District College category, Page 13
Westmoreland County campus clippings: GCC grad Nate Ward playing final season at St. Louis
Nate Ward had planned to play one last season of college soccer closer to home at Duquesne. But the grad student transfer shifted gears and ended up at St. Louis playing for a nationally ranked program. Ward, a Greensburg Central Catholic graduate, played four years at Indiana of the Big...
Latrobe grad Paige Watson to play prominent role as Chatham women’s volleyball tries to back up top ranking in PACVideo
Chatham students who encounter Paige Watson on campus could be in for a treat. Watson, a sophomore volleyball player, is fond of card tricks and is always eager to show them off. So much so that she is seldom without a deck in her possession. As coach Joe Bortak puts...
Plum grad Lucas Pittman helps drive Penn State Behrend offense as Lions hunt AMCC soccer title
Like any college freshman, Lucas Pittman had the usual uncertainties rolling around in his head when he arrived at Penn State Behrend last summer. New environment, knowing few people, wondering how best to juggle classes and extracurricular activities. The good news for the Plum grad was he had at least...
Carnegie Mellon football joining Centennial Conference in 2025
Beginning in 2025, Carnegie Mellon football will compete within a new league as the Tartans announced Monday morning they will join the Centennial Conference as an associate member after this season. Since 2014, the Division III Tartans have competed in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference (PAC) for football only, winning league...
Wrestling community mourns death of legendary coach Pat Pecora
The day Larry Hohman was headed to college when he was 18, his dad died. He walked into the office of Pitt-Johnstown wrestling coach Pat Pecora for guidance. Pecora instructed him to go home for a week to be with family, and he would take care of things. “On that...
District college football roundup: Edinboro stuns Robert Morris on 4th-quarter safety
Edinboro recorded a safety to break a fourth-quarter tie, upsetting Robert Morris, 23-21, on Saturday night. With the score tied 21-21, Edinboro’s Reed Martin (Plum) backed Robert Morris up to its own 1 with a 74-yard punt. On first down, Edinboro’s Tristan Waldier, a Yough graduate, forced a fumble by...
St. Francis (Pa.) beats Kent State for 1st win over NCAA Division I FBS opponent
KENT, Ohio — Jeff Hoenstine threw for one touchdown and ran for another, leading NCAA Division I FCS member St. Francis (Pa.) to a 23-17 victory over Kent State on Saturday. Hoenstine’s short touchdown run gave the Red Flash a 10-0 lead in the first quarter and they stretched it...
Westmoreland Campus Clippings: Norwin’s Edwards joins Dayton
Patrick Edwards is making his way up the college basketball coaching ladder. The 2018 Norwin graduate was named director of basketball operations at Dayton, his alma mater. “Basketball has always been a love of mine growing up,” Edwards said. “I realized I wanted to coach, specifically at the college level,...
Ligonier Valley grad Haley Stormer provides power for Point Park volleyball as it moves to NCAA Division II
When Haley Stormer reached out to Point Park women’s volleyball coach Bridget Bielich about transferring to her program, Bielich knew almost nothing about her. So, like any fastidious coach, Bielich did her homework, beginning with some video study. The first thing that stood out was the Ligonier Valley grad’s strength....
Plum grad Emma Bennethum eager to help Pitt-Johnstown women’s soccer team thrive under new coach
Emma Bennethum looks back fondly on her days as a soccer player at Plum. And why not? Her time with the Mustangs included three consecutive trips to the WPIAL Class 3A championship game. Though each of those matches ended with a loss to Mars, Bennethum and her Plum teammates were...
Utah State pulls away from Robert Morris in 2nd half
LOGAN, Utah — Backup quarterback Bryson Barnes passed for two touchdowns and ran for another Saturday night, Kyrese White caught three balls for 131 yards, including touchdowns of 57 and 53 yards, and Utah State beat Robert Morris, 36-14, in the season opener for both teams. Nate Dreiling, who was...
District college football roundup: Mercyhurst wins Division I debut
Adam Urena threw for 267 yards and three touchdowns as Mercyhurst defeated Wheeling, 28-25, on Thursday to win its first Division I FCS game after making the leap from Division II this season. Cameron Barmore caught seven passes for 101 yards and two touchdowns for the Lakers (1-0). Earnest Davis...
Westmoreland County campus clippings: Area players set for Mercyhurst debut in Division I
Mercyhurst will open its first season as an NCAA Division I football program Thursday at Wheeling. The Lakers are not short on local talent. Eight players from Westmoreland County will suit up in green and white for the team’s D-I debut season. Several are part of the Lakers’ deep linebacker...
