PSAC Athletes of the Week - 9/20 Sunday, September 20, 2015 12:30 PM Week 3 Football: Eastern Division Offensive Athlete of the Week Jarel Elder West Chester (So. / RB) Allentown, Pa. / Parkland Jarel Elder accounted for 365 all-purpose yards in West Chester's 48-38 victory over Seton Hill Saturday. He rushed for 247 yards on 25 carries, including three touchdowns - all of which came in the fourth quarter - while also catching eight passes for 84 yards and the first score of the game. Elder busted off a 51-yard TD run on 3rd-and-11 that gave WCU a 10-point advantage. He accounted for 18 of WCU's 24 fourth-quarter points that helped the Golden Rams break a 24-24 tie after three quarters. Elder's 247 yards is the best rushing effort in the PSAC this fall and the seventh-best single-game effort in school history. His 365 all-purpose yards is the third-best effort in school history and the most by a WCU player in a single-game since 1984. Football: Eastern Division Defensive Athlete of the Week Jimmy Verzicco East Stroudsburg (Jr. / S) Cherry Hill, N.J. / Cherry Hill West Verzicco had his first career start at safety yesterday, recording a team-high eight tackles and a pair of pass breakups in the first win of the season for the Warriors. He helped hold Edinboro's Darren Massey, who had 25 catches and 295 yards in first two games, to just three catches for 37 yards. Football: Eastern Division Special Teams Athlete of the Week Sheldon Mayer Shippensburg (Sr. / WR/PR) Norristown, Pa. / Norristown Area Senior Sheldon Mayer led the Red Raiders with 10 catches for 73 yards and a touchdown. Mayer also opened the second-half scoring with 6:38 left in the third quarter by returning a punt 82 yards for a touchdown. It was the second punt-return touchdown of Mayer's career; he ran one back 85 yards for a score at Slippery Rock in 2013. Mayer is second in NCAA Division II among active career leaders for punt return yards (718). Football: Western Division Offensive Athlete of the Week Liam Nadler Gannon (Sr. / QB) Leipsic, Ohio / Leipsic Local Nadler led Gannon to a 66-31 victory at Kutztown last Saturday, finishing 28-of-36 for 412 yards and five touchdowns. He rushed for another 31 yards on six carries. He went 22-of-28 for 350 yards and four touchdowns during the first half as Gannon grabbed a 38-10 lead at halftime. He led Gannon to touchdowns during its first four possessions and points during six of seven first-half possessions and helped the Golden Knights score during 11 of their first 12 possessions spanning into the second half, including nine touchdowns during that time span. He tied his own school record for passing touchdowns in a game, a feat he has accomplished three times, and he threw for over 400 yards in a game for the fourth time in his career. He has now thrown 265 consecutive passes without an interception. Football: Western Division Defensive Athlete of the Week Joe Dever Mercyhurst (Sr. / LB) Cleveland, Ohio / St. Edward Dever helped lead the Lakers to the program's first 3-0 start since 1989 as Mercyhurst won on the road at Bloomsburg, 20-14, on Saturday afternoon. Dever tied a career-high with 12 tackles (seven solo), had a tackle for a loss, and intercepted the first two passes of his career in the win over the Huskies. Dever earned both of his picks in the first half, the first of which led to the Lakers' first touchdown of the contest. His second interception came at the Mercyhurst 24-yard line to end a Bloomsburg scoring threat. Football: Western Division Special Teams Athlete of the Week Aaron Terry California (Jr. / DB/PR) Pasadena, Md. / Chesapeake Terry set a career high with 120 return yards on three punt returns, highlighted by a 97-yard return for touchdown on the final play of the first half to give the Vulcans a 34-10 lead. In addition, both of his other punt returns went for at least 10 yards and each led to a touchdown by the Vulcans. Terry is the first player to post a punt return longer than 90 yards in recent program history (since 2002). Field Hockey Athlete of the Week Kayla Denlinger Kutztown (Sr. / GK) Manheim, Pa. / Hempfield Denlinger limited #1 West