Lycoming News

Golf

Men’s Golf Athlete of the Week

Gannon

Abe Holmes

Senior

Barrie, Ontario / Barrie North Collegiate

 

Holmes turned in a memorable performance as he won the individual title among 121 players at the California Vulcan Invitational while helping Gannon win the team title in the 18-team event. He claimed the title in a two-hole playoff with teammate Ryan Ferry by sinking a birdie on the par-3 11th hole at Cedarbrook Golf Course. Holmes shot an opening-round 4-under-par 67. He rallied from a three-shot deficit on the final day by shooting a 6-under 65 while finishing with a 36-hole total of 10-under-par 132. Holmes was an All-PSAC first-team selection in 2021-22 and was the PSAC Men's Golf Athlete of the Year in 2020-21.

Women’s Golf Athlete of the Week

 

Millersville

Emma Schotsch

Sophomore

Philadelphia, Pa.

 

Millersville's Emma Schotsch opened her 2022 season with a runner-up finish in the weather-shortened Vulcan Invitational. As a team, the Marauders placed fourth in a field of 11 teams.

Inclement weather prevented the golfers from completing the scheduled 36 holes, but Schotch's opening round 4-over-par 76 put her within one stroke of Charleston's Iciar Canalejo for medalist honors. It was a career-low round for the Millersville sophomore and the top finish of her young career.

Cross Country

Men’s Cross Country Athlete of the Week

 

Bloomsburg

Parker Jarratt

Junior

West Grove, Pa. / Avon Grace

 

Jarratt was the top scoring runner at the Mansfield Short Course Open on Saturday. Jarratt finished the 6K race at 19:56.7, his career-best in a 6K race. Jarratt led a trio of Huskies that scored 1-2-3 to lead Bloomsburg to a win over Mansfield in the season-opening race.

Women’s Cross Country Athlete of the Week

 

Slippery Rock

Marianne Abdalah

Senior

Wexford, Pa. / Vincentian

 

Abdalah took second overall at the Doug Watts Open hosted by Edinboro, leading Slippery Rock to an upset win over the top ranked team in the Atlantic Region on their home course. She covered the 6,000-meter course in 22:33. Edinboro entered the meet ranked No. 1 in the Atlantic Region, while SRU entered the meet ranked No. 4 in the region.?

Field Hockey

Athlete of the Week

 

West Chester

Valerie Van Kuijck

Midfield

Sophomore

Denbosch, The Netherlands / Pierson School

 

Valerie Van Kuijck enjoyed a strong start to the 2022 season this weekend, scoring a pair of goals and adding three assists in a pair of victories over two top-10 opponents. Against No. 4 Assumption on Friday night, Van Kuijck scored the goal that would prove to be the game-winner in the second quarter before assisting on another goal later in the contest to end the night with three points as West Chester rolled to a 10-1 win to open the season. On Sunday vs No. 8 Bentley, Van Kuijck scored the third goal of the contest after assisting on the second before adding another assist on the fifth and final goal of the game for the Golden Rams as the Purple and Gold rolled to a 5-1 victory over the visiting Falcons.

Defensive Athlete of the Week

 

East Stroudsburg

Olivia Breen

Back

Senior

Stroudsburg, Pa. / Pocono Mountain East

 

Breen helped the Warriors start the season 2-0 and was anchor on the back line, holding opponents to 0 goals and just two total shots on net. Despite playing on the defensive end, the senior scored a pair of goals in a victory over Assumption on Sunday.

Football

Eastern Division Offensive Athlete of the Week

 

Shepherd

Tyson Bagent

Quarterback

Senior

Martinsburg, W.Va. / Martinsburg

 

Shepherd quarterback Tyson Bagent began his 2022 campaign with Harlon Hill candidate numbers. In a 48-7 victory over Southern Connecticut St., Bagent was 33-of-43 for 394 yards and five touchdowns. He garnered a 187.4 efficiency rating in the victory.

 

Eastern Division Defensive Athlete of the Week

 

Shepherd

Dewayne Grantham

Linebacker

Junior

Martinsburg, W.Va. / Martinsburg

 

Grantham led the Rams with eight tackles (4 solos) as the Shepherd defense held S. Conn. State to 210 yards of total offense and just 35 rushing yards. Perhaps his biggest defensive numbers were also that he tallied two interceptions on the day.

 

Eastern Division Special Teams Athlete of the Week

 

Shippensburg

Redd Douglas

Wide Receiver

Sophomore

Youngstown, Ohio / Chaney (Wooster)

 

On Saturday, Shippensburg (0-1) took a 6-3 lead in the first quarter when, following a West Virginia State (1-0) field goal, sophomore Redd Douglas returned the ensuing kickoff 89 yards for a touchdown. It proved to be the only points of the game for the Raiders. Douglas finished with 166 kickoff return yards on three attempts, averaging 55.3 yards per return, and had a punt return for 13 yards.

