Bryce Butler quickly found out what his role would be when he made the jump to Division I college basketball.

He accepted it with a sense of gratitude and committed to being one of the best reserves in the game.

The grad student guard at the College of Charleston came in first for first off the bench in the Coastal Athletic Association.

Butler, a Latrobe graduate, was named the CAA Sixth Man of the Year for a team that ranks eighth in the nation in bench points.

Butler, who played four years at West Liberty and was regarded as one of the top Division II players in the nation, was averaging 8.3 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 20.6 minutes for the No. 14 Cougars (25-7).

Butler had nine points to help the top-seeded Cougars to an 83-59 win over Monmouth in the CAA quarterfinals.

Charleston (25-7) was set to play Towson in the semifinals Monday night.

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Men’s basketball

Seton Hill: Freshman forward Kedrick Curtis was named the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference West Division Rookie of the Year.

Curtis averaged 8.2 points and shot 52% from the field.

Also for the Griffins, senior guard Ryan Meis was named to the All-PSAC Second Team. He led the team in scoring at 12.8 points a game.

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Women’s basketball

Gannon: Freshman Olivia Cernuto (Southmoreland) is headed to the Division II Big Dance.

Gannon (32-2) received an at-large bid to the 64-team tournament after winning the PSAC championship with an 80-65 victory over Lock Haven.

Cernuto started in the title game and had five points in 15 minutes. She is averaging 15.4 minutes a game and is tied for the team lead with 70 assists.

Mercyhurst: Sophomore forward Bailey Kuhns (Greensburg Central Catholic) was named to the All-Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference second team. Kuhns averaged 14.3 points for the Lakers (18-11).

Seton Hill: Senior guard Christiane Frye was named to the All-Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference West Division first team.

Frye, a three-time all-conference selection and former PSAC Rookie of the Year, led the Griffins with a 17.9-point average, 78 assists and 72 steals.

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Wrestling

Army: Sophomore 125-pounder Ethan Berginc (Hempfield/Jeannette) went 2-1 on the final day of the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association Championships to finish third and qualify for the NCAA Division I championships March 21-23 at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City.

Bucknell: Senior 133-pounder Kurtis Phipps (Norwin) advanced to the semifinals of the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association Championships before falling to No. 1 seed Ryan Crookham of Lehigh.

Phipps, though, wrestled back to finish fourth and qualify for the NCAA Division I championships for the second straight year, this time receiving an automatic bid.

He is 25-5 overall after finishing 3-2 at the EIWA tournament,

Buffalo: Redshirt freshman Chase Kranitz (Norwin) advanced to the semifinals of the Mid-American Conference championships at 184 pounds, but fell to the top seed in the weight class.

Kranitz earned a major decision and a decision to advance. He rallied to finish third and is hoping for an at-large bid to the NCAA championships.

Clarion: Junior 285-pounder John Meyers (Greensburg Salem) won a pair of consolation-round matches at the Mid-American Conference championships in Kent, Ohio, and finished in eighth place.

Pitt: Finn Solomon (Franklin Regional) earned a third-place finish at 149 pounds, and Dayton Pitzer (Mt. Pleasant) was a bronze medalist at heavyweight for the Panthers at the ACC championship in Chapel Hill, N.C.

Both finished 3-1 in the tournament and are looking to earn at-large bids to the NCAA Division I championships later this month.

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Men’s volleyball

Penn State: Grad student John Kerr (Derry) had 13 kills as the No. 9 Nittany Lions defeated Cal State Northridge, 3-1.

He followed with a 21-kill effort, which including a .405 hitting percentage, and four digs in a 3-1 victory over No. 12 USC.

PSU fell to No. 4 UCLA in five sets, 3-2, as Kerr hit .297 with 19 kills, two aces and five digs.

Saint Vincent: Sophomore right-side hitter Shawn McSwiggan was named the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference Offensive Athlete of the Week.

McSwiggan had 29 kills, 20 digs and a .343 hitting percentage in a five-set win over Thiel.

He added eight kills in a loss to Arcadia.

Freshman Rocco Marino (Latrobe) also was recognized, as the AMCC Defensive Player of the Week. He had 15 blocks and 13 kills over two matches.

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Men’s indoor track & field

Saint Vincent: Senior Tim Patterson was an All-Mid-Atlantic Region selection by the United Stated Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association. He had the fourth-fastest mile time in the region at 4 minutes, 16.79 seconds.

He won Presidents’ Athletic Conference titles in the 5K (15:04.63) and the 3,000-meter run (9:03.23).

He also was an all-regional runner in cross country.

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Men’s outdoor track & field

Westminster: Grad student Ryan Beard (Franklin Regional) helped the 1,600-meter relay finish third with a time of 3:33.94 for a third-place finish at the Myrtle Beach Challenge.

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Women’s indoor track & field

Edinboro: Sophomore Bernadette Zukina (Norwin) earned U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association All-Region honors in the 400-meter run.

Zukina, who has the fifth-fastest 400 time in the region (57 seconds), won the individual title at the PSAC championships with a mark of 57.83 seconds.

Seton Hill: Grad student Natasha Bernett set a school record in the pentathlon and finished eighth at the NCAA Division II championships.

Her score was 3,830. She finished third in the 60-meter hurdles (8.75 seconds) and was fifth in the shot put (11.23 meters).

Bernett, who was rated 16th coming into the event, earned All-America status. Her point-total is the best in PSAC history.

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Women’s outdoor track & field

Westminster: Sophomore Abigail Painter (Ligonier Valley) ran a leg of the second-place 1,600-meter relay team at the Myrtle Beach Challenge.

The team finished in 4:16.27.

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