Westmoreland Campus Clippings: Hempfield wrestler Vance is national runner-up for Pitt-Johnstown

Pitt-Johnstown redshirt junior Isaiah Vance (Hempfield) finished as a national runner-up at the NCAA Division II wrestling championships in Indianapolis.

Vance is now a two-time All-American.

The fifth seed, Vance won with a couple of decisions and a major decision to reach the finals, then lost to Maryville’s Ryan Heerman, 3-2 (tiebreaker), in the title match.

Redshirt sophomore Noah Gnibus (Mt. Pleasant) went 0-2 at nationals for the Mountain Cats.

Bucknell: Grad student Kurt Phipps (Norwin) will compete as the No. 25 seed in the NCAA Division I championships Thursday through Saturday at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.

It will be his third trip to the national tournament. The 133-pounder has more than 100 career wins and is tied for ninth in program history in wins with 107.

Ohio: Redshirt junior Garrett Thompson (Franklin Regional) snagged the No. 4 seed at 174 pounds for the NCAA Division I championships March 20-22 at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.

Thompson (24-5) went undefeated in Mid-American Conference matches this season on the way to winning his first conference title.

Pitt: Redshirt sophomore Dayton Pitzer (Mt. Pleasant) is seeded No. 10 at heavyweight, and redshirt sophomore Briar Priest (Hempfield) is No. 30 at 141 pounds for the NCAA Division I championships March 20-22 at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.

Another local redshirt sophomore, Finn Solomon (Franklin Regional), is an alternate at 149.

Women’s basketball

Allegheny College: Freshman Ava Kobus (Norwin) helped the Gators win the ECAC Tournament championship.

The 6-foot swing guard scored 12 points and pulled down nine rebounds in a 56-52 victory over William Paterson in the championship in Wayne, N.J.

Allegheny finished 21-8 for its first 20-win season since 2000-01.

Kobus played in 28 games, starting two, and averaged 7.8 points and 4.5 rebounds in 20.3 minutes.

Harvard: Freshman Alayna Rocco (Trafford/North Catholic) scored eight points as the Crimson (24-4) claimed the Ivy League championship with a 74-71 victory over No. 1 seed Columbia.

Harvard will play in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2007.

Rocco has played in all 28 games, giving the Crimson 14.6 minutes a game off the bench. Her 32 3-pointers are second on the team.

Robert Morris: Standout Bailey Kuhns (Greensburg Central Catholic) has transferred from Mercyhurst to Robert Morris.

RMU announced her signing this week.

The junior forward leaves the Northeast Conference for the Horizon League after averaging 14.3 points and 5.1 rebounds. She was an All-NEC first teamer this season for the Lakers.

Seton Hill: Sophomore forward Mia Kalich was named to the Division II Conference Commissioners Association All-Atlantic Region Second Team.

Kalich was averaging 11.9 points and 10.7 rebounds for the Griffins going into the NCAA Division II Tournament. She had 16 double-doubles in 29 games and led the PSAC in steals (117).

A memorable season came to a close for the Seton Hill in the second round of the NCAA Division II Tournament.

Despite 29 points from junior Hallie Cowan, the Griffins fell to Gannon, 80-70, in the Atlantic Region semifinals at Edinboro to finish 24-7.

The 24 wins are a program record since the Griffins joined the NCAA.

Men’s basketball

Coker: Sophomore guard Landon Butler (Latrobe) played in all 29 games this season and averaged 7.8 points, 2.6 rebounds and 2.4 assists.

Women’s track & field

Michigan: Sophomore Liz Tapper (Hempfield) finished 12th in the shot put with a throw of 55 feet, 5.5 inches, earning second-team All-American honors at the NCAA Championships in Virginia Beach, Va.

Baseball

Mercyhurst: Several Norwin alums are contributing for the Lakers (2-13, 1-2), who are now a Division I program.

Senior outfielder Eric Chorba was leading the team with a .275 batting average and 14 hits, senior utility man Jayden Walker had 10 hits, senior catcher Landon DiBeradin had 11 starts and freshman Ty Cupp had logged three games.

Senior pitcher Jacob Bazala, meanwhile, was 0-2 with a 6.75 ERA and a team-high 28 strikeouts in 16 innings.

Saint Vincent: SVC (6-7) took three out of four games from Newport News Apprentice, including the last two of the series.

The Bearcats won the third game 2-0 as grad student Tyler Dancu (Hempfield) earned a shutout and complete-game victory as he scattered seven hits, struck out three and walked one.

Senior Kyle Belmont and junior Dylan Schmude had doubles.

In Game 2, a 10-9 win, junior T.J. Bucy had two doubles and three RBIs, . Freshman Nathan Whiteman and sophomore Nolan Hurd had two hits and two RBIs apiece.

Seton Hill: Brady McGuire went 4 for 5 with a home run, two runs and two RBIs, and Owen Henne, Owen Mandler, Jakob Haynes (Penn-Trafford) and Max Mandler had two hits each for the Griffins (8-3) in an 11-1 win over Findlay.

The Griffins (12-3) then earned a four-game sweep of D’Youville to stretch their winning streak to five.

Grad studnet Julian Minaya and redshirt sophomore Luke Deschenes combined to pitch a six-hitter as both struck out three and walked no one in nine innings.

Owen Mandler doubled and tripled.

