Metro

ALIQUIPPA — Altoona Area High School graduate Adalynn Cherry was honored Tuesday at the Presidents’ Athletic Conference Scholar-Athlete of the Year Banquet.

Cherry was the female representative from Washington & Jefferson College.

Cherry, an Economics and Spanish major with a 4.0 grade-point average, helped guide W&J women’s basketball to its most successful four-year run in program history, leading a senior class that set a school-record with 94 wins, two PAC Tournament titles and two NCAA Tournament appearances. The three-year captain helped the program earn its first NCAA Tournament victory with a 76-72 overtime win over Messiah in March 2025.

Cherry finished her career with 847 points, 409 rebounds, 245 assists and 109 steals. Her 164 made 3-pointers rank fourth in program history. A three-time All-PAC selection and the 2025 PAC Tournament Most Outstanding Player, Cherry was also twice named to the PAC Sportsmanship Team.

Berkheimer recognized

ANNVILLE — The Lebanon Valley College Athletic Department celebrated the athletic and academic accomplishments of over 600 student-athletes during the 76th annual All-Sports Reception inside the Louis A. Sorrentino Gymnasium.

Darrian Berkheimer, an Altoona Area graduate received the Women’s Sportsmanship Award.

Berkheimer volunteers as President of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and is a four-year member of the Women’s Soccer and Track and Field teams. A two-year captain for Track and Field and a one-year captain for Women’s Soccer, Berkheimer has been recognized on the Middle Atlantic Conference Sportsmanship Team. She has earned All-MAC honors in both sports, in addition to Academic All-District awards for multiple seasons. Off the field, she is a Teaching Assistant for Anatomy and a Peer Tutor.

Berkheimer, a graduate of Altoona Area Senior High School, is pursuing a bachelor of science in exercise science at Lebanon Valley College.

PSU Altoona tennis honored

Five Penn State Altoona student-athletes from the women’s and men’s tennis teams were named to the College Sports Communicators’ NCAA Division III Academic All-District teams on Tuesday afternoon, when the organization announced the list.

To be eligible for a spot on an Academic All-District team for tennis, student-athletes must meet certain academic and athletic requirements. Academically, student-athletes must be at least sophomores while holding cumulative grade-point averages of 3.5 or higher. Athletically, a player must have been in the lineup for at least 70 percent of their team’s matches during the 2024-25 season. Nominators could submit up to four qualified student-athletes per team.

Three members of the Penn State Altoona women’s tennis team and two members of the men’s tennis team were named to the CSC’s NCAA Division III Academic All-District teams.

The women’s players are Caitlin Blessel, Lexi Colaianni, Rachel Stricek, of Tyrone, Kadyn Carey, of Altoona, and Casey Hess.