Weekend College Top 10: Slippery Rock RB Wes Hills shows he belongs

Every Monday, the Tribune-Review will highlight 10 top area college performances from the weekend:

1. Hills earns MVP at NFLPA Collegiate Bowl

Slippery Rock running back Wes Hills ran 10 times for 78 yards and scored his National Team’s only touchdown in a 10-7 loss to the American Team on Saturday at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif. Hills’ performance throughout the week earned him an invitational to the Senior Bowl, where he will be one of three Division II players. Hills was an All-American selection this season after setting the Rock’s single-season rushing record with 1,714 yards.

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2. No. 1 Penn State eases past No. 7 Nebraska

Top-ranked Jason Nolf (Kittanning) defeated second-ranked Tyler Berger by decision at 157 pounds, highlighting the Nittany Lions’ 25-6 victory in the Big Ten on Sunday. Central Catholic graduate Vincenzo Joseph, ranked No. 1 at 165, earned a 2-0 victory over No. 2 Isaiah White for Penn State (7-0, 3-0). Nebraska fell to 8-3, 2-2.

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3. Till leads Rock to 10th straight victory

Junior Micah Till had 20 points and 17 rebounds, boosting Slippery Rock past Mansfield, 87-76, on Friday. Till also became the 14th player in school history to eclipse 1,000 career points and 500 career rebounds. John Warren added 19 points and 10 rebounds for The Rock (12-5, 9-1). Mansfield dropped to 1-15, 0-11.

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4. Duquesne women dominate Richmond

Chassidy Omogrosso (Blackhawk) scored 16 points, helping the Dukes rout the Spiders, 80-54, in an Atlantic 10 game Saturday. Kadri-Ann Lass added 14 points for Duquesne (10-8, 4-1 A-10), which has won three straight and five of six. Dukes coach Dan Burt moved into second place in school history with 124 wins. Richmond dropped to 3-15, 0-5.

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5. RMU women’s hockey powers past Syracuse

Emily Curlett and Amber Rennie scored power-play goals less than two minutes apart in the second period as the Colonials prevailed 5-1 on Saturday to salvage a split in their two-game series with the Orange. Caitlyn Sadowy also scored on the power play for Robert Morris (9-11-4, 7-2-1 College Hockey America), which lost 3-2 in overtime Friday. The first-place Colonials lead the conference by three points.

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6. Seton Hill wrestlers go 3-0 at duals

The Griffins beat three teams, including a come-from-behind 27-18 victory over No. 10 UNC Pembroke, at the Kutztown Duals on Friday. Seton Hill also rallied past East Stroudsburg, 25-20, and routed Queens, 37-4. Against UNC Pembroke, the Griffins recovered from a 15-0 deficit. A pin by Sean Hoover (North Allegheny) at 184 pounds tied the scored at 18-18, and Jake Shaffer (Latrobe) followed with a decision at 197. Jake Beistel (Southmoreland) clinched the victory with a pin in the heavyweight match.

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7. Colonials men’s hockey splits with Canisius

Robert Morris ended a four-game losing skid with a 7-2 road victory Friday, then dropped the series finale 6-4 in the Atlantic Hockey Association on Saturday. On Friday, Nick Lalonde and Daniel Mantenuto scored two goals apiece, helping the Colonials match a season high for goals. On Saturday, Robert Morris (9-14-1, 8-9-1) fell behind 4-1 after two periods. Michael Louria and Alex Tonge scored 43 seconds apart in the final three minutes to get within 5-4, but Canisius (9-12-2, 6-10-1) added an empty-netter.

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8. Penn State runner sets school record at Michigan

Will Henderson’s first-place time of 6.65 seconds in the 60 meters broke the school record for the Nittany Lions at Saturday’s Simmons-Harvey Big Ten Invite in Ann Arbor. The time is tied for fifth best in the nation this winter. Alexis Holmes won the 400 in 54.03 seconds, which also is the fifth-best time in the nation this season.

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9. Pitt runners fare well at Virginia Tech

Dante’ Watson won the 600 meters at the Hokie Invitational, and the women’s 1,600 relay team of Flora Ahiarakwe, Nikki Scherer (Burrell), Breanna Phillips and Sydni Townsend also placed first.

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10. Cal (Pa.) swimming dominates home invitational

The Vulcans women won six events en route to the team title at the Vulcan Invitational on Friday. Kira Goin (200 butterfly), Lauren McAnany (500 freestyle), Kelsie Drennen (200 backstroke) and Arli Tilves (100 freestyle) recorded the individual victories for Cal, and the 200 freestyle relay and 400 medley relay also took first.

Jeff Vella is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Jeff at jvella@tribweb.com or via Twitter @JeffVella_Trib.