PSAC Athletes of the Week - 6
Golf
Men’s Golf Athlete of the Week
Gannon
Abe Holmes
Senior
Barrie, Ontario, Canada / Barrie North Collegiate
Abe Holmes continued his red-hot fall season by winning his fourth individual title in five tournaments. In Clarion University's Hal Hansen Invitational, the senior finished with a two-day, 36-hole total of 3-over-par 147 at Grove City Country Club. He shot a 1-under-par 71 in the opening round and then fired a 4-over 76 the second day in windy conditions. Holmes helped the Gannon golf team win its fifth consecutive tournament of the fall, as the Golden Knights and Holmes won a tourney that featured nine other PSAC teams.
Women’s Golf Athlete of the Week
Kutztown
Cecelia Knecth
Senior
North Charleston, S.C. / Fort Dorchester
Kutztown's Cecelia Knecht was the top finishing PSAC player among seven conference schools in this past weekend's Kutztown Fall Invitational at Moselem Springs Golf Club. Knecht recorded a third-place finish, her third top-five in five fall tournaments by shooting 80-82=162 during the two-day tournament. The North Charleston, S.C., native logged a team-high seven pars and a birdie on No. 12, a par 5 playing at 450 yards, during an opening round 80 (+10) Sunday. It was her season-low round to date. Battling wind and rain throughout the event, Knecht came back with an 82 Monday that included seven more pars and a birdie on the par 4, 365-yard second. Knecht is averaging a team-best 84.43 score through seven rounds this fall.
Field Hockey Athlete of the Week
West Chester
Jasmine Miller
Forward
Sophomore
Millersville, Pa. / Penn Manor
Jasmine Miller had a great afternoon for West Chester on Saturday afternoon versus No. 4 Kutztown, scoring a pair of clutch goals, including the overtime game-winner after notching what had been the go-ahead goal early in the fourth quarter. Miller scored her first goal of the contest just over two minutes into the fourth quarter, with a tip on the post after a Golden Ram corner. The Golden Rams’ 3-2 lead did not last as the fourth-ranked Golden Bears got the equalizer in the 58th minute, forcing overtime. In the extra session, Miller gave West Chester the game-winning goal it was looking for, accepting a pass from Claudia Jaszczak and spinning around the sprawling Kutztown goalkeeper before chipping it in, lifting West Chester to a thrilling 4-3 overtime victory.
Field Hockey Defensive Athlete of the Week
Shippensburg
Merel Hoekstra
Defense
Senior
Wassenaar, The Netherlands / Rijnlands Lyceum Wassenaar
Coming back from an injury and debuting in her senior year against East Stroudsburg, Merel Hoekstra led the defense as the center back to a shutout against the Warriors. East Stroudsburg entered the game with a scoring average of 4.42 per game, which ranked third in the nation. Hoekstra helped the Raiders end East Stroudsburg goalkeeper Amy Supey’s shutout streak, and only allowed two shots on goal and three penalty corners. East Stroudsburg’s two shots on goal were 10 fewer than their previous game-low of shots on goal this season, which was 12 against St. Thomas Aquinas. The Warriors’ three penalty corners were seven fewer than their previous game-low of penalty corners this season, which was 10 against Slippery Rock and Adelphi.
Women’s Cross Country Athlete of the Week
West Chester
Bella Marchini
Graduate Student
Schwenksville, Pa. / Spring Ford
Bella Marchini turned in an impressive performance on Friday afternoon at the 48th Annual Paul Short Invitational hosted by Kutztown. Competing as one of 331 runners in the women’s college white 6k, Marchini traversed the course in a time of 22 minutes and 26.3 seconds en route to a seventh-place finish, which was the best of any PSAC runner in the White Division field.
Men’s Cross Country Athlete of the Week
Lock Haven
Gage Krall
Sophomore
Lebanon, Pa. / Northern Lebanon
Gage Krall placed 13th out of 403 total runners at Lehigh's Paul Short Run on Friday. The loaded field was filled with talent across the board from Division I, II & II. Competing in the Brown race, Krall covered the 8,000-meter course with an impressive time of 24:22.0.
Football
East Offensive Athlete of the Week
Shepherd
Ronnie Brown
Running Back
Junior
Baltimore Md. / Dundalk
Brown had 22 carries for 171 yards and two touchdowns in Shepherd's win at Shippensburg. He added four receptions for 25 yards.