 

Western Division Offensive Athlete of the Week

 

Slippery Rock

Noah Grover

Quarterback

Senior

Phoenix, Ariz. / Mountain Pointe

 

Grover completed 20-of-28 passes for 276 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions and rushed for 18 yards and one touchdown on three carries to finish with 294 yards of total offense and four touchdowns in The Rock's 42-10 win over Wayne State. Grover was pulled from the game with just under two minutes left in the third quarter. He was not sacked a single time on the way to leading SRU to a win its season opener for the 13th straight season.

 

Western Division Defensive Athlete of the Week

 

Gannon

Chris Farnsworth

Defensive Back

Sophomore

Bristol, Pa. / Milton Hershey

 

Chris Farnsworth led Gannon's strong defensive effort against Charleston with a career-best 12 tackles, including 9 solo. Farnsworth also forced a fumble and broke up a pass. Came up on numerous occasions to support in the run game as Gannon held Charleston to just 41 yards rushing on 37 attempts, and 305 total yards.

 

Western Division Special Teams Athlete of the Week

 

Edinboro

Reed Martin

Punter / Kicker

Sophomore

Plum, Pa. / Plum

 

In a defensive struggle, Martin was key to the Scots success punting six times for an average of 40.3 yards per punt. Four of his punts were downed inside the 20, three inside the 15 and one inside the five. His long punt of 59 yards rolled dead at the 3-yard line. Also handling the kicking duties Martin connected on a 26-yarder in the third quarter for the game-winning score.

Women's Soccer

Western Division Athlete of the Week

 

Mercyhurst

Emily Mijares

Forward

Sophomore

Brooklin, Ontario / Father Leo J. Austin

 

Mijares was pivotal in the Lakers earning two victories in the PSAC West opening week in women’s soccer. The reigning Athlete of the Year had a goal in each of Mercyhurst’s victories during the week. Her goal against Clarion proved to be the game-winner.

 

Western Division Defensive Athlete of the Week

 

Seton Hill

Lindsey Pazdziorko

Goalkeeper

Senior

Harleysville, Pa. / Souderton

 

Pazdziorko recorded two more shutouts this week, her fourth of the season as the Griffins went 1-0-1 in PSAC West play. She recorded a shutout in the Griffins 2-0 win over Clarion. Lindsey recorded 4 saves in the 0-0 tie at Slippery Rock.

 

Eastern Division Athlete of the Week

 

West Chester

Alyson Cutter

Midfield

Junior

Warrington, Pa. / C.B. South

 

Alyson Cutter had a strong two-goal week for West Chester, helping the Golden Rams to a 2-0 start in PSAC East play. Cutter started her week with a PK goal against Shippensburg, which proved to be the game-winner on Wednesday afternoon as the Golden Rams opened league play a perfect 1-0. On Saturday afternoon at Bloomsburg, Cutter found her way into the goal-scoring column once again, scoring the Golden Rams third goal of the contest in the 88th minute, allowing West Chester to hold a comfortable two-goal lead once again as the final minutes of regulation ticked away.

 

Eastern Division Defensive Athlete of the Week

 

Lock Haven

Megan Miller

Goalkeeper

Freshman

Wexford, Pa. / North Allegheny

 

Megan Miller was a brick wall for the Bald Eagles. As a starting true freshman, she was able to save five shots in a close 1-0 thriller against the PSAC champion runner-up Millersville for LHU to stay undefeated at 3-0. The goalie has been a huge factor for LHU as this has become her second straight shutout while making five saves in each game.

 

Men's Soccer

Western Division Athlete of the Week

 

Mercyhurst

Nic Munch

Midfielder

Sophomore

Heidelburg, Germany / Gymnasium Englisches Insutiut

 

Nic Munch tallied five points on the week in a 2-0 week for the Lakers. In the second game of the week against a tough Ashland team, Munch proved to be too much for them as he scored two goals and one assist. One of his scores proved to be the game-winner in the match.

 

Western Division Defensive Athlete of the Week

 

Gannon

Bautista Corti

Defender

Sophomore

Manuel Alberti, Argentina

 

He spearheaded Gannon's defensive effort as the Golden Knights allowed only one goal in two games. Corti's defensive pressure was instrumental in holding Ashland, Ohio, to one goal in Gannon's 1-0 loss on Wednesday and in shutting out Wilmington, Del., 1-0 on Sunday. Corti was the 2021 PSAC West Defensive Player of the Year.

