District College category, Page 7
Saint Vincent fires football coach Aaron Smetanka, 2 assistants after 1-9 season
After a 1-9 season, Saint Vincent fired head football coach Aaron Smetanka along with offensive coordinator Sam London III and defensive coordinator John Bell, launching an immediate search for new staff members. The remainder of the coaching staff was still listed on the school’s athletics website, but that does not...
Studying with QBs helps Seton Hill receiver Todd Phillips become best deep-ball threat in the country
Seton Hill wide receiver Todd Phillips suffered a dislocated shoulder in spring practice leading up to his senior season in 2023. Subsequent surgery kept him out for the entirety of the fall. While he couldn’t do anything physically on the field, Phillips figured he at least could keep his football...
Saint Vincent men’s basketball sets championship expectations
Saint Vincent enters another college basketball season with high hopes in the third year of D.P. Harris’ second men’s coaching stint with the Bearcats. “It’s business as usual,” Harris said. “We expect to win championships.” After finishing a year ago as runner-up to Geneva in the NCAA Division III Presidents’...
Westmoreland County campus clippings: Longtime coach Tom Harbert to be honored at Saint Vincent
The Saint Vincent wrestling program will honor one of its greats Tuesday night before the season opener against visiting Shippensburg. The man of the hour will be Tom Harbert, the head wrestling, lacrosse and cross country coach at SVC for over 50 years and a advocate for bringing wrestling back...
District college football roundup: Slippery Rock handles Seton Hill
Chris D’Or ran for 107 yards and a touchdown to lead No. 10 Slippery Rock to a 38-20 victory over Seton Hill in PSAC football Saturday. Brayden Long threw for 248 yards and two touchdowns for Slippery Rock (8-1, 5-1). Ky’Ron Craggette rushed for 113 yards and a touchdown for...
Reunited Bilinksy brothers at Pitt-Johnstown headline Westmoreland County players in college basketball
Adam Bilinsky wants to gain traction in his slow-going college basketball career, and the former Norwin standout believes he has found a comfort zone with his new team. Bilinsky transferred from Mercyhurst to Pitt-Johnstown, bringing familiarity of PSAC basketball while also reuniting with his brother, Ty, another Norwin alum and...
Standout freshmen, return of setter Vivian Poach have Saint Vincent volleyball among PAC playoff contenders
As the volleyball regular season winds to a close in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference, the standings are bunched as teams jockey for spots in the conference tournament. The top six teams at the end of the regular season earn spots in the PAC postseason, with the top two receiving a...
Highlands grad Sam Norris among young cornerstones for budding Waynesburg men’s soccer program
Sometimes finding the right college athletic program isn’t about finding the most successful one. It’s about finding the one with the best culture, the best sense of “team.” That’s how Highlands grad Sam Norris arrived at Waynesburg. Currently wrapping up his freshman season with the Yellowjackets men’s soccer team, Norris...
Westmoreland County campus clippings: Penn-Trafford grad Dylan Grabowski commits to Liberty
Dylan Grabowski built some equity playing baseball at Patrick & Henry Community College in Virginia. He honed his skills to better prepare himself for a potential future at the Division I level. He improved, and the bigger schools came around. Grabowski recently committed to one of them. The utility man...
District college football roundup: Washington & Jefferson drops Case Western
Jacob Pugh threw for 340 yards and three touchdowns to lead No. 19 Washington & Jefferson to a 34-21 victory over Case Western in PAC football Saturday afternoon. Zach Cernuto caught 14 passes for 123 yards and a touchdown for the Presidents (8-1, 8-1) while teammate Kobe Derosa ran for...
Slippery Rock rolls past Clarion
Brayden Long threw for 399 yards and four touchdowns to lead Slippery Rock to a 38-22 victory over Clarion in PSAC football Thursday night. Kylon Wilson caught seven passes for 147 yards and two touchdowns and Mike Solomon had four grabs for 85 yards and a score for The Rock...
Westmoreland County campus clippings: Postseason honors pour in for Pitt-Greensburg tennis
Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference women’s tennis power Pitt-Greensburg threw a net over the all-conference honors. The regular season and conference tournament runners-up saw freshman Gabi Moder take conference player and newcomer of the year, while three teammates also received accolades. Freshmen Nancy Jiang and Devon Ulmer were first-team picks in...
Mt. Pleasant grad Jonas King ramps up play on defensive line as Mercyhurst football faces Division I schedule for 1st time
There’s a running joke among some of Jonas King’s Mercyhurst football teammates that he is the second-best athlete in his family. King, a senior defensive lineman for the Lakers, is the older brother of Mt. Pleasant senior swimmer Lily King. Lily King is a multiple WPIAL and PIAA gold medalist...
