Westmoreland campus clippings: Norwin grad Declan O’Brien transferring to Delaware
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Record-breaking wide receiver Declan O’Brien isn’t done catching passes yet.
After a brilliant three-year run at Allegheny, the Norwin product is planning to play a fifth season at a higher level.
O’Brien, an All-Region 2 First Team player as a senior, is joining Delaware as a preferred walk-on.
O’Brien will be a graduate transfer and will pursue a Masters in economics and data analysis.
“I’m most looking forward to challenging myself and playing against better competition,” he said.
A pass-catching force in the Division III Presidents’ Athletic Conference, he set single-season school records with 91 receptions for 1,228 yards. He ranked third in the nation in receptions per game (9.1) and averaged 122.8 yards a game.
He also set single-game marks with 18 catches for 233 yards against Washington & Jefferson. He had a 95-yard touchdown catch against Case Western.
In three seasons, O’Brien had 182 receptions for 2,539 yards and 22 touchdowns.
O’Brien said the possibility of regret later on helped him decide to play on more year. A fifth year of college remains one of the true positives from the covid pandemic.
“Yeah, that was definitely part of it,” he said. “I also just figured it would be smart to get a Masters degree while I’m still able to play.”
Baseball
Cal (Pa.): Sophomore relief pitcher Jake Kramer (Hempfield) was named first-team All-PSAC West.
Kramer broke a 40-year-old school record for saves in a season with 10, a number that led the conference.
He had a 4-1 record with 1.47 ERA in 30 2/3 innings for Cal (28-8).
Kramer, who is 7-1 in two seasons with 16 saves, also was the recipient of the Bruce Dal Canton Pitching Award, given to the top Vulcans pitcher who “exemplifies greatness of character.”
Mercyhurst: Junior pitcher Jake Bazala (Norwin) was named second-team All-PSAC West.
Bazala had 51 strikeouts in 35 2/3 innings and made three starts for the Lakers (21-20).
Patrick & Henry: Freshman Dylan Grabowski (Penn-Trafford) sent P&H into the second round of the Division II Region 10 Tournament with a walk-off double in an 8-7 win over Pitt C.C.
Grabowski recently was selected to the All-Region 10 team as a first-team infielder.
Pitt: Redshirt sophomore Phil Fox (Hempfield) worked two innings of scoreless relief, striking out four of the six batters he faced, and notched his seventh save of the season as the Panthers edged Florida State, 1-0.
Pitt-Johnstown: Junior shortstop Josh Ulery (Derry) was selected first-team All-PSAC West, while redshirt sophomore outfielder Justin Turcovski (Norwin) made the second team.
Ulery led the Mountain Cats in batting average (.313), runs (37), hits (52), doubles (15) and total bases (85). He also had four home runs and 38 RBIs.
Turcovski hit .260, had a team-high six homers, five triples and 44 RBIs.
Potomac State: Sophomore pitcher Andrew Sokol (Belle Vernon) is transferring closer to home and will play at Waynesburg.
He has five appearances this season and is 0-1 in 6 innings.
Last season, he did not have a decision in four games, allowing four runs in 3 2/3 innings.
Seton Hill: While the conference season ended much earlier than usual, the Griffins (36-14) received their share of postseason awards.
Owen Mandler was named the PSAC West Freshman of the Year, while longtime Griffins leader Marc Marizzaldi was tabbed the PSAC West Coach of the Year.
In addition, junior outfielder Max Mandler, grad student third baseman Jack Oberdorf (Greensburg Salem) and senior pitcher Aidan Layton were named first-team All-PSAC West.
Owen Mandler is batting .319 with 10 doubles, six home runs and 29 RBIs.
His brother, Max Mandler, hits .322 and led the team with 39 runs scored.
Oberdorf, a three-time all-conference pick, has a team-high 59 hits, eight home runs and 46 RBIs, and Layton is 6-2 with a 2.74 ERA and 73 strikeouts in 72.1 innings.
Marizzaldi won his 700th game this season.
Seton Hill was tripped up in the opener of the PSAC Tournament, falling 5-3 to Shippensburg to finish 36-14. Owen Mandler had an inside-the-park home run in the eighth to tie it.
Seton Hill senior pitcher Brandon Bergert was a second-team all-conference pick.
The Griffins received an at-large bid and will make their 13th appearance in the NCAA Tournament. They will play Millersville in the Atlantic Regional at East Stroudsburg.
Softball
Allegheny: Junior Sophia Godzak (Belle Vernon) was named first-team All-PAC.
Godzak hit .380 with 49 hits and drove in 22 runs. She had three 4-for-4 games.
Geneva: Sophomore pitcher McKenzie Rapp (Penn-Trafford) was named to the All-PAC team as an honorable mention.
Marist: Grad pitcher Kiley Myers (Latrobe) was named the co-Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Year.
Myers, who shared the honor with Maddie Hickingbottom of Niagara, finished the season with a 15-8 record, a 2.27 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, 149 strikeouts and 29 walks.
She had 19 complete games, four shutouts and allowed 70 runs in 173 innings.
For her career, Myers went 38-24 with a 2.61 ERA and 351 Ks in 466 innings.
Ohio: Junior catcher Emma Hoffner (Hempfield) is leading the Bobcats with a .325 batting average through 55 games, all of which she has started.
Hoffner also has 32 runs, 12 doubles, five home runs and 30 RBIs. In her last seven games.
She went 4 for 8 with two homers and five RBIs in two games against Akron.
Robert Morris: Senior pitcher Jane Garver (Ligonier Valley) earned her second straight postseason win, tossing four solid innings, as RMU defeated Youngstown State, 3-1, in the Horizon League quarterfinals.
