District College category
Seton Hill women march into NCAA Tournament with ‘full head of steam’
An at-large bid to the NCAA Division II Women’s Basketball Tournament is an invitation. There is nothing automatic about it, and it is not promised to any team. That is why Seton Hill coach Maeve Gallagher wants her players to know they did indeed earn a spot in the national...
Westmoreland County campus clips: 1st-year Saint Vincent coach earns conference honors
Kam Gissendanner was the AMCC women’s basketball coach of the year five times in 12 years when she led LaRoche. She’s 1 for 1 at Saint Vincent. The first-year leader of the Bearcat women was named PAC coach of the year after guiding Saint Vincent to a conference runner-up season....
Seton Hill men’s basketball team overcomes spate of injuries to reach PSAC semis
The math doesn’t add up on how this conundrum of a college basketball team made the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference semifinals for the first time in program history. How a rash of injuries and corresponding tailspin dumped off Seton Hill in Afterthought City, only for the Griffins to hitchhike their...
Longtime Pitt-Johnstown men’s basketball coach Rukavina retires
Legendary Pitt-Johnstown men’s basketball coach Bob Rukavina, who has ties to the Alle-Kiski Valley, has retired after 37 seasons, 47 overall in coaching. “Coach Ruk,” a longtime Lower Burrell resident, registered 577 wins and a .580 winning percentage while guiding the Mountain Cats to five NCAA Division II Tournament appearances...
Westmoreland County campus clips: Latrobe grad stunned when Marshall drops swimming
Like her teammates and coaches, freshman Lauren Bell was blindsided by the news. In a cost-cutting move, Marshall Univerity opted to cut the women’s swimming team, effective at the end of this season. Bell, a Latrobe alum and former WPIAL standout, is suddenly faced with a tough decision: stay or...
W&J women defeat Saint Vincent, successfully defend PAC basketball title
LATROBE — Winning last year’s PAC women’s basketball championship created a confident foundation for the returning players at Washington & Jefferson. That confidence traveled with the Presidents to Robert S. Carey Center for Saturday’s conference tournament final against top-seeded Saint Vincent despite the Bearcats sweeping the regular season series. It...
Starters from Franklin Regional ’24 team making mark in college basketball
The starting five from Franklin Regional’s PIAA boys basketball runner-up team from 2023-24 merged directly into college basketball. All five are playing this season at the NCAA Division III level. Here is a look at where they are now and how they are doing: Cam Rowell, So., G, Washington &...
Westminster football coach Scott Benzel leaving to join Manny Diaz’s staff at Duke
Westminster football coach Scott Benzel accepted a position on the coaching staff at Duke, director of athletics Jason Lener said Monday. Benzel led the Titans for the past 12 seasons since becoming head coach in January 2014. He guided the team to two Presidents’ Athletic Conference titles, and his 85...
Westmoreland County campus clips: Hempfield grad stars in pool for Saint Vincent at PAC meet
Saint Vincent senior Jacob Dzurica left an indelible mark on his final appearance at the PAC Championships. The Hempfield graduate won the 50-yard freestyle, setting a conference record in prelims with a time of 19.72 seconds. He won the event in 20.08 seconds. Dzurica didn’t stop there as he also...
‘You’re older than our coach:’ 32-year-old stars on Westmoreland County Community College court
Julian Thompson calls himself “Unc,” as in uncle. As in, ahem, the elder statesman of the locker room. “I figured I’d get that out of the way and beat them all to it,” the Westmoreland County Community College basketball player said with a laugh. “I knew they’d want to call...
Westmoreland County campus clips: Saint Vincent crowns 4 champs, wins PAC wrestling title
With four individual champions and 118.5 points, the Saint Vincent wrestling team captured its second Presidents’ Athletic Conference title in three years over the weekend in Hiram, Ohio. Freshman Logan Connelly (133 pounds), junior Tyler Debnar (141), sophomore Anthony Orlandini (149) and junior Logan Bechtold (165) secured titles to fuel...
A-K Valley campus clips: Highlands grad part of Point Park wrestling’s inaugural season
Aiden Burford has helped the Point Park men’s wrestling team navigate its inaugural season, and the freshman 141-pounder from Highlands has enjoyed success in his first taste of collegiate competition. He went 4-2 and placed seventh in his debut at the Mt. Union Invitational followed by a 5-1 fifth-place finish...
