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 out of Penn-Trafford will continue his career at Liberty University.

Grabowski, the 2023 TribLive Westmoreland player of the year, hit .426 with nine home runs, 32 runs and 25 RBIs in 44 games last season.

As a pitcher, he went 8-3 with a 4.92 ERA, a 1.32 WHIP and 57 strikeouts in 56 2/3 innings.

Duquesne: Grad linebacker Gianni Rizzo (Norwin) collected six tackles as the Dukes took down Mercyhurst, 31-24.

For Mercyhurst, sophomore linebacker Eli Binakonsky (Hempfield) had three stops, 1.5 for loss, and broke up a pass.

Edinboro: Junior linebacker Tristan Waldier (Yough) had seven tackles in a 24-22 win over Seton Hill.

For the Griffins, senior Jake Cruz passed for 312 yards and three touchdowns, and grad student Todd Phillips and sophomore Cody Rubrecht (Greensburg Salem) each went over 100 yards receiving on four catches apiece.

Phillips had 159 yards and a touchdown, while Rubrecht had 101 yards and two scores.

Washington & Jefferson: Senior tight end Zac Cernuto (Southmoreland) pulled in a career-high 14 receptions for 123 yards and a touchdown as the Presidents (8-1) pushed past Case Western Reserve, 34-21.

William & Mary: Senior safety Marcus Barnes (Jeannette) made six tackles and intercepted a pass and returned it 20 yards as the Tribe routed North Carolina A&T, 45-7.

Women's tennis

Saint Vincent: Junior Carolina Walters (Latrobe) was named the PAC Player of the Year. The Bearcats' No. 1 singles and doubles standout finished 15-0 and extended her singles winning streak to 23 matches.

Walters is 43-6 in singles for her career.

Saint Vincent had several all-conference selections, as well. In addition to Walters, who made first-team singles, senior Abby Donnelly was a singles honorable mention.

Walters and grad student Isabella Lane (Burrell) made honorable mention for doubles, along with juniors Marisa Hooper and Emily Pierce (Latrobe), along with seniors Lydia Lieb and Donnelly.

Men's cross country

Pitt-Greensburg: Senior Dylan Ackerman earned all-conference recognition at the AMCC Championships by placing ninth in a time of 29 minutes, 44.9 seconds at the Westmoreland County Fairgrounds.

Saint Vincent: Senior Tim Patterson became the sixth Bearcats' runner to win a PAC championship, crossing the finish line ahead of the pack in a time of 25:35. He was named the conference MVP.

SVC finished third in the team standings.

Women's cross country

St. Francis (Pa.): Freshman Rosemary Gaydos (Norwin) was named the Northeast Conference Rookie of the Year. Gaydos placed 19th at the conference championships in Connecticut, breaking the 19-minute mark for the first time at 18:52.2.

Saint Vincent: The Bearcats placed third at the PAC Championships with 75 points, slotting five runners inside the top 30.

Freshman Grace Neubert finished third in 22:32. She was named the PAC Newcomer of the Year,

Men's soccer

Pitt-Greensburg: With a 1-0 victory at Hilbert (N.Y.), the Bobcats advanced to the AMCC semifinals.

Nick Ricciardi scored the lone goal on an assist from Arlo McIntyre. Both are freshmen.

Sophomore Bret Barnes made seven saves for the Bobcats (6-11-1).

UPG will visit No. 1 Alfred State (N.Y.) on Wednesday.

This will be the Bobcats' third straight semifinal appearance.

Women's soccer

Saint Vincent: Grad student Tanisha Grewal scored two goals to power the Bearcats to their first-ever win in the PAC playoffs, 2-1 over Bethany.

Sophomore Jordan Kirkwood (Valley) and sophomore Cori Bieber had assists in the victory.

Westminster: Senior forward Brooke Horvath (Franklin Regional) scored three goals and had an assist to top the 100-point mark for her career as the Titans (10-5-1, 9-0-1) cruised past Washington & Jefferson, 6-1.

In 68 games — she started 64 — Horvath has 105 points on 39 goals and 27 assists.

Youngstown State: Junior Emma Rigone (Norwin) scored a goal as the Penguins (5-11-2, 3-7 Horizon League) wrapped up the regular season with a 3-1 win against Robert Morris.

Women's volleyball

Saint Vincent: Freshman Meegan Williams and senior Vivian Poach recorded double-doubles, Williams with 11 kills and 15 digs, and Poach with 45 assists and 10 digs, as SVC downed Franciscan, 3-1.

