Coaches and student-athletes from the Gannon University athletic program were being in for a surprise Wednesday afternoon as they gathered exterior Old Main, on the corner of Peach Road and West Sixth Avenue.
A Gannon College bus pulled up in entrance of the building and off stepped Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Commissioner Steve Murray. In his arms was the Dixon Trophy, which goes to the major PSAC plan at the stop of every single academic calendar year.
The Trophy seasoned a number of firsts in 2021-22: its first journey to Erie County and its 1st awarding to a non-condition university. Obviously, that usually means Gannon is the Dixon Trophy winner for the 1st time in school record. The trophy also now lies at a university without a track and subject method for the initial time.
“It is definitely incredible,” explained Lisa Goddard McGuirk, director of athletics at Gannon. “We have a large employees and a great university. This is a end result of all the time, energy and commitment and has been a excellent construct to this moment. I am really thrilled to rejoice the collective effort and hard work of our department. It truly is a workforce hard work working day-in and day-out. I could not be prouder and I’m so joyful for our coaches and pupil-athletes.”
When accepting the award, Gannon President Keith Taylor created be aware to explain to Murray, a Gannon alumnus, that this may well not be the first time it will finish up in downtown Erie.
“We have a solid, extensive custom of Gannon Golden Knights carrying out good points not only on the court docket, on the field, on the mat, in the pool, but in this local community,” Taylor claimed. “This is just a reflection of the wonderful operate that Lisa Goddard McGuirk, the coaches and the students place in this 12 months.”
The Dixon Trophy has been awarded 25 situations. It is specified yearly to the institution that accumulates the top score primarily based on outcomes of convention playoffs and/or frequent-time records of each individual PSAC championship sport it sponsors. The trophy is named in honor of F. Eugene Dixon Jr., former chairman of the Board of Governors of Pennsylvania’s Point out Technique of Greater Schooling.
“Wow, it’s very darn particular,” said Cleve Wright, head coach of the PSAC-winner women’s basketball staff. “I just adore the coaches that we have here, the leadership that we present below and the want to exhibit they want to compete and to be the most effective, but also not losing the romance in the system and really caring for our athletes and wanting the best for them.”
Gannon experienced an over-all common of 12.97 points to beat out the other 17 PSAC establishments. Slippery Rock was second (11.56) and Mercyhurst was 3rd (11.32).
Together with women’s basketball, Gannon also gained the PSAC championship in women’s golfing and attained a co-championship in men’s wrestling.
The Knights joined the PSAC in 2008-09 and experienced under no circumstances finished greater than sixth in the Dixon Trophy standings. Only the Gannon administration realized of Gannon’s earn in advance of Wednesday’s party. For the coaches and athletes, it was a shock.
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“This was a calendar year where it all arrived with each other,” claimed Don Henry, who is in his 38th yr as the Knights’ wrestling mentor. “It was a solution. We were being not told. We are asking ‘Who’s getting off the bus? Oh, it truly is Steve. We will have to have received the Dixon Trophy.’ It was definitely cool.”
Matt Darling, Gannon’s volleyball coach for the past 15 many years and an English professor on campus, mentioned that the school’s maneuvering via the COVID-19 pandemic permitted the athletic section to thrive in 2021-22.
“I believe we seriously took edge of the options Gannon gave us in the course of COVID to develop some momentum heading into the time,” he stated. “We put it all together and it was excellent to see that trophy occur off that bus.”
AMCC Presidents Cup
Behrend wins again: As Gannon received its initially Dixon Trophy, Penn Point out Behrend figured out that it experienced secured the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference’s all-sports title for the 18th time in 19 several years.
Behrend yet again claimed the Presidents Cup, which is introduced to the most remarkable all round athletics plan in the AMCC.
Behrend captured eight convention championships – four in the tumble, two in the winter and two in the spring.
The Lions won titles in women’s soccer, women’s cross nation, men’s cross nation, women’s volleyball, women’s swimming and diving, men’s volleyball, men’s tennis and softball. They finished as runners-up in women’s tennis, men’s soccer, men’s golfing, men’s swimming and diving, and baseball.
Behrend completed with 103.3 Presidents Cup factors out of a attainable 114 details in 15 of the 16 sports sponsored by the AMCC. That gave the Lions a .906 winning share.
Penn Condition Altoona was the AMCC runner-up with .651 successful share (69 factors out of a feasible 106).
Keep track of and subject
Behrend’s trio of All-Individuals: 3 Penn Condition Behrend monitor and area athletes, together with two Erie County products, claimed NCAA Division III All-The usa status late previous week at the NCAA championships in Geneva, Ohio.
Seneca High School graduate Braeden Smith, Harbor Creek Higher Faculty grad Dan Dabrowski and Samuel Hetrick (Redbank Valley) clinched NCAA All-The us position by ending between the best 8 in their functions.
Smith, a senior, put sixth between 19 qualifiers in the superior leap Friday to come to be an All-American for the third time in his career. Smith concluded with a peak of 6 toes, 8.75 inches (2.05 meters).
Hetrick, a sophomore, acquired his very first All-The united states honor with an eighth-position end in the large bounce, also at 2.05 meters. Smith experienced much less misses than Hetrick.
Dabrowski, a sophomore, positioned eighth in the discus on Thursday. He experienced a leading length of 163 toes, 2 inches (49.73 meters).
University choices
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ges in the region above the previous handful of years, and a few standouts from the crew not too long ago committed to actively playing in college or university.
Kellie Kulisek, Teaghan Watkins and Payton Massey were being amongst 10 Lancers to dedicate to colleges at signing ceremony this earlier 7 days. Kulisek and Watkins are being near to residence at Edinboro, whilst Massey is headed to Chatham.
McLane also has two volleyball players heading to the future amount with Ellen Cunningham heading to Lock Haven and Brooke Simmons to the Pennsylvania Higher education of Engineering.
John Amon is set to engage in football at Edinboro, even though Emma Cannata will compete in equestrian at Thiel, Brad Weber will perform basketball at Penn Condition Shenango, Genevieve Preston will run cross state at Gannon and Isaac Mroz will contend in track and industry at Edinboro.
Cross nation
Gannon’s Carrig retires: Extended-time Gannon University cross nation mentor John Carrig is retiring immediately after more than a few a long time included with the system.
He has been the Golden Knights’ men’s cross place coach since 1990 and has been the women’s coach given that 1995.
“We would like to thank John for his years of support to the men’s and women’s cross region groups,” explained athletic director Lisa Goddard McGuirk. “Our university student-athletes have consistently obtained success both in the classroom and on the system more than the years.”
“Just after 32 decades of coaching Gannon cross region, there are an remarkable volume of persons I will need to thank,” explained Carrig, who then talked about a extended checklist of spouse and children customers, assistants, directors and colleagues. “Very last, I would like to thank and heap praise on all of the university student-athletes who have arrive by way of our plan and assisted set up the society of GUXC. You have created these many years most enjoyable.”
Contact Josh Reilly at [email protected]. Observe him on Twitter @ETNreilly. Tom Reisenweber contributed to this report.
This report originally appeared on Erie Moments-Information: On Campus: Gannon wins PSAC’s most significant athletic award for initial time