Sophia Mazzoni called last year’s PIAA track and field championships “a good warm-up for college” and “what I needed going into the SEC.”

The Derry graduate and three-time WPIAL champion was already beyond her years when she won two state titles in the javelin before moving on to Auburn.

The freshman is fast becoming a household name in the Tigers program.

She was named the most recent SEC Freshman of the Week after she broke her own freshman program record twice at the Tiger Track Classic last weekend.

Her first record-breaker soared 171 feet, 3 inches before she topped it with a 178-5 in her final attempt to win the event.

Her best mark ranks 16th in the nation and is No. 3 among freshmen. It is No. 1 in the SEC.

Mazzoni had broken or tied the record four times this season in four competitions.

She already has the fourth-best mark in program history.

A female freshman had not won SEC Freshman of the Week in 13 years.

Hohman on the move

Former Penn-Trafford wrestler Troy Hohman, who just completed his redshirt junior season at N.C. State, is transferring to Illinois.

This season, Hohman was 8-6 competing at 133 pounds. He is 16-12 in his career.

Hohman was 100-35 at Penn-Trafford and placed seventh in the state at 120 pounds as a senior. He was a Powerade champion in 2021.

Another Poulich record

Softball slugger Courtney Poulich is rewriting the record books at Robert Morris.

The Mt. Pleasant alum set the all-time Colonials mark with her 150th career RBI. She has driven in 28 runs in her last 10 games, including 12 in a two-game sweep against La Roche.

She also set the Horizon League single-season home run mark, and she owns single-season RMU marks for homers, runs and RBIs.

Her 44 career homers are a school record, too.

In 40 games this season, she is batting .466 with 22 homers, 78 RBIs and 65 runs.

Bucar hired

Dave Bucar was named tight ends coach at Kent State, the ninth college football coaching stop for the Penn-Trafford alum.

Bucar, a former Warriors lineman, also had stints at Albany, Maine, Boston College, Maryland, LSU, Pitt, Tiffin and Valparaiso in various offensive roles, including line coach, tight ends coach, run-game coordinator and offensive analyst.