Redshirt junior Ian Korn was named the PSAC West Pitcher of the Week. Korn moved to 4-0 with a complete-game win over D’Youville. He struck out 11 with no walks and allowed three hits in the 4-0 shutout.

Yale: Senior Jake Williams (Franklin Regional) is leading the Bulldogs with a .390 batting average through 11 games (16 for 41) with four doubles, a triple, a home run and 11 RBIs.

Softball

Ashland: Sophomore outfielder Merin Metikosh (Belle Vernon) went 2 for 3 with two runs and an RBI in a 14-10 win over Cal (Pa.).

She added two more hits, and sophomore shortstop Sophia Smithnosky (Mt. Pleasant) hit a solo homer, in a 8-5 win over the Vulcans for a two-game sweep.

Bloomsburg: Senior Callie Sowers (Hempfield) is 3-1 with a 1.12 ERA and has 35 strikeouts through 25 innings.

Sophomore Josie Straigis (Latrobe) was hitting .389 with six runs for the Huskies.

Penn State: Senior Haylie Brunson (Mt. Pleasant) went 3 for 4 with a home run, two RBIs and two runs in a 13-7 loss to Northwestern.

She then went 2 for 3 with her sixth home run of the season and scored two runs in a 5-1 win over Minnesota.

Brunson had three multi-hit games over the weekend. She it batting .360 with a team-leading 23 RBIs.

Pitt-Johnstown: Junior Mia Smith (Penn-Trafford) was named the PSAC West Pitcher of the Week.

Smith tossed a two-hitter with five Ks as the Mountain Cats won 3-0 over Charleston.

Saint Vincent: The Bearcats ran their winning streak to six with their third straight doubleheader sweep, topping Penn State Fayette, 12-1 and 14-0.

Freshmen powered the pair of wins.

Freshman Lily Koller went 3 for 4 with two RBIs and two runs, and freshman Josey Michalski (Norwin) had four RBIs in the first game.

In Game 2, April Earnest, freshman Haley Hamilton and freshman Taylor Williams all had two hits.

Seton Hill: Redshirt sophomore Kassidy Wittig had three hits, senior Grace Paredes hit two homers and had three RBIs, and senior Brooke Cleland (Penn-Trafford) also homered in an 8-2 win over Belmont.

Cleland hit her first career grand slam in a 12-11 loss to Belmont Abbey as the Griffins moved to 9-6 on the season.

Cleland is leading the Griffins with a .417 average. She has more than 100 hits and 100 RBIs in her career.

Washington & Jefferson: Junior Hannah Allen (Penn-Trafford) went 4 for 5 with two runs and an RBI in an 11-0 victory over Gordon.

Westminster: Freshman Cheyenne Piper (Ligonier Valley) was sharp in relief, allowing four hits and striking out 11 in five innings as the Titans fell to Saint Mary’s, 6-5.

Senior Sydney Lokay (Norwin) had a double in the loss for Westminster.

Piper picked up a win in relief with four Ks and four walks in two innings in a 3-2 victory over Russell Sage in Kissimmee, Fla. Lokay walked and scored in the win.

Lokay had a two-out, two-run double in a 9-0 win against Mount Saint Mary.

Piper earned a complete-game win, allowing one unearned run and four hits and striking out eight, in a 7-1 win over Ohio Wesleyan.

Men’s tennis

Saint Vincent: The Bearcats continued their fast start to the season, defeating Waynesburg, 7-0, to move to 10-1.

Sophomore Braden Yokopenic, senior Matthew Sandusky, senior Brian Lee (Penn-Trafford), senior Jack Citrone, sophomore Brady Johnson (Norwin) and Kyle Murray posted singles wins.

Men’s volleyball

Geneva: Sophomore Owen Kelley (Hempfield) leads the team with 216 kills (3.32 per set) and 254.5 points. His 104 digs rank second on the team.

Grove City: Freshman Keith Otto (Penn-Trafford) had a team-high 11 kills in a 3-0 loss to Saint Vincent.

Penn State: Senior Will Kuhns (Hempfield) had eight kills and three service aces as No. 19 Penn State fell to No. 5 USC, 3-0. Kuhns added 15 kills in a 3-2 loss to Ball State.

Saint Vincent: Junior Shawn McSwiggen posted 12 kills and 14 digs, junior Zebadiah Wyant had nine kills and 11 digs and freshman Jackson Genicola (Norwin) had 24 assists in a 3-1 win over Chatham in PAC action.

McSwiggen had 16 kills, Wyant added 13 and Genicola had 36 assists in a 3-0 win over Grove City.

The Bearcats swept the conference awards this week. McSwiggen was named the PAC Offensive Player of the Week, Weyant took home the weekly defensive honor and Genicola was the top newcomer.

Men’s lacrosse

Seton Hill: Junior midfielder Wade Brunelle was named to the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association Division 2 Team of the Week.

Brunelle scored 10 goals and had two asists in a pair of wins for Seton Hill, including a seven-goal game against No. 19 Indianapolis.

Women’s lacrosse

Seton Hill: Grad student Skylar Orlowski had three goals and two assists, junior Mila Udovicic also had a hat trick and junior Sydney Maruskio chipped in two goals in a 14-11 win over No. 19 Florida Tech.

Westminster: Freshman midfielder Ava Kessler (Norwin) registered a career-high seven points on six goals and an assist in a 20-3 win over Greensboro.