Trio of Windber student-athletes make college declarations
WINDBER — A trio of Windber athletes finalized where they will be competing at the next level on Thursday afternoon.
Cole Strick committed to play baseball at Mount Aloysius College, while Brady Russo is headed to Geneva College for football. Coby Romanchock signed his National Letter of Intent to join the Esports team at St. Francis University.
Strick’s march to the Mount
Like many other spring athletes, Strick lost his sophomore campaign to the COVID-19 pandemic, but that setback only upped his production through his junior season and thus far into his senior year. To this point in his career, he’s a .433 career hitter with 65 hits, 57 runs scored and 32 RBIs.
“Mount Aloysius and coach (Kevin) Kime really made me feel like family there, even when I visited there for the first time,” said Strick on what swayed his decision.
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Strick has done a little bit of everything for the Ramblers in his three seasons. While it’s yet to be determined where he’ll slot in with the Mounties, he’s open to all possibilities.
“I’ll do anything that they want me to do there,” Strick said. “I can play anywhere. They’re looking at me for two-way, pitching and anywhere in the field.”
Windber coach Dan Clark has had the privilege of deploying Strick anywhere in the field and knowing he will be successful.
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“He’s been a pleasure to coach since day one,” said Clark. “As a freshman, he started 18 games for us. He has always played really solid defense. Junior season, he kind of expanded his pitching role. His teammates feed off of his energy.
“Coach Kime’s getting a versatile player with a vast skill set offensively and defensively. He’s got a good glove in both the infield and outfield and a potential to hit anywhere in the lineup.”
Strick, who is the son of Allen Strick and Leanna Schindling, will major in business administration/sports management.
Russo rolls to Geneva
Brady Russo developed into a dominant force along the interior of Windber’s defensive line, especially in his senior season. He was an indispensable piece for the Ramblers, who went 11-1 and claimed the school’s sixth WestPAC Championship.
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He was part of a defense that pitched four shutouts, including a decisive 42-0 victory in the Appalachian Bowl contested between the regular season winners of the WestPAC and Heritage Conferences.
“When I first met coach (Geno) DeMarco, he probably sat down and talked to me and my grandfather for about an hour,” said Russo on what made Geneva an attractive destination. “He really took the time to get invested in me, so that really helped with that part of the decision.”
Russo said he was being scouted as mainly a nose tackle by the Golden Tornadoes. It’s a position Windber coach Matt Grohal felt Russo excelled in as a superior run stopper.
“For as big as he is, he’s very athletic,” said Grohal. “For us, he was our best defensive player on the defensive line this year. His ability to just scrape, get off blocks and get down the line of scrimmage and make tackles is going to be huge at the next level. It’s going to be hard for teams to single block him. He will command a double team at that position.”
Russo, who racked up 32 solo tackles and 108 total in his career, will play in the Pennsylvania Scholastic Football Coaches Association (PSFCA) East/West Small School All-Star Game later this May.
He is the son of Joseph Russo and Renee Thomas and will major in secondary education/history.
Romanchock roams to St. Francis
While esports is a relatively new concept for most college campuses, St. Francis has actually been on the forefront of developing the program led by coach Ethan Wingard.
“It’s just a great program. They were very developed in it, which is impressive because not a lot of schools are at this point,” said Romanchock. “Their academics were very impressive as well.”
Romanchock has become proficient in esports in a relatively short amount of time. He will mainly focus on “Rocket League”, which is best described as a sports-based video game where cars are used to play soccer.
“Competitively, I’ve only been playing for two years, but I’ve been playing since my middle school years,” Romanchock said. “Rocket League’s the one I’m the best at. That’s the one that I would more than likely compete in for them. That’s the one I got the scholarship for, but I also play Valorant a good bit.”
St. Francis gives their players the opportunity to compete in Overwatch, League of Legends, Rocket League, Hearthstone, and Super Smash Bros.
While Romanchock will primarily compete in online tournaments at St. Francis, there is a chance that the campus will host a tournament as well.
Romanchock is the son of Paul Romanchock and Beth Barry.
This article originally appeared on The Daily American: Windber's Romanchock, Strick and Russo make college commitments
