Dallas graduate Ryan Zapoticky is enjoying a successful senior season at Shippensburg University, including his recent nomination as a semifinalist for the William V. Campbell Trophy.
The National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame announced the semifinalist for the award honoring the “absolute best” football scholar athlete in the nation. The award is named after Campbell, former chairman of Intuit and a former player and head coach at Columbia University. The award includes demonstration of strong leadership and citizenship.
Zapoticky, the 2015-16 Shippensburg Men’s Student-Athlete of the Year, has a 3.67 cumulative GPA as a biology major with a concentration in pre-med as he approaches December graduation.
In 29 career games, Zapoticky has passed for 5,948 yards and 50 touchdowns while becoming just the ninth quarterback in Pennsylvania State Athletic Confernce history with more than 1,000 yards rushing.
Zapoticky has devoted more than 250 hours of time to youth programs in Dallas and has worked two years as a counselor in the Dallas Recreation Program.
The 12-14 finalists for the award will each receive an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship.
Zapoticky is averaging 331 combined passing and rushing yards this season while throwing for 13 touchdowns and just two interceptions. He has led the Raiders to score at least 27 points in every game in a 5-1 start.
MORE FOOTBALL
Lake-Lehman graduate Connor McGovern has started all six games as a sophomore center at Penn State, which took a No. 3 ranking nationally into its bye week.
The Nittany Lions, who are 3-0 in the Big Ten and 6-0 overall, return to action Saturday night, Oct. 21 with a 7:30 game against Michigan.
Cole Dixon, a sophomore linebacker from Dallas, is the leading tackler at Susquehanna University.
Dixon has 26 tackles, 23 assists, 5 ½ tackles for losses and two sacks.
David Simpson, another sophomore linebacker from Dallas, is third on the team in tackles.
Susquehanna also had a bye week. It will return Saturday at 1 p.m. for its Homecoming Game against Ursinus. The River Hawks are 3-2 in the Centennial Conference and 4-2 overall.
FIELD HOCKEY
Lexi Quick, a junior Wyoming Seminary graduate from Shavertown, is second on the Bucknell University team in goals and points.
Quick has five goals and four assists while playing in 13 games and starting in all but one for the 6-7 team.
Taylor Alba scored one goal and assisted the other for Temple University in a 3-2 loss to Georgetown.
The freshman from Lake-Lehman has started all 12 games. She also had an assist in the 3-2 win over California-Davis Oct. 8.
Sarah Sabaluski, another freshman from Lake-Lehman, made her first collegiate start against Duke and scored her first point with an assist in Louisville’s 5-1 win over Kent State.
Sabaluski has appeared in every game for the 10-4 team, playing midfield and defense.
MEN’S CROSS COUNTRY
Dominic DeLuca, a Dallas graduate and senior captain at Cornell University, placed 12th out of 359 runners in the Gold Race at the Paul Short Invitational at Lehigh.
WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRY
Lindsey Oremus finished fifth overall and first on her team Sept. 30 when St. Joseph’s University won the eight-team George Mason Invitational in Leesburg, Va.
The junior from Dallas finished the six kilometers in 22:36.9. It was the 16th time in 18 career races that she has been the number-one runner for St. Joseph’s.
