PSAC Athletes of the Week - 9/4 Monday, September 4, 2017 10:30 AM Men's Golf Co-Athlete of the Week: Connor Sheehan (Sr.) Millersville Quarryville, Pa. / Solanco Sheehan recorded a one-over 73 for the first round of play at the Glade Springs Invitational. Then in the final round he went low to shoot a even 72 to place tied for second at the event. Men's Golf Co-Athlete of the Week: Nathan Bazant (So.) California Washington, Pa. / Trinity Bazant tied for second overall with a one-over 145 (68-76) at the rain-shortened Glade Springs Intercollegiate (36 holes Monday, rainout Tuesday). He was tied for the individual lead with the eventual medalist at three-under 69 through the opening round while playing in only his fifth career event. Bazant helped the Vulcans finish tied for third in the 18-team field to open their fall season. Football: Eastern Division Offensive Athlete of the Week Craig Reynolds Kutztown (R-Jr. / RB) William Grove, Pa. / Abington Craig Reynolds had 335 all-purpose yards Saturday, 10 shy of his school-record from last season. He had 133 rushing yards, including 38- and 43-yard touchdown runs, 34 receiving yards, 108 kick return yards and an impressive 60 punt return yards on three returns. His two rushing touchdowns give him 18 for his career, tied for ninth all-time in school history. Football: Eastern Division Defensive Athlete of the Week Keyson DIngle Cheyney (R-Sr. / DE) Bayonne, N.J. / Bayonne Sr. Defensive End, Keyson Dingle recorded five tackles for loss, with two sacks, forced a fumble and registered six total tackles as Cheyney held arch rival Lincoln University to 80 total first half yards, in building a 56-0 halftime lead,en route to a 56-28 win. Cheyney defense forced two turnovers and two three and outs on the first four Lincoln Drives. Dingle recorded two sacks and a forced fumble as the Lions ran only eight offensive plays in their first four drives. Football: Eastern Division Special Teams Athlete of the Week Jordan Walters East Stroudsburg (So. / K) Sciota, Pa. / Pleasant Valley Walters was 2-for-2 on field goals and 2-for-2 on extra points in his ESU debut, a 20-16 win at Fairmont State on Thursday night. Walters made a 20-yard FG in 1st quarter and 24-yard FG in 3rd quarter, which extended ESU lead to 20-9. He averaged 62.2 yards on 5 kickoffs. Football: Western Division Offensive Athlete of the Week Tanner Garry Slippery Rock (R-Sr. / QB) McDonald, Pa. / Youngstown State Tanner Garry made his first collegiate start and played his first full game at QB since 2011 when he was a senior at Fort Cherry High School. His 5 TD passes (22-of-34 for 390 yards, 0 INT) mark just the third time an SRU QB has passed for five or more TDs in a game in the last three years (Dante Nania vs. West Chester in 2015 and Don King III vs. ESU in 2016). Slippery Rock beat Kentucky State University 42-21. Football: Western Division Defensive Athlete of the Week James Simms Gannon (R-Jr. / LB) Laurel, Md. / Towson (Md.) Simms led a Gannon defensive unit that allowed only 2.7 yards per rushing attempt and limited Southern Connecticut State to a 6-of-16 third-down conversion rate during a 55-22 victory last Saturday in the season opener on the road. Simms recorded 15 tackles, one interception, one fumble recovery and one tackle for a loss during his Gannon debut after transferring from NCAA Division I Towson. With Gannon already leading 6-0, Simms stepped in front of a pass on Southern Connecticut State’s first possession and raced down the sideline 48 yards for a touchdown and a 13-0 lead 5:22 into the contest. His fumble recovery during SCSU’s second possession of the second half lead to another Gannon touchdown that increased the Golden Knights’ lead to 48-15. Football: Western Division Special Teams Athlete of the Week Dillon Sarka IUP (R-Fr. / K) Lebanon, Ohio / Findlay Sarka made a 46-yard field goal as time expired in 26-23 win over NR/18 Ashland on Thursday night. He was 4-of-4 in field goal attempts (23, 22, 25, 46) and made both point after attempts. Scored 14 total points total including his 22-yard make with no time left in the first half to make it a 23-20 Ashland lead. His two field goals in the second half were only points scored for either team. The four field goals are tied for the second most in a single game in IUP history and Sarka's 46-yarder was longest field goal made by IUP kicker since Brett Ullman's 48-yarder in 2013 Field Hockey Athlete of the Week: Sydney McCarthy East Stroudsburg (Sr. / B) Reading, Pa. / Muhlenberg McCarthy had a goal, 4 assists and a defensive save in a 2-0 start for #2 ESU … assisted on ESU’s first goal, scored game-winner with 5:44 left and had defensive save in closing seconds of 2-1 win vs. #9 Merrimack on Saturday … had 3 