District College category
Westmoreland baseball, softball players chip in for NCAA Tournament teams
To make the NCAA baseball and softball postseason, teams have to win conference titles. Some get at-large bids, but spots are guaranteed only for those that finish first in their league tournaments. For teams to win conferences, they need talent across the ballpark. Several have advanced in the national postseason,...
Westmoreland campus clippings: Mt. Pleasant’s Courtney Poulich wins player of year award
The Horizon League Softball Player of the Year didn’t give conference coaches much to debate. Redshirt senior Courtney Poulich (Mt. Pleasant) was an easy choice after a stat-packed final season that saw the right fielder smash home runs and records. Poulich also was named to the all-conference first team. Her...
Preparing for adversity has helped Seton Hill baseball team construct record-setting season
Some of the best college baseball teams in the country face the same adversity as those struggling to win. Even perennial powers such as Seton Hill are susceptible to getting banged up during the wear and tear of a long season. Contrary to what the Griffins’ impeccable image shows —...
Westmoreland County college notes: Greensburg CC grad takes conference golf honors at John Carroll
John Carroll junior Wade Boyle, a Greensburg Central Catholic alum, was medalist at the North Coast Athletic Conference Men’s Golf Championship at Avalon Lakes Golf Club in Warren, Ohio. Boyle shot 3-over-par 219 (72, 75, 72) and won the Bob Nye Award as the low scorer. Boyle had been building...
Westmoreland County campus clips: Former Latrobe soccer star to transfer from West Virginia
Robin Reilly is looking for a new team. The West Virginia soccer player and former Latrobe star entered the NCAA transfer portal after one season in Morgantown. Reilly played in only three games last season, seeing more action with the Pittsburgh Riveters pre-professional team in the offseason. She made her...
Former IUP basketball coach Tom Beck dies at 93
Former IUP men’s coach Tom Beck died April 24. Beck, a Youngwood native, was 93. He served the Crimson Hawks program for 16 years, the final five as head coach, compiling a record of 66-70. A cause of death has not been released. Beck is a member of the athletics...
Highlands graduate Trent Bielak named to Lou Gehrig Community Impact Team
For most of his life Trent Bielak has found ways to volunteer and serve others. Once he made it to Pitt-Bradford, he felt himself start taking volunteerism into his own hands and understands the importance of faith and serving others, especially these last two years. That all came to an...
Westmoreland college notebook: Derry grad Sophia Mazzoni makes mark at Auburn
Sophia Mazzoni called last year’s PIAA track and field championships “a good warm-up for college” and “what I needed going into the SEC.” The Derry graduate and three-time WPIAL champion was already beyond her years when she won two state titles in the javelin before moving on to Auburn. The...
Westmoreland campus clippings: Ligonier Valley grad Piper throws perfect game for Westminster
When Cheyenne Piper pitched for Ligonier Valley, she threw three consecutive no-hitters in the WPIAL Class 2A playoffs. One was a perfect game against Keystone Oaks. She is now the ace at Westminster, and she remains as stingy as ever. Perfectly stingy. Piper tossed her first perfect game in college...
Westmoreland campus clippings: Honors roll in for Saint Vincent men’s volleyball
Saint Vincent men’s volleyball snagged three major postseason awards in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference. Sophomore libero Jackson Genicola (Norwin) was named defensive player of the year, freshman Jack Ryan was tabbed newcomer of the year and Bearcats’ leader Kate McCauley was awarded coach of the year. Genicola, who moved from...
Penn-Trafford grad Mia Smith surpasses 400 strikeouts at Pitt-Johnstown
After her sophomore season, Mia Smith began to believe the record could be hers, but it would take a lot more than showing up in the circle. The former Penn-Trafford ace zeroed in on the all-time strikeout record at Pitt-Johnstown like she does the strike zone itself. She painted corners...
Westmoreland County campus clips: Saint Vincent bowling coach visits winner’s circle
Jeff Zidek is the track announcer at The Hollywood Casino at The Meadows race track in Washington. He knows which horse to bet on come the college bowling postseason. Zidek also is the head women’s bowling coach at Saint Vincent, and after a second straight trip to the NCAA Tournament,...
Mt. Pleasant grad Courtney Poulich displays prodigious power for RMU in ‘Boom Township’
Whether it’s training in the weight room with her teammates or swinging for the fences, Courtney Poulich is putting in some powerful performances for the Robert Morris softball team. It’s not a stretch to say the redshirt senior outfielder from Mt. Pleasant is going out with a boom. The record-setting...
