Westmoreland County high school notebook: Norwin runner makes Division I commitment

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Saturday, January 27, 2024 | 11:01 AM

Rosemary Gaydos became the latest Norwin track and field athlete to commit to a Division I college program.

Gaydos will continue her distance-running and cross country career at St. Francis (Pa.) in Loretto.

She has lettered every year in cross country, track and field and swimming.

Her personal-best times are 19 minutes, 23 seconds in cross country, 5:18 in the 1,600-meter run and 11:36 in the 3,200.

She qualified for the PIAA meet last season in the 3,200 and made the state cross country meet.

A former WCCA individual 3,200 champion, Gaydos helped Norwin win back-to-back county team titles.

“Rosemary has been a rock for us in both cross country and track,” Norwin coach Brian Fleckenstein said. “She has anchored that senior class and has been a leader for the distance squad since middle school. Rosemary’s competitive fight, her sense of humor and work ethic set the bar for many future student athletes. It will be a bittersweet day when she goes on to college, but SFU is getting a good one for sure.”

D-I offers for Leven

Lineman Max Leven left Franklin Regional last year and decided to play football at Bridgton Academy (Maine) to sharpen his skills and better prepare to play at a higher level.

The plan is working out for the 6-foot-8, 285-pound tackle. Leven received offers to play at Division I-FCS programs Monmouth, Merrimack College and Tennessee Tech.

PIHL all-stars

The PIHL will play its all-star games Sunday at RMU Island Sports Complex on Neville Island.

The schedule features Division 2 at noon, Class A (Blue) at 1:50 p.m., Class A (Gold) at 3:40, Class 2A at 5:30 and Class 3A at 7:30.

Westmoreland County players in the games include: 2A – Hempfield’s JJ Williams (F), Alex Smillie (F), Nick Eberhardt (D), Chase Spehar (D) and Evan Saltzgiver (GK); Latrobe’s Jacob Hannah (F), Joey Crimboli (F), Louie Amatucci (D) and Brock Pflugh (GK); Penn-Trafford’s Bryce Kropczynski (F), Robert Thatcher (F), Cam Kiste (D) and Cam Farrow (GK); Norwin’s Alex Thomas (F), Dom Cerilli (F), Aaron Varrati (D) and Owen Burmeister (GK); and Franklin Regional’s Max Rutkowski (F) and Brendan Yohe (F); Class A (Gold) — Greensburg Salem’s Carter Cherok (F), Chase Kushner (F), Mikey Kingerski (F), Dylan Swierczysnki (D), Noah Outly (D) and Tristan Gonzales (GK) and Kiski Area’s Ethan Bombalski (D); Division 2 — Burrell’s Mike Morascyzk (F), Tyler Danko (F), John Lukac (D), Julian Kemp (D), Chantz Watkins (D) and Kooper Price (GK).

Metzger resigns

Norwin girls soccer coach Diane Metzger resigned after three seasons with the program.

Metzger, a former PIAA champion with Norwin as a player in 1996, had a record of 22-20-2 with one playoff appearance and one postseason win.

Norwin missed the playoffs in her last two years, going 9-25-2 in that span. Two years ago, the Knights did not reach the postseason for the first time in program history.

Combo offer

Temple took a liking to two Latrobe football players and extended a scholarship offer to both. The Owls offered juniors Alex Tatsch (linebacker) and John Wetzel (safety). Both players also have offers from West Virginia, Akron and Boston College.

Tatsch has 19 offers from Power 5 programs, including USC, Stanford, Pitt, Penn State, West Virginia, Michigan State and Virginia.

USC coach Lincoln Riley visited Tatsch at Latrobe last week.

Wetzel’s additional offers include Lehigh and Cincinnati.

Recruiting

• Hempfield senior cross country and track distance runner Alicia Weimer committed to run at Colgate. She qualified for the PIAA Class 3A track and field championships with the Spartans’ 3,200 relay. Weimer finished 27th at the WPIAL 3A cross country meet in 19 minutes, 55 seconds.

• Jackson Hutter, a senior football player at Mt. Pleasant, has a preferred walk-on offer from Robert Morris. The 6-foot-1, 200-pound linebacker also recently was offered a scholarship to play at Cal (Pa.).

• Yough senior softball player Maddie Horvat committed to Mount Aloysius. She is a second baseman for the Cougars.

• Alex Nash, a senior at Belle Vernon, will continue his baseball career at Allegheny. Nash (6-3, 200) is a right-handed pitcher and corner infielder for the Leopards.

Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.

Tags: Belle Vernon, Franklin Regional, Latrobe, Norwin, Penn-Trafford, Yough