District College category, Page 30
Westmoreland County campus clippings: Hempfield grad Sarah Liberatore shines at Florida Tech
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,...
Saint Vincent women’s basketball team hopes to contend in PAC down stretchVideo
For the Saint Vincent women’s basketball team, the 2021-22 season was, well, very un-Saint Vincent-like. It ended with the first sub-.500 record (8-14, 7-10 Presidents’ Athletic Conference) of coach Jimmy Petruska’s 12-year career. Petruska isn’t one to make excuses, but there were a couple of extenuating factors that contributed to...
Penn State New Kensington women’s basketball team growing in confidence with wins
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...
Five district basketball players named to Bevo Francis award watch list
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...
Greensburg Salem alum Brennan Marion joins UNLV football staff
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...
Westmoreland County campus clippings: Local wrestlers help Pitt-Johnstown to No. 7 ranking
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...
Penn-Trafford grad Hunter DeStefano contributes to 2 men’s sports at CarlowVideo
Ask Val Pennington how senior Hunter DeStefano manages his schedule, and the normally erudite coach struggles to find an accurate explanation. DeStefano, a Penn-Trafford grad, is a nursing major who carries a 3.9 GPA. He is in his fourth season as a member of the Carlow men’s basketball team, and...
Young Penn State New Ken men’s basketball has high hopes after solid 1st half of seasonVideo
Brant Mack took over the Penn State New Kensington men’s basketball team at a less-than-opportune time. He was hired in October 2020, when the world was in the grip of the covid-19 pandemic. Building up the program was going to be tough enough, but without a year of competition to...
Westmoreland campus clippings: Pitt-Greensburg women rally past Alfred State
What’s a trip to New York without a little excitement? Freshman Madison Scalese made two free throws with one second remaining as the Pitt-Greensburg women’s basketball team rallied from a 10-point deficit in the final 6:58 to defeat host Alfred State, 66-65. Senior Sidney McCully had 16 points, 12 rebounds...
Westmoreland County campus clippings: Seton Hill linebacker earns elite honor
Linebacker Jaylen McDuffie of Seton Hill continues to reap the benefits of a sensational senior football season. McDuffie added another accolade as he was named to the D2Football.com Elite 100 First Team. Just 25 players from across the nation made the first team. McDuffie also was a finalist for the...
Derry grad Logan Patterson embarks on 1st season as college head coach for Mount Aloysius men’s volleyballVideo
Logan Patterson said coaching seemed to come naturally to him. Even as an older player during his days with the Derry and St. Francis (Pa.) volleyball teams, he said he always was trying to bring along the younger players. Patterson since has had several opportunities to do that in the...
New W&J coach has Kiski Area grad Brayden Roscosky focused on PAC wrestling title, NCAAsVideo
When an athlete sets goals, he or she often looks to the accomplishments of predecessors. A number of wins. A time. A statistic. Some benchmark to keep in the crosshairs as motivation. Washington & Jefferson sophomore wrestler Brayden Roscosky doesn’t have to look far. The Kiski Area grad needs only...
Westmoreland County campus clippings: Mt. Pleasant grad Dayton Pitzer takes 2nd at Midlands
You can keep your redshirt, Dayton Pitzer is ready to body slam opponents now. The Pitt heavyweight wrestler and three-time PIAA champion at Mt. Pleasant introduced himself to the college mat congregation with three upset wins en route to the finals at the Ken Kraft Midlands Championships in Hoffman Estates,...
Canceled flights to Las Vegas ground Saint Vincent women’s basketball team
The Saint Vincent women’s basketball team was set for a road trip west for a holiday tournament, but the Bearcats — and their plans — were grounded at the last minute. “The trip was a nightmare,” coach Jimmy Petruska said. “It was a mess from the start.” The Bearcats (7-3)...
Greensburg Salem grad Malia Anderson enters track season on heels of making XC nationals for Cal (Pa.)Video
Malia Anderson called it “falling back in love” with running. The Greensburg Salem grad earned a scholarship to run cross country and track at Georgetown, and after a handful of cross country meets and her indoor track season, the pandemic shut down school and athletic activities. She spent her second...
Westmoreland County campus clippings: GCC grad Tatum Gretz transfers to Youngstown State
Tatum Gretz changed lanes in her college soccer career. The former Greensburg Central Catholic standout is transferring from Villanova to Youngstown State. She saw limited time as a freshman and sought a change of scenery. “We are excited to add a player like Tatum to the Penguin family,” Penguins coach...
Jeannette grad Robert Kennedy to play final college football season at N.C. State
He has been bringing it up since he first fell for the game. Robert Kennedy used to talk about making it to the NFL when he was playing for the Jeannette Midgets youth football organization. When he was slipping tackles and scoring touchdowns in West Jeannette. The multi-talented back mentioned...
Westmoreland campus clippings: Another big award for Saint Vincent’s Irefin
Another postseason honor rolled in for Saint Vincent’s prolific football return specialist, and it’s a big one. Junior Molayo Irefin was named to the D3football.com All-American Third Team after a record-breaking season. He is the Bearcats’ first football All-American since running back Michael Scatena was named Associated Press Little All-America...
Norwin grad Alyssa Laukus already showing promise as freshman with Chatham women’s basketballVideo
Chatham women’s basketball coach David Saur has been at his craft for 15 years and has coached at all three NCAA levels. In that time, he hasn’t had a team like the one he has this season: all freshmen and sophomores. But the early results have shown this group will...
Latrobe grad Trent Holler ready for bowl game with Marshall
“Big Snack” is hungrier for more. Latrobe graduate Trent Holler changed the course of his college football career last November when he left East Carolina for Marshall. At the time, the hulking lineman whose nickname travels with him like a sidecar, said he was “excited to get going and help...
Seton Hill men’s, women’s basketball coaches shaped by Mt. Pleasant roots
They light up like the Christmas tree in the McKenna Center lobby when they reach back into their Mt. Pleasant past and pluck memories that molded them as coaches. Mark Katarski and Ben Wilkins are teammates again, only they aren’t playing for Joe Dunn on the Mt. Pleasant boys basketball...
Latrobe alum Bryce Butler named national basketball player of week by D2CIDA
West Liberty junior swingman Bryce Butler, a Latrobe graduate, received national recognition Tuesday when he was named the Division II Conference Information Directors Association Men’s Basketball Player of the Week. Butler, who has helped lead the No. 4 Hilltoppers to a 9-0 start, had 25 points — on 11-of-16 shooting,...
Westmoreland County campus clippings: Spencer Lee makes return to mat
Spencer Lee is back. The Iowa redshirt senior out of Franklin Regional made his season debut and the nation’s top-ranked 125-pounder posted a 16-5 major decision over Corey Cabanban of Iowa State, recording two takedowns and two four-point near falls to open a 12-2 lead. He finished with 1:23 of...
Westmoreland County campus clippings: Saint Vincent’s Shemar Bennett hits scoring milestone
He scored the first nine points of the game for Saint Vincent and delivered a one-handed dunk. But the basket Shemar Bennett will remember most from a recent victory is the one that put him in the Bearcats’ record book. The 6-foot-6 grad student forward scored on a layup through...
Young roster, new coach to challenge Pitt-Greensburg women’s basketball teamVideo
After a season in which it advanced to the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference title game, the Pitt-Greensburg women’s basketball team is hoping to make another run at the top this winter. With a new coach, Darien Lantz, and a young roster, the task won’t be easy. The 2021-22 Bobcats went...
