Roaring Lions add championships, new sports in 2016-17
John F. Brothers | Herald-Standard
Penn State Fayette’s Siteri Tale (21), a Laurel Highlands graduate, hits a shot over Albany College’s Dannie Griffin (42) on March 3 during the USCAA National Championship Tournament at Penn State Fayette, The Eberly Campus.
Submitted photo
The Penn State Fayette, The Eberly Campus, volleyball team poses with the PSUAC championship banner it earned in 2016.
Penn State Fayette, The Eberly Campus, brought home three championships during the 2016-17 school year and also welcomed several new sports into the fold.
The Roaring Lions claimed Penn State University Athletic Conference titles in men’s cross country, women’s volleyball and wrestling and added co-ed track and field, cross country and golf.
“I am extremely excited and happy about the growth of our athletic programs,” Roaring Lions athletic director Lou Zadecky said. “I think that the dedication and hard work of the student-athletes and the coaches have propelled us to the best year for athletics in the school’s history. It has made us grow together as a department.”
Although Fayette is one of Penn State’s smallest campuses, its student-athletes have proven to be among the most competitive as nearly every sport qualified for a national tournament this year.
According to Zadecky, academic achievement is as high a priority as victory, and he is pleased with the outcomes of the Student Athletes Graduating and Excelling (SAGE) program and the retention task force. He said these efforts have boosted players’ grade-point averages and dramatically reduced the number of ineligible athletes.
Currently, there are women’s teams for basketball, volleyball and softball, while male students can participate in baseball, basketball and wrestling.
Zadecky anticipates offering additional sports programs in the future, but said he is proud of what the campus’ coaches and student-athletes accomplished over the past year
The Fayette golfers had an impressive inaugural season with Zadeckly as coach, qualifying for the PSUAC/United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) championship, where they placed 17th. Ryan Gesso (Laurel Highlands) finished 43rd and made first team all-conference, while Haley Brothers (Mount Pleasant), who was the team’s sole female member, was honored as a USCAA all-academic.
The Roaring Lions continued their dominance in women’s volleyball by winning their eighth PSUAC championship in the last nine years, defeating Penn State Mont Alto in the final. They also upended higher-seeded Maine Fort Kent in the national tournament and finished their season 24-4 overall and 17-0 in conference play. Fayette had four first-team all-conference players, in Siteri Tale (Laurel Highlands), Victoria Helmantoler (Ringgold), Janelle Cooper (Laurel Highlands) and Emma Lewis (Carmichaels), one second-team all-conference in Caitlyn Williams (Connellsville), and one honorable mention in Kelsey Tyler (California). Tale was named Co-newcomer of the Year, while Nancy Wheeler earned Coach of the Year recognition. Also, Lewis earned USCAA all-academic honors and Cooper was a USCAA All-American.
The Roaring Lions took home their first ever PSUAC crown in cross country under coach Joe Carei, who guided the team to its best finish in program history. Fayette had four all-conference runners led by first-team members Cameron Coffey (Brownsville) and Devin Pisarski (Connellsville), who each played a major role in the team’s success. Coffey finished first and Pisarski was fourth in the conference final. Second-team members were Michael Elliot (Beth-Center), who placed 11th, and Jesse Varndell (Albert Gallatin), who was 14th.
Fayette also excelled in its first appearance in the USCAA national championships, placing 13th, thanks to several PRs.
“We had a little adversity, with one runner getting in a car accident and being on concussion protocol and another who battled back from a serious ankle injury, but they prevailed,” said Carei, who was named PSUAC Coach of the Year. “I am really proud of our team,” Carei said.
The Fayette women’s basketball team qualified for the postseason for an eighth consecutive season as the No. 5 seed. The Roaring Lions went 13-14 overall and 8-6 in PSUAC play under coach Scott Hillen. Taylor Smith was first-team all-conference, while Courtney Haines (Albert Gallatin) and Haley Moreland (Laurel Highlands) earned PSUAC honorable mention. Also, Smith was named as a USCAA first-team All-American and Haines as a second-team All-American.
The men’s basketball team battled hard and finished tied for seventh place in the PSUAC. They were strong competitors in the USCAA tournament as the 10th seed, and several team members had standout performances, most notably Dominick Jackson. The Roaring Lions finished the season 11-16 overall and 8-8 in the PSUAC under Mark John.
The Fayette wrestlers won the state championship at a joint PSUAC-USCAA tournament and also finished fifth of 14 teams in the USCAA portion of the tourney. This was the first-ever PSUAC title for the Fayette wrestlers.
Coached by Jerry Simon, eight of the Roaring Lions’ 12 wrestlers competed. Nathan Spinetti, Ethan Kenney, Michael Perdomo, John Fedorek and John Godzin each finished first among PSUAC competitors while flourishing in the USCAA. Spinetti and Kenney were first-place finishers in the USCAA, while Perdomo placed third. Godzin also performed well enough to rank third, and Fedorek finished fifth.
Fayette’s first ever track and field team, guided by Carei, sported 20 co-ed members who competed in five meets, regularly facing NCAA Division II and Division III athletes. The Roaring Lions’ season ended on a high note at the USCAA national invitational in April as the men’s team finished eighth and the women 10th.
Carei said Penn State Fayette’s participation in the USCAA national meet may enable that organization to add track and field as an official sport.
“It is exciting to be a part of something new, especially since we are in our infancy, too,” said Carei said. “It will be great to grow with the USCAA in the interest of track and field.”
The Roaring Lions softball team improved from one win the season before to 19 in 2017 as it qualified for the postseason and won a playoff game. Tiffany Markovitch (Brownsville), Miranda Nichols (Brownsville) and Monica Joseph (Frazier) all earned PSUAC second-team honors. Hannah Kline (Frazier) was also granted Honorable Mention, and head coach John Miller was named as PSUAC Coach of the Year.
Miller’s squad received a bid to the USCAA national championships held in May and went 1-2 as the No. 10 seed, falling to No. 7 Judson (Alabama) and No. 4 SUNY-Canton before defeating No. 6 University of Maine-Presque Isle to place ninth in the country.
“It has been a true pleasure to watch some of these programs develop over the last three or so years — to come from nonexistent to national contenders,” said Penn State Fayette assistant athletic director Stephen Oberly. “As an administrator, it has been impressive to watch, but even as a sports fan, it shows how there is a true dedication on this campus to athletics and to growing these student-athletes in every way possible.”