 

Eastern Division Athlete of the Week

 

Shippensburg

Seth Crabbe

Forward

Junior

Kent, England / Wrotham School

 

Seth Crabbe scored four goals in two games as the Raiders opened a season with back-to-back shutouts for the first time in six years, defeating Slippery Rock (3-0) at home and Jefferson (2-0) on the road. In the opener against Slippery Rock, Crabbe scored all three Raider goals, marking the first hat trick by a Raider since Patrick Luebben scored three goals against Lock Haven on Sept. 24, 2017. Crabbe added the second goal in a 2-0 road shutout win at Jefferson on Saturday. Despite only playing two games thus far, Crabbe ranks second in the PSAC in goals to Mercyhurst's Sean Kerrigan (5 goals in 4 games).

 

Eastern Division Defensive Athlete of the Week

 

Shippensburg

Cody Willoughby

Goalkeeper

Sophomore

York, Pa. / York Suburban

 

Shippensburg has started the season with back-to-back shutouts for the first time since 2016 (3-0 home win over Slippery Rock, 2-0 road win at Jefferson), and Willoughby has been the starting goalkeeper in both shutouts for the Raiders. Willoughby made three saves in the win over The Rock and four saves at Jefferson to record his first two collegiate shutouts. By comparison, Shippensburg only recorded one team shutout in the entire 2021 season.

 

Volleyball

Eastern Division Athlete of the Week

 

West Chester

Brynn Dreisbach

Outside Hitter

Freshman

Allentown, Pa. / Parkland

 

Brynn Dreisbach turned in another impressive week for West Chester, averaging 3.47 kills per set while also recording a pair of double-doubles on Saturday afternoon to help West Chester improve to 8-1 on the year. Dreisbach began her week on Tuesday evening vs Holy Family, ending the night with 10 kills, four digs, and a pair of aces to help lead West Chester past HFU and improve to 5-0 on the year. On Friday at the Millersville Tournament vs Nyack and Fairmont State, Dreisbach registered 15 kills over the course of the two matches (8 & 7), while also picking up two more aces, and two more blocks to help the Golden Rams go 1-1 on the afternoon. On Saturday, Dreisbach turned in her best performances to date as a Golden Ram, recording a season-high 18 kills vs Frostburg State before nearly duplicating this performance in the nightcap vs Chestnut Hill, ending with 16 kills in this match. Dreisbach also registered double-digit digs in each match, recording 10 in the first match of the day and 11 in the nightcap while also recording three more aces in the win over Chestnut Hill. Dreisbach ended her week averaging 4.09 points per set, 3.47 kills per set, 1.94 digs per set, and 0.41 aces per set over the course of 17 sets played on the week.

 

Eastern Division Defensive Athlete of the Week

 

Shepherd

Renee Killough

Middle Hitter

Sophomore

Bloomery W.Va. / Hampshire

 

Killough put together an impressive three-game performance for the Rams last week. Defensively, she helped tally 17 blocks. She also added 14 assists, 19 kills and 13 digs in Shepherds victories over Queens (N.Y.), Georgian Court, and Saint Rose.

 

Western Division Athlete of the Week

 

Seton Hill

Paige Cole

Outside Hitter

Junior

Louisville, Ohio / Louisville

 

Cole led the Griffins to a 3-1 week at the Cedarville Tournament. She led SHU with 56 kills in the four matches. Cole added 51 digs, 3 assists and 2 blocks. Paige had three double doubles on the weekend. She had 16 kills and 21 digs in the win over West Liberty. Paige had a season high 19 kills against Saginaw Valley.

 

Western Division Defensive Athlete of the Week

 

California (Pa.)

Alayja Floyd

Middle Hitter

Junior

Pickerington, Ohio / Pickerington Central

 

Floyd recorded a combined 11 blocks over the weekend, as California split four matches at the Concord Classic. She posted a pair of blocks and two kills to start play on Friday against West Georgia before tallying five kills and one block in a 3-0 win versus Salem. The Ohio native then tied her career high of seven kills and two blocks against Bluefield State on Saturday and closed play with six blocks and three kills in five sets against the host Mountain Lions.

ABOUT THE PSAC

Headquartered in Lock Haven, Pennsylvania, the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference is an NCAA Division II Conference comprised of 18 institutions in Pennsylvania and West Virginia. The member institutions are Bloomsburg, California (Pa.), Clarion, East Stroudsburg, Edinboro, Gannon, Indiana (Pa.), Kutztown, Lock Haven, Mansfield, Mercyhurst, Millersville, Pitt-Johnstown, Seton Hill, Shepherd, Shippensburg, Slippery Rock and West Chester.

Original source can be found here.