Westmoreland H.S. notebook: Caddying leads to Penn State scholarship for Norwin’s Marissa Boyer

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Sunday, March 7, 2021 | 4:55 PM

Marissa Boyer envisioned a different path to college, one that even involved a different sport.

The Norwin senior thought soccer would be her ticket to the next level, but carrying a golf bag at a country club, well, that works, too.

Boyer, a caddie at Pittsburgh Field Club in Fox Chapel, recently was awarded a Chick Evans Scholarship, a prestigious honor for teens who do what she does. She will get $120,000 to pay for her tuition at Penn State, where she plans to major in elementary education.

Boyer began working as a caddie in 2016 to make money for club soccer.

It turned out to be her greatest goal.

“I knew I could make enough to play,” she said. “What I love most about caddying is that I get to meet so many different people. Many of them have given me school and career advice, and they really do all care about my success. I had no idea that this was going to lead me to Penn State.”

Boyer, who played for Norwin’s varsity soccer team the last three years, with substantial minutes as a senior, thought soccer could help fund her future.

“I’ve been playing the sport since I was 4 years old and I really didn’t picture myself not playing competitively through college,” she said. “But I’ve also had to take a step back and look at the financial aspect of it, with a scholarship that covers tuition and housing, it’s something I wasn’t going to pass up. I can also play soccer on a club team or with intramurals.”

Golf has become a fun hobby for Boyer, who also has taken up playing the game.

Boyer said she will live in a house at Penn State with other scholarship recipients.

The Chick Evans Scholarship for caddies was started by legendary amateur golfer Charles “Chick” Evans Jr. Evans, who learned the game as a caddie, won the 1910 Western Open, and in 1916, he became the first player to win the U.S. Amateur and U.S. Open in the same year. He kept his amateur status, and legend has it, he gave any winnings he earned to caddie scholarships.

According to the Western Golf Association, more than 11,050 men and women have graduated from college as Evans Scholars, and 1,010 are currently in school.

X-factor

They call him “Q.” But he may just be the X-factor for a championship run.

If top-seeded Belle Vernon continues to dominate teams like it has for much of the season, freshman Quinton Martin likely will have an impact.

If the Leopards (12-1) get back to the finals and raise the trophy this time, Martin could hold it the highest. The 6-foot-3 freshman with an expanding upside scored a career-high 25 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in Belle Vernon’s 80-49 win over Freeport.

Belle Vernon hosts South Park on Monday night. Martin had another big game against the Eagles when the teams met in section play. He went for 20 points and 12 rebounds in a 76-67 win, one of the Leopards’ closer games.

“You don’t see many freshman like him,” Freeport coach Wayne Greiser of Martin. “He’s athletic and has soft hands, catches the ball well and finishes well. Not many kids his age in this area get scholarship offers like he has from Pitt and other schools for football. When playing like he did the other night, he makes them even harder to beat.”

Greiser, the former Yough coach, likes Belle Vernon’s chances.

“They are on a mission, and all seem very focused on the goal of winning a championship,” he said.

Rosensteel scholarship

The Kaitlyn “Moe” Rosensteel Scholarship Foundation announced final plans for its first scholarship award.

The inaugural $2,000 scholarship will go to a senior female soccer player who will graduate in 2021. As part of the application process, players will write a 500-word essay. The foundation will conduct interviews with finalists.

The winner will be announced in May.

The application deadline is April 2. More details can be found at the foundation’s new website: www.moe86foundation.org.

“It is our opportunity to share Moe with everyone,” foundation president Ed Rosensteel said, “to let everyone know her story, her family, her friends and her life. The website not only acts as an information site but also as a living memorial for Moe.”

Moe Rosensteel, a former Ringgold and travel soccer standout, and West Virginia Wesleyan recruit, was killed by a lightning strike — along with Greensburg Central Catholic baseball player Brendan McGowan — in June 2019 at Mammoth Park in Mt. Pleasant Township.

Vikings on watch list

A pair of Mt. Pleasant softball players made the Premier Girls Fastpitch All-American Watchlist for the 2021 season.

Haylie Brunson and Courtney Poulich made the Northeast Region list.

The power-hitting Brunson is a Pitt commit who has played outfield, second base, shortstop and third for Mt. Pleasant, which is expected to be one of the top teams in the WPIAL this spring.

Poulich, a Liberty commit who is recovering from an injury, is a first baseman for the Vikings. She tore her hamstring three games into the 2019 season.

Recruiting

Mt. Pleasant senior football player Ian Fasano announced his commitment to Division II Fairmont State (W.Va) of the Mountain East Conference.

Fasano (5-10, 250 pounds) played offensive guard and defensive tackle for the Vikings.

• Penn-Trafford junior Cade Yacamelli, a running back and defensive back, added an offer from Dartmouth. It is his fifth Ivy League offer, joining Penn, Harvard, Columbia and Brown.

• Franklin Regional senior Trevor Brncic will further his football career at Allegheny, where he plans to play quarterback and punt. Brncic also has some interest from schools for baseball.

• Greensburg Salem junior lineman Billy McChesney is the first recruit to be offered a scholarship from Seton Hill for the Class of 2022. The 6-foot-2, 265-pound McChesney also has offers from Penn and Lehigh.

• Former Southmoreland standout Riley Comforti had entered the NCAA transfer portal, which means the 6-3, 195-pound wide receiver plans to leave Alderson Broaddus in Philippi, W.Va.

Comforti had more than 1,000 yards receiving on the football field and more than 1,000 points in basketball at Southmoreland.

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

Tags: Belle Vernon, Mt. Pleasant, Norwin, Penn-Trafford, Southmoreland