Williams throws no-hitter as Seton Hill coach Marizzaldi grabs 800th win
What an afternoon on “the Hill.” Sophomore pitcher Sean Williams was grooving strikes, his defense was sharp around him and the offense was efficient as 16th-ranked Seton Hill baseball flexed its muscles, all while giving its longtime leader another milestone victory. Williams tossed the second no-hitter in school history, and...
Norwin grad Jack Whalen a record-setting base-stealer, cornerstone player for Seton Hill baseball
He wears No. 1, so he is already at the top of the Seton Hill baseball roster. And he also leads off the batting order. But senior outfielder Jack Whalen isn’t just No. 1 in your program. He now holds a top spot in the conference record book. Whalen, a...
Westmoreland County Community College baseball ends long losing streak vs. D1 foe
The Westmoreland County Community College baseball team did something recently that it had not done in 34 years: defeat NCJAA Division I Potomac State (W.Va.). The Wolfpack (15-7) not only won one game, but they also swept a doubleheader by the scores of 14-4 and 13-6. Freshmen Jake Sincak (Norwin),...
Westmoreland County campus clips: Seton Hill wrestlers earn PSAC honors
The three Seton Hill wrestlers who made the NCAA Division II Championships earned all-conference honors. Redshirt senior Mike Zacur was named to the All-Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference first team at 157 pounds, while senior Ty Linsenbigler (Hempfield) and senior Kane Kettering made the third team at 149 and 174. Kettering...
Westmoreland college notebook: Belle Vernon’s Whitlock enters transfer portal to leave IUP
One of the most prolific playmakers to come out of Belle Vernon is looking to cash in after a big season at IUP. Devin Whitlock, a wide receiver who earned All-Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference first-team honors last season, has entered the NCAA transfer portal, according to his representatives with The...
Point Park names new men’s basketball coach
Point Park promoted Joe Long to head men’s basketball coach Thursday, as the former lead assistant coach is set to replace Ryan Grandits, who resigned to accept the head coach position at Daemen. “Joe was the logical choice from the moment our position opened,” vice president of athletics Scott Swain...
Westmoreland County campus clippings: Jeannette grad helps Kentucky to Sweet 16
A former local basketball star experienced March Madness at the highest level. Kentucky assistant coach Ciara Gregory (Jeannette) and the Wildcats reached the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16. They fell to top-seeded Texas, 76-54, to finish the season 25-11. Gregory is a second-year assistant who also serves as the team’s director...
IUP women’s basketball team routed in NCAA final
The Michigan machine rolls on. IUP’s dream of a national championship in women’s basketball was shattered by a nightmarish outcome in Saturday’s NCAA Division II title game against defending champion Grand Valley State. The bigger, longer and stronger Lakers from Allendale, Mich., outclassed Indiana County’s Crimson Hawks during a 72-49...
Mercyhurst drops its struggling Division I men’s hockey program as part of its master plan
ERIE — Mercyhurst will drop its Division I men’s hockey program at the end of the academic year as part of a university-wide master plan, the 2,600-student private school announced Friday. The Lakers finished 6-28-3 this season and were last in Atlantic Hockey for the second straight year. They haven’t...
IUP women’s basketball team reaches Division II championship
Nyshae’ Weaver’s blank stare elicited a quirky question for the IUP senior and two-time PSAC West women’s basketball Athlete of the Year. Had the 6-foot forward from Baltimore Coppin Academy High School ever felt this numb before? “Never,” Weaver said without a blink. Rightfully so, because IUP is headed to...
Westmoreland County college notebook: Saint Vincent bowlers return to NCAA Tournament
The Saint Vincent women’s bowling team is headed back to the NCAA Tournament, a Division III power among a cluster of Division I and II programs, and the Bearcats will roll on at the local regional. Saint Vincent (45-3), which has the best winning percentage in the nation, will take...
A-K Valley campus clippings: Kiski Area grad Veronica Flanagan named All-American
The transition from high school to collegiate bowling didn’t keep Veronica Flanagan from reaching top-flight status this past winter. The Kiski Area graduate and freshman at Lourdes in the Toledo, Ohio suburb of Sylvania recently was selected to the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics All-American team. Flanagan, whose prolific high...
