District College category, Page 46

Brayden Thimons’ debut football season at Westminster lasted just five games, but he made the most out of each snap. The Highlands product was among the nation’s leaders in sacks and tackles for a loss and was recognized for his stellar performance late last month when he was tabbed a...

Seton Hill baseball coach Marc Marizzaldi was honored by the American Baseball Coaches Association as the ABCA/ATEC NCAA Division II Atlantic Regional Coach of the Year. Marizzaldi led the Griffins, who finished 39-8, to their most successful season. They were Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference West Division champions, PSAC runners-up and...

West Hempfield seventh grader Alex Hayes wasn’t getting the kind of practice time he had hoped for. Coronavirus concerns shut down his season, so his parents sent him to baseball camp at Westmoreland County Community College this week. Hayes said he’s learned a lot. “I learned proper way to field...

Carlow senior Olivia Miller earned the respect of her opponents during the indoor and outdoor track and field seasons. Now, she is being held in high regard by every athletic director in the River States Conference. Miller, a Ligonier Valley graduate, was named the RSC Female Athlete of the Year...

Bridget (Guy) Williams is headed to the U.S. Olympic trials women’s pole vault finals after clearing 14 feet, 9 inches during qualifying Thursday in Eugene, Ore. Latrobe’s Hanna Green, meanwhile, advanced to the semifinals in the 800-meter run. Williams, a Hempfield grad, needed to finish in the Top 12 to...

Michael Krauza never gave up his dream of playing baseball in college or on the professional level. The Murrysville native and Franklin Regional grad believes God has helped direct him through some tough times over the years. His path was different than most, but the results were favorable. Krauza earned...

Carlow senior Olivia Miller earned the respect of her opponents during the indoor and outdoor track and field seasons. Now, she is being held in high regard by every athletic director in the River States Conference. Very high regard. Miller, a Ligonier Valley graduate, was named the RSC Female Athlete...

John Gay IV did not plan to announce his next college move on Father’s Day, but his coincidental timing would have made his late dad proud. Gay IV, a former Penn-Trafford football standout who recently put his name in the NCAA transfer portal as part of his plan to leave...

Junior Sam Hartman found his way into the fast lane all season for the Seton Hill track and field team. That meant he was probably on the fast track to postseason accolades, too. Sure enough, the two-time national champion earned himself the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Athlete of the Year....

Giovanni Scott didn’t get to pitch much for Penn-Trafford High School during his junior season, and his senior season was wiped out by the coronavirus. But Scott still wanted to pitch in college. He saw limited action his freshman season at Pitt-Johnstown but knew he had to improve if he...

The NCAA transfer portal has been a happening place for college athletes from Westmoreland County. A number of area names have popped up in the portal, which essentially is a free agent pool for players looking to start over and latch on with a new program. Colleges can see the...

Palmer Jackson’s late charge at the 68th Sunnehanna Amateur came up a little short Saturday, but the Franklin Regional grad and Notre Dame sophomore sure can build off his performance. After carding a tournament-low 6-under-par 64,which included nine birdies, during Friday’s third round, Jackson added six more birdies during a...

In many ways, Anthony DelleFemine is living proof that to gain something, you have to give something up. But how much can one man lose before he reaches a breaking point? There are days when the former Norwin football standout believes in curses and voodoo dolls. Days when he asks,...

Jake Seymour’s tributes to his departed teammate came naturally. The 2016 Hampton graduate wrote Tre Cunningham’s name on his cleats and on his baseball cap. He ensured Cunningham’s No. 22 La Roche jersey was at every game, a testimonial to the memory of his close friend. “That was kind of...

Returning Sunnehanna Amateur champion Preston Summerhays has work to do if he wants to defend his title. Summerhays shot a 1-over par 71 during Day 1 of the 68th Sunnehanna Amateur Wednesday at Sunnehanna Country Club in Johnstown, and finds himself five shots behind leaders Max Steinlechner and Jerry Ji,...

With a playing resume that is, in the words of NBC Sports’ Gary Koch, “Better than most,” Rachel Rohanna Virgili is going to try her hand at coaching. The LPGA touring pro, who starred at Ohio State and Waynesburg High School, was named head women’s golf coach at Waynesburg University....

Palmer Jackson and Mark Goetz enter the 68th Sunnehanna Amateur on a roll. Now can two of the top golfers in Western Pennsylvania compete against some of the best golfers across the country, including returning champion Preston Summerhays? The four-day tournament begins Wednesday at Sunnehanna Country Club in Johnstown. Jackson...

One of the top hitters in the country at the junior college level, Tommy Kegerreis was a bright spot for the Westmoreland County Community College baseball team this spring. The freshman outfielder from Franklin Regional was recognized for his upstart season by being named to the American Baseball Coaches Association/Rawlings...

Hampton graduate Jason Goodman, the 2021 PSAC decathlon champion, already competes in the most physically demanding endeavor in track and field. Next year he will be even busier. Goodman, who earned his undergraduate degree last month, will return for his final year of eligibility at Slippery Rock while pursuing his...

Calen Cummins brought modest expectations to Westminster when he arrived at the middling NCAA Division III golf program. The 2019 Hampton graduate had shot “in the 100s” as a ninth-grader and never advanced past WPIAL sectionals during his four years as a Talbot. Westminster was without a conference title since...

CARY, N.C. — Seton Hill baseball coach Marc Marizzaldi said that his team was running on fumes after a second round loss to Angelo State on Tuesday at the Division II College World Series. Sixteen hours later, its tank hit empty. Worn down by a grueling regional and the humid...

Derek Orndorff is getting to be a regular on ESPN. The Seton Hill senior did it again, making another spectacular sliding catch in center field Tuesday night during the Division II College World Series in Cary, N.C. to once again make SportsCenter’s Top Plays. This time he checked in at...

CARY, N.C. — It took the Seton Hill baseball team five innings to get its first hit against Angelo State at the Division II College World Series on Tuesday. But even after the Griffins’ bats finally awoke, the hits still didn’t come at the right times. Coach Marc Marizzaldi’s second-seeded...

Brody Jackson will miss his players and his former program. What he won’t miss are the long nights, the solo recruiting trips and the frequent drives from here to Ohio. Jackson’s life had been in transit for too long and it was time for a change. He resigned as the...

Maddie Uschock is rebooting her college softball career. The former Hempfield ace is leaving Dominican, a Division II program in Orangeburg, N.Y., and will transfer to Shippensburg. Uschock, who just completed her junior year, said she needed a change. “Despite really loving my friends, teammates and professors, the environment wasn’t...