Lady Roaring Lions recruiting well
This week, we focus on Penn State Fayette, The Eberly Campus, women鈥檚 basketball recruiting class as well as look at a monster signing day today at Belle Vernon Area.
Hillen slowly building program at Fayette
Lady Roaring Lions head coach Scott Hillen will have plenty of new talent to work with entering his third season at Penn State Fayette.
The program picked up its fifth commitment for next season last week when California Area鈥檚 Bailey Vig, a 1,000-point scorer, signed on with the team.
鈥淗aving a local talent like Bailey come on board is huge for our program,鈥� Hillen said. 鈥淪he will be a key piece of what we are trying to build moving forward.鈥�
Vig joins an impressive class that includes other local players in Charleroi鈥檚 Kaitlyn Riley, Southmoreland鈥檚 Carissa Cyphert and Ringgold鈥檚 Taylor Costa, as well as Turkeyfoot Valley鈥檚 Julie Conn.
鈥淲e are really excited at the class that we have built so far and we are hoping to add to it,鈥� Hillen said. 鈥淓ach one of them are hard workers on the court, but more importantly, they work hard on their academics, and that is the type of student-athlete we are trying to pursue.
鈥淭his class will provide us with depth, and there is plenty of talent in this quintet.鈥�
BVA鈥檚 massive collection of student-athletes
Belle Vernon Area hosted its spring Letter of Intent Signing Day today, and 10 more players have chosen where they will continue their respective athletic careers, as they work towards college degrees.
Zach Hartman, a two-time WPIAL champion and PIAA runner-up on the mat, will continue his wrestling career and academic career at Bucknell University.
A pair of girls soccer players, Alexis Demko and Keelie Selvoski, made their decisions and will attend the University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown and Waynesburg University, respectively.
Joe Sabolek was a menace on the hardwood for four years for the boys basketball team, but he will trade in his gym shows for a pair of spikes and a glove, as he will continue his baseball career at Waynesburg.
鈥淚 am blessed to be able to continue my career and while I am looking forward to the rest of the baseball season this year, I am excited to head to Waynesburg,鈥� Sabolek said.
Two of Sabolek鈥檚 teammates will continue their hardwood careers, as Bryce Washington is headed to Waynesburg, and Griffin LaCarte will play at Juniata College.
Not to be outdone, three members of the girls basketball team announced where they will continue their respective careers.
Rylie Campbell is headed to Allegheny College, Taylor Kovatch is going to Waynesburg and Caitlyn Trombley will play at Carlow University.
Alex Sokol has helped the girls softball team to a pair of WPIAL titles, and will continue her career at the University of Pittsburgh-Greensburg.
鈥淚 am excited to have the opportunity to continue to play softball,鈥� Sokol said. 鈥淚t has played a big part of my life, and I look forward to playing while working towards my degree.鈥�
The 10 signings means that BVA has 18 seniors who have committed to playing next year, and there are still a few more looking to make their respective decisions.
鈥淭he thing that really stands out about this group of kids is just what kind of quality people they are,鈥� said Belle Vernon Athletic Director Matt Humbert. 鈥淎ll are high-academic, they are all driven and are all dedicated student-athletes.
鈥淚t has been an exciting year for these student-athletes and their coaches and as a collective group, they epitomize that doing great things the right way pays off.
鈥淭hey are all great ambassadors of our district.鈥�
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