YSU

YSU
Football
PHILADELPHIA -- Senior tailback Marcus Mason and senior center Ryan Jewell (Warren Harding) were named first-team All-Americans while senior cornerback Jason Perry was a second-team pick by the Sports Network.
Mason's selection made it a clean sweep of all-America teams, being named to the Associated Press, AFCA, Walter Camp and now the Sports Network.
Jewell was named to the Walter Camp All-America team while being named second-team Associated Press.
Jewell started all 14 games at center for the Penguins during the 2006 campaign. A team captain, he started 42 contests during his four-year YSU career. He was a two-time All-Gateway first-team selection and as a senior was a first-team all-league pick.
Mason, the Gateway Football Conference's Offensive Player of the Year, rushed for a school-record 1,847 yards on 302 carries and scored 23 touchdowns.
Perry was a second-team AP selection as well. He finished with a team-high 11 pass breakups and tied for team-high honors with four interceptions. Perry finished with 65 total tackles, including 32 solo stops.
YSU finished fourth in the final Sports Network and College Sporting News Coaches Poll, which were released Monday.
The top nine teams were the same in both polls. Appalachian State earned its second national championship while Massachusetts was second, Montana was third, YSU was fourth, North Dakota State finished fifth, New Hampshire was sixth, Southern Illinois was seventh, Illinois State was eighth and James Madison was ninth.
The Penguins went 11-3, losing to the Mountaineers 49-24 in the semifinals.
YSU was in the top 10 throughout the season and the fourth-place ranking was the highest for the year. The Penguins opened the year ranked seventh, but slipped to 10th following a midseason lost to UNI.
Youngstown State entered the postseason ranked fifth, but earned the fourth seed for the playoffs. The Penguins defeated James Madison (35-31) in the first round and Illinois State (28-21) in the quarterfinals before falling in the semifinals.
LOCAL
Dykes namedfirst team
PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Keilen Dykes, a junior defensive lineman for the West Virginia University football team from Youngstown, has been named an All-Big East first team defender.
Dykes (6-4, 290), a graduate of Chaney High in his third year as a starter for West Virginia, helped the Mountaineers to a 10-2 record and a berth in the Gator Bowl Jan. 1 against Georgia Tech at Alltel Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla.
NEWARK, Del. -- The Boardman High wrestling team finished 33rd out of 80 teams in the annual "Beast of the East" tournament.
Senior Justin Powell (215 pounds) went 6-1 to finish third in his weight class. Other Spartans competing included Nick DeMarinis (3-2, 152 pounds), Jeff Liggitt (2-2, 125), Joe Molina (2-2, 130), Bob Creatore (2-