College notebook: Zeremenko breaks Pitt’s record for home runs
Giogiana Zeremenko
Marlena Schmidt
Senior catcher Giorgiana Zeremenko recently became the all-time home run leader for Pitt women’s softball.
Zeremenko, a former Observer-Reporter Softball Player of the Year at Canon-McMillan, hit two home runs Feb. 16 when Pitt played Wisconsin and Illinois in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge in Chapel Hill, N.C.
The home runs gave Zeremenko, a Canonsburg native, 35 for her career, which broke the Pitt record of 34 that was held by Holly Stevens.
Zeremenko now has 37 career home runs. She leads Pitt this season in several offensive categories, including home runs (6), total bases (40), batting average (.358) and is second in RBI (10).
Zeremenko set the Pitt single-season home run record in 2016 with 17.
In basketball
Fairmont State’s Sierra Kotchman, a Trinity graduate and Washington native, was named the Mountain East Conference Women’s Basketball Freshman of the Year.
Kotchman also was named to the All-MEC second team.
Last year’s Observer-Reporter Girls Basketball Player of the Year, Kotchman established a Fairmont State record for scoring as a freshman with 556 points, averaging 18.4 points per game. That total also established the MEC record for points as a freshman, as Kotchman ranked fourth in the league in scoring average among all players. Kotchman also ranks third in NCAA Division II in scoring among freshmen.
Kotchman scored double figures in 27 of 30 games and had 16 games of at least 20 points. She scored a team-high 32 points at West Liberty on Dec. 9 and totaled 41 points in the Falcons’ two games in the MEC tournament.
- Seton Hill’s
- Cheyenne Trest
- was named PSAC West Division Freshman of the Year. A Canonsburg native and former standout at Canon-McMillan, Trest became the first women’s basketball player at Seton Hill to earn a major PSAC award. The awards are voted on by the league’s head coaches.
Trest was the second-leading scorer for the Griffins, averaging 14 points per game. She also led the team in assists with 88 and blocked shots with 19. Trest shot 41 percent from the field, 39 percent from three-point range and 84 from the free-throw line. She scored in double figures in 24 of 30 games and scored a career-high 35 points against Slippery Rock. She was named the PSAC West freshman of the week nine times.
- Marlena Schmidt
- of Eighty Four is the starting center for the undefeated Southeastern University women’s basketball team that recently won The Sun Conference championship and will play in the NAIA Division II national tournament today in Sioux City, Iowa.
Schmidt, a Ringgold graduate and West Virginia University transfer, has helped Southeastern, which is located in Lakeland, Fla., to a 29-0 record. A sophomore, Schmidt has started every game and averages 7.2 points, 6.5 rebounds and has a team-leading 72 blocked shots. Schmidt is shooting 55 percent from the field and 65 percent from the free-throw line. She was named second team all-conference.
Southeastern is the top seed for the NAIA tournament and is the only undefeated team in the 32-team field.
- Bucknell junior
- Kaitlyn Slagus
- scored a career-high 25 points and eclipsed 1,000 points for her career while leading the Bucknell to a 75-55 win over Army Feb. 28 at West Point, N.Y.
Slagus, a Belle Vernon graduate, added nine rebounds and four assists in the regular-season finale, which helped her land her third Patriot League Player of the Week honor.
Slagus hit from all over the court against Army, going 8-for-11 from the field, 2-of-2 from three-point range and 7-of-7 from the free-throw line.
It was far from a guarantee that Slagus would reach the scoring milestone Wednesday. She entered the game needing 24 points, and her previous career high was 22.
“Slagus was solid all night, but that stretch in the second half was about as good as she has played in her career,” Bucknell coach Aaron Roussell said. “It was an impressive way to grab a memorable milestone.”
- Britton Beachy
- , a freshman guard from Canonsburg and a Canon-McMillan graduate, helped Lancaster Bible to the North Eastern Athletic Conference championship and a berth in the NCAA Division III tournament.
Beachy played in 28 of Lancaster Bible’s 29 games and 5.2 points per game. He shot 46 percent from the field, He had two points and three rebounds off the bench in a 68-65 loss to Christopher Newport in the first round of the Division III tournament.
- Siena’s
- Prince Oduro
- , who played last year at First Love Christian Academy in Washington, was named to the All-Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference All-Rookie Team.
Oduro ranked 10th in the conference in field goal percentage (.483) and led all MAAC freshmen with 20 blocked shots. He averaged 9.1 points and 5.1 rebounds per game.