Chester to just one goal in Wednesday's 1-0 loss. She held IUP to one goal in Friday's 3-1 victory. She made 12 saves for the week (.857 save percentage). Currently, she ranks third in the PSAC with a .854 save percentage for the year. Men's Cross Country Athlete of the Week Bernard England Shippensburg (Sr.) Easton, Pa. / Easton England paced the Raiders, continuing a strong early-season form by running third place. England clocked in at 25:56 for the 8K course. Shippensburg had all five of its scoring runners finish among the Top 12 on Saturday morning to claim victory in Kutztown's Division II/III Challenge. SU posted 39 points, defeating second-place Stonehill by 22 points. Women's Cross Country Athlete of the Week Leah Anne Wirfel Slippery Rock (Sr.) Portage, Pa. / Forest Hills Wirfel was dominant in winning the SRU Invitational head-to-head race against Division I Robert Morris. She covered the 6,000-meter challenging course in 22:16, winning the race by 1:39 over second place finisher Jenny Picot (23:55) of SRU, who was an All-Region finisher at last year's Regional Championships. The Rock swept all five scoring places and defeated Robert Morris handily. Men's Soccer Athlete of the Week Jared Ott Bloomsburg (So. / GK) Philadelphia, Pa. / Archbishop Ryan Posted two shutouts for the week helping the Huskies to a 2-0 week. In a 2-0 win over Lock Haven, Ott stopped four shots, then in an OT win at Seton Hill, he stopped two shots as the Huskies increased its win streak to four straight. For the season he has allowed just one goal in 370 minutes. Women's Soccer Athlete of the Week Jansen Hartmann Edinboro (Sr. / MF/F) Pittsburgh, Pa. / North Hills Hartmann finished the week with five goals and an assists for the Fighting Scots. She had three goals and an assist in 7-3 win at Seton Hill, then scored a pair of goals in 4-3 loss at Roberts Wesleyan. She leads Edinboro with 6 goals and 2 assists for 14 points. She now ranks eighth in career goals (20), tied for fourth in career assists (16), and ninth in career points (56). Men's Golfer of the Week Corey Smith West Chester (Sr.) Phoenixville, Pa. / Phoenixville Corey Smith picked up his first career victory at the Pete Dye Invitational hosted by Urbana University at the Urbana Country Club. Smith shot a low-round score of 72 on Sunday to move from a tie for fourth place into first place all alone. Smith shot a 75 on day one of the tournament Saturday afternoon. Smith finished two strokes ahead of second place, leading the Golden Rams to the team victory in the seven team field. Women's Golfer of the Week Diana Munoz Gannon (Jr.) Ibague, Colombia / San Bonifacio de las Lanzas Munoz captured the individual crown at the Clarion Invitational with a two-day score of 153. Munoz's 153 was five strokes better than second place. She shot a 77 on the first day, followed by a 76, her second lowest score of the season. The Golden Knights took home first place in the Invitational due in large part to the performance of Munoz. Volleyball: East Athlete of the Week Maddie Hutchison East Stroudsburg (Sr. / L) Lake Orion, Mich. / Lake Orion Hutchison had 106 digs in 13 sets (8.15 per set) and five aces in three matches last weekend. The Warriors went 1-2 at Wilmington (Del.) tournament with 3-0 win vs. Dominican and 5-set losses vs. Merrimack and Wilmington. Hutchison had 38 digs vs. Merrimack, 26 vs. Dominican and 42 vs. Wilmington (2nd-most of career). Currently, she leads PSAC in digs per set (6.23) and moved into second place in ESU history in career digs (1,696). Volleyball: West Athlete of the Week Natalie Cignetti IUP (So. / OH) Indiana, Pa. / Indiana Cignetti had a career-high 20 kills against Notre Dame (Ohio) this week to go along with a career-high four service aces against both Concord and West Virginia State. She also recorded 22.0 points against both Notre Dame and West Virginia State, which is also a career-high. All told, the outside hitter totaled 64 kills, averaging 3.76 kills per set, and had a .336 hitting percentage over the weekend. She has been an integral part of IUP's 7-2 start, the best start for the Crimson Hawks since 2012.