In the first round, Garver struck out five and walked one in 5 2/3 innings, while redshirt sophomore Courtney Poulich (Mt. Pleasant) blasted a pair of home runs, including a grand slam, in a 7-2 win over Northern Kentucky.
The five RBIs are a career high for Poulich.
Saint Francis (Pa.): Senior Ashley Orischak (Hempfield) went 2 for 3 with a double, two runs and two RBIs as the Red Flash stayed alive in the NEC Tournament with an 11-0 win over Sacred Heart on five innings.
Orischak struck again in the NEC championship game when she tripled, homered and drove in a pair in a 12-0 win over Central Connecticut.
The Red Flash will now play in the NCAA Tournament.
Saint Vincent: Five Bearcats players were recognized on the All-PAC teams.
Freshman second baseman Mackenzie Favero (Kiski Area) made the second team, while senior shortstop Olivia Persin (Hempfield), senior first baseman Jessica LaPorte and freshman third baseman Shayna Perigo were honorable mention selections.
Favero batted .391 with 10 stolen bases as the Bearcats’ leadoff hitter.
Persin hit .347 with six doubles, two triples, 18 RBIs and 32 runs.
LaPorte had 24 RBIs, 20 runs and hit safely in 27 of 31 games, while Perigo hit .356 and scored 15 runs.
Seton Hill: Three players earned first-team National Fastpitch Coaches Association All Region recognition: junior second baseman Brooklyn Fukushima, junior third baseman Grace Paredes and redshirt frshman outfielder Kassidy Wittig.
Sophomore outfielder Camryn Murphy made the second team.
Fukushima hit .371 with 34 RBIs, Paredes batted .368 with 14 homers and 56 RBIs and Wittig hit a team-best .427 with 12 doubles and 27 RBIs.
Murphy led the Griffins (37-17) with 16 homers and 66 RBIs.
Fukushima and Murphy also were selected to the Division 2 Conference Commissioners Association All-Region First Team, while Wittig and Paredes made the second team.
Washington & Jefferson: Sophomore shortstop Hannah Allen (Penn-Trafford) earned second-team All-PAC recognition.
Allen had a breakout season, batting .375 with a team-leading .604 slugging percentage. She also hit four homers.
Westminster: Junior Sydney Lokay (Norwin) was named second-team All-PAC. The outfielder, who pitched in high school, hit .330 in 31 starts with seven doubles, 17 RBIs and 13 runs.
She also made the all-tournament team.
Men’s track & field
High Point: Senior Jake Tarosky (Norwin) won the 3,000-meter steeplechase in 9 minutes, 3.49 seconds to help High Point defend the Big South Conference championship.
Kent State: Sophomore Aaron Schmook (Norwin) won the javelin title at the Mid-American Conference championships. His winning throw sailed 61.95 meters.
Schmook defeated defending champion and teammate Scott Benco, a Waynesburg product.
Schmook was fifth last year.
Westminster: Grad student Ryan Beard (Franklin Regional) ran the anchor leg of the seventh-place 400-meter relay at the Baldwin Wallace Harrison Dilliard Twilight Meet.
The foursome’s time was 42.96 seconds.
Men’s golf
Gannon: Junior Michael Wareham (Franklin Regional) tied for second at even-par 213 (69, 68, 76) as Gannon controlled the NCAA Division II Atlantic/East Regional and advanced to the NCAA Tournament.
Wareham, the leader after 36 holes, helped the Golden Knights win by 23 shots at the Speidel Jones Course at Ogelbay Resort in Wheeling, W.Va.
Women’s track & field
Duquesne: Senior Hannah Seitzinger (Belle Vernon) broke her own school record with a win in the 800-meter dash at the IC4A/ECAC Championships in Fairfax, Va., finishing in a time of 2 minutes, 4.92 seconds.
The mark also was a stadium record at George Mason.
Senior Sadie Wetzel (Latrobe) took fourth place in the high jump (1.67 meters).
Michigan: Freshman Liz Tapper (Hempfield) finished seventh in the discus with a throw of 165-1 at the Big Ten championships.
Women’s lacrosse
Saint Vincent: An All-PAC honorable mention selection was sophomore Bailey Nicely, a converted goalkeeper who became one of the top scorers in the conference.
Nicely had 28 goals and six assists for the Bearcats.
Seton Hill: The Griffins (13-5) earned a spot in the NCAA Division II Tournament for the fifth straight season. They are the No. 4 seed in the Atlantic Regional and will play at top-seeded West Chester (19-0) at 11 a.m. Thursday.
Men’s lacrosse
Saint Vincent: Senior Benjamin Wohlin (Franklin Regional) made first-team All-PAC, while grad teammates Jordan Billet and Caleb Hawkins were second-team picks, and senior Carter Haid, Justin Wodarek, senior AJ Bricker, Bernard Farnan, junior Brady Beard and sophomore Garrett Ritts made honorable mention.
Wohlin, a senior defenseman, had 19 caused turnovers and 47 ground balls, while also scoring three goals.
Washington & Jefferson: Senior Nate Petrarco (Norwin) was an All-PAC honorable mention pick.
He finished the season with 14 points, 45 ground balls and 17 caused turnovers.
Men’s tennis
Geneva: Senior Jadon Hooke was named second-team All-PAC at No. 2 singles and No. 1 doubles.
Saint Vincent: Junior Jack Citrone made second-team All-PAC.
Freshmen Josh Havrilla (Latrobe) and Braden Yokopenic also were second-teamers at No. 2 doubles.
Junior Brian Lee, junior Matt Sadusky and freshman August Lawrence (Latrobe) made honorable mention.
Lawrence was recognized for No. 6 singles and No. 3 doubles, joining sophomore Kyle Murray in the latter spot.