Centre County sure produces athletes, and recently, a handful of local high school seniors signed their names on dotted lines to continue their athletic careers at the college level. Several other student athletes have verbally committed to a school, but won’t formally announce their intentions until February.
BELLEFONTE
Funk, a two-time Mountain League all-star outfield, a Team Pennsylvania representative and 2018 and 2019 district champion, will continue to play baseball this fall at the University of Pittsburgh.
Funk sports a career batting average of .408 in his three seasons as a Red Raider. He has 84 hits in 206 at bats, including 13 home runs. He has also driven in 60 runs.
The state leader in homeruns in 2018 is also a standout athlete on the football field where he has re-written the Bellefonte record books. These records include career rushing yards (3,544), most yards per carry average (11 yards), most touchdown runs over 80 yards in a career (two), career all-purpose yards (4,452), career touchdowns
(51), career points (308), career 100-yard rushing games (18) and most four-touchdown games (five).
Smith will become a Lady Lion at Penn State Altoona and play soccer.
She has played the game competitively for the past 14 years and is a four-year starter and letter winner. The two-time Mountain League MVP and two-time first team all-star is also in the Bellefonte record books as the school’s all-time leader in career goals (116), season goals
(33), season assists (13), goals in a game (6) and hat tricks
(19).
The three-sport athlete also excelled as a varsity starter for the past three years on the Bellefonte basketball and softball teams. She is a three-time district champion with the softball team and earned a second team all-state nod during her sophomore year.
In addition to athletics, Smith is involved with the yearbook and SADD clubs.
PHILIPSBURG-OSCEOLA
The Mounties’ Keegan Soltis signed a letter of intent to continue his baseball career at Millersville University. The third baseman and catcher considered several schools including Seton Hill, University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown, Lock Haven, Slippery Rock, Longwood University and Binghamton University before choosing to become a Maurader.
“From my first visit, Millersville felt like home. Coach (Jon) Shehan has a first-class program that consistently competes for championships year in and year out,” Soltis said. “I want to be a part of that tradition. The university offers several majors that I am interested in and I liked the size of the campus.”
In his three years with the Mounties, Soltis has put together a career batting average of .422. Through 63 games in his freshman, sophomore and junior seasons, he has 79 hits, including nine homeruns, and 59 runs batted in.
He said his greatest high school achievement thus far was being a leader on last year’s P-O squad that made a run in the state playoffs.
Soltis plans to major in one of three curriculums at Millersville — math-statistics, pre-pharmacy or chemistry.
SAINT JOSEPH’S CATHOLIC ACADEMY
Three wrestlers from Saint Joseph’s Catholic Academy committed to compete at the collegiate level on Nov. 13 — the first day of the early NCAA signing period.
Caleb Dowley (West Virginia), Keegan Rothrock (Brown) and Tyler Stoltzfus (Lock Haven), all signed their letters of intent in front of the entire student body in St. Joe’s gymnasium, The Rob and Alice Thomas Center.
“They’re leaders,” St. Joe’s wrestling coach Pat Flynn said as he introduced the trio of commits to media and the student body, “quiet leaders with bright futures ahead of them.”
Dowley, who was Flynn’s first, four-year wrestler at St. Joe’s, finished in the top five in the state each of his three years while competing at the scholastic level. He said when it came down to it, WVU had everything he wanted.
“The coaching staff there is one of the best in the country and everything there just seemed to fit,” Dowley said. “It was the right choice for me.”
Rothrock kicked his high school wrestling career off in 2016-17 as a Red Raider of Bellefonte. There, he put up 24 victories to 13 defeats and finished the season as runner-up in District 6. The next season, he transferred to St. Joe’s and compiled a 30-9 mark and took third in the district.
Last year, Rothrock notched 39 wins for the Wolves against 10 losses. He placed second in the district, third in the regional tournament and captured a third-place medal at the state competition.
Stoltzfus began his wrestling career as a freshman with Mifflinburg Area High School in 2016-17 and put together a 40-12 record during the regular season, placed second in his section, and fourth in his district and region during the postseason.
In 2017-18, as a Wildcat, he won 41 matches and lost just five bouts. He placed second in his section, fourth in his district and region and finished fifth in the state tournament.
Last year was his first year on the Wolves’ roster and he put up 42 wins to eight defeats. He placed first in the District 6 AA tourney, second in the region and fifth in the PIAA tournament.
STATE COLLEGE
In State College, six students signed their letters of intent to various schools.
Matt Brownstead, a two-time PIAA state champion, 11-time PIAA state medalist and 12-time District 6 champion in boys’ swimming and diving, will continue his career at the University of Virginia.
Brownstead was the 2019 Pennsylvania Male Swimmer of the Year. He is an honor roll student and is active as an Eagle Scout.
Tack and field athlete Zach DeCarmine will compete at Central Michigan in 2020. He is a two-time Mid Penn conference champion and was a vital part of the 2019 PIAA championship, which the Little Lion track and field team claimed in Shippensburg in May.
DeCarmine is a 6-time PIAA medalist, 12-time USA Track and Field All-American and four-time USA Track and Field National Outdoor Champion.
Jack Hurley is a four-year letter winner in baseball and will play with the Hokies of Virginia Tech in the ACC Conference next season. He has been a part of three District 6 championships and was the 2018 State High Silver Slugger award winner.
Hurley is active in the club baseball circuit and has been a New York Yankees Area Code Team selection, as well as a Boston Red Sox East Coast Pro Team selection. He is also a high-honor roll student.
Joe Nastasi follows former Little Lions Mason Mellott (Class of 2017) and Tyson Cooper (Class of 2019) right up the road to Medlar Field at Lubrano Park to compete for the Nittany Lions of Penn State. He has been a part of two District 6 championship teams and played a crucial role in wins over Mifflin County in the district semifinal last spring, then again in the later stages of the championship game against Altoona, which gave State High its third straight District crown.
He is a member of the U.S. Blackhawks during the summer club season.
Maya Bokunewicz signed a letter of intent to play hoops at Rice University, a 2019 NCAA tournament team. She will formally celebrate her signing in February during the 2019-20 basketball season.
Bokunewicz is a 1,000-point scorer and has been part of two District 6 championships on the court, and another three on the soccer field. She is active in the student leadership group known as PULSE and also is a high-honor roll student.
Savannah Schoonmaker, a four-year letter winner in soccer, has anchored the back line of the Lady Little Lions’ defense since her freshman season, and is now taking her skills to the University of New Hampshire.
Schoonmaker was an integral part of three District 6 championships for the soccer program. The high-honor roll athlete will formally celebrate her signing in February.
BALD EAGLE AREA, PENNS VALLEY
Bald Eagle Area and Penns Valley student-athletes will announce their college intentions during the next collegiate signing period this spring.
