Westmoreland County campus clippings: Hempfield grad Jacob Boord returns from injury at PAC championships

He didn’t defend his conference title, but the fact that Jacob Boord was able to compete at all came with a sizable measure of gratification.

A senior at Allegheny College and a Hempfield graduate, Boord was medically cleared from a foot injury to compete around 8:15 a.m. Thursday. With less than eight hours to prepare for the Presidents’ Athletic Conference track and field championships, he went out and threw the javelin.

He may not have been at 100% physically — or mentally — but he still registered a throw of 50.37 meters in the preliminary round.

“Even though I’ve been running on the AlterG treadmills, the muscle memory and trust for my foot just isn’t there,” Boord said. “That showed in my throws (Thursday). My arm and upper body are the strongest they’ve ever been. Unfortunately, without putting any weight through my block foot, the distances just weren’t going to be there.”

Boord fractured his fibula and tore his syndesmosis, a fibrous joint in his leg, while practicing during the indoor season. He had surgery about eight weeks ago.

With a plate and screws in place to form what he referred to as a “tightrope” between his tibia and fibula, Boord made a comeback.

He finished sixth at West Virginia University’s Mylan Park. Again, sixth is better than not competing at all.

“Recovery has had its ups and downs,” he said. “The recovery time for my injury typically is in the 10-12-week range to return to sport. At every milestone, I’ve been slightly ahead of schedule. I was non-weight bearing for the first six weeks following surgery. The first two weeks I spent in a splint, weeks 3-8 I’ve been in a boot. I just started walking on the boot two weeks ago. It was as taxing mentally as it was physically. When I had the procedure done, they told me I would have a very slim chance of returning at all this year.”

Boord trumpeted the praises of Meadville Medical Center for its hand in the process — surgery to physical therapy. “My trainers and coaches at Allegheny have also been stellar,” he said. “Without them, returning (Thursday) to try and defend my titles would’ve been impossible.

“Just because this was the first conference title I didn’t win in college doesn’t mean it wasn’t a victory. I did the impossible by getting fully cleared from an injury that would’ve ended most seasons in eight weeks. My support system has been amazing throughout this process. The road to returning to the form I was in 10 weeks ago will continue well into the summer, but I plan on starting my post-collegiate career next year with some big efforts.”

Women’s track and field

Waynesburg: Junior Megan Barry (Norwin) posted a season-best throw in the javelin of 37.10 meters to take fourth place at the PAC Championships in Morgantown, W.Va.

Westminster: Sophomore Abigail Painter (Ligonier Valley) took fifth place in the 400-meter dash in a personal-best time of 1 minute, 11.21 seconds at the PAC Championships.

Baseball

Grove City: Senior second baseman Lucca Baccari (Penn-Trafford) went 3 for 4 with a double as the Wolverines ran away with a 13-3 win over Franciscan.

Mercyhurst: Junior Jake Bazala (Norwin) earned the win on the mound, working two innings of relief to improve to 4-2, while junior Jayden Walker (Norwin) doubled in a 9-8 victory over Cal (Pa.) in PSAC action.

In a 16-2 win in the second game of the doubleheader, Walker went 2-2 with his first home run, two RBIs and three runs scored.

Pitt: Grad student catcher Josh Spiegel (Penn-Trafford) went 3 for 3 with a triple, three RBIs and two runs scored but the Panthers fell to Bryant, 11-8.

St. Bonaventure: Sophomore pitcher Noah Czajkowski (Norwin) improved to 3-4, tossing five innings of four-hit baseball with four strikeouts as the Bonnies beat Richmond, 5-2.

Seton Hill: With their winning streak stretching to 11, the Griffins (33-12, 17-7) ripped off their second straight four-game sweep in the PSAC West, topping Slippery Rock.

In an 8-2 win in the final game of the series, grad student Jack Oberdorf (Greensburg Salem) doubled and drove in three runs, senior Braden Durham had two hits and two runs, and sophomore Jack Whalen (Norwin) drove in a pair.

The Griffins clinched a spot in the PSAC playoffs.

In other team news, redshirt junior pitcher Jon McCullough was named the PSAC West Pitcher of the Week. He tossed a four-hit complete game in a 1-0 win over Slippery Rock, striking out six.

Washington & Jefferson: Senior Ethan Boring (Ligonier Valley) retired the side in the ninth for a four-out save as the Presidents edged past Westminster, 4-3.

Boring (0-1) has three saves in 10 appearances.

In an 18-2 win over Thiel, senior Kyle Jones (Mt. Pleasant) laced a two-run double for the Presidents.

Westmoreland County Community College: Freshman Anthony Massari (Latrobe) was named the Wolfpack MVP for the season.

In 31 games, Massari was slashing .310/.426/.405 and had 13 runs and 11 RBIs for WCCC (11-26).

