Westmoreland campus clippings: County coaches join Washington & Jefferson staff

Former Westmoreland County football standouts Aaron Krepps and Max Garda are joining forces to coach the football team at Washington & Jefferson.

Both are W&J alumni.

Aaron Krepps, a Belle Vernon graduate, will serve as assistant head coach, while Garda, who played at Burrell, is an intern assistant who will operate the strength and conditioning program.

Krepps was an assistant at Ohio Northern, working as co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.

He was head coach at Bluffton from 2018-21, served as an assistant at Alderson Broaddus and was the head coach at Belle Vernon from 2009-13.

A former All-American receiver and kick returner for W&J, Krepps’ resume also includes stops at Eastern Michigan and Adrian (Mich.).

“Coach Krepps was one of our most accomplished players at W&J,” W&J head coach Mike Sirianni said. “We are excited to add a person with his character and coaching experience at the college level to our staff.”

Garda, who graduated from W&J in 2021, was a standout defensive back, collecting 194 total tackles and six interceptions during his college career.

“Max is a recent alum of our program who dedicated himself to being the best football player he could be during his time here,” Sirianni said.

Wrestling

Columbia: Freshman Billy McChesney (Greensburg Salem) made his college debut but dropped a 3-1 decision at heavyweight as the Lions defeated Princeton, 27-13.

Iowa: Redshirt senior Spencer Lee (Franklin Regional), the nation’s top-ranked wrestler at 125 pounds, pinned No. 6 Eric Barnette of Wisconsin in 4:38 for his sixth consecutive win by fall. Lee has seven pins this season. His last four wins were pins over top-10 opponents ranked No. 9, 3, 7 and 6.

Pitt: Two Westmoreland County wrestlers helped the Panthers to a 25-6 victory over Virginia. Redshirt junior Colton Camacho (Franklin Regional) won by major decision at 125 pounds, and No. 7 Micky Phillippi (Derry) posted a decision at 133. For Virginia, 30th-ranked Jarod Verkleeren (Hempfield) scored a win via decision at 149.

Men’s indoor track & field

Saint Vincent: Senior Joe Bujdos was named the PAC Athlete of the Week. He won the 800-meter run in 1 minute, 57.22 seconds in a dual-meet against Muskingum. The time is the second fastest in the Mid-Atlantic Region.

Women’s bowling

Saint Vincent: Junior Monique Koehler was named the AMCC Bowler of the Week after leading the Bearcats to a win at the Pittsburgh Collegiate Classic. She was named the event’s MVP after rolling a tournament-best 800 across four games at Hillview Lanes in Greensburg. Her game scores were 222, 208, 203 and 167.

Men’s tennis

Penn State: Sophomore Loren Byers (Greensburg) is a player to watch this season for the Nittany Lions. He was 13-9 in dual singles last season as a freshman and finished 8-6 at No. 4 court. Byers was a five-star recruit and ranked No. 2 in Pennsylvania coming out of 21st Century Cyber Charter School.

Women’s swimming

Cal (Pa.): Freshman Ashley Hornick (Mt. Pleasant) swam with the third-place 200-yard freestyle relay (1:45.10) at the PennWest Duals. Teammate Emily Bednar (Mt. Pleasant) was honored on senior day.

Gannon: Junior Francezca Nemetz (Hempfield) helped the 200-yard medley relay to a victory in 1 minute, 57.36 seconds in a lopsided, 237-44 win over Penn State Behrend.

Saint Vincent: Senior Erica Steele (Greensburg Salem) was named the PAC Swimmer of the Week. Steele had three wins in the Bearcats’ victory over Westminster: the 100 freestyle (54.01 seconds), 200 freestyle (2:01.49), and 200 freestyle relay.

Washington & Jefferson: Junior Amanda Graves (Penn-Trafford) won the 100-yard backstroke in 1 minute, 9.36 seconds, and also finished second in the 200 back (2:30.55) as the Presidents lost to Grove City.

Westminster: Senior Shannon Greer (Hempfield) finished second in the 100-yard backstroke in 1 minute, 6.14 seconds as the Titans fell to Saint Vincent, 185-95. Greer also was third in the 200 back (2:24.95) and 100-yard butterfly (1:10.06).