Penn State football raises $95K to fight rare diseases at annual ‘Lift for Life’
The Penn State football team raised $95,089.98 to fight rare diseases during Saturday’s annual “Lift for Life” event at Holuba Hall, the university announced Tuesday afternoon.
Saturday marked the 15th annual event; Penn State’s Uplifting Athletes have raised $1.3 million total over that span.
Donations will continue to remain open until Sept. 30. Fans can track the total or choose to donate on the chapter’s website at https://pledgeit.org/team/psu-lift-for-life-2017 or by sending a donation to Will Flaherty, Director of Player Development and Community Relations at 201 Lasch Football Building, University Park, Pa. 16802.
Athletics
Record set with 97 distinguished scholars
ROSEMONT, Ill. Penn State student-athletes have set yet another academic record, as 97 earned Big Ten Distinguished Scholar Awards for the 2016-17 academic year.
The Nittany Lions’ previous record was 81 such scholars, set last year. Penn State finished second in the conference this year with 97.
Nine student-athletes posted perfect 4.0 GPAs this past year, including Chase Berger (men’s ice hockey); Madison Day (women’s lacrosse); Haleigh Echard (women’s soccer); Kate Granahan (women’s golf); Mackenzie Hornibrook (women’s swimming and diving); Geno Morelli (wrestling); Noah Roberson (men’s gymnastics); Devon Van Cura (wrestling) and Tyler Yazujian (football).
Men’s soccer
New Director of Operations named
UNIVERSITY PARK Destiny Rodriguez, a former operations assistant for the football team, was named Penn State men’s soccer’s Director of Operations on Tuesday.
Rodriguez will be responsible for overseeing the budget, coordinating class schedules, scheduling tournament games and acting as a liaison to the Big Ten, among other responsibilities.
“I’m really excited and grateful for the opportunity to join the Penn State men’s soccer family,” Rodriguez said in a statement. “It’s an honor to be able to work for my alma mater and for such a great group of players and coaches.”
Men’s gymnastics
10 earn CGA academic honors
UNIVERSITY PARK Ten Penn State men’s gymnasts earned College Gymnastics Association Academic All-American Scholar-Athlete honors, as the team finished No. 5 nationally with an average GPA of 3.284, the program announced Tuesday.
Redshirt sophomore Noah Roberson — a double major in biomedical engineering and mechanical engineering — paced the Nittany Lions with a perfect 4.0 GPA.
This story was originally published July 18, 2017 at 7:12 PM with the headline "Penn State football raises $95K to fight rare diseases at annual ‘Lift for Life’."