Men's swimming

Clarion: Sophomore Henry Miller (Southmoreland) won the 100-yard butterfly in 52.30 seconds, and also led off the winning 400 medley relay (3:28.39) in a 115-70 victory over Shippensburg.

Senior Austin Prokopec (Penn-Trafford) was part of the first-place 200 freestyle relay (1:26.48).

Washington & Jefferson: Sophomore Daniel Jeffries (Hempfield) won the 100-yard backstroke in 56.74 seconds, while sophomore Nathanil Harden (Hempfield) was part of the winning 200-yard freestyle relay in 1:38.42.

Women's swimming

: Senior Jordan Kutchak (Norwin) was on the 400-yard relay that finished second in 4:12.02 in a 136-50 win over Shippensburg.

Saint Vincent: Senior Abby Leskovansky was named the PAC Swimmer/Diver of the Week. She picked up two individual wins and pitched in for two relay wins as the Bearcats defeated Penn State Altoona.

Leskovansky won the 100-yard backstroke (1:02.20) and the 100 freestyle (55.46), while swimming the anchor leg for the 200 medley and 200 freestyle relays.

Washington & Jefferson: Sophomore Morgan Baughman (Mt. Pleasant) finished second in two events in a 143-135 victory against Chatham. She posted a time of 59.17 seconds in the 100-yard freestyle, and a 2:13.99 mark in the 200 freestyle.

Army: Junior 133-pounder Ethan Berginc (Jeannette) began the season on a high note by winning a title at the Princeton Open. He went 4-0, including three wins that included bonus points.

Berginc was an NCAA qualifier last season after taking third at the EIWA Championships.

Bucknell: Fifth-year 133-pounder Kurt Phipps (Norwin) opened the season with a technical fall of 16-0 in 5 minutes, 48 seconds as the Bison defeated Kent State, 35-9.

Phipps, who has 86 career wins, is a two-time NCAA qualifier and a three-time EIWA placewinner.

: Junior Billy McChesney (Greensburg Salem) took sixth place at the Princeton Open in the 285-pound bracket.

He finished 3-2 in the tournament.

: Redshirt sophomore Briar Priest (Hempfield) finished fourth at 141 pounds as the Clarion Open. He won his first three matches before falling in the semifinals.

Saint Vincent: The Bearcats, fresh off a PAC title in their return to action after 49 years away, are favored to repeat, according to conference coaches.

Coach Dom Nania (Hempfield) brings back sophomore Chase Brandebura, the conference newcomer of the year and 165-pound champion, along with sophomore Charlie Mesich (Hempfield), the 157-pound champion.

Washington & Jefferson is No. 2 in the preseason poll, followed by No. 3 Thiel, No. 4 Waynesburg and No. 5 Hiram.

Others to watch include sophomore Logan Bechtold (Kiski Area) at 158, junior Kyle McCollum at 133 and junior Ryan Weinzen (Norwin) at 184.

Junior Dom Hartman (Penn-Trafford) returns for Thiel at 174, while sophomore Christian McChesney (Greensburg Salem) is back for Washington & Jefferson at 285.

McChesney placed fifth with a 4-1 record at the season-opening Ned McGinley Invitational in Wilkes-Barre.

Seton Hill: The Griffins opened the season by going 1-1 at the Edinboro Duals.

A 51-6 win over Pitt-Bradford was followed by a 47-0 loss to Edinboro.

In the opening match, freshman Don Lindsey (125 pounds), freshman Jacob Braun (133/Latrobe), sophomore Niko Ferra (141/Burrell), Christian Hirak (157) and grad student Brendan Finnerty (197) all recorded pins.

Men's basketball

Westmoreland County Community College: The Wolfpack opened the season with a 96-85 loss to Penn State Scranton. Freshman Jaisean Blackman (Monessen) had 27 points and nine rebounds to lead WCCC.

The Wolfpack, coached by Norwin alum and former Yough athletic director Scott Morrison, is loaded with local talent.

Some players include sophomore Marvel McGowan (Greensburg Salem), a transfer from Division II West Virginia Wesleyan; sophomore Ty Travillion (Yough); and freshmen Lorenzo Gardner (Monessen), Nate Papuga (Derry), Colin Masten (Franklin Regional) and Ryan Burkart (Greensburg Salem).