In wrestling
Clarion’s Dustin Conti won his first career Eastern Wrestling League title and helped the Golden Eagles to a fourth-place finish in the team standings.
Conti, a redshirt senior and Jefferson-Morgan graduate, reached the 197-pound finals for the second consecutive season. In the finals against Rider’s Ethan Laird, Conti started the scoring with a takedown and led 2-1 entering the second period. He started the period in the top position and earned more than a minute of riding time before Laird escaped to tie the score. Conti started the third period in the bottom position and escaped for a 3-2 lead. Backed up by the riding time advantage, Conti remained aggressive against Laird and won a 4-2 decision.
Conti became Clarion’s first 197-pound EWL champion since 2002 and qualified for the NCAA Championships that will be held at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland March 15-17.
- Illinois redshirt freshman
- Mike Carr
- , a former PIAA champion at South Fayette, reached the finals of the Big Ten Championships at 141 pounds and clinched a berth in the NCAA tournament. Carr upset No. 2 seed and eighth-ranked Nick Lee of Penn State by a score of 10-6 in the semifinals.
Carr entered the second period tied 3-3. Following a Lee escape to begin the period, Carr took the lead for good with a second takedown and built 1:54 in riding time entering the final two minutes. Carr tacked on a final takedown in the third and held on for a 10-6 decision.
In the finals, Carr lost by major decision to top-seeded Joey Mckenna of Ohio State in the finals. The loss ended an 11-match winning streak for Carr.
- Three local wrestlers helped The Citadel to a fifth-place finish in the team standings at the Southern Conference Championships in Charleston, S.C.
Ty Buckiso, a senior, placed third at 149 pounds, sophomore heavyweight Michael McAleavey, was fourth and sophomore Douglas Gudenburr placed fourth at 141. Buckiso and McAleavey each are from Venetia and Peters Township graduates. Gudenburr is from Finleyville and a Ringgold graduate.
One of the best matches of the tournament was in the semifinals, where Buckiso lost a 4-2 decision in overtime.
Buckiso wrestled back after the semifinal loss to take third place, winning a 7-2 decision over Tennessee-Chattnooga’s Roman. Buckiso finished the day 3-1 and has more than 20 wins this season. He might be considered for an at-large berth to the NCAA tournament.
“I talked to Ty after he lost the semifinal match,” The Citadel coach Rob Hjerling said. “It was about ending the season on a positive note despite a late injury and getting his hand raised. He represented himself well. His team, family, and friends all know he is tough and resilient. He wrestled two quality matches after the loss. Winning the championship was his goal, but not quitting signifies who he is as a leader.”
In track & field
Duquesne freshman Chyna Beck received Atlantic 10 Indoor Track & Field All-Rookie accolades for her performance in the 60-meter hurdles at the A-10 Indoor Championships at Mackal Fieldhouse in Kingston, R.I.
Beck, a Canonsburg native and Canon-McMillan graduate, won a bronze medal in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.80. It is the third-fastest time in an indoor meet in Duquesne history.
Beck also holds the fifth-best mark in the triple jump at 38-5.
- Baldwin Wallace senior All-Ohio Athletic Conference thrower
- Zak Dysert
- of McDonald was named an Indoor All-Great Lakes Region selection in the weight throw for the second time in his career.
A Fort Cherry graduate, Dysert had a career indoor season as he won the weight throw at five meets, including the OAC Indoor Championships. At the OACs, he broke the 60-foot barrier by tossing 60-2, a mark that earned him a spot at the 2018 NCAA Division III National Championships. Dysert also earned his first career OAC Field Athlete of the Week honor after winning the weight throw at the Hillsdale “Wide Track” Classic.
In softball
Robert Morris junior first baseman-outfielder Abby McCartney, a Canon-McMillan graduate, hit at an impressive .462 clip in four games at the season-opening Cleveland State Dome Tournament last month. She finished the four games with four doubles, five RBI and three runs. McCartney also totaled 18 putouts and did not commit an error.
Through 13 games, McCartney is batting .317 with four doubles and has a team-high eight RBI.
In lacrosse
Allison Hurley, a senior attacker from McMurray and a Peters Township graduate, is the second-leading scorer for undefeated Lindenwood University, located in St. Charles, Mo.
Hurley has scored eight goals in five games and has a team-leading 12 assists for 20 points. She had a season-high three goals in a 15-4 victory over Tiffin.
Lindenwood is ranked No. 3 in NCAA Division II.
Hurley was a first team All-Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference selection last year and received third team all-region honors after scoring a career-high 37 goals and 70 points.