Washington & Jefferson senior second baseman Stephanie Zur, a Bethel Park graduate, was named to the All-Presidents' Athletic Conference Softball team as a first-team selection.
Zur batted a career-best .359 (46-for-128) this spring with 36 runs scored (3rd in PAC). Her 46 base hits ranked sixth in the league and she tied for second in the PAC with five triples (27th in NCAA Division III).
Edinboro's Colin Bandell was named the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Men's Tennis Freshman of the Year. He was also named to the All-PSAC team.
Bandell, a Bethel Park graduate, compiled a team-leading 20-8 record this season, playing primarily out of the fourth position.
Cara De Carlo's feature on the Bethel Park girls' track team:
(Photo: Paige Kochka-Puskar placed second in the high jump at the South Hills Classic held at Baldwin High School on April 6. Pam Panchak/Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.)
Bethel Park boys volleyball coach Tom Allman entered the 2013 season with expectations of a four-team battle for the Class AAA Section 1 title.
"It should come down to a battle among Upper St. Clair, Peters Township, Baldwin and Bethel Park for the title," said Allman, now in his 22nd year. "All four teams are capable of taking the title and I don't see a clear-cut favorite."
Now -- just two weeks into the season -- Bethel Park is the only remaining unbeaten team in the section. The Black Hawks have defeated two of the three teams that figure to be standing between them and the section title.
Bethel Park has a 4-0 section record after Tuesday's 3-0 sweep against winless Moon Area. Peters Township is in second place at 3-1 after defeating Upper St. Clair (2-2) Tuesday. Baldwin, is in third place at 2-1.
Bethel Park head girls’ track coach Brian Scott noted that the team will miss 2012 graduates Hillary Boxheimer and Kelsey Metheny. The two had become synonymous with Bethel Park distance running by the time they’d graduated last May.
However, the Black Hawks team is going to be good for different reasons moving forward. They’re grooming new distance runners (Courtney Conway) and Madeleine “Magelle” Boucher. Conway is nursing a foot injury and did not participate in last Saturday’s South Hills Classic. However, she will see more track time in the coming weeks.
Also, Gina Speranza is an improving sprinter for Bethel Park, as are Tatiana Ruzzini and AJ Baroffio. Baroffio, while best known for her work on Bethel Park’s soccer field, is also a clutch performer in Bethel Park’s relays.
Not to be left out is shot put thrower Alexandra Stevenson. Stevenson took ninth place at states last year in the shot put.
Scott said that overall, the biggest thing that stands out about the Bethel Park girls’ track team is the way that the athletes’ work ethic is balanced by their team chemistry.
“It most definitely is the work ethic,” Scott said. “When it comes to in between reps, they will joke around and kid around. But they focus when it’s time to go.”
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