District College category, Page 29
Seton Hill softball sweeps Wheeling in new coach’s debut
Pirates pitchers and catchers report to Bradenton on Wednesday, but the Seton Hill softball team already has two games under its belt. Seton Hill took advantage off a warm February day and opened the season Tuesday at home. The Griffins brought out the bats and swept a doubleheader against Wheeling...
Westmoreland County campus clippings: Saint Vincent women’s bowlers enter national rankings
Saint Vincent has a nationally ranked women’s bowling team. For the first time, the Bearcats are listed among the best teams in the National Tenpin Coaches Association Division II/III National Poll. SVC (31-2) checked in a No. 13 in the latest poll. The Bearcats’ .939 winning percentage is the top...
Deer Lakes grad Armend Karpuzi earns big role as freshman with Pitt-Greensburg men’s basketball
When Greensburg native Chris Klimchock was hired to take over the Pitt-Greensburg men’s basketball program in July 2021, the recruiting class for the upcoming season already had been set. The Bobcats finished 10-15 overall and 8-8 in the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference. Klimchock was able to bring in his first...
Franklin Regional grad Jo-Michelle Huczko believes best days are ahead as pole vaulter at CMUVideo
Two Richard Nixons. That’s the response Carnegie Mellon junior pole vaulter Jo-Michelle “JoJo” Huczko gave to some friends when they queried her about what height she would like to clear in her event. A bit of an explanation is required: Huczko, a Franklin Regional grad, is interested in politics and...
Westmoreland County campus clippings: Frye ties Seton Hill’s single-game scoring record
Don’t plan on leaving Seton Hill women’s basketball games early. You might miss the best part. The Griffins have been taking games down to the wire lately: Four recent games were decided by a total of 10 points. They knocked off IUP, 65-60, at home during their 100th anniversary celebration,...
Cal (Pa.)’s Barry McGlumphy tunes into Super Bowl LVII with unique perspective
When the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles face off Sunday evening in Super Bowl LVII, Barry McGlumphy will tune in from an intriguing vantage point. McGlumphy, a professor in the Department of Exercise Science and Sports Studies at Cal (Pa.), has ties to Chiefs coach Andy Reid that go...
Westmoreland County campus clippings: Franklin Regional grad takes triple jump title
With a hop, a skip and a jump, Rayna Todero earned herself a championship. Todero, a sophomore at Robert Morris and a Franklin Regional graduate, won the triple jump at the Bob Shannon Invitational at Denison. Her winning distance was 11.15 meters. Todero also finished second in the long jump...
Mercyhurst upsets No. 1 IUP
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...
Ligonier Valley grad Olivia Miller has big goals for her final track and field seasons at CarlowVideo
During her senior season in 2021, Olivia Miller earned the designation of “team mom” from the freshmen on the Carlow women’s track and field team. The moniker was a playful jab at her “old age” as much as it was a nod to her experience and accomplishments. By that point,...
Westmoreland County campus clippings: Norwin grad Austen Swankler riding 18-game scoring streak
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...
Gateway grad John Paul Kromka piling up honors in final season at Pitt-Johnstown
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...
Penn Hills’ Sherron Schifino helps new-look Point Park get back to winning ways
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 celebrates 100th anniversary of women’s basketball team
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...
Westmoreland County campus clippings: Area grads help Pitt wrestling upset No. 8 Virginia Tech
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...
Knoch grad Maddie Boyer putting up big numbers as freshman for Penn State Behrend women’s basketballVideo
In the seventh game of the season, the Penn State Behrend women’s basketball team stared down a 13-point deficit at Oberlin with the second-half clock ticking under 5 minutes. Coach Christine VanHook called timeout as she saw her team’s chances slipping away. When players huddled, freshman Maddie Boyer spoke up....
Westmoreland campus clippings: Seton Hill baseball tabbed preseason No. 1 in PSAC West
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...
Pine-Richland grad Kyle Polce provides glue for top-ranked IUP men’s basketball
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....
Hampton grad Kayla Hoehler hits ground running for Pitt-Greensburg women’s hoops
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...
Westmoreland campus clippings: County coaches join Washington & Jefferson staff
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...
Optimism permeates Saint Vincent men’s volleyball programVideo
Kate McCauley is in her second season as the Saint Vincent men’s volleyball coach. In a way, however, it seems a lot like Year 1. Hired in October 2021 to take over the third-year program, McCauley was thrown into the fire right before the start of preseason workouts. On top...
Plum’s Decheck brothers want to put Gannon men’s swimming on the mapVideo
Being only a year apart, brothers Justin and Joey Decheck have done a lot together. Mostly, they have competed in swimming together: through youth ranks, at Plum High School and now at Gannon. Throughout their time at Plum, they teamed on countless relays, but they never were able to set...
Westmoreland County campus clippings: Seton Hill’s Jaylen McDuffie declares for NFL Draft
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...
Defense propelling IUP, the nation’s top-ranked Division II men’s basketball team
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...
Norwin grad Austen Swankler, former Fox Chapel goalie Chad Veltri nominated for Hobey Baker Award
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...
Westmoreland campus clippings: Pitt-Greensburg sets 2nd hall of fame class
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...
