Norwin notebook: Girls basketball standouts catch eye of college coaches

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Saturday, August 17, 2024 | 11:01 AM

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A pair of incoming senior Norwin basketball players are on the radar of NCAA Division II college coaches.

Kendall Berger added a two more Division II scholarship offers, while Averi Brozeski added a trio of offers.

Clarion and West Virginia Wesleyan joined Seton Hill and Wheeling as a potential destination for Berger, a 5-foot-10 combo guard who helped lead Norwin to a WPIAL 6A championship last season.

Brozeski, a 5-foot-11 swing guard, was offered a scholarship from IUP, a PSAC program, along with Wheeling and West Virginia Wesleyan.

Berger and Brozeski were key players on last year’s title team.

Another rising senior player, Bella Furno, received an offer to play at Division III Chatham.

Track placewinners

Norwin student-athletes Brice Goodman and Josie Lenart brought home medals and All-American accolades from the AAU Junior Olympic Games on Greensboro, N.C.

Both placed in the 14U division.

Goodman came in second in the shot put with a throw of 48 feet and 1/2 inch, while Lenart finished fifth in the 1,500-meter run with a time of 4 minutes, 58.2 seconds.

Double duty for Nguyen

Norwin alum Nick Nguyen is set to begin his third season as head coach of the Thomas Jefferson men’s college golf team, but he also has accepted the top coaching position with the women’s team.

He will begin his first season with the women this fall.

A Thomas Jefferson University graduate who played golf for the Rams from 2014-18 and was a three-time team MVP, Nguyen has guided the men to eight top-three finishes, including a win at the Albright Invitational.

Thomas Jefferson is a Division II program in Philadelphia.

Wehner coaching

Former Norwin basketball standout Jayla Wehner, who finished her playing career at Marian, is working as a graduate assistant coach at Hiram.

Wehner played in 60 games, starting 22, while averaging 16.6 minutes of playing time.

The point guard tallied 116 career assists and scored 127 points.

Sidun skips Fargo

PIAA wrestling champion Landon Sidun, a rising sophomore at Norwin, did not return to Fargo, N.D., to defend his national title.

Norwin coach Kyle Martin said Sidun is training for his sophomore season. His absence from summer competition is all part of his training.

“He has never had this much of a break between competitions, and his periodization plan is working well,” Martin said. “He is getting a ton of work with coaches everywhere, especially at the college level. This time off from competition has been great for Landon. First and foremost, he is getting completely healthy and not constantly competing with bumps, bruises, strains (etc.).”

Sidun, a 114-pounder, was 42-2 in his first year of WPIAL and PIAA competition.

A cornerstone in Martin’s message to athletes and their parents is that nobody should train the same way.

“They are all different, need different things, and one formula isn’t going to work for others,” Martin said. “This summer is a perfect example. While Landon needs less competition and more training and reps, (other athletes) need high level competition that they haven’t seen yet to prepare for another ridiculously tough high school schedule that we are putting together at Norwin.”

Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.

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