Westmoreland campus clippings: Awards piling up for Latrobe grad Bryce Butler

West Liberty’s Bryce Butler is going to have to get some extra shelving in his dorm room for all of these awards.

The third-year sophomore basketball standout out of Latrobe, was named the NCAA Division II Conference Commissioners Association Atlantic Region Player of the Year.

He also made all-region first team.

Butler also was the Mountain East Conference Player of the Year and is on the national watch list for the Clarence “Bevo” Francis Award, which recognizes America’s top small-college basketball player.

The 6-foot-5 Butler averages 18.1 points and 7.5 rebounds for the Hilltoppers, the No. 2 Division II team in the country.

A career 1,000-point scorer, he has 30 double-figure scoring games and 10 double-doubles. His 63.6 field goal percentage ranks 13th nationally.

The Hilltoppers were upset Saturday in the NCAA Division II Atlantic Regional, 103-94, ending their 15-game winning streak.

Cal (Pa.)’s Philip Austin and Armoni Foster of IUP also made the all-region first team, while John Paul Kromka (Gateway) and IUP’s Ethan Porterfield were second-team selections.

Women’s basketball

Charlotte: Two local women will be going to the NCAA Tournament with the 49ers. Assistant coach Ciara Gregory (Jeannette) and sophomore guard Cali Konek (Franklin Regional) are part of a team that knocked off Lousiana Tech, 68-63, in the Conference USA championship.

Gregory is in her first season as a full-time assistant after serving as a graduate assistant in 2019-20 and 2020-21. A former Charlotte star, she holds program records for career 3-pointers made (235).

Konek has appeared in 11 games this season for the 49ers (22-9) and played 53 minutes.

Marian: The Knights (29-4) advanced to the NAIA Tournament for the eighth straight season. Sophomore reserve guard Jayla Wehner (Norwin) has been a key contributor, playing in all 32 games while averaging 3.8 points and 1.5 assists in 17.5 minutes.

Marietta: Sophomore guard Olivia Gribble (Norwin) had 12 points and made a pair of 3-pointers but Marietta fell to Hope, 85-66, in the second round of the NCAA Division III Tournament to close the season 22-6.

Gribble led a balanced attack in scoring with a 10.5 average and made a team-best 65 3-pointers, a total that was 42 more than the next player.

Wrestling

Gannon: Senior Jacob Dunlap (Belle Vernon) finished ninth at the NCAA Division II championships, falling one place short of a second straight All-America run. He dropped a first-round decision to Kevin Redcliff of Limestone, 3-1.

Pitt-Johnstown: Redshirt sophomore Nate Smith (Franklin Regional) finished eighth at the NCAA Division II Championships in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, at 157 pounds. The place earned him his first All-American accolades.

Washington & Jefferson: Senior Jaden Datz (Southmoreland) went 1-2 at the NCAA Division II Championships and finished one spot away from the medal stand, an eighth-place finish and All-American honors in the 174-pound bracket. Datz, a PAC champion, finished the season 30-6.

Men’s volleyball

Saint Vincent: With a 3-0 win over Carlow, the Bearcats snapped a four-game losing streak. Junior Matthew Minkin put down 10 kills and freshman Andrew Cassidy added nine, while junior Matt Klasnic (Latrobe) registered 10 digs.

Saint Vincent had a season-high 12 service aces in the victory.

Men’s tennis

Pitt-Greensburg: Junior Turner Price (Penn-Trafford) made the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference 25th Anniversary Team. The Bobcats standout has program records for combined singles/doubles wins (48) and singles wins (28). He has a 24-match winning streak.

Price was the AMCC player of the year in 2019 and ‘21.

Women’s lacrosse

Saint Vincent: Senior Joey Smith put together a 12-point performance, tallying four goals and eight assists, as the Bearcats defeated Lancaster Bible, 19-12.

Sophomore Bridget Doyle added three goals and four assists, while sophomore Rachel Thatcher (Penn-Trafford) had four goals, and sophomore Maggie Edwards (Norwin) found the net three times for a hat trick.

Men’s lacrosse

Saint Vincent: The Bearcats ran their winning streak to four with a 10-4 victory over Muskingum. Grad student Tyler Condrasky (Norwin) scored four goals to lead the attack, while junior Matthew Cassidy and junior Caleb Hawkins netted two apiece.