3rd-year coach has high expectations for Pitt-Greensburg women’s volleyball team
Coaches generally are hesitant to heap too much praise on their teams. Preseason, in season, postseason, doesn’t matter. Most coaches would prefer not to inflate their players’ collective ego. That’s why Kevin Conroy’s assessment of his women’s volleyball team at Pitt-Greensburg is eyebrow-raising. Especially considering that, over his first two...
Penn State New Kensington men’s soccer team full of confidence after PSUAC title-game berth in ’23
The Penn State New Kensington men’s soccer team has experienced a considerable amount of success in recent years. In the three seasons since the covid-19 pandemic wiped out the 2020 schedule, the Lions are 34-16-2, including 22-3-2 in the Penn State University Athletic Conference. Last fall, for the first time...
Westmoreland County standouts dot D-1 college football rosters this fall
Gianni Rizzo and Trent Holler are close friends and always have supported one another in sports despite going to different high schools. The pair has something more in common on the eve of another college football season. Both are set to play a grad season at the Division I level,...
Westmoreland County campus clippings: Former Seton Hill basketball player headed to Greece
From Seton Hill to Alabama to Greece, basketball is taking Samuel Tabe around the globe. Tabe, a former go-to scorer at Seton Hill, signed to play professionally with AE Psychiko Athens of the Greek Elite League. The 6-foot-5 guard played his last college season at South Alabama, a Division I...
From gridiron to groundstrokes, Kyle Murray uses athleticism to tackle 2 sports at Saint Vincent
When asked about Kyle Murray’s skills as a tennis player, Saint Vincent coach Brian Niemiec readily admits the rising junior isn’t the most polished. Murray admits it, too. And yet, what Murray might lack in technical proficiency, he makes up for with athleticism and tenacity. Niemiec recalled a match last...
Deer Lakes grad Madison Friess named captain for Pitt-Greensburg women’s volleyball after huge freshman season
Pitt-Greensburg women’s volleyball coach Kevin Conroy didn’t wait long to name one of his captains for the 2024 season. Immediately after the 2023 season concluded — the Bobcats went 6-21 overall and 3-6 in the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference — he pulled freshman Madison Friess aside. The job was hers,...
Westmoreland County campus clippings: Franklin Regional grad Dan Luko transfers to Grove City
Seeking a better comfort zone and opportunity to play, Franklin Regional baseball alum Dan Luko announced he plans to transfer from John Carroll to Grove City. Luko was one of 63 players on the JCU roster and more were expected to be added. He did not appear in a game...
Despite health issues, Seton Hill volleyball’s Catie Flohr raked in accolades, now turns to sophomore season
Catie Flohr loves a challenge. Like seeing a blocker — or blockers — elevate on the opposite side of the volleyball net. Like refurbishing a tractor. Over the summer, the Seton Hill middle hitter helped with the restoration of a decades-old Massey Ferguson tractor. With boyfriend Anthony Lehoski, a rising...
Plum grad Luke Gildea heads into final season with Slippery Rock men’s soccer hoping to lead The Rock to postseasonVideo
Luke Gildea has to laugh. He has no choice. Even he admits the nickname he received from his Slippery Rock men’s soccer teammates, Gramps, is fitting. The Plum grad is the oldest player on the team, the last of his class who came in during the covid year (2020-21). At...
Slippery Rock picked No. 1 in PSAC-West football preseason poll
Fresh of a trip to the NCAA Division II quarterfinals last season, Slippery Rock was tabbed the preseason favorite in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference West Division. The Rock received six first-place votes in the PSAC-West preseason poll conducted by the conference’s coaches. Slippery Rock returns plenty of talent after...
Things looking up for Presidents’ Athletic Conference; Grove City picked to repeat
Things are changing for the good in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference. The conference will grow to 12 teams beginning in 2025-26 when Hiram returns as a full-time member. Conference President Joe Onderko discussed Tuesday at the PAC Media Day at Saint Vincent College the conference’s plan next year to divide...
Hempfield grad Sydney Patrick leads Slippery Rock women’s soccer into 2024 season eager to finish big
In her day, 10th-year Slippery Rock women’s soccer coach Jessica Giegucz was a pretty fair player. She was a four-time all-conference forward who amassed 34 goals and 20 assists in her career at Division III Dickinson. But ask Giegucz to compare herself to current Rock forward Sydney Patrick, and she...
