Achieving athletes
Hondru internsAfter graduating with a degree in sports management, University of Delaware softball player Kate Hondru is off to New Orleans to begin an internship with the Sugar Bowl.
A McMurray native and Peters Township graduate, Hondru was a four-year member of the Delaware softball team and helped the Blue Hens to a 29-20 record this spring as a utility player.
While interning with the Sugar Bowl, Hondru expects to be exposed to a wide range of business areas and gain experience in operations, event planning, promotions and corporate partnerships.
“My sport management education and work experiences in operations, marketing promotions, fan engagement and fundraising have provided me with a strong business foundation, while the qualities and skills I gained through playing sports have prepared me for the fast-paced and team-focused culture at the Sugar Bowl,” Hondru said.
“My dad (Scott) always taught me the importance of hard work, perseverance and staying true to my goals. It wasn’t always easy being a student-athlete at UD, but it was always worth it.”
Bromley MVPEvan Bromley of Bethel Park was named tournament MVP after helping the Penn State Behrend baseball team capture the 2023 ECAC Division III baseball championship with a 6-4 win against Alvernia.
The title was the first for the Lions since 2015 and Bromley came into the final after the third inning to secure the win. Bromley allowed three hits and one run in picking up his sixth victory and Behrend finished the season with a 22-19 overall record.
A 6-1, 165-pound right-handed pitcher, Bromley appeared in 12 games and pitched 51 innings, striking out 26. He has been an academic all-conference performer while majoring in history.
The son of Gary and Theresa Bromley was a three-year letter winner at Bethel Park High School, helping the Hawks to two section banners in 2018 and 2019. He was a second-team all-section performer and WPIAL wins leader in 2019. Bromley was also a member of the National Honor Society and the Principal’s Advisory Committee.
In other Behrend baseball news, Mac Ciocco of Venetia was named to the 2023 D3baseball.com All-Region third team. The Peters Township High School graduate was a sophomore designated hitter that earned second-team All-AMCC accolades.
Ciocco led the Lions with a .378 batting average and 35 RBIs. He ranked third in hits (45) and fourth with 10 doubles. He had 13 multiple-hit games, including a pair of hits with two doubles for five RBIs in a 9-7 win over Penn State Altoona.
The son of Beth and Michael Ciocco was a three-year varsity member on the PTHS baseball team. He gained team MVP honors as well as first-team all-section acclaim while playing for the Indians. He is majoring in mechanical engineering.
Paul Connolly of Mt. Lebanon and Daniel Boheme from Peters Township were also members of the Behrend baseball squad.
Connolly is a 5-8, 160-pound catcher. The son of Alicia and Paul Connolly completed his freshman year of studies in biology.
A Seton LaSalle graduate, Boheme completed his sophomore season as an infielder. The son of Daneen and Jeffrey Boheme is majoring in interdisciplinary business engineering.
Allen placesDuquesne sophomore Amy Allen, a former standout runner at South Fayette, placed fourth in the 400 meters at the ECAC Outdoor Championships in Fairfax, Va. Allen ran a personal-best time of 55.71.
Earlier this spring, Allen participated in the prestigious Penn Relays. She helped the 4×400 relay team post the fifth-fastest time in school history with a season-best 3:45.61 and a seventh-place finish in the finals.
The 20-year-old daughter of Eileen and Bill Allen was the Observer-Reporter/Almanac Female Athlete of the Year in 2021. She won four gold medals in the WPIAL championships that spring and anchored the 4×100-meter relay team to a PIAA gold medal and school record performance of 47.85. Allen also helped that team finish eighth in the during the Nike Outdoor Nationals held at the University of Oregon
Bruce honoredDayton senior Connor Bruce was named first team All-Atlantic 10 for the third consecutive season.
A Peters Township graduate, Bruce won 18 matches this season playing as the top singles player for the Flyers. He added 12 victories playing doubles. Bruce reached the 100-career win mark during the spring season with a victory over St. Bonaventure.
Bruce also was named to the All-Academic team, reserved for student-athletes with a GPA of 3.0 or higher. It is the second such honor for Bruce.
PT players shineFormer Peters Township standout Wes Parker had a productive freshman season for the Toledo baseball team. Parker batted .267 with three home runs in 26 games (15 starts).
Parker’s best game was a 3-for-4 day with three runs, a double, triple and three RBI against Northern Illinois.
Additionally, former PT standouts, Jack Kail and Sam Miller, were impact players as freshmen in the Ivy League for Columbia.
Kail started 38 games for the Lions and batted .241 with four doubles, two triples and three home runs. He had one more walk than strikeouts. Kail went 2-for-2 and drove in four runs against Tulane and hit a grand slam in a 15-1 win over Cornell.
Miller played in 28 games and batted .308 with three doubles, one triple and three home runs. He had a 3-for-5 game and drove in four runs against Army. Miller also made seven pitching appearances.