McGrath named Holy Cross captain
Ryan McGrath of Mt. Lebanon has been named captain of the Holy Cross men’s hockey team for the 2013-14 season.
The senior defenseman is a two-year member of the Holy Cross Leadership Academy. He has been named to the Atlantic Hockey All-Academic team twice. This season as a junior he made 25 appearances on defense with two assists. He has played in 35 games with one goal and five assists for six points.
The Crusaders return 21 players from a 20-14-3 club.
He played one season of high school hockey at Mt. Lebanon, under Paul Taibi. He was picked to attend four USA Hockey National Select Festivals.
Also before coming to Holy Cross, McGrath played for the Bay State Breakers in the Eastern Junior Hockey League (EJHL). There he posted seven goals and 20 assists for 27 points in 45 games He was also a member of the Marquette Rangers of the North American Hockey League and earned NAHL Player of the Week honors. He recorded six goals and 17 assists for 23 points in 55 games. He also played for the Topeka Road Runners and his team won the NAHL Southern Division championship.
The son of Paul and Kathy McGrath is a political science major. He has one sibling, a sister named Kaitlyn.
The Pennsylvania Scholastic Football Coaches Association has selected Garry Cathell for induction into its Hall of Fame.
Windber’s Phil DeMarco, Delone Catholic’s Denny Frew, Dallas’ Ted Jackson and Clearfield’s Tim Janocko also were honored during ceremonies at the Big 33 Football Classic held recently in Hershey.
The former Peters Township football skipper also has coached at Butler and Elizabeth Forward. As a coach, the Clairton native compiled a 107-131-4 record.
Cathell has been an active member of the PSFCA and his work with the organization has drawn praise. He holds the position of executive manager in the PSFCA and has been an organizer of the Pennsylvania East/West All-Star Game.
Christopher Besser of Upper St. Clair was awarded a $1,000 academic scholarships by the Big 33 Scholarship Foundation with funding from the PNC Foundation. The scholarships were awarded based on overall academic excellence, community service, leadership ability and community involvement.