District College category, Page 27

There’s nothing wrong with the Lakers this year. The Mercyhurst Lakers, that is. Mercyhurst pulled a stunner Monday night in Erie, upsetting unbeaten No. 1 IUP, 62-49, to end the Crimson Hawks’ 33-game regular-season winning streak. IUP is now 22-1 (16-1 PSAC West Division). The Lakers (17-3, 13-3) took down...

Sophomore Austen Swankler, a Norwin graduate, was named the Central Collegiate Hockey Association Forward of the Month for a second time this season. Swankler extended his NCAA-leading scoring streak to 18 games. During that run, the Bowling Green forward has 11 goals and 20 assists for 31 points. He had...

John Paul Kromka is in the twilight of his collegiate basketball career, but he is making the most of the time he has left. The Gateway graduate and senior forward on the Pitt-Johnstown men’s basketball team again is a leading force for the Mountain Cats, who, after a spirited Pennsylvania...

Sherron Schifino didn’t find a home at Youngstown State. The Point Park senior went to Ohio following his graduation from Penn Hills in 2017 as a preferred walk-on and did some workouts with the team, but decided to come back home. After spending time at CCAC Boyce, Schifino landed with...

Seton Hill women’s basketball players used to walk across the road to the Armory near downtown Greensburg to play intrasquad games. Later, they would hop a train to play in Pittsburgh, Indiana or Ohio. Dressed in their blooms, skirts and tiny caps, they would weave around creaky courts, pass to...

Three former Westmoreland standouts made an impact on an upset by the Pitt wrestling team. Redshirt senior Micky Phillippi (Derry), redshirt junior Colton Camacho (Franklin Regional) and freshman Dayton Pitzer (Mt. Pleasant) all recorded wins as the 22nd-ranked Panthers clipped No. 8 Virginia Tech, 26-12, on Friday to move into...

Elevated expectations for Seton Hill baseball: What else is new? The perennially-contending Griffins were picked to finish first in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference West Division for the third straight season. Seton Hill finished 33-19-1 last season and went 2-2 in the NCAA Division II Atlantic Regional. Three players, senior...

Every team needs a glue guy and Kyle Polce has embraced that role with IUP men’s basketball. Someone that is willing to come off the bench, play tough defense, dive for a loose ball and take a charge when necessary. “Those things add up slowly,” said Polce, a Pine-Richland grad....

The unexpected news rattled Hampton’s Kayla Hoehler. Four months after signing a national letter of intent to play basketball at Pitt-Greensburg, Hoehler learned then-Bobcats coach Kelsey Oddis was stepping down after one season. “Honestly, it threw me off,” Hoehler said. “She was definitely one of the main reasons why I...

Former Westmoreland County football standouts Aaron Krepps and Max Garda are joining forces to coach the football team at Washington & Jefferson. Both are W&J alumni. Aaron Krepps, a Belle Vernon graduate, will serve as assistant head coach, while Garda, who played at Burrell, is an intern assistant who will...

Jaylen McDuffie, the king of tackles at Seton Hill, is aiming big. One of the top linebackers in NCAA Division II, McDuffie announced he is declaring for the NFL Draft. The redshirt senior, collected a number of postseason honors. He was a Don Hansen Division II All-American, made the D2Football.com...

Just before Christmas, the Indiana University of Pennsylvania men’s basketball team moved into the No. 1 spot in the NCAA Division II rankings. It looks like the Crimson Hawks intend to stay there. As each opponent turns on a spit, IUP (17-0) continues to look like the best team in...

Two former local players are up for hockey’s Heisman Trophy. Bowling Green sophomore Austen Swankler and Niagara senior Chad Veltri are nominees for the Hobey Baker Memorial Award, which recognizes the top player in the college game. A Norwin graduate, Swankler is currently on an NCAA-best 16-game scoring streak that...

Pitt-Greensburg unveiled its second Athletics Hall of Fame class. The inductees will be honored Feb. 10 at Wagner Dining Hall on campus. The class includes Dean Rick Fogle, the men’s golf teams of 1997-2000 and basketball players Jim Kubicek, Kevin Conlon and Kelsey Wilcox. Fogle played a key role in...

Sarah Liberatore decided to make the move from a Division I program to one playing in Division II. It looks like it was the right move for the former Hempfield standout. Liberatore had a career game last week for Florida Tech, a D-II school in Melbourne, Fla. A sophomore guard,...

When Mike McGoff took over the Penn State New Kensington women’s basketball team before this season, he, naturally, wanted to help the program get more wins. In the previous three seasons combined, the Lady Lions had only three wins. But more than that, McGoff wanted respect for his program. Not...

They would make a nice starting five. Five district players made the Clarence “Bevo” Francis watch list for the award that recognizes the top small-college basketball player in the country. Bryce Butler of West Liberty, John Paul Kromka of Pitt-Johnstown, Shawndale Jones and Dave Morris of IUP and Jo Valrie...

Trying to keep up with Brennan Marion as a coach is like trying to defend him when he was a big-play wide receiver at Tulsa. He is on the move again. Catch him if you can. Marion, a Greensburg Salem graduate and former Pitt wide receivers coach, was announced Tuesday...

A number of former local standouts have helped lead the NCAA Division II No. 7-ranked Pitt-Johnstown wrestling team to an 8-0 start. In the team’s most recent match, sophomore Isaiah Vance (Hempfield), ranked No. 5 at heavyweight won by fall; redshirt sophomore Dajauhn Hertzog (Greensburg Salem) won by decision at...