In 2023-24, a record 154 Wildcats earned scholar-athlete honors in the United East Conference (136) and Allegheny Mountain College Conference (18 wrestlers). 

A department-best 10 programs earned United East Team Academic Honors by achieving a team GPA of 3.25 or higher. Women’s basketball, men’s cross-country, women’s cross-country, men’s golf, women’s soccer, men’s soccer, softball, men’s tennis, women’s tennis and women’s volleyball earned the honor. The Wildcats sponsor 13 UE sports.

Newcomers of the Year

Grace Lorson ‘27 (softball) started every game in her rookie campaign for the UE Champion Wildcats. She was fourth on the team with a .339 batting average while collecting 42 hits, nine doubles, three triples and two home runs. Lorson drove in 22 runs, scored 42 times and swiped a team-high 19 stolen bases. She was also a finalist for National Fastpitch Coaches Association National Freshman of the Year and was named to the United East Second Team. 

Dallas Griess ’27 (baseball) received first-team all-conference and American Baseball Coaches Association/Rawlings All-Region selections and hit .386 on the season (the conference’s 12th best). He racked up 44 hits, seven doubles, four triples and five home runs and scored 38 runs. Griess registered 13 multi-hit games, including six three-hit games. 

Kaden Ware ’27 (wrestling) posted a 33-12 record at 133 pounds and led the team with seven tech falls and nine major decisions. Ware placed third at the AMCC Championship and was the team’s top regional medalist after placing sixth at the Mideast Region Championship. 

Athletes of the Year

Gavin Barrett ’25 (men’s basketball) repeated as the CATS Male Athlete of the Year after he averaged 16.9 points, 8.4 assists and 5.2 rebounds for the Wildcats in 2023-24. He led the country in assists per game (7.7) and triple-doubles (two) while he tied for second in the nation with a 1.7 assist-to-turnover ratio and was sixth in scoring. He earned D3hoops.com All-Region and UE First Team All-Conference selections. 

During 2023-24, Peyton Mussina ’25 (golf) earned individual medalist honors and Golfer of the Year at the United East Conference Championship while leading the Wildcats to their second consecutive team title. He made the PING/Golf Coaches Association of America All-Region Team and received Cobalt/GCAA All-America Scholar honors. Mussina concluded the season at the Division III Golf National Championship, where he shot a four-day total of 286 to finish tied for 17th in the country. 

Kaelynn Sheetz ’24 (women’s soccer) garnered her second First Team All-Conference selection and a spot on the United Soccer Coaches All-Region squad after breaking multiple program records, including career goals (49) and points (113). She finished her final season with a program single-season record 24 goals, six assists and 54 total points – making her seventh in the nation in total points in NCAA Division III. She finished second in the league in total goals and points. 

Scholar-Athletes of the Year

Along with her athletic achievements, Sheetz was selected to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District and All-American teams and was the UE Fall Senior Scholar-Athlete Award winner – all while holding a 3.94 GPA in nursing. 

A UE First Team All-Conference runner and a Fall All-Academic Team and All-Sportsmanship Team selection, Matthew Woolcock ’26 (men’s cross country) is a welding & fabrication engineering technology student with a 4.0 GPA. He placed sixth at the United East Championships to help the Wildcats earn the Men’s Cross-Country Team Championship. 

Also earning awards were: Becca Rohrer (Staff Member of the Year), men’s lacrosse team (Community Service Award), Angie Stackhouse (Coach of the Year), Gary Clark (Assistant Coach of the Year) and men’s cross-country (Scholar Team Award). Women’s basketball earned the Wildcat Cup, which recognizes a team’s cumulative performance in the classroom, in the community, on the field and in supporting all athletic teams.

Former Penn College golf, volleyball and softball standouts Ned Baumbach ’19, Courtney Gernert ’13, and Taylor Krow ’19 were inducted into the Penn College Athletics Hall of Fame during Wildcat Weekend. 

Baumbach, of Elizabethtown, was awarded all-North Eastern Athletic Conference honors. During his time as a Wildcat, the Penn College golf team placed sixth in the NEAC (Spring 2016), fourth in the NEAC in (Spring 2017), and third in the NEAC in 2018 and 2019. Baumbach earned NEAC All-Academic honors twice. 

An outside hitter for the volleyball team, Gernert, of Palmyra, finished with more than 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs while helping her teams to the Penn State University Athletic Conference co-championship in 2012, a second-place PSUAC finish in 2011 and a berth in the PSUAC semifinals in 2013. She earned all-conference honors in the PSUAC (twice), USCAA and NEAC. In addition to her on-court achievements, Gernert was named to all-academic teams during all four years. 

Krow, an outfielder on the softball team, was a two-time NEAC first-team honoree and two-time second-team selection who had a .379 career batting average. She led the team twice in that category. As a freshman, she also led the team in runs, hits and doubles. As a sophomore, she was the team leader in hits and slugging percentage, and as a junior, she again led the team in hits. During her career, the Wildcats reached the playoffs three times in the NEAC, where they finished second in 2019, and once in the USCAA.

Cross-Country

Penn College won its second consecutive United East men’s cross-country championship and placed a conference-record nine runners on the all-conference team. Alec Rees ’25 led Penn College with a fifth-place finish, while Mitchell Campbell ’25 (seventh) and Ethan Knapp ’28 (10th) joined Rees as first-team all-conference selections. Matthew Woolcock ’26 (11th), Aaron Guerrisky ’26 (16th), and Holden Furey ’27 (17th) were named to the second team, and Chase Ebeling ’27 (21st), Jacob Parker ’27 (25th) and Noah Bowers ’25 (33rd) earned third-team honors. 

The women’s team finished fourth at the event and had four runners earn all-conference honors. Elaina Brady ’27 (10th place) earned a first-team selection, while Isabella Kerlin ’28 (23rd), Karleigh Hunter ’27 (27th) and Lillian DePew ’28 (32nd) were named to the third team. Kayleigh Miller ’25 received the scholar-athlete Elite 20 Award, which she also earned last year as a member of the women’s basketball team. 

Women’s Soccer 

The women’s soccer team went unbeaten in the regular season, reached the United East semifinals and finished the season at 15-1-4 – the most wins in program history. Four Wildcats were named to the United East first team. Megan Kurian ’28 became the first player in the history of the conference to be named both the Rookie of the Year and the Player of the Year in a team sport. Kurian finished her rookie campaign with 26 goals, 15 assists and 67 points – all single-season program records. She tied for the conference lead in both goals and assists and led the United East in points. Cassie Johnson ’25, Makyala Bucks ’27 and Ashley Gordon ’28 were also named to the first team. 

Men’s Soccer

The Wildcats reached the postseason for the second-straight year and finished at 11-5-3 – the best record for the program since joining the NCAA. Five players were named to the all-conference team, led by Tommy DeGeyter ’25 (first team). Scott Goldfeder ’28 was named to the second team, and Logan Stapleton ’25, Matt Neeson ’25 and Jack Lenosky ’25 earned third-team honors.