Who is the best Centre County boys athlete from the spring season? Vote here to decide
The spring high school sports season is behind us in Centre County. With a number of top-flight performances, there are 10 nominees for the Centre Daily Times’ Boys Athlete of the Season.
Below are the nominees from baseball, lacrosse and track and field, presented in alphabetical order. They were selected by the CDT sports staff via stats compiled by the CDT, sent to cdtscores@centredaily.com or kandrews@centredaily.com, and by readers’ votes in the weekly polls.
Vote for your favorite, as many times as you’d like. The poll closes at noon Saturday, and a profile of the winner will appear online and in print next Monday.
Alexander Ebeling, Bellefonte baseball
The junior outfielder had a batting average of .382, an on-base percentage of .482 and a slugging percentage of .544 with 17 runs batted in, 26 hits, 12 walks and 19 runs in 85 plate appearances. He played stellar defense, posting a 1.000 fielding percentage in 21 games and stole four bases.
Ebeling won the Centre Daily Times’ Athlete of the Week Award for May 2-7 when he went 2-for-4 from the plate with two RBIs in Bellefonte’s 6-2 win over Hollidaysburg on May 3. He followed up by notching three hits in the Red Raiders’ 17-0 victory against Clearfield on May 5. He was additionally named as a first-team Mountain League selection for the outfield.
Brady Bendik, State College baseball
Bendik had a strong senior season with the Little Lions, pitching to a 2.12 earned run average. Batters hit just .206 against him and he struck out 35. His best performance of the season was against Cumberland Valley on May 5, when he pitched five innings, allowing two hits, one run and three walks while striking out three batters. During that game, batters went 2-for-17 (.118 batting average) against the 6-foot-4 senior.
Bendik is headed to the Naval Academy to continue his baseball career. He finished his State College baseball career with a 1.76 ERA and 62 strikeouts. Opponents batted .205 against him in 55.2 innings.
Cooper Brushwood, State College boys lacrosse
Brushwood finished his freshman season with 31 goals and 16 assists, being named as a first-team midfielder by Mid Penn. The freshman is set to start his first summer season with Duke’s Elite out of Philadelphia to prepare for his next season with the Little Lions. Brushwood will also try out for the Under Armour All American Lacrosse Underclassmen Tournament in Blue Bell.
He won the Centre Daily Times Athlete of the Week poll for the week of April 25-30. During that week, he had one goal and one assist to help secure the win over Central Dauphin on April 26. In an April 27 game vs. Northern York, Brushwood scored two goals and had one assist in the 15-1 win. Brushwood finished with a hat trick (three goals in one game) and one assist against Red Land on April 28 in a 11-4 win.
Derek Fravel, Bellefonte baseball
Fravel was named a Mountain League All-Star for his play as a first baseman and as a pitcher in 2022. His selection as a first baseman was a unanimous decision. Fravel batted .397/.477/.684 and had an OPS of 1.162 with 17 RBI. He was the winning pitcher, going five innings, allowing three hits and two runs while striking out 10 in the 14-2 District 6 Class 4A championship victory over Juniata on June 2.
“Throughout the whole year, we’ve faced teams just like that (Juniata),” Fravel said following the win. “They gave us a run for our money, but we’re just bulldogs. We just kept getting to it. It wasn’t our first rodeo, we just kept at it and it’s awesome.”
Jason Dreibelbis, Saint Joseph’s Catholic baseball
Dreibelbis stood out as both a pitcher and a hitter in 2022. The junior put together a .489 batting average in 47 at-bats, a .569 on-base percentage, a .553 slugging percentage and a 1.122 on-base plus slugging percentage. On the mound he pitched to a 2.91 ERA in 33.2 innings, striking out 30 batters, walking just 11 and giving up 16 runs with a 2-0 record. Batters hit just .224 against him and he allowed one home run all season. He was additionally a four-time nominee for CDT’s Athlete of the Week.
Dreibelbis went 2-for-2 in the first game of a doubleheader against Williamsburg on May 2, which the Wolfpack won 4-3.
Jeremy Whitehead, Philipsburg-Osceola baseball
Whitehead made the most of his senior year both on and off the field as an athlete. He made the 2022 Mountain League All-Star team as a designated hitter by batting .375/.475/.645 with an OPS of 1.121. He drove in 23 RBI with 18 hits, 16 runs scored and two home runs. He had a breakout game against Bald Eagle on April 29. Whitehead hit a two-out home run in the seventh inning to tie the game at 2-2. He also went 2-for-3 at the plate to lead the Mounties in hits, aiding the team in a 3-2 victory after a return from an ankle injury.
Whitehead was named as the boys Snyder Award winner for Philipsburg-Osceola this year. He will head to West Virginia University to enter its pharmacy school.
Maclain Welshans, Penns Valley baseball
Welshans won the CDT Athlete of the Week Award for May 23-28 when he went 2-for-4 with a run scored in Penns Valley’s 7-1 loss to Central in the District 6 Class 3A championship on May 28. He pitched all seven innings, allowing one hit and no runs while striking out eight batters in an April 22 matchup against Saint Joseph’s Catholic Academy.
“(You) just trust your defense and throw strikes and just keep it going from there,” Welshans said following the game. “I felt good today, I was ready to go. It feels great — you’ve just got to trust your teammates and just keep working.”
McGwire Heverly, Bald Eagle baseball
Heverly had a dazzling end to his career with the Eagles. The senior slashed .361/.410/.625 and owned an OPS of 1.035 as a batter. He also had a 2.44 ERA as a pitcher, tossing 28.2 innings, striking out 42 batters, walking 16 and allowing just 10 runs.
He was named the CDT Athlete of the Week for April 18-23 when he went 2-for-3 in a 12-2 victory over Huntingdon on April 19, driving in three runs. He also pitched six innings, allowing five hits and two runs, while walking four batters and striking out 11. He went on to go 4-for-5, driving in two runs in a 15-7 win over Southern Huntingdon on April 23.
Peyton Vancas, Bellefonte baseball
Vancas is only a freshman. It didn’t stop him from putting up massive numbers as a second baseman with the Red Raiders. He played 21 games for Bellefonte in 2022, owning a .456 batting average, a .537 on-base percentage, a .596 slugging percentage and an on-base plus slugging percentage of 1.133. He had a .968 fielding percentage with 62 total chances in the field and also had 35 putouts at second base with two double plays. He also stole two bases.
He was additionally named as a first-team 2022 All-Mountain League selection.
Ryan Lindenberg, State College track and field
Lindenberg led the boys with a win in the 200-meter dash in a time of 22.30 and the boys 300-meter hurdles (39.68) at the District 6 Class 3A championship on May 19. He won the CDT Athlete of the Week Award for May 16-21 for his accomplishments. His teammates John Sicree placed third (41.84) and Holden Roth (42.09) took fourth in the 300-meter hurdles in the same meet.
This story was originally published June 20, 2022 at 7:00 AM.
