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Penn State’s Helsel wins ‘We Are’ honor

From Mirror reports

UNIVERSITY PARK — Senior Christian Helsel of Altoona became the first recipient of Penn State baseball’s inaugural We Are Award which was presented to him recently at the fifth annual First Pitch Dinner.

Wyatt Shaffer, the youngest member of Penn State’s team at just 13 years old, presented Helsel with the award for best exemplifying what it means to be a Penn Stater with involvement in the community.

Shaffer joined the Nittany Lions in 2015 through Team IMPACT, an organization that helps children facing life-threatening and chronic illnesses get drafted by local college teams.

“One specific player has gone above and beyond what and organization could possibly ask of him,” said Tara Shaffer, the mother of Wyatt. “Between classes, studying and a stringent baseball schedule, he’s always been there for Wyatt, sometimes going bowling or out to catch Pokemon or coming over to the house to play video games when Wyatt was homebound and not able to go anywhere, or sometimes just a simple text. He also helped coordinate many Dairy Queen runs, especially before a surgery or a test where Wyatt knew he wasn’t going to eat for a while. He took the time to watch the homecomeing parade with Wyatt and went to a football game with him as well. He has truly been a role model for what it is to be a team player and has been the perfect example of the kind of man I want Wyatt to grow up to be.”

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Lysa Mealing, an Altoona graduate, scored 17 points, 13 rebounds and three steals for the Lock Haven women’s basketball team in a 54-46 victory over Mansfield.

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Altoona graduate Kaycie Reffner is averaging 3.5 points per game, three rebounds per game and 1.5 assists per game for the Division I Presbyterian College women’s basketball team.

Reffner is averaging 27 minutes per game and is sixth all-time in career games played at the school.

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Noah and Nathan Davis, both Bellwood-Antis graduates, each scored 18 points for Seton Hill in a victory over the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown.

Penn Cambria graduate A.J. Leahey had 13 points for UPJ.

Noah Davis scored a career-high 34 points earlier in the week in a game against Cheyney.

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Bryce England, a Williamsburg graduate, won the 5,000-meter run for the Saint Francis track and field team at the Gulden Invitational.

England’s time of 14:50 was the 10th fastest time in school history.

Bellwood-Antis graduate Selena Damiano finished fifth in the shot put for the Flash with a mark of 12.51 meters, and Northern Bedford graduate Blake Over tied for sixth overall in the men’s long jump with a distance of 6.45 meters.

College Corner tidbits about any collegiate athlete with local ties can be emailed to mboytim@altoonamirror.com by 5 p.m. each Sunday

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