Westmoreland campus clippings: Norwin's Harding makes 1st start for Pitt in NCAA Tournament

Anthony Harding teetered some when he was making his college decision coming out of Norwin.

The soccer standout first chose Penn State before flipping to Pitt.

Now he has found his way into the starting lineup for the Panthers (10-7-2).

Harding made his starting debut as Pitt knocked off Lehigh, 2-0, in the opening around of the NCAA Tournament.

Harding, who has moved to defender, scored a goal in his season debut against Howard earlier in the season.

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Women’s soccer

Seton Hill: Senior midfielder Katie Kimmich (Franklin Regional) was named to the D2CCCA All-Atlantic Region Second Team. Kimmich also joined teammate Italia Biondi (Penn-Trafford), a senior forward, on the All-PSAC West team.

Kimmich was a first-team selection after scoring six goals and tallying 17 points. Biondi led the Griffins with eight goals and 20 points.

West Virginia: Redshirt freshman defender Mackenzie Aunkst (Penn-Trafford) has played in 18 games and taken three shots for WVU (12-7-2), which reached the Round of 16 of the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time in five seasons.

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Men’s basketball

Lehigh: Freshman guard Reed Fenton (Latrobe) scored a season-high 14 points and added four rebounds and four assists in an 87-69 win over Misericordia.

Long Island Brooklyn: Senior guard Julian Batts (Jeannette) is averaging 7.0 points and 2.8 rebounds in five games for the Blackbirds (1-4).

Pitt-Greensburg: Junior guard Matt Johnson scored a career-high 27 points, and junior guard Cam Seigfreid (Penn-Trafford) added 20 points and eight rebounds as UPG (2-1) defeated Bethany, 81-60.

Washington & Jefferson: Junior guard Zach Queen (Hempfield) scored 12 points on four 3-pointers, in an 81-74 win over Hiram.

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Women’s basketball

Cal (Pa.): Senior Monica Burns (Hempfield) had a team-high 13 points and seven rebounds to lead 13th-ranked Cal (6-0) to a 79-56 win over Lock Haven.

Burns, a transfer from Wheeling Jesuit, leads the Vulcans with an 18.8 scoring average.

Grove City: Sophomore Allison Podkul (Hempfield) has played a key role in the Wolverines’ 5-0 start, their best since 1982-83. Podkul has started all five games and is averaging 10.6 points and 6.0 rebounds.

She had 12 points and eight rebounds in a 75-54 win at Pitt-Greensburg.

Point Park: Junior guard Michelle Burns (Hempfield) is not new to late-game heroics, having won games before for the Pioneers, so her latest performance should not come as a surprise.

Burns made a tying 3-pointer with six seconds to play, then hit a go-ahead free throw after Washington Adventist was whistled for a technical for calling a timeout it did not have, as Point Park won, 67-66. Burns finished with a game-high 25 points.

Seton Hill: The Griffins moved to 4-0 with a PSAC-opening victory, 71-60 over Mansfield as senior Lexi Civittolo had 13 points, junior Cheyenne Trest added 12 and junior Katie Nolan chipped in 10.

Westminster: Sophomore guard Magen Polczynski (Norwin) had 13 points, five assists and four steals as the Titans downed Allegheny, 61-48, to move to 5-0 for the season.

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Women’s swimming

Saint Vincent: Freshman Lauren Connors was named PAC Rookie of the Week after she posted the conference’s fastest time in the 200-yard backstroke (2:07.44) at the Franklin & Marshall Invitational.

Washington & Jefferson: Sophomore Kimber Randolph (Hempfield) placed 11th at the Oberlin Invitational in the 100-yard backstroke in a time of 1:05.04.

Cal (Pa.): Sophomore Rylee Jackson (Latrobe) finished 10th in the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 24.31 seconds at the Magnus Cup hosted by Cleveland State. Her mark of 24.20 seconds in prelims is the fifth-fastest in program history.