The Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference

PSAC Names Fall Top 10 Award Winners

(January 24, 2008)

The Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference has named a select group of outstanding student-athletes as the league’s Fall Top Ten Awards winners.

The Top Ten Awards, selected by the PSAC’s sports information directors, recognize five female and five male student-athletes who distinguish themselves in the classroom as well as in the arena of competition. The conference designates Top Ten Award winners after each of the sports seasons: fall, winter and spring.

To be a candidate for the Top Ten Awards, a student-athlete must have achieved a minimum of a 3.25 cumulative grade point average and must be a starter or key reserve with legitimate athletic credentials. Only student-athletes from the fall sports season are eligible for the Fall Top Ten Awards. Those sports are: men’s and women’s soccer, football, field hockey, women’s volleyball and men’s and women’s cross country.

At the end of the academic year, the league announces the Scholar-Athlete Awards, which recognize student-athletes on all PSAC squads with 3.25 cumulative GPAs or better. Top Ten Award winners are eligible for the league's Pete Nevins Scholar-Athlete of the Year honors, given to one male and one female candidate at the end of the academic year.

Following are biographies of the 2007 Fall PSAC Fall Top Ten Awards recipients:

Jen Blasko

Junior, Slippery Rock

Women's Volleyball (Summit Hill, Marian Catholic)... Blasko has obtained a perfect cumulative grade point average of 4.0 in Health Science. She earned ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All-District honors for the second successive season. The outside hitter ranked seventh in the PSAC in digs (4.47 per game) and ninth in kills (3.27 per game). Blasko also earned a first-team American Volleyball Coaches Association All-Atlantic Region selection and second-team All-PSAC West honors.

Mike Butterworth
Senior, Slippery Rock
Football (Northern Cambria/Northern Cambria)... Butterworth holds a 3.63 grade point average in health and physical education and is a four time PSAC scholar-athlete. He was the one of only two PSAC football student-athletes to earn ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America honors and was a first-team Daktronics All-Northeast Region selection as well as a national finalist for the 2007 Gene Upshaw Division II Lineman of the Year Award. Additionally, Butterworth was a semifinalist for the 2007 National Football Foundation Division II National Scholar-Athlete honor. As a member of The Rock football team, the offensive tackle earned first-team All-PSAC West honors for the third consecutive season. He captained a Rock offense that led the PSAC in total offense per game and ranked 18th nationally at 463.5 yards per game. His effort was a key ingredient to the 2007 team that recorded the highest win total 9-2 at SRU since 1999. Butterworth also participated in the 2007 Cactus Bowl, the Division II all-star game

Anthony Cellitti
Senior, IUP
Football (Apollo/Kiski Area)... Cellitti has accumulated a perfect 4.00 grade point average in health and physical education. The wide receiver hauled in 42 receptions for 505 yards. He helped the Crimson Hawks to a 16th place Division II national ranking and played integral part in the conference's second- ranked passing offense. Cellitti caught seven passes in the Northeast Regional Semifinal game. He finished his career as the 12th receiver in school history to snag 100 passes and is 16th all-time on IUP's reception yards list (1,267). The wide receiver is a three-time PSAC Scholar-Athlete and was named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District II First Team in 2007. A first-team All-PSAC West honoree in 2005, Cellitti has helped lead the IUP program to a 29-13 record in his four year career.

Chris Cummings

Graduate Student, Mansfield

Cross Country (Mansfield, Mansfield)... Cummings graduated in May with a 3.86 grade point average in physics and has returned as a graduate student achieving a 4.0 in his first semester. He is a three-time PSAC Scholar-Athlete selection and in 2007, he received All-America honors, becoming Mansfield's first male runner to receive the honor after finishing 31st at the National Championships. Cummings also became the first Mansfield track and field athlete to earn All-America status in indoor and outdoor track and cross country. Cummings was also a four-time recipient of Mansfield's Athlete of the Year honors. This fall, Cummings finished in third place at the NCAA East Regional and finished in third at the PSAC meet to earn regional and PSAC honors.

