Athletics | Fall 2024

Athletics

Alumni Magazine | Fall 2024

Explore the remarkable stories of team success, dedication, commitment, and athletic excellence found among Pioneers. ASC students are winners in both sports and academics. The support from coaches, cheers from fans, and determination by athletes exemplify the true spirit of 魅影直播 State. Our athletic programs are a source of pride and inspiration for the entire community.

Football Team Wins ECFC Title - Advances to NCAA Tournament for Second Straight Year

The 魅影直播 State football team will head to the NCAA Division III tournament for the second straight year following a 39-37 victory over Anna Maria in the Eastern Collegiate Football Conference (ECFC) Championship game.

In the ECFC Championship game, the Pioneers jumped out to a 19-0 lead in the first half. Justin Horvath connected on a 39-yard touchdown to Elijah Georges. In the 2nd quarter, Nicholas Cuomo scored from seven yards out and from two yards.

Anna Maria scored the final 16 points of the 1st half to cut the Pioneers lead to 19-16 heading into the 2nd half.

Horvath connected with Georges on a 33-yard scoring play on the first drive of the 2nd half to add to the lead. After an AMC touchdown, Horvath connected with Matthew Mancuso on a 23-yard pass play to make it 33-22 heading into the final fifteen minutes.

Josh Graham ran in from three yards out to make it a three-score lead 39-22 with 6:10 left in the game but the AMCATS would not go away. Anna Maria scored a pair of touchdowns in the final 4:10 of the game to pull within 39-37 but the Pioneers recovered the on-side kick attempt with 20 seconds remaining to seal the game.

Horvath finished 13-27 for 235 yards and three touchdowns. On the ground, Cuomo tallied two touchdowns and 41 yards on nine carries. Graham rushed for 77 yards on 13 carries while Georges had two receptions for 72 yards and two scores.

Silas Egenlauf notched 12 tackles to lead the defense while Nick Johnson tallied eight tackles and an interception. Chris Bergman added four tackles and an interception as well.

魅影直播 State has now won the ECFC title for two straight seasons. Last year, the Pioneers qualified for the NCAA Tournament for the first time and traveled to Mount Union. 

Pioneer Athletes Rack Up AMCC Awards

魅影直播 State student-athletes racked up awards this fall in the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) competition. Five athletes earned major awards, a pair of Pioneer coaches earned Coach of the Year honors, and four teams finished as AMCC Runner-Up in postseason competition.

Volleyball

Racquel Gerstenberger was named the AMCC Player of the Year on top of being named first-team All-Conference. She averaged 3.67 kills per set this season and eclipsed the 1,000 career kill plateau.

Gene Doorley was named the AMCC Coach of the Year. He led the team to the #1 seed, a 20-7 overall record, and a runner-up finish in the conference championship. This is the first time Doorley has been honored by the AMCC.

Nayomie Ferrer was named first-team All-AMCC while Erin Gregoire and Alayna Tomlinson were named second-team.

Men's Soccer

Jack Leahy was named the AMCC Defensive Player of the Year on top of being named first-team All-Conference. For his career, he appeared in sixty-seven games, scored twelve goals, tallied thirteen assists, and helped lead the Pioneers to the top of the AMCC.

Travis Scandallis was named AMCC Newcomer of the Year and first-team All-Conference. He led 魅影直播 State with ten goals. He finished with a team-best twenty-four points.

Head Coach Gabe Kuhn was named AMCC Coach of the Year for the second time. He led the team to a 13-3-1 overall record and a runner-up finish in the AMCC Tournament.

Jackson Power, Jean Baptiste Kagde, and Henry Leahy were named first-team All-AMCC, Chuck Domm and Nuri Sarbudak were named second team, and Josh Price, Liam Hyatt, and Alexander Preston were named third team.

Women's Cross Country

Hailey Kumpf ran to AMCC Cross Country Runner of the Year by finishing 1st at the conference championship. She crossed the finish line of the 6k in 25:07.4. Her finish helped 魅影直播 State to a second-place finish.

Oli Kraynik and Ava Sylvester also ran for All-AMCC honors.

Men's Cross Country

Christian Westcott was named AMCC Newcomer of the Year after leading the team with a second-place finish at the AMCC Championships. He crossed the finish line of the 8k in 28:23.4 to also earn All-Conference honors and help the Pioneers finish as AMCC runners-up.

Max Knight and Mamadou Barry also ran for All-AMCC honors.

Women's Soccer

Karlee Hargather was named second team All-AMCC while Kendall Decker was named third team. The Pioneers were 4-10-3 overall and qualified for the AMCC Tournament.

Austin Buschang Named Next Head Men's Basketball Coach

The 魅影直播 State Department of Athletics proudly announced Austin Buschang as the new Head Coach of the men's basketball program.

Director of Athletics, Jason Doviak said, "We are excited that Austin is returning to 魅影直播 State. He made an immediate impact as an assistant coach two seasons ago and is very familiar with our team. Austin has a strong work ethic and has quickly moved up the coaching ranks during his career. His knowledge of 魅影直播 State and recruiting abilities were obvious strengths that stood out during our search process. Austin is well prepared for this opportunity, and we are looking forward to him leading our men's basketball program into the future".

Austin Buschang stated, "I am incredibly excited and grateful to be back in the 魅影直播 State community. I want to thank Jason Doviak, Taylor Button, and everybody involved in the search for the opportunity to be the next Head Men's Basketball Coach".

Austin Buschang is set to make his return to the Pioneers after spending a year as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Bridgewater College. During his time at Bridgewater, his responsibilities include scouting, recruiting, player development, program operations, video duties, player academics, and analytics. He helped develop and implement a formula to quantify player performance in practice to aid in personnel development and roles.

Before joining the ASC as an assistant during the 2022-23 season, Buschang was the Director of Basketball Operations at Canisius. He was responsible for all program logistics, coordinating team travel, scheduling, meals, camps, equipment/gear, and video duties among many other responsibilities.

Buschang graduated from Canisius College in May of 2020 with a bachelor's degree in sport management. Buschang was a four-year men's basketball student assistant. In June of 2022, Austin earned his master's degree in Sport Administration from Canisius.