Softball

Marist: Grad student Kiley Myers (Latrobe) struck out a career-high 12 batters and improved to 14-6 as the Red Foxes defeated Canisius, 7-3.

Saint Francis (Pa.): The Red Flash clinched the NEC regular-season title for the fourth straight season and moved to 20-0 in conference play with a 4-0 win over Wagner.

Local players on the team include senior infielder Ashley Orischak (Hempfield), freshman pitcher Olivia Kolowitz (Belle Vernon) and freshman catcher Maddie Kessler (Norwin).

Seton Hill: The Griffins (35-15), the No. 2 seed from the West Division, will open the PSAC Tournament Wednesday against West Chester (30-20), the No. 3 team from the East, at 12:30 p.m. Wednesday in Quakertown.

Senior pitcher Logan Hartman picked up her 20th win of the season over the weekend as Seton Hill split a doubleheader with IUP. Hartman tossed seven innings, scattering eight hits, before turning it over to senior Lauren Dellett, who earned her second save of the season in the 8-7 final in Game 2.

Sophomore Camryn Murphy was 4 for 5 with a double and three RBIs, while redshirt freshman Kassidy Wittig went 3 for 4 with three runs and two RBIs for the Griffins.

Men’s volleyball

Penn State: For the third time in his career, grad student John Kerr (Derry) was named the AVCA National Player of the Week.

The 6-foot-6 big hitter helped the Nittany Lions win back-to-back EIVA Tournament championships, averaging 6.2 kills and 2.1 digs per set in wins over Harvard and George Mason.

The middle hitter had four aces to help clinch the title match.

He had a career-high 31 kills in a four-set win against Harvard.

Penn State opens the NCAA Tournament Tuesday against US Irvine at Long Beach State.

Men’s golf

Fairmont State: Junior Alex Turowski (Penn-Trafford) was one of 32 players to qualify to compete in the NCAA Division II Championship regionals, set for May 9-11 at Oglebay Golf Resort in Wheeling, W.Va.

The top two student-athletes not with a team from each regional will advance to the finals, May 21-25 at the Orange County National Golf Center and Lodge in Winter Garden, Fla. The finals will be hosted by Rollins College and the Greater Orlando Sports Commission.

Men’s tennis

Saint Vincent: Freshman Brady Johnson (Norwin) was named the PAC Newcomer of the Week. Johnson had a 6-2 record over four matches.

Men’s lacrosse

Saint Vincent: Junior Brady Beard was named the PAC Specialist of the Week. Beard, a faceoff specialist and midfielder, won 27 of 31 faceoffs over a two-match stretch and tallied 12 ground balls.

Seton Hill: Grad student Andy Davis reached 100 career points.

Washington & Jefferson: Senior Nathan Petrarco (Norwin) and sophomore Braden Petrarco each had an assist in a 31-3 loss to Grove City.

Women’s lacrosse

Seton Hill: Grad student Makayla Kintner was named the PSAC West Defensive Player of the Week.

Kintner helped the Griffins win two games, finishing with 10 draw controls, nine caused turnovers and nine ground balls.

The Griffins (12-4, 10-1) defeated Mercyhurst over the weekend, 15-11, to clinch the PSAC West Division title for the fourth straight season.

Redshirt junior Skylar Orlowski had four goals and one assist.

They will host the conference tournament May 10-12.

Men’s track and field

Grove City: Senior Gabe Dunlap (Penn-Trafford) won the javelin title at the PAC Championships and helped the Wolverines repeat as conference champions.

Dunlap’s winning toss sailed 185 feet, 8 inches.

Saint Vincent: Senior Tim Patterson won a conference title in record fashion.

He set a PAC record in the 5K with a time of 14 minutes, 55.57 seconds.

Women’s track and field

Duquesne: Senior Hannah Seitzinger (Belle Vernon) won the 400-meter dash in 55.64 seconds and senior Sadie Wetzel (Latrobe) took the high jump in 5 feet, 6 inches at the Saint Francis (Pa.) Red Flash Open.

Michigan: Freshman Liz Tapper (Hempfield) won the discus title with a personal-best throw of 168-6 — the eighth-best mark in program history — at the Len Paddock Open.

Saint Vincent: Sophomore Miranda Cincotta finished second in the 1,500-meter run with a time of 4:44.69 at the PAC Championships.

Seton Hill: Grad student Natasha Bernett was named the PSAC Women’s Track Athlete of the Week. Bernett took two first places, a second and third at the John Papa Invitational at Slippery Rock. She won the 400-meter hurdles in a conference-best and school-record time of 1:1.61.

Slippery Rock: Grad student Tiffany Jolayemi (Franklin Regional) was named the PSAC Field Athlete of the Week. Jolayemi won the hammer throw at the John Papa Invitational with a mark of 54.17 meters, which ranks first in the conference and 17th in the nation.

Men’s tennis

Saint Vincent: Freshman August Lawrence (Latrobe) was named to the PAC all-tournament team.