Dunn’s debut nets Horizon League honor
Mary Dunn has made an immediate impact with the Youngstown State women’s basketball team.
Dunn, a freshman from Washington and a Trinity graduate, was named the Horizon League Freshman of the Week for Nov. 13-19.
Dunn averaged 12.3 points and 5.7 rebounds while shooting 51.7 percent from the field in the first three starts of her career against Pitt, Hawaii and Sacramento State. The latter two contests were played in Honolulu.
She began the week with eight points and seven rebounds in her collegiate debut against Pitt and followed that by scoring 14 points in 17 minutes Nov. 18 at Hawaii. Dunn concluded the week by scoring a career-high 15 points to go with four blocked shots and six rebounds in the Penguins’ 102-94 win over Sacramento State in the Bank of Hawaii Classic.
A 1,000-point scorer at Trinity, Dunn helped the Hillers to the WPIAL Class AAA title game last season as she averaged 17.6 points and 7.4 rebounds per game. She also was named third team all-state.
Junior wide receiver Justin Watson was a major reason why Penn won its 18th Ivy League championship.
A South Fayette graduate, Watson was one of six Quakers named first team All-Ivy League and was a unanimous selection.
For the second consecutive season, Watson led the Ivy League in pass receptions (89), receiving yards (1,115) and touchdowns (8). He also led the conference in all-purpose yards with 1,248.
One of 15 finalists for the Walter Payton Award as the FCS Offensive Player of the Year, Watson set Penn single-season records in both receptions and yards. Among the nation’s elite receivers, Watson ranked No. 3 in the FCS in receptions-per-game (8.9), No. 5 in yards per game (111.5) and No. 8 in total receiving yards despite playing fewer games than five of the wide receivers ranked ahead of him.
Watson ranks No. 2 all-time at Penn in receiving yards (2,694) and in receptions (205), and No. 4 in receiving TDs (19). On the Ivy League’s all-time lists, he is No. 9 in receiving yards and No. 12 in receptions.
The Bridgeville native had six 100-yard receiving games this fall and his 13 career 100-yard games are tied for third all-time by an Ivy Leaguer. No Ivy League player had 13 100-yard receiving games over a two-year span before Watson did so in 2015 and 2016.
Joe Phillips of Washington completed his senior season as a defensive tackle at Slippery Rock and was named first team All-PSAC West Division for the second consecutive year.
A Wash High graduate, Phillips finished the season with five sacks, including three in the season finale against East Stroudsburg, nine tackles for loss and 20 total tackles.
Phillips clogged the middle of the line of scrimmage and helped The Rock have the seventh-best rushing defense in NCAA Division II, allowing opponents only 82.5 yards per game. He has accepted invitations to the National Bowl, a senior all-star bowl in Daytona Beach, Fla., in December and the Dream Bowl in Virginia Beach, Va., in January.
Phillips was the recipient of the Gramm Award for most dedicated and hard-working student-athlete at Slippery Rock in 2016.
Malik Wells, a sophomore running back, led Robert Morris in rushing.
A Wash High product, Wells rushed for 292 yards and two touchdowns for the Colonials. He also was the fourth-leading receiver with 10 catches for 76 yards.
Goalkeeper Kyra Murphy, a sophomore from Canonsburg, had an 11-5-3 record in 19 starts for Duquesne and helped the Dukes advance to the quarterfinals of the Atlantic 10 Conference tournament.
Murphy made 88 saves and allowed only 18 goals. She had seven shutouts as the Dukes finished the season with an 11-6-3 overall record.
Caitlin Caldwell of Belle Vernon was named third team All-Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference.
A sophomore defenseman at Penn State Behrend, Caldwell started all 20 games and helped Behrend lead the AMCC with an overall 1.04 goals-against average. Caldwell, who controls set pieces, recorded one goal and four assists for six points as Behrend won its sixth consecutive AMCC championship and advanced to the NCAA Division III tournament.
Mario Mastrangelo was the second-leading scorer for the St. Francis (Pa.) Red Flash.
A sophomore forward from Venetia and a Peters Township graduate, Mastrangelo played in 20 games and started 15. He scored four goals, assisted on two others and tallied 10 points. Mastrangelo’s 45 shots were a team high, as were his 18 shots on goal.
Point Park’s Shiloh Simonson, a senior from Venetia and a Peters Township graduate, was named the River States Conference Player of the Year. She led the Pioneers to the best conference record in the RSC and their third straight trip to the NAIA national tournament.
Simonson’s season totals included 291 kills, 400 digs and 65 service aces during the regular season. She ranked 10th in the nation in service aces and had career totals of 1,165 kills and 1,550 digs entering the national tournament.
Point Park’s Mike Bruno, who is a Cecil resident, was named RSC Coach of the Year. In his 12th season at Point Park and 17th overall as a head coach, Bruno earned a conference Coach of the Year honor for the sixth time in his career. By leading the Pioneers to a 15-1 record in the RSC, Bruno notched his fourth NAIA appearance in six years. Bruno won his 400th career game in the regular-season finale, which put him in a tie for 14th among active NAIA volleyball coaches.
Lauren Tassone of Pitt-Greensburg was named third team All-Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference.
A former Peters Township standout, Tassone was a senior outside and middle hitter for UPG. She helped guide Pitt-Greensburg to its most victories since 2008 and the school’s first postseason berth since 2009. Tassone led the Bobcats in kills (194), kills per set (1.98), hitting percentage (.196), and was second in total attacks (598).
Tassone appeared in 28 of 29 games and helped the Bobcats put on a great performance on its own court, leading them to a 3-2 record in Chambers Hall, which tied for the most home victories since 2013.
North Carolina sophomore A.C. Headlee placed fifth at 141 pounds in the season-opening Southeast Open in Roanoke, Va.
A Waynesburg native, Headlee lost his opening round bout to Matt Kolodzik of Princeton, 6-1, then reeled off four consecutive victories, including an 11-5 decision over Old Dominion’s Kevin Budock in the fifth-place bout.
North Carolina is coached by Waynesburg native and Olympic bronze medalist Coleman Scott.