Westmoreland campus clippings: Seton Hill lacrosse loaded with talent

Seton Hill will take the lacrosse field this season with five All-Americans in the lineup.

The United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association/Warrior/New Balance Division II Preseason All-American team features a handful of honorable mention selections from Seton Hills. They are grad student Logan Maloni at attack, senior Zack Estabrooks at midfield, senior Andrew Clark and junior Christian Krauch on defense and senior Kevin Mo at goalkeeper.

Maloni was an All-Great Midwest Athletic Conference first-team pick in 2019, and Krauch was the GMAC Freshman of the Year two years ago.

The Griffins are ranked No. 5 in the USILA Division II Coaches Preseason Poll. Seton Hill was 6-0 in 2020 before the coronavirus pandemic forced the cancellation of the season.

This season is set to begin Feb. 27 at Chestnut Hill.

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Women’s lacrosse

Seton Hill: The Griffins will open the season as the No. 2 team in the PSAC West in the PSAC Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Preseason Poll. The top five in the West division are Mercyhurst, Seton Hill, IUP, Lock Haven and Slippery Rock.

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Men’s basketball

Saint Vincent: Senior Shemar Bennett had 19 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Bearcats to a 68-66 win over Geneva in the long-awaited PAC season opener. Senior Walter Bonds and freshman Anthony Dillard had nine points apiece, and Dillard pulled down nine rebounds.

For his efforts, Bennett was named the PAC Player of the Week.

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Women’s basketball

Grove City: Junior forward Allison Podkul (Hempfield) had 10 points and 10 rebounds in the Wolverines’ first game of the season, a 67-51 win over Waynesburg. Podkul added five steals to her double-double.

Marietta: Freshman guard Olivia Gribble (Norwin) scored a team-high 17 points, including 5 of 7 3-pointers, to pace the Pioneers (4-2) to a 91-67 victory over Muskingum.

Point Park: Senior point guard Michelle Burns (Hempfield) had 23 points, eight assists and five rebounds to power the Pioneers past Carlow, 77-59. She made five 3-pointers in the win as Point Park moved to 3-3.

Saint Vincent: Opening day finally came for the Bearcats, and they won in impressive fashion. Six players scored in double figures in a 95-61 win over Geneva. Senior Carlee Kilgus had 19 points, junior Taylor Geer added 17, sophomore Anna Betz had 13, senior Katie Kramer and sophomore Madison Weber 12, and sophomore Ella Marconi 10.

Kramer also grabbed 10 rebounds.

Wesminster: Junior guard Magen Polczynski (Norwin) had a team-high 16 points and added five rebounds and four assists as the Titans beat Waynesburg, 65-58.

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Women’s swimming

Gannon: Freshman Francesca Nemetz (Hempfield) won the 500-yard freestyle in 5 minutes, 28.42 seconds, and the 200 freestyle in 2:01.49 in Gannon’s 120-113 victory against Clarion.

Saint Vincent: The shortened season finally opened for the Bearcats, who had multiple winners but lost to Westminster, 183-103. Sophomore Lauren Connors, sophomore Sara Basala, senior Marion D’Aurora and sophomore Cara Luallen won the 200-yard medley relay with a time of 1:56.20; Connors won the 100 (1:00.90) and 200 (2:18.46) backstrokes, and the 200 individual medley; D’Aurora picked placed first in the 200 free (2:03.57); and Basala won the 100 breaststroke (1:13.90).

Washington & Jefferson: Junior Kimber Randolph (Hempfield) was part of the winning 200-yard medley relay as the Presidents handled Bethany, 160-14, for a PAC victory.

In W&J’s season-opening loss to Franciscan, a trio of local swimmers had a strong showing. Randolph won the 200-yard breaststroke in 2 minutes, 50.14 seconds, while freshman Amanda Graves (Penn-Trafford) was victorious is the 100 backstroke (1:05.52) and 100 freestyle (57.65), and freshman Mia Shipley (Hempfield) teamed with Randolph to win the 200 free relay in 1:52.67.

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Men’s volleyball

St. Francis (Pa.): Freshman outside hitter Joey Ferragonio (Norwin) has appeared in four matches this season for the Red Flash and has 10 kills and three assists. Another local player on the roster is sophomore opposite side hitter Jason Geary (Derry).

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Women’s indoor track & field

Carlow: Senior Olivia Miller (Ligonier Valley) was named River States Athletic Conference Field Athlete of the Week two straight weeks after a strong start to the indoor season. Miller has competed in the high jump, long jump, triple jump and pentathlon this season. She ranks fourth in the NAIA in the high jump at 1.65 meters, a mark that broke her school record. Miller set another program mark in the long jump (5.01 meters) and she won the triple jump (10.83 meters) at the IWU Invitational.

She is 11th nationally in the pentathlon with 3,123 points — from the fall season.

Miller won the high jump (1.60 meters), finished second in the long jump (5.07) and sixth in the shot put (9.25) at the Ohio Christian University Invitational as Carlow won the team title. The long jump mark is a school record.

Virginia: Former Hokies standout Bridget Guy (Hempfield) competed in the pole vault at the Doc Hale Virginia Tech Elite meet in Blacksburg, Va. and came away with a personal-best mark of 15 feet, 5 inches. The vault is an Olympic-qualifying standard and is tied for the third-best mark in the world rankings.

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Baseball

Seton Hill: After a strong start to a 2020 season that was cut woefully short by the covid pandemic, Seton Hill has high hopes for this year.

The Griffins, who were 9-4 and set to start PSAC play when they had to shut down, open this season as the preseason favorite in the PSAC West — alongside Mercyhurst — in the coaches poll.

The teams tied with four first-place votes apiece. The rest of the top five are California, Gannon and Slippery Rock.

Seton Hill is scheduled to begin the season March 6 with a home doubleheader against Shippensburg.