Kristi Fiorillo

Senior, Clarion

Women's Volleyball (Meadville/Meadville)... Fiorillo presents a nearly perfect 3.946 grade point average as an elementary education major. The Golden Eagle setter ranked first in the PSAC and 19th nationally in assists per game (12.69). Her 1,421 set assists were the fifth most in a season in school history.

She was also selected with Third Team ESPN The Magazin College Division Academic All-America, PSAC & Clarion Scholar-Athlete awards, as well as earning a spot on the All-PSAC West Second Team. Fiorillo led Clarion to three NCAA Division II playoff appearances, including this fall's first playoff win in school history.

Amber Hackenberg
Senior, Bloomsburg
Cross Country (Middleburg/Middleburg)... Hackenberg boasts a 3.98 grade point average. The senior accounting/finance major became the first cross country All-American in women's history at the school after finishing 34th at the 2007 NCAA Division II national championships. The Huskies, as a team, finished 15th out of 24 teams, and were the first Bloomsburg cross country team to ever qualify for the NCAA championships. Hackenberg, whose 48th place finish in 2005 was the best previous mark in school history, topped that with her finish in this year's event. She covered the 6k course in 21:45 and was the second finisher from the league. Earlier in the season she finished 5th at the PSAC championships with a time of 24:06. Her effort helped the Huskies claim their first ever PSAC championship in Cross Country. She also finished sixth overall at the NCAA Division II East Regional. Her finished propelled the Huskies to their first ever Regional Championship. Hackenberg was named a 2006 Fall and 2007 Spring Top 10 Award winner while being named to the 2007 CoSIDA All-District First Team this fall. She is a three-time Bloomsburg Scholar-Athlete.

Trevor Harris

Sophomore, Edinboro

Football (Waldo, Ohio/Marion Pleasant)... Harris maintains a 3.51 GPA as a mathematics major. The Fighting Scots quarterback completed 292 of 426 passes (68.5 percent) for 3,268 yards with 30 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He also ran 80 times for 250 yards with 5 touchdowns. The sophomore set numerous school records, including passes attempted, completed, completion percentage, yards passing, touchdown passes and total offense yards. He led the PSAC in yards passing per game (297.1 ypg.), total offense (319.8 ypg.), and touchdown passes. His total offense figure (3,518 yards) ranks sixth all-time in PSAC single season history and the passing yards (3,268) ranks ninth. Harris also set the school record for total offense against Clarion with 433 yards. He earned first-team All-PSAC West honors and was named the PSAC West Offensive Player of the Year. Harris was among six finalists in the Northeast Region for the Harlon Hill Trophy. He was named to second-team Daktronics All-Northeast Region and third-team Football Gazette All-Northeast Region. In 2006 Harris was honored as the Western Division's Rookie of the Year.

Kelley Healey

Junior, Kutztown

Field Hockey (Toms River, N.J./Toms River North)... Healey has compiled an impressive 3.90 GPA as a biology major. The Kutztown forward scored 17 goals, including six game-winning goals, and chipped in with 14 assists, finishing the season with 48 points. She has 131 points in her three years at Kutztown (52 goals, 27 assists). Healey was named to the first-team All-PSAC, NFHCA All-America First Team, and selected as a PSAC Scholar-Athlete twice.

Rachael Lanzel
Senior, Edinboro
Cross Country (St. Marys/St. Marys)... Lanzel owns a 3.78 GPA as a health and physical education major. The distance runner was named the USTFCCCA East Region and PSAC Women's Cross Country Athlete of the Year for the second year in a row after placing 17th at the NCAA Division II National Championships. Lanzel placed first at the East Regional and preceded that with a second-place showing at the PSAC Championships. She is one of just four runners in Edinboro history to earn All-America honors three times or more. For her career, Lanzel is a four-time All-PSAC and All-East Region runner in cross country as well as an All-America in track and Field.

Brandon Shelton

Senior, Millersville

Football (New Oxford/Gettysburg)... Shelton owns a 3.8 grade point average as a psychology major. The Marauder defensive back recorded a conference best 14 passes broken up and six interceptions, two of which were returned for touchdowns. He also posted 63 tackles, helping him earn Daktronics Division II Football All-Northeast Region and All-PSAC East First Team honors. Shelton tied the school record for interceptions in a career (16), returning five for touchdowns. He finished his career with 173 tackles.