District college football roundup for Oct. 26, 2024: Cal (Pa.) beats IUP in OT in Coal Bowl
Davis Black scored on a 3-yard run in overtime to give Cal (Pa.) a 16-13 PSAC victory over IUP in the 15th Coal Bowl on Saturday. Nick Andrasi kicked a 39-yard field goal in overtime for IUP (5-3, 2-3). Black threw for 142 yards and a 63-yard touchdown to Eric...
Westmoreland County campus clippings: Latrobe grad Sofia DeCerb stands tall for JMU soccer
Sofia DeCerb was a tall task for opposing soccer players when she guarded the net at Latrobe — literally, she’s 6-foot tall. Now, she is stopping shots at James Madison, and other teams also have to shoot low. DeCerb, a redshirt freshman, has taken over the position for the Dukes...
Athleticism, versatility allow Hempfield grad Sean Knight to excel at different positions along Cal (Pa.) offensive line
Every offensive lineman has the same dream: to score a touchdown. And who can blame them? The guys who do all the grunt work wouldn’t mind a little glory. Cal (Pa.) right tackle Sean Knight has come close. He has lined up at tight end for the Vulcans. He even...
Apollo-Ridge grad Emily Bonelli back to form for Pitt-Greensburg women’s soccer after missing 2 seasons with injuries
In the second match of the season, Pitt-Greensburg’s Emily Bonelli scored what turned out to be the only goal in a 1-0 Bobcats victory. The goal was significant for several reasons: • It provided UPG with its first victory of the 2024 season. • It gave the Bobcats a win...
District college football roundup: Cal (Pa.) knocks off No. 6 Slippery Rock
Davis Black threw for 250 yards and a touchdown and rushed for another score to help Cal (Pa.) to a 28-7 upset of No. 6 Slippery Rock in a battle for first place in the PSAC West Division on Saturday. Black hit Eric Willis III for a 65-yard touchdown that...
A-K Valley Campus Clippings: Pitt’s Braylon Lovelace breaks out vs. Cal
Pitt’s Braylan Lovelace heard his name called several times in Saturday’s 17-15 victory over California in an ACC game at Acrisure Stadium. The Leechburg graduate and Panthers sophomore linebacker, making his fourth start of the season, recorded a season-high seven tackles, including two sacks, as Pitt improved to 6-0 and...
Westmoreland County campus clippings: Penn-Trafford grad Nick Turowski wins Red Flash Invitational
Nick Turowski knew he could compete at the NCAA Division I level, but winning might take some time. OK, maybe not. Turowski, a freshman golfer at West Virginia and a Penn-Trafford graduate, won the Red Flash Invitational at Sunnehanna Country Club in Johnstown. He was the only player to finish...
U.S. born Mia Lindborg learned soccer while living in Abu Dhabi, now tries to earn regular role with Seton Hill women’s team
Second grader Mia Lindborg got the news all children at that age dread: We’re moving. Her father, Ryan, a project manager for Cleveland Clinic, had been tasked with spearheading the development of a new facility, and that would require his family to relocate. Move? Away from the familiar surroundings of...
Plum grad Tristan Ralph ramping up contributions for Pitt-Johnstown men’s soccer
Tristan Ralph wasn’t the first player from the Plum boys soccer team’s Class of 2024 to be recruited by Pitt-Johnstown. Two of his teammates, Ethan Andrejeski and Tyler Yurisinec, had connected with UPJ coach Eric Kinsey during their junior years and set the wheels in motion to potentially join the...
On campus: Gateway grad Courtney Jackson shines at Arkansas State
Courtney Jackson again has shown himself to be a top receiving threat for the Arkansas State football team. The Gateway graduate, who also returns punts for the Red Wolves, caught 16 passes for 169 yards through five games. He recorded a season-best five receptions for 69 yards in the opener...
District college football roundup: Led by dominant defense, Grove City knocks off No. 10 CMU
Grove City’s defense held No. 10 Carnegie Mellon to minus-9 yards rushing, intercepted two passes and scored on a fumble recovery in a 17-10 victory in PAC football Saturday. Ryan Montgomery scored the defensive touchdown by recovering a fumble forced by Ben Bladel at the 3-yard line. Logan Pfeuffer threw...
Plum grad Magnusen goes into Penn State Behrend Hall of Fame for volleyball accomplishments
Phil Pisano has a photo on the wall of his office at Penn State Behrend, a memento from his time as the school’s women’s volleyball coach. It depicts the team in the aftermath of its victory in the 2013 Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference title match. Pisano, now the men’s volleyball...
