LOCK HAVEN, Pa. - The Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference is pleased to announce its 2023-24 Winter Top 10 award recipients, nominated and voted on by the sports information and athletic communication directors of the conference.
 
The PSAC Top 10 was initiated in the 1998-99 academic year and is awarded to those men and women student-athletes who excel in both the classroom and athletic competition.

The honorees for Winter 2023-24 are: Noah Bernarding (California), Alexa Gonczi (Clarion), Joshua Gose (Slippery Rock), Leah Graybill (Shippensburg), McKenzie Hemingway (West Chester), Josh Herbster (Shippensburg), Anna Igims (Slippery Rock), KJ McClurg (California), Luke Mikesell (IUP), and Sam Pirosko (Gannon).

Find this winter's student-athlete capsules below. An all-time recorded list of PSAC Top 10 honorees can be found here.
 

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Noah Bernarding
California
Cochranton, Pa. / Cochranton
Men's Indoor Track
Major: Psychology
Cumulative GPA: 3.88



Bernarding earned NCAA Second Team All-America honors in the 800m with a 12^th place finish at the national meet. He was named both the USTFCCCA Atlantic Region and PSAC Track Athlete of the Year and set an all-time PSAC record in the 800 with a time of 1:49.40. He was the PSAC champion in the mile and runner-up in the 800 and broke school records in both the 800m and the mile.
 
Alexa Gonczi
Clarion
Monacca, Pa. / Central Valley
Women's Diving
Major: Psychology
Cumulative GPA: 3.59



Gonczi was named the 2024 College Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) Division II Women's Diver of the Year after winning the national championship in the Women's 3-Meter Dive at the Division II National Championships. She also took third place in the Women's 1-Meter Dive at that meet and became a four-time NCAA All-American.
 
Joshua Gose
Slippery Rock
Lewisburg, Pa. / Lewisburg Area
Men's Indoor Field - Shot Put
Major: Finance
Cumulative GPA: 4.00



Gose was named All-PSAC and All-Region in the shot put with a NCAA provisional mark of 16.84 meters (55' 3") this winter and secured third place in the event at the PSAC Championships. He was named a 2023 CSC Academic All-American, is a two-time CSC Academic All-District honoree, and has finished in the top three in the shot put in all five PSAC Championship events he has competed in.
 
Leah Graybill
Shippensburg
Lititz, Pa. / Warwick
Women's Indoor Track - Sprints
Major: Special Education and Early Childhood Education
Cumulative GPA: 3.99


 
Graybill was a 2024 NCAA Division II National Championships qualifier in the 200m (17^th place, 24:40) and earned a pair of USTFCCCA All-Atlantic Region honors in the 60m (7.60) as well as the 200m (24.14). She was the 2024 PSAC champion in the 200m and earned two other All-PSAC honors, with runner-up finishes in the 60m and the 4x400 relay.
 
McKenzie Hemingway
West Chester
Chestertown, Md. / Queen Anne's County
Women's Swimming
Major: Pre-Occupational Therapy
Cumulative GPA: 3.73



Hemingway was named the PSAC Women's Swimming Athlete of the Year after a season which saw her earn NCAA Division II All-America honors in the 100 breaststroke (eighth place) and 400 freestyle relay (eighth place.) She was the PSAC champion in the 100 breaststroke, runner-up in the 200 IM, and a three-time PSAC champion on relay teams. She placed 12^th in the 200 IM at the NCAA meet along with a ninth-place finish in the 800 free relay.
 
Josh Herbster
Shippensburg
Mechanicsburg, Pa. / Cumberland Valley
Men's Indoor Field - Throws
Major: Geoenvironmental Science
Cumulative GPA: UG – 3.537 | GR – 3.916



Herbster was named 2024 USTFCCCA All-Region in the weight throw (19.41m), the top mark in the entire Atlantic Region and a new Shippensburg University record. He was the 2024 PSAC Champion in the weight throw (19.20m), and finished eighth in the shot put at the conference meet with a throw of 15.63m.
 
Anna Igims
Slippery Rock
Pittsburgh, Pa. / Avonworth
Women's Indoor Track - Distance
Major: School Wellness Education | Minor: Public Health
Cumulative GPA: 3.977
 


Igims was named both the USTFCCCA Atlantic Region and PSAC Women's Track Athlete of the Year. She also earned Most Outstanding Overall Athlete and Most Outstanding Track Athlete at the 2024 PSAC Indoor Track and Field Championships. At that meet, she won the mile, 3000-meter, and 5000-meter runs as well as running the anchor leg of the champion distance medley relay team. She earned All-Region honors in the mile, 3000m, 5000m, and distance medley relay. Igims broke a Slippery Rock indoor record in the mile and was ranked No. 1 in the PSAC in every event she competed in last winter.
   
KJ McClurg
California
Morgantown, W. Va. / University
Men's Basketball
Major: Finance
Cumulative GPA: 3.59
 


McClurg led the PSAC and ranked fourth in the country with 745 points, the third-most in California history. He ranked eighth in the nation with 22.6 points per game. He led the PSAC and ranked 17^th nationally with 227 field goals made and was seventh in the conference in field goal percentage at .534. He helped the Vulcans post the second-winningest season in school history (28-5 overall, 19-3 PSAC), advance to the PSAC Championship Game for the first time since 2008, and earn a berth in the NCAA Championship in addition to a top-10 ranking in the NABC Top 25 Coaches Poll five times after being unranked in the preseason poll.
 
Luke Mikesell
IUP
Clearfield, Pa. / Clearfield
Men's Swimming
Major: Criminology
Cumulative GPA: 3.56
 


Mikesell was names the PSAC Men's Most Outstanding Swimmer at the 2024 Championship meet after winning both the 200 freestyle (1:37.56) and 500 freestyle (4:24.65). He set a meet and school record in the 500 and was also a CSC Academic All-District selection. He was an NCAA Division II qualifier in the 200 free and 500 free, finished 23^rd in the 200 with a time of 1:37.93).
 
Sam Pirosko
Gannon
Eastlake, Ohio / Eastlake North
Women's Basketball
Major: Health Sciences / Physician Assistant Program
Cumulative GPA: 3.93


 
Pirosko averaged 19.8 points per game and 8.1 rebounds per game and was named the WBCA National Player of the Year. She also accumulated D2CCA National Player of the Year and Atlantic Region Player of the Year honors, a WBCA Atlantic Region Player of the Year nod, and repeated as PSAC West Athlete of the Year. She was MVP of both the NCAA Atlantic Region and PSAC Tournaments and led Gannon to a 35-3 overall record and an appearance in the NCAA Elite Eight.