College notebook: Washington native enters Western Kentucky’s HOF
Chuck Eneix, a Washington native and resident, was one of five people inducted into the Western Kentucky Athletic Hall of Fame last month in Bowling Green, Ky.
Eneix was a four-time letterman (1970-73) in track and field for the Hilltoppers and a three-time Ohio Valley Conference discus champion.
Eneix finished in fourth place in the discus competition at the 1973 NCAA Championships to garner All-America status. His throw of 192-2 was the WKU school record and ninth-best throw in the nation that spring. The record held for 32 years until it was bested by eight inches.
Eneix still holds the OVC meet record in the discus with a throw of 179-2½, set in 1973. He broke his own record of 174-6 set during his junior season. It is the oldest track and field record on the books in the OVC.
Also a competitor in the shot put, Eneix set the WKU record in the event in 1972 with a throw of 58-4¾ to beat the previous mark by 6½ inches.
Overall, Eneix was a four-time OVC champion – three times in the discus and one in the shot put.
In his senior year at Washington High School, Eneix was the state champion in the discus and runner-up in the shot put. His state championship-winning discus throw was 168-9.
He was inducted into the Washington-Greene chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame in 2001.
In soccer
Winthrop junior forward Annabel Thomas received honorable mention on the All-Big South team in her first year with the Eagles.
A Canon-McMillan graduate and a transfer from Akron, Thomas was one of the top goal scorers in the Big South and led the Eagles with seven goals. She ranked in the top three in the conference in both goals and goals per game while ranking fifth in scoring. Thomas became the first Eagles player with seven goals in a season since 2017, when her older sister, Allie Thomas, had seven.
Thomas’ best game came Sept. 7, when she scored three goals in a 7-0 win over South Carolina State.
Penn State New Kensington’s Austin Arnold was voted first team All-Penn State University Athletic Conference.
A sophomore forward and Chartiers-Houston graduate, Arnold was New Kensington’s second-leading scorer with 30 points, coming on 13 goals and four assists. The 13 goals was the team high.
Arnold scored eight goals during a three-match stretch in October. It included three goals and an assist in a 14-1 rout of Penn State Wilkes-Barre, two goals in a 6-0 shutout of Penn State York and three more goals in a 7-1 thumping of Penn State Beaver.
Penn State New Kensington had an 11-3-1 overall record and a 7-1-1 mark in conference play.
Arnold has scored 27 goals in 33 career games.
In volleyball
Lauren Valentic, a Peters Township graduate, has helped the IUP women’s volleyball team earn a berth in the NCAA Division II tournament.
Valentic, a junior middle hitter, was named to the All-PSAC West Division first team. A transfer from Buffalo, Valentic ranked second in the league in blocks per set (1.08) and total blocks, while ranking third in the PSAC with a .333 hitting percentage. She was named PSAC West Defensive Player of the Week on Oct. 17 after leading the Crimson Hawks to wins over Slippery Rock and Edinboro. She had 13 blocks in two matches, including eight against The Rock.
IUP (20-8) faces Wheeling in the first round of the NCAA tournament Friday.
In football
Josh Casilli, a junior wide receiver from McMurray and a Peters Township graduate, is the leading pass catcher for Penn.
Casilli has 51 receptions through nine games. He averages 9.5 yards per reception and has scored four touchdowns. His best game came Oct. 15 against Columbia when he caught 11 passes for 159 yards and a 42-yard touchdown in the Quakers’ 34-14 victory.
Jelani Stafford, a sophomore defensive tackle and California High School graduate, has helped Connecticut become bowl eligible.
A transfer from Youngstown State, Stafford has played in all 11 of the Huskies’ games and has 22 total tackles (seven solo). Stafford has two sacks, one each against Syracuse and Fresno State. In the Syracuse game, he made four tackles, including two for losses.
In cross country
Venetia native and Peters Township graduate Jennifer Massucci, a senior at John Carroll, has helped the Blue Streak to their third consecutive Ohio Athletic Conference championship and finished in first place in the team standings at the NCAA Division III Great Lakes Regional Championships held Saturday in Holland, Mich.
At the regional, Massucci covered the 6K course in 22:12.0 to finish in 25th place out of 247 runners.
At the OAC Championships hosted by Muskingum, Massucci finished in 10th place with a time of 23:43.3 to earn first team all-conference honors.
Massucci was an academic All-American in the steeplechase during the 2022 outdoor track season.
In swimming
Wheeling’s Jade Miller, a sophomore from Washington and a Trinity graduate, was named Monday as the Mountain East Conference Swimmer of the Week after winning three events in the Cardinals’ victory over Salem.
Miller began her day in the fifth event of the meet, swimming in the 100-yard butterfly against four competitors. She notched her first win with a time of 1:00.58. Miller would not return to the meet until 14 events later. She swam the 200 backstroke and posted a winning time of 2:10.73. She wrapped up the day with a win in the 200 breaststroke (2:37.67).