Mareana Pilyih made a seamless transition from high school bowling at Plum, where she was a two-time WPIBL Most Valuable Player honoree, to the collegiate game at Saint Vincent College.
As a freshman this past fall and winter, she led the Bearcats with a 191.3 average over 105 games with strikes on 40.7% of her throws. She also was one of the top spare shooters in the nation, as she converted 84.9% of her spares and had a 90.7% conversion rate on single-pin spares.
Her reliability to come through in big moments earned her praise from teammates and coaches. It also earned her some prestigious national recognition.
Pilyih earlier this month, was named the NCAA Division III National Rookie of the Year in women’s bowling by the National Tenpin Coaches Association.
Then on April 17, she was named the 2024-25 Collegiate Rookie of the Year by the National Collegiate Bowling Coaches Association. This is the top honor for any freshman competing at any level in college bowling, including all three NCAA Divisions, NAIA and club programs.
Pilyih helped the Bearcats claim the 2025 Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference championship and the team’s first NCAA Tournament appearance.
Her best day of her first season with Saint Vincent came in December at the Collegiate Shootout as she averaged better than 239 for the day.
Twice named the AMCC Player of the Week, she also recorded an average of 207.5 at the AMCC Championships and was selected to the All-AMCC team.
Her accomplishments included All-Tournament Team honors at the Greater Pittsburgh Collegiate Classic as she averaged 202 for the tournament.
Erik Streussnig
Plum graduate Erik Streussnig has made an impact in his freshman season with the Washington & Jefferson baseball team.
Through a game with Kent State on April 21, Streussnig was tied for second on the team with five pitching victories (5-1) over seven appearances and six starts.
He owned a 1.41 earned-run average over 34⅔ innings with 27 strikeouts and 18 walks.
Streussnig was selected the Presidents’ Athletic Conference Newcomer of the Week on March 24, as he picked up a key nonconference win over Marietta in just his second collegiate start.
He tossed a season-best six innings, striking out three and allowing one unearned run on three hits.
He surrendered a leadoff single in the fourth before retiring nine straight Marietta batters. His performance in the latter innings helped W&J rally from a 1-0 deficit for a 6-1 victory.
Streussnig also threw six innings in a 14-6 W&J victory over Baldwin Wallace on April 10. He gave up seven hits and one earned run while walking three and striking out one.
Melanie Meinke
Plum grad Melanie Meinke fronted the pitching staff for the Pitt-Greensburg softball team with 83⅓ innings of work over her first 14 appearances, which included 13 starts.
She was 6-6 overall with 12 complete games and a 2.60 ERA through UPG’s doubleheader sweep of Pitt-Bradford on April 22.
In her start against Pitt-Bradford, she threw seven innings, scattered four hits, surrendered one walk and one earned run while striking out eight.
Meinke has struck out 74 and walked 30.
The senior is UPG softball’s all-time strikeout leader with more than 200.
Makenzie Lang
Makenzie Lang, a Plum alum, led UPG in hitting at .373 (22 for 59) through a pair of April 22 wins over Pitt-Bradford.
In 22 games with 21 starts, Lang owned eight multihit games, four doubles, two home runs, 13 runs batted in and 11 runs scored.
She went 2 for 4 with a home run and a season-best three RBIs in the second game of the Pitt-Bradford doubleheader.
In a six-game stretch through the pair with Pitt-Bradford, she hit at a .500 clip (11 for 22) with both home runs and six RBI.
Rayla Smith
Rayla Smith is making the most of her freshman season with the Gannon women’s lacrosse team.
The former Plum standout was fifth on the team in scoring with 21 goals through the Knights’ loss at Lock Haven on April 21. The midfielder scored three of her team’s 10 goals in the matchup with the Eagles.
The three goals tied a season high for a single game. Her six shots were a season-best, and she recorded four shots on goal for the third time.
Smith, a three-time All-WPIAL selection at Plum, scored a school-record 244 goals over her four seasons in a Plum uniform.
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Colin Watson
Plum grad Colin Watson has provided sound relief pitching for the Cal (Pa.) baseball team.
In 14⅓ innings over 10 appearances, through a game with IUP on April 17, the freshman right-hander built a 5-0 record with a 1.26 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP (walks and hits per innings pitched).
He struck out six and walked six.
Watson didn’t allow an earned run in a 10⅔-innings stretch.
He came on in the fourth inning of the Vulcan’s 7-6 win over IUP on April 17 and struck out one and allowed one hit and no runs in 1⅓ innings of work. Cal took the lead during his time on the mound, and he picked up the win.
Fran Beighley
Plum graduate Fran Beighley was second in batting with a .368 average (46 for 125) through 36 games for the Carlow softball team.
The second baseman also slugged .424 with a .428 on-base percentage and drove in 16 runs.
She recorded 13 multihit games.
Beighley was a season-best 4 for 5 with an RBI in a 3-2, extra-innings win over Pitt-Bradford on April 14. She singled and scored the game-tying run in the bottom of the seventh and singled home the game-winning run in the bottom of the eighth.