East Defensive Athlete of the Week
Bloomsburg
William Martin III
Defensive Line
Redshirt-Junior
Darby Township, Pa. / Academy Park
Martin was a crucial part in the Huskies 21-16 upset of West Chester Saturday night. The 6-2, 275 defensive lineman not only helped control the line of scrimmage for the defensive unit, he also finished the day with seven tackles, including four solo stops and one TFL of 1 yard. His most impressive play came as the clock was winding down in the second quarter. After the WCU quarterback fumbled the snap, Martin got to the ball first and scooped it up for an 80+ yard touchdown and the 21-3 lead for the Huskies. The touchdown proved to be the difference maker as the Golden Rams scored 13 points in the second half and BU won by 5.
East Special Teams Athlete of the Week
Millersville
Zach Banta
Punter
Junior
Millersville, Pa. / Penn Manor
Zach Banta helped Millersville to its first win of the season by averaging 48 yards per punt on four punts. He booted a long of 58 and landed two inside the 20, including one that was downed on the Lock Haven 1-yard-line and led to a Millersville interception two plays later.
West Offensive Athlete of the Week
Indiana (Pa.)
Duane Brown
Wide Receiver
Redshirt-Senior
Spring Church, Pa. / Apollo-Ridge
Brown had a huge game recording 10 receptions for 140 yards and two touchdowns. It marked Brown's third game with 100 or more receiving yards. He had touchdown receptions of nine and 12 yards and hauled in a reception of 26 yards for the Crimson Hawks in a 20-12 Homecoming win against No. 8/12 Slippery Rock.
West Defensive Athlete of the Week
Edinboro
JR Tellington
Defensive Lineman
Freshman
Youngstown, Ohio / Chaney
Tellington reached double figure tackles with 11. He scored the Scots only touchdown of the day when he tipped a pass to himself and returned it 17 yards for the score and the pick-six.
West Special Teams Athlete of the Week
California (Pa.)
Josh Miller
Linebacker
Sophomore
Cranberry Township, Pa. / Seneca Valley
Miller returned a blocked punt 25 yards for a touchdown and registered 1.0 sack on Saturday, as the Vulcans earned a 59-14 win at Clarion in PSAC West play. He posted the program’s first touchdown on a blocked punt return since the 2015 season. On the opening play of the fourth quarter, Gabe Miller – his older brother – blocked the punt by the Golden Eagles which Josh Miller recovered and returned for the score. Cal blocked multiple kicks in a game for the first time since accomplishing the feat in back-to-back weeks in the 2018 campaign.
Volleyball
East Athlete of the Week
Shepherd
Mikayla Hoy
Outside Hitter
Senior
Sharpsburg, Md. / Heritage Academy
Hoy put together a solid week helping Shepherd go 2-0 in PSAC East play. She averaged 12 kills and nine digs with a .358 attack percentage, while adding seven aces. In Shepherd’s 3-1 win over West Chester, she totaled 19.5 points on 13 kills, six aces, six digs and a block tallying a .400 attack percentage. In her second game against Millersville, she posted 11 kills and 12 digs and a .321 attack percentage.
East Defensive Athlete of the Week
Shippensburg
Oyinda Agbale
Middle Blocker
Senior
Pittsburgh, Pa. / Shaler Area
In a 1-1 weekend, Agabale totaled 23 kills, .396 hit percentage and six blocks. Against Millersville, Agable had a team-high of 14 kills with one error, giving her a .464 hit percentage. Also she added four blocks, one solo and three blocks assists, and three digs. While during the sweep against West Chester, Agbale totaled nine kills, a .300 hit percentage, two digs and two blocks. Overall Agbale has improved her kills per set and her hitting percentage and is now leading the Raiders in hitting % with a .321 average and is fourth in the league.
West Athlete of the Week
Clarion
Julia Piccolino
Outside Hitter
Senior
North Versailles, Pa. / Serra Catholic
Julia Piccolino once again led the Golden Eagles' offensive charge in a pair of conference victories, helping Clarion improve to 6-0 in conference matches with wins over Pitt-Johnstown (W 3-0) and IUP (W 3-1). The outside hitter finished with a team-high 4.57 kills per set average that included 32 total kills and a .390 attack percentage. In the win over the Mountain Cats on Friday night, Piccolino notched 15 kills and a .393 attack percentage as well as four service aces. The next day against the Crimson Hawks, Piccolino launched 17 kills on a .387 attack percentage, to go with nine digs and two aces.
