District College category, Page 14
Norwin alum Noah Czajkowski commits to Pitt baseball team
When he put his name into the national free-agent database known as the NCAA transfer portal, pitcher Noah Czajkowski hoped to garner interest from Division I baseball programs nearer to where he grew up. That one such suitor was Pitt came as a pleasant surprise and a welcome bonus. Czajkowski,...
RB Ky’Ron Craggette wants to be Seton Hill football’s ‘No. 1’ option after breakthrough seasonVideo
When Dan Day took over as football coach at Seton Hill in 2019, he inherited a program that had mostly struggled since its inception in 2005. The former Griffins offensive lineman wanted to do everything possible to create a winning culture. One of the ideas Day and his staff hatched...
Westmoreland County campus clippings: Julie Bolden named UPG’s women’s basketball coach
Pitt-Greensburg has a new women’s basketball coach. Julie Bolden will take over the Bobcats after two seasons as an assistant and recruiting director at Division I Dayton. She also worked as a video coordinator at Hofstra for one year. An Ohio native, Bolden replaces Darien Lantz, who coached for two...
Seton Hill, WVU pitchers chosen on 3rd day of MLB Draft
Two pitchers from district universities were drafted Tuesday on the third day of the MLB Draft. Seton Hill right-handed pitcher Aidan Layton, a graduate of Bishop McCort High School in Johnstown, was chosen by the Oakland Athletics at No. 496 overall, the first pick in the 17th round. At 6-2,...
Westmoreland County campus clippings: Norwin grad up for NCAA Woman of the Year award
Duquesne’s Emily Brozeski (Norwin) is one of 17 graduating student-athletes from the Atlantic 10 Conference nominated for the NCAA Woman of the Year award. A track and field standout, Brozeski will look to advance with the winner’s fate in the hands of a selection committee. The NCAA award originated in...
Heading into her 40th season, Saint Vincent women’s volleyball coach Sue Hozak remains enthusiasticVideo
A few lines of type. That’s what started Sue Hozak down the road to a long and distinguished coaching career at Saint Vincent. Hozak has been at the helm of the Bearcats women’s volleyball team since its inception in 1985, and this fall, she begins her 40th season on the...
Jeannette’s Ciara Gregory soars to coaching position at Kentucky
The astonishment of what she is doing, the gravity of the situation she finds herself in, is not lost on Kentucky assistant women’s basketball coach Ciara Gregory. Sometimes at practice, she looks around Rupp Arena and pinches herself. The dream-chasing kid from Jeannette continues her ascent in the college coaching...
Westmoreland County campus clippings: Norwin grads Ty Stecko, Noah Czajkowski transferring
A pair of former Norwin baseball players from the class of 2022 are changing college programs. Both tested the waters of the NCAA transfer portal. Ty Stecko, who began his college career at Mount St. Mary’s, recently announced a commitment to Eastern Michigan. The rising junior infielder leaves the Metro-Atlantic...
Freeport grad Ben Perka working toward another season of improvements for Geneva cross country, track and field
Asked what kind of music he listens to during training runs, Ben Perka pauses. His tastes in music are varied, and he doesn’t really have a go-to. Just put in the ear buds and hit shuffle. Perka needs something to keep him energized during the scores of miles he covers...
College notebook: Latrobe grad Butler set for 3×3 Nations League Americas tournament
Bryce Butler has shown over the years that he is made for big moments on the basketball court. Whether he’s finding ways to score, creating offense off the ball or setting up teammates, the Latrobe product is an all-around talent. Which makes the college graduate an ideal pick for the...
Tim Keefer stepping down as Carlow men’s basketball coach after 10 seasons
Results, Tim Keefer said, did not always come in the form of wins and losses on the court. The only men’s basketball coach in Carlow University history didn’t try to squeeze everything into one bay. A narrow thinker he is not; a bloodhound who detects the hardest workers on the...
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...
