College notebook: Deegan guides Denison to first conference title
Presidents Athletic Conference champion Washington & Jefferson will not be only local connection in the NCAA Division III baseball tournament that begins this week.
Led by head coach Mike Deegan, a Washington native and Trinity graduate, Denison won its first North Coast Athletic Conference championship, defeating Wooster 7-5 in the title game Saturday at VA Memorial Stadium in Chillicothe, Ohio.
The championship clinched a berth in the Division III tournament for Denison (38-7), which is ranked No. 16 in the nation.
Deegan, a Trinity graduate, is in his seventh season at Denison and has a 191-100 career record. He became Denison’s all-time winningest coach on April 28, when the Big Red defeated Baldwin Wallace 9-7.
In track and field
Liz Fleming, a Trinity graduate, helped Wheeling Jesuit repeat as Mountain East Conference champion by winning the hammer throw at the MEC Championships held in Glenville, W.Va. Her winning throw was 165-13/4.
Fleming also reached the podium in the discus with a third-place throw of 133-9 and added a third-place distance in the shot put with a toss of 42-2 1/2 to garner all-conference honors in three throwing events.
- The West Virginia Wesleyan women’s team dominated the javelin competition at the Mountain East Championships. The Bobcats swept the Top 5 spots and three of the throwers are from Washington County.
Kate Demi, a junior from Claysville and a McGuffey graduate, won the conference championship with a throw of 130-5. Rachel Czulewicz, a senior from West Alexander and also a McGuffey graduate, was the runner-up with a throw of 126-33/4. Kennedy Kuhns, a freshman from Clarksville and a Beth-Center graduate, placed fifth at 113-101/2.
- Hannah Falcione
- , a junior at Miami (Ohio), placed third in the triple jump Saturday at the Mid-American Conference Championships at Muncie, Ind. The Venetia native and Peters Township graduate had a jump of 39-6
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Falcione has had a strong second half of the season. She set a triple jump personal record of 40-6 ¾ at the Jesse Owns Classic held at Ohio State and established a PR of 18-7 in the long jump at Indiana University’s Billy Hayes Invitational.
- Baldwin Wallace senior thrower
- Zak Dysert
- , a McDonald native and Fort Cherry graduate, won the Ohio Athletic Conference championship in the hammer throw at the OAC meet in Westerville, Ohio.
Dysert, who is currently ranked No. 1 nationally in the event, won his first career conference hammer throw title with an OAC-meet record toss of 205-4, which bested the runner-up by almost 18 feet.
In softball
Former Trinity standout Olivia Gray, a senior shortstop at Pitt, was named to the All-Atlantic Coast Conference second team.
It was the second All-ACC honor for Gray.
“Olivia is no stranger to this success,” Pitt coach Jodi Hermanek said. “Despite her missing some games, she has led our team as an offensive and defensive bulldog.”
Gray played in 33 games after battling an injury early in the season. She had a .280 batting average and .429 on-base percentage with 25 walks, 22 runs, 20 RBI, seven home runs and five doubles. Gray performed even better in conference play, batting .300 with a .500 on-base percentage.
- Sara Jubas
- , a sophomore shortstop and South Fayette graduate, helped James Madison win the Colonial Athletic Association tournament in record-breaking fashion. The Dukes defeated Elon in the title game, 12-0.
Jubas hit two of James Madison’s five home runs in the championship game. She belted a three-run homer in the second inning and a two-run homer an inning later.
Jubas broke the CAA tournament record with a 2.400 slugging percentage for all games. On the season, Jubas is batting .422 with 15 doubles, 12 home runs and 58 RBI. She has struck out only three times in 171 plate appearances.
James Madison will take a 47-7 record into the NCAA tournament.
- Robert Morris'
- Abby McCartney
- , a former standout at Canon-McMillan, was named to the All-Northeast Conference second team.