West Defensive Athlete of the Week
Slippery Rock
Abigail Nigon
Middle Hitter
Senior
New Castle, Pa. / Neshannock
Abigail Nigon had a big week defensively for SRU as she helped to lead The Rock to a 2-1 record with wins over Point Park and Mercyhurst as well as a competitive loss to Gannon. Over three matches, Nigon recorded nine total blocks (4 solo / 5 assisted). She had multi-block matches in each contest with the highlight being a four-rejection effort in SRU’s three-set victory Point Park. Nigon also had three blocks vs. Gannon and two against Mercyhurst to push her season total to 56, the second highest total in the PSAC West.
Women's Soccer
Eastern Division Athlete of the Week
West Chester
Kiley Kergides
Defense
Junior
Rydal, Pa. / Germantown Academy
Kiley Kergides came through for West Chester in a huge spot on Saturday afternoon, leading the No. 5 Golden Rams past No. 13 Bloomsburg with a mid-second half tally, which helped the Purple and Gold remain unbeaten on the season. This was the second goal of the season for the junior defender as she also notched a goal in the season-opening victory over Jefferson.
Eastern Division Defensive Athlete of the Week
East Stroudsburg
Emmy Clarkson
Goalkeeper
Freshman
Frederick, Md. / Walkersville
In a 2-0 week for the Warriors, Emmy Clarkson posted two shutouts and six saves, including a road shutout win with five saves against nationally-ranked Bloomsburg.
Western Division Athlete of the Week
Gannon
Sarah Fails
Forward
Senior
Girard, Pa. / Villa Maria
Fails once again carried the day for the Golden Knight offense, putting home both goals in Saturday's 2-0 victory over IUP--two beautiful left-footed strikes that collected all three points for Gannon and maintained its first-place tie with Mercyhurst in the PSAC West standings.
Western Division Defensive Athlete of the Week
Pitt-Johnstown
Sachi Negri
Goalkeeper
Junior
Green Brook, N.J. / Bishop George
Sachi Negri recorded eight saves and faced 14 shots in 1-0 shutout victory over Gannon on Wednesday. Against Edinboro on Saturday, she made another five saves on 14 faced shots to get the 1-1 draw. Negri also currently leads the PSAC in saves per game with an average of 7.18.
Men's Soccer
Western Division Athlete of the Week
Gannon
Sergio Del Castillo
Midfield
Senior
Madrid, Spain
Sergio Del Castillo collected an assist in Gannon's midweek victory over Pitt-Johnstown but erupted for five goals in Saturday night's 7-1 win over Cal (Pa.), scoring from the penalty spot, with his right foot, and three headers. Sergio continues to lead all of Division II in goals and points, and the Golden Knights have won five games in a row, scoring 32 goals in those contests.
Western Division Defensive Athlete of the Week
Gannon
Pau Ferrer
Defense
Redshirt Freshman
Valencia, Spain
Pau Ferrer once again has come up huge for the Golden Knights on both ends of the pitch, contributing a goal (his second of the season) and an assist (his fourth) in Saturday's 7-1 win over Cal (Pa.) As always, Pau balances his attacking intent with a solid defensive mindset, knowing when he can and cannot burst forward to join the attack. The Golden Knights have won five games in a row, scoring 32 goals in those contests and conceding just four.
Eastern Division Athlete of the Week
Bloomsburg
Patrick Walsh
Forward
Sophomore
Macungie, Pa. / Emmaus
Patrick Walsh scored two goals during the team's 4-3 win over Shippensburg on Wednesday and added an assist during the team's 2-1 victory over Millersville on Saturday. Walsh's play helped the Huskies claim a two-way tie for first place in the PSAC East with West Chester, and the sophomore forward now has three goals and three assists on the season.
Eastern Division Defensive Athlete of the Week
East Stroudsburg
Brayden Evans
Goalkeeper
Freshman
Bernville, Pa. / Tulpehocken
Brayden Evans faced 15 shots and made five saves in a win over nationally-ranked West Chester. He played a large part in East Stroudsburg’s first win against the Golden Rams since 2014.
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.