Regional golfers make noise at next level
The Franklin Regional boys golf program reached a crescendo a few years ago when it produced a PIAA individual champion and then won a WPIAL team title. Big-time recruit Palmer Jackson went from states to Notre Dame, and a number of other Panthers alums moved on to play collegiate golf....
Karli Thomas tasked with leading Waynesburg’s new women’s wrestling program
Karli Thomas has faced down opponents in MMA matches. She has worked her way up to being a purple belt (intermediate level) in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. Those challenges, however, might pale compared to her latest venture. Thomas, a Plum resident, is tasked with building the Waynesburg University women’s wrestling team from...
A-K Valley campus clippings: Duquesne standout Myers enters transfer portal
Tess Myers is on the move for her final year of NCAA women’s basketball eligibility. A Lower Burrell resident and Duquesne standout the past four seasons, Myers announced Wednesday evening on X (formerly Twitter) that she will enter the transfer portal. Myers started 32 games in her final season with...
Westmoreland County campus clippings: Belle Vernon grad tops podium for Duquesne track
Duquesne senior Hannah Seitzinger (Belle Vernon) won the 400-meter run in 55.45 seconds and anchored the winning 1,600-meter relay (3:50.25) at the Dalton Ebanks Invitational at George Mason. Senior Sadie Wetzel (Latrobe) added a third-place finish in the high jump (5 feet, 6 inches), while senior Emily Brozeski (Norwin) took...
Westmoreland Campus Clippings: Franklin Regional brothers make mark at college level
Franklin Regional’s Kegerreis brothers made a lasting impression when they played for the Panthers. When the team needed an extra-base hit, maybe a home run, they often came through. While both went off to play college baseball, they redirected their path at the next level. Freshman Louie Kegerreis, who hit...
Fox Chapel grad Carissa Shepard takes firm grasp on No. 1 singles spot for Seton Hill women’s tennis
As the first-year coach of the Seton Hill women’s tennis team, Megan Satira needed to prioritize learning her players’ abilities. She got more than she bargained for from sophomore Carissa Shepard. While Satira was on the court doing a drill with the players, Shepard unleashed a forehand. But instead of...
Hempfield grad David Shearer earns call to Clarion Sports Hall of Fame
His school-record 42 points in a game at Hempfield has stood for 27 years. And David Shearer is not going to lie: He’s proud of it. Long miffed at the lack of recruitment from college coaches, the 45-year-old Shearer is humbled by such an impressive accomplishment in high school. “That...
Hempfield grad Sowers elevates herself among top Division II pitchers in nation
A breakthrough season called for an encore, but Callie Sowers didn’t rest on her laurels or her repertoire to greet the curtain call at Bloomsburg. No, the ace softball pitcher went back into the lab in the offseason. “Last season was a stepping stone for me and a platform to...
Gateway grad Emma Kennedy hits strong stretch for Slippery Rock softball
Gateway graduate Emma Kennedy hopes a recent hitting streak for the Slippery Rock softball team is the genesis of good things for the junior starting catcher. She collected at least one hit in each of four games — five total out of 11 at-bats — as The Rock went 3-1...
Westmoreland athletes excited for Mercyhurst’s move to Division I
Division II athletes one day, Division I the next. That’s the reality of what happened in a flash this week when Mercyhurst University in Erie announced it is leaving the NCAA Division II Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference and joining the Division I Northeast Conference, instantly bolstering the reputation of its...
Bullpen High: Hempfield baseball produces quartet of high-end college relievers
Phil Fox, Christian Zilli, Jake Kramer and Brandon Coughlin were the top four pitchers on the Hempfield baseball team that reached the WPIAL Class 6A championship game in 2021. With their right arms, the Spartans had speed and craftiness. With their big-game guts, they had fearless winners. These days, the...
Mercyhurst athletics moves up to Division I, will compete in Northeast Conference
Mercyhurst is bumping up its athletics program. The private Catholic-affiliated institution in Erie announced Thursday that it accepted an invitation into the Division I Northeast Conference, effective this fall for the 2024-25 academic year. With the exception of the men’s and women’s ice hockey teams, Lakers athletics currently competes at...
Increased physicality in men’s volleyball has changed the game, boosted its popularityVideo
Though he has made his living as a volleyball coach, Penn State’s Mark Pavlik is a student of all sports, just as likely to talk about screen passes and slap shots as he is spikes and side-outs. Pavlik, a Derry grad, recently was watching highlights of the 1970s Pittsburgh Steelers....
A-K Valley campus clippings: Highlands grad Haidze on tear for IUP softball
Highlands graduate Jaycee Haidze is having a strong early season for the IUP softball team. The sophomore right-handed pitcher and infielder earned PSAC Western Division Athlete of the Week for softball after hitting .524 (11 of 21) in seven games last week. She totaled four doubles, two home runs and...
Westmoreland County campus clippings: Hempfield grad Ty Linsenbigler transfers to Seton Hill
Ty Linsenbigler is coming home. The former Hempfield standout wrestler is leaving Lock Haven to compete at Seton Hill, where he will reunite with his high school coach, Vince DeAugustine. Wrestling unattached last season as a redshirt sophomore, Linsenbigler went 16-9 with four major decisions and one pin. He was...
Speedy Mackenzie Favero, a Kiski Area grad, making her presence felt at top of Saint Vincent softball lineup
Mackenzie Favero prides herself on being organized. As a college athlete who also is pursuing a nursing degree, her knack for being efficient and orderly comes in handy. But the Kiski Area grad can thrive in chaos, too. It’s the chaos she creates for the opposition as the leadoff hitter...
Westmoreland County campus clippings: Sophomore makes history in Pitt-Greensburg baseball’s home opener
Homer rhymes with Domer. Pitt-Greensburg sophomore baseball player James Domer launched a game-winning home run, and earned his first pitching win, as the Bobcats outslugged Chatham, 15-13, in their home opener. In a performance to beat the band, Domer went 6 for 6 with two homers, two doubles, five runs...
Even in reduced role, Knoch grad Fischer proving valuable to IUP softball team
IUP softball coach Shawna Bellaud remembers the moment vividly. During the past offseason, rising senior pitcher Amanda Fischer came to her and said she wasn’t sure if she could continue playing softball. Years in the game had taken their toll physically, and some nagging aches and pains made Fischer reluctant...
Hempfield grad Olivia Persin’s return to form helps set example for young Saint Vincent softball team
Success can breed additional success. But success also can breed pressure. That’s what Saint Vincent senior softball player Olivia Persin figures happened to her last season. Not that a stat line featuring a .328 batting average with 11 RBIs and a team-leading 36 runs is poor by any stretch. Compared...