Seton Hill eager to get baseball season started
Pitchers and catchers reported to Pirate City in Bradenton, Fla., on Wednesday with the rest of the squad set to begin workouts Monday. But Seton Hill and other district college baseball teams in Western Pennsylvania will get a jump on their MLB counterparts as their seasons are set to begin....
Westmoreland County campus clips: Saint Vincent men heating up down stretch
Like any coach, Saint Vincent’s D.P. Harris wants his team to play at its best basketball late in the season. The Bearcats appear to be rounding into postseason form with the Presidents Athletic Conference men’s tournament just around the corner. SVC moved to 14-7 overall and 9-3 in the conference...
Westmoreland Campus Clippings: Norwin grad Bilinsky sets career high for UPJ hoops
They call Adam Bilinsky “Bomber.” The former Norwin basketball standout was on full blast for Pitt-Johnstown against Seton Hill. The junior guard erupted for a career-high 35 points in a 97-88 victory over the visiting Griffins. The top number is impressive. But so is how he got to it. Bilinsky...
Westmoreland Campus Clippings: Mt. Pleasant’s Courtney Poulich makes preseason top-100 list for Robert Morris
Courtney Poulich powered Robert Morris softball to its first Horizon League title last season. The Mt. Pleasant graduate did so in record-breaking fashion, swinging a big bat and becoming known for her fence-clearing blasts. Hopes are high again for the redshirt senior outfielder, who was named to the D1Softball Preseason...
Westmoreland Campus Clippings: Saint Vincent women’s basketball team wins 5th in row
The Saint Vincent women’s basketball team ran its winning streak to five with a 66-45 victory over visiting Allegheny on Saturday. The Bearcats (11-4, 6-0) continued to enjoy playing on their home floor, where they are 6-0. Junior Olivia Yancy and sophomore Emerson Peffer combined for 30 points off the...
After spate of injuries, Pitt-Greensburg women’s basketball team gets back on the court
For much of her time, Pitt-Greensburg sophomore Jocelyn Bielak has been playing basketball and loving every minute of it. Even when times have been tough. An injury-ravaged season came to a halt earlier this month for Bielak and the Bobcats when UPG was unable to fill out a lineup, the...
Versatile Seton Hill junior fills stats sheets at furious pace
Rebounding and getting steals are an art form, not a chore, to Mia Kalich. And while the versatile Seton Hill basketball standout piles up both, she doesn’t exactly try to get double- and triple-doubles. Call those an aside to effort. A player signing her work. “I don’t think about stats,”...
Westmoreland Campus Clippings: Penn-Trafford product Enick transferring to IUP
A mean pass-rusher coming out of Penn-Trafford and the WPIAL’s top two-way lineman as a senior, Joe Enick is set to join his third college football program. He began his college career at Central Michigan, but the 6-foot-2, 288-pounder became antsy after one season and transferred to Saint Francis. He...
Gateway grad Dino Nadarevic gets college career underway at Duquesne
After a standout high school throwing career, Dino Nadarevic made the transition throughout the summer and fall to new opportunities at the college level at Duquesne. The Gateway graduate got his feet wet in competition at the Youngstown State University Icebreaker on Dec. 5 at the Watson and Tressel Training...
Former Penn-Trafford football standout Greene transferring to YSU
The defensive line is calling his name again, and Conlan Greene can’t wait to get back in the trenches. The former Penn-Trafford football standout, who played three years at Temple, announced Saturday he has committed to play at Youngstown State. He entered the NCAA transfer portal with one year of...
Westmoreland County campus clips: Seton Hill men, women stacking wins
With a combined 14 wins in a row, the Seton Hill men and women are on top of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference West Division basketball standings. The women have nine straight victories, while the men have taken five in a row. The Griffins women’s team emerged from the holiday...
High-octane offense has Pitt-Greensburg men’s basketball off to perfect start
If a play doesn’t work out of a huddle for Pitt-Greensburg, the players can ad-lib, no questions asked. It is as much their right as it is their privilege when they take the basketball court. You might even say improvisation is encouraged — because it works. A pop-out 3-point look...
Westmoreland County campus clips: Latrobe grad Alex Tatsch looks toward future at Penn State
Freshman linebacker Alex Tatsch did not play in the Pinstripe Bowl for Penn State because of an injury. The question now is, will the former Latrobe standout play for the Nittany Lions next season? The answer appears to be yes. With the coaching change — James Franklin out, Matt Campbell...
