WPIAL alums earn PSAC spring honors
A trio of WPIAL alums were among 10 student-athletes from schools in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference selected as spring 2020 Top 10 Award recipients.
Slippery Rock’s Lacey Cohen (tennis, Fox Chapel), Seton Hill’s Tommy Pellis (baseball, Greensburg Central Catholic) and Cal (Pa.)’s Nick Riggle (baseball, Keystone Oaks) were among those chosen by a vote of the league’s sports information directors.
The award, first presented in the 1997-98 academic year, recognizes a combination of both the athletic and academic accomplishments of the five male and five female recipients.
To be eligible for a PSAC Top 10 Award, a student-athlete must have at least a 3.50 cumulative GPA and be a starter or key reserve with athletic credentials for their team.
Cohen, a senior, won the 2018 PSAC singles championship and was selected the 2018-19 PSAC West Athlete of the Year for women’s tennis. The five-time All-PSAC West honoree owns 123 career victories at Slippery Rock which ranks her sixth on the school’s all-time list.
Named to the dean’s list seven times, the public health major graduated last month with the distinction of summa cum laude and a 3.82 grade-point average.
Pellis led the Griffins in hitting (.431), hits (22) and RBIs (15) and tied for the team lead with three home runs at the time the 2020 spring season was canceled.
He hit .348 in 2019, led the team with 45 runs scored, 11 homers and 45 RBIs, tied for the team lead with 57 hits and added seven doubles and 17 stolen bases. After the season, he earned All-PSAC first-team honors and was named to the ABCA/Rawlings All-Region second team.
The senior business administration major capped his academic year with a 3.83 GPA.
Riggle, a senior business administration major, posted a 2-0 record with a 3.72 earned-run average in four starts for the Vulcans in the shortened 2020 season.
The 2019 All-PSAC West second-team member was a four-year conference starter and accumulated at 16-9 career record with a 4.06 ERA in 188 1/3 innings pitched.
He owns 10 career complete games and tied for the PSAC lead with five last year.
Riggle’s academic exploits included this year’s 3.89 GPA.
Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.
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