assists in 8-0 win vs. #5 Stonehill on Sunday (assists were on 3 of ESU’s first 6 goals) … Warriors held Stonehill without a shot on goal … 2016 All-PSAC 2nd team midfielder … moved to center back for senior season, replacing Emily Howell (2016 PSAC Defensive Athlete of the Year). Women's Cross Country Athlete of the Week Julie Friend California (R-Sr.) Markleysburg, Pa. / Uniontown Friend earned the individual title and helped Cal U earn the team title on Saturday while hosting the 46th-annual Marty Uher Invitational. She won the race by nearly three minutes after crossing the finish line with a time of 23 minutes, 40.8 seconds while competing in her first event since the 2015 NCAA National Championships. Friend was the only runner in the field to post a sub-4:00 average per kilometer and won the Uher Invitational for the third time in her career. Men's Cross Country Athlete of the Week: Jeremy Parsons Slippery Rock (Sr.) Titusville, Pa. / Maplewood Parsons cruised to a win by more than one minute and 20 seconds at the Marty Uher Invitational at Cal U ... he finished the 8K course in a tempo run style with a time of 28:03, while the second-best finisher didn't cross the line until 29:25 ... Parsons effort spearheaded Slippery Rock to a convincing win int he team race over Wheeling Jesuit, California and Penn State Fayette. Women's Soccer Co-Athlete of the Week: Jessica Neill Seton Hill (Jr. / GK) Zelienople. Pa. / Seneca Valley Neill posted back to back shutouts as the Griffins started the season 2-0. She made 5 saves as the Griffins upset #9 ranked West Chester by the score of 1-0 on Saturday afternoon. WCU entered the contest winners of 23 consecutive PSAC bouts. The junior opened the week with a shutout win over Wheeling Jesuit. She recorded 3 saves in the win over Wheeling. Women's Soccer Co-Athlete of the Week: Kyra Watkins Pitt-Johnstown (So. / M) Charleroi, Pa. / Charleroi Area Watkins tallied a goal at IUP on Thursday in Pitt-Johnstown's first-ever PSAC win since joining the league in 2013. She followed suit with a goal in a 1-1 tie against Mansfield. Men's Soccer Athlete of the Week: Fjodor vanKippersluis Mercyhurst (Fr. / M/F) Bussum, The Netherlands / Sint Vitus vanKipperslui scored two goals in his first two games as a Laker. The freshman assisted on a game-winning overtime goal to beat Notre Dame College Toni Leitshuh School (So. / Outside Hitter) Manhattan, Ill. / Lincoln-Way Central Leitshuh tallied a career-high 13 kills against Wisconsin-Parkside and then again against Wayne State. She registered 13 kills on 32 attempts for a .313 hitting percentage against the Rangers. She also added 17 digs for her first double-double of the season. She then produced a 13-kill, 10-dig performance against Wayne State. In four matches she compiled 40 kills and 46 digs. The Lady Knights went 3-1 at the Wayne State Warriors Invitational with wins against Ohio Dominican, Wisconsin-Parkside and Wayne State. Volleyball: Southeast Division Athlete of the Week: Karleigh Lutz West Chester (Sr. / Outside Hitter) Mechanicsburg, Pa. / Cumberland Valley Lutz played a crucial role as West Chester begins its 2017 campaign on a four-game winning streak. Lutz contributed a team-high 46 kills over that span. As host of the Ram Fest Tournament, Lutz helped the Golden Rams sweep all four opponents 3-0. Volleyball: Central Division Athlete of the Week: Erin Harman Millersville (Sr. / Outside Hitter) Hanover, Pa. / South Western Harman opened her senior season by helping Millersville to a 4-0 record, recording 52 kills while committing just eight hitting errors. Harman was also second on the team with 35 digs. Harman's best two performances came against Millersville's top competition. She recorded a career-high 24 kills while committing just three errors in a 3-1 win over Goldey-Beacom. Against Franklin Pierce, she tallied 13 kills and just one error. Volleyball: Southwest Division Athlete of the Week: Rachel Priore California (So. / Outside Hitter) Bartlett, Ill. / South Elgin Priore averaged 3.71 kills and 4.18 points per set, as the Vulcans opened the year with a four-match split at the Queens Invitational. She tallied 16 kills on a .361 hitting percentage in the season-opener on Friday afternoon against the host Royals. Priore then set a career high with 20 kills while hitting at a .304 clip in a 3-2 victory over Winston-Salem State later that night. The Illinois native collected 12 kills, five blocks and two service aces in the opening match on Saturday versus Augusta. Priore closed the weekend with 15 kills and three blocks in a 3-1 win over Shorter later that day. She recorded a combined 63 kills and nine blocks over the weekend after totaling just 22 kills and four blocks as a freshman in 2016.