A senior outfielder and first baseman, McCartney appeared in 50 games for the Colonials, each as a starter, and led the Colonials in batting average (.323), runs (28), doubles (12), RBI (23) and stolen bases (8). She had hitting streaks of eight and seven games, each coming in the second half of the season.
Against NEC opposition, McCartney hit .333 (16-for-48) and led RMU in runs (11) and home runs (4).
McCartney concludedan outstanding career with a .301 batting average. She also compiled career totals of 81 runs, 26 doubles, 11 home runs and 83 RBI. She ranks 10th all-time at RMU in RBI and 11th in hits.
- Indiana’s
- Kassie Kesneck
- , a junior outfielder from Houston and a Chartiers-Houston graduate, was named to the PSAC Central Division All-Conference team.
Kesneck put together another standout year in center field for IUP to earn her first career all-league honor. The Crimson Hawks’ leadoff batter hit .321 with career highs of 29 runs, 43 hits and 13 doubles. Kesneck also committed only one error.
- John Carroll shortstop
- Lindsay McKnight
- was selected to the All-Ohio Athletic Conference second team. In 14 conference games, McKnight batted .476 (20-for-42) with seven runs and seven RBI. Her batting average was third best in league.
Overall, McKnight batted .434 in 34 games, amassing 29 RBI and 21 runs along with a .466 on base percentage. She finished her career with 121 hits, which ranks 20th in program history.
In golf
Drexel junior Connor Schmidt of Venetia began his summer season in fine fashion by picking up a victory at the 79th Dressler Memorial Championship. The junior shot a two-under par 68 in the final round at the Union Legue Golf Club at Torresdale.
Schmidt birdied Nos. 15, 16 and 17 for a one-stroke win. The Peters Township graduate shot 73 in the opening round, but was five shots better on the Dragons’ home course in the final round.
Schmidt was named second team All-Colonial Athletic Association by the conference’s head coaches. His junior year was highlighted by a tie for first place at the Quechee Club Collegiate Challenge in Vermont in October and an outright first-place finish at the Wildcat Invitational at White Manor Country Club in April. Schmidt set a school and course record during that tournament, shooting 8-under 63. Schmidt led the CAA with the lowest stroke average throughout the 2018-19 season. He also earned medalist honors at the Lonnie Barton Invitational hosted at the LPGA International Golf Club.
At CAA Championships, Schmidt finished tied for fifth place and was the only player under par in the second round with his five-under 66. Schmidt shot in the 60s eight times in 26 rounds. He par or better 18 times.
Schmidt has been a CAA Commissioner’s Award winner for academics all three of his seasons at Drexel.
In baseball
Three local players, including two outfielders, were named to the PSAC West All-Conference first team.
Slippery Rock senior outfielder Frankie Jezioro of McMurray, Gannon senior outfielder Jared Beach of McDonald and Gannon sophomore pitcher Deven Judy of Belle Vernon were selected by a vote of the division’s coaches.
Jezioro earned his first all-conference award on the heels of a dynamic year at the plate as The Rock’s leadoff hitter. One of four Rock players to start every game, Jezioro batted .355 with 42 runs, eight home runs, 24 RBI, 12 stolen bases and a .479 on-base percentage. Defensively, he tied for the team lead in assists among outfielders with three. Jezioro ranked second in the PSAC West in runs, second in doubles, third in hits (54), fourth in on-base percentage, sixth in walks (26) and seventh in batting average.
Beach, a Canon-McMillan graduate, smacked a school-record 14 home runs with a .318 batting average and 39 RBI with a .697 slugging percentage.
Judy emerged as a key starter for the Golden Knights on the mound in 2019, posting a 7-0 record in 12 appearances (nine starts) with a team-best 2.34 ERA. He was fourth in the conference during the regular season with 77 strikeouts. His biggest performance was a shutout of Mercyhurst on May 3. It came during a series that began with the Golden Knights and Lakers tied for first place in the division.
Compiled by Chris Dugan