SCHUYLKILL HAVEN, Pa. — On Friday, May 6, Penn State Schuylkill recognized student-athlete achievement in a ceremony held in the John E. Morgan Auditorium. The inaugural event featured keynote speaker Natasha Camy, a former NCAA Division III athlete in the women’s basketball program at Widener University, who is now an NCAA Division I women’s basketball official. Camy shared her story and struggles with the audience and the lessons she has learned as she has earned a stellar reputation as a premier NCAA official.
Recognizing student-athlete success
The evening was dedicated to Penn State Schuylkill’s student-athletes whose character, efforts, service to team, and school spirit are notable as are their outstanding academic achievements.
The Penn State Schuylkill athletic program had a standout year for 2021-22. Every athletic team qualified for postseason play in the Pennsylvania State University Athletic Conference (PSUAC) and both the women’s soccer team and softball team earned a bid to play in the United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) national championship series — the USCAA Small College World Series (softball) began this week.
Schuylkill athletes made a strong showing in the PSUAC All-Conference Awards, and this year, three coaches earned Coach of the Year honors across the entire conference in their respective sports. The women’s soccer team swept all of the major PSUAC awards, including Rookie of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, and Player of the Year. And for the second year in a row, fourth-year student-athlete Jake Leininger was named PSUAC Player of the Year East in baseball.
Athletic milestones and new records
This year noted several individual and team milestones and new school records.
Fifth-year student-athlete Alyssa Gerber is the first Penn State Schuylkill women’s basketball player to reach both 1,000 career points and 1,000 career rebounds. She is now the leading points scorer with 1,342 career points and this year’s PSUAC Player of the Year. Gerber's final season was the first time that women’s basketball celebrated 20-plus wins under Coach Charles Killian. A three-season athlete, Gerber also achieved 100 career hits in softball and was named to the PSUAC All-Decade Team in women’s soccer.
Fourth-year softball ace Sierra Santarsiero helped her team to a 20-plus win season, retiring as Penn State Schuylkill's all-time strikeout leader with 326 career strikeouts. Softball coach Darle Cresswell also reached his 200-win career milestone.
Men’s basketball guard Wilvens Fleurizard — in his first season at Penn State Schuylkill — scored 691 total points, surpassing the previous record set by PSUAC All-Decade Team member Kody Jacoby in 2017-18.
First-year women’s soccer player Ariana Trautz was both PSUAC Rookie of the Year and Player of the Year with a record-breaking 50 points and 24 goals. Trautz scored four goals in each of three games during the 2021 season, helping lead her team to the PSUAC championship game at University Park.