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AK Valley campus clippings: Freeport grad Heilman earns preseason honors

michael love, the valley news-dispatch, tarentum, pa.
·5 min read

Feb. 2—Freeport graduate Jarrett Heilman, a senior pitcher at Mercyhurst, has been tabbed a preseason All-American for Division II by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association.

The righty is coming off his best season as Laker. He logged 65 innings on the mound while posting a 1.38 ERA, the third-best in all of Division II. His 10 earned runs allowed were the fewest in the country.

Heilman also recorded a 1.17 WHIP while firing six complete games, four of them shutouts.

He gave up just 7.3 hits per nine innings while striking out 64. He surrendered only seven extra-base hits, all doubles.

For his efforts in his junior season, Heilman was selected the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference West Pitcher of the Year along with a trio of all-region nods and three selections to All-American teams.

Heilman and his Mercyhurst teammates open the 2024 season the weekend of Feb. 23.

Women's basketball

Cal (Pa.): Nina Shaw (Knoch) was named the PSAC West Women's Basketball Defensive Athlete of the Week on Monday. She averaged 4.0 steals and 2.5 rebounds as the Vulcans scored overtime victories over Pitt-Johnstown (Jan. 24) and Mercyhurst (Jan. 27). She also averaged 10.5 points and seven assist while playing 44 minutes per game. The 5-foot-4 freshman point guard collected 12 points and seven assists against Pitt-Johnstown, and then registered nine points, six steals, seven assists, and four rebounds against Mercyhurst. Cal won three straight in overtime overall.

Grove City: Reese Hasley (Deer Lakes) has played in all 20 games for the Lady Wolverines (9-11) and has started 16. The sophomore guard averages 7.4 points and 3.5 assists a game. Hasley has reached double figures six times, with the most recent coming Jan. 24 at Westminster, where she tallied 11 points, six assists and three steals. She scored a career-high 20 points Nov. 29 at home against Westminster and recorded career highs of 11 rebounds Jan. 10 at Allegheny and 11 assists Dec. 30 against Waynesburg.

PSU-Behrend: Maddie Boyer (Knoch) is averaging 10 points over six games since returning to the lineup from a broken foot suffered in October. Boyer, a sophomore guard who earned All-Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference first-team honors last season, has started the last three games and averaged 13.5 points as Behrend posted a 3-1 mark. She added 19 rebounds, five steals and five assists over the four games for the Lions (12-7 overall, 10-2 AMCC).

Men's basketball

Allegheny: Ryan Lang (Knoch), a starter for all 20 games this season, is third on the team in scoring at 11.5 points a game. The sophomore guard scored in double figures in 13 of the 20 games with a season high of 23 coming against Lancaster Bible on Nov. 10. He scored 21 on 9-of-14 shooting against Washington & Jefferson on Jan. 13. Lang also ranks second on the team in assists with 56.

Women's swimming

Cal (Pa.): Madison Moretti (Freeport) posted PSAC qualifying marks in the 50-yard freestyle, the 100 free, the 200 free and the 500 free during the TYR '85 Invitational at Liberty in late November. The Vulcans were the lone non-Division I program competing at the seven-team event. Moretti then scored points for Cal with a 13th-place finish out of 31 in the 200 free at the Florida International Sprint Invitational on Jan. 3. That meet also featured such Division I programs as the host Panthers, South Dakota, BYU

Wrestling

Thiel: Jared Curcio (Kiski Area) had a strong January for the Tomcats, which included Presidents' Athletic Conference Wrestler of the Week honors for the week ending Jan. 14. He helped Thiel defeat Washington & Jefferson, 25-23, with a pin victory in 3 minutes, 39 seconds at 184. Curcio's decision win at 197 fueled the Tomcats' rally for a 26-22 win over Waynesburg on Jan. 26, and he was the only winner for Thiel (pin at 184) in a tough loss to Saint Vincent on Thursday.

Brown: Ian Oswalt (Burrell) is tied for second in wins (9) and bouts wrestled (19) for the Bears. Of the junior's nine wins, four were for bonus points with two pins, a major decision and a tech fall. He placed eighth at 141 pounds at the Southern Scuffle at UT-Chattanooga on Jan. 2. He won four matches on the day, earning a fall, tech fall and two decision victories against opponents from Little Rock, Appalachian State, and North Dakota State. He scored a major decision (9-1) at 141 to help Brown defeat Davidson, 24-10, on Jan. 12.

Lock Haven: Bella DeVito (Kiski Area) earned a bronze medal at the Pennsylvania Women's Collegiate State Championships on Jan. 28 at East Stroudsburg. She went 3-1 with a pin at 130 to lift her record in her first collegiate season to 8-7. Of those eight wins, four have come by fall and one by tech fall.

Bowling

Duquesne: Shannon Small (Plum) grabbed additional conference honors among Alle-Kiski Valley graduates as she was named the Northeast Conference Bowler of the Week on Wednesday. She helped the Dukes win the Red Flash Invitational in Altoona on Sunday while earning MVP honors as the individual champion. In traditional play to open the invite, Small averaged 223.20 to lead the field. She recorded a 257 high game and also rolled a 230. The 223.20 average placed her in the top 10 all-time for tournament averages by a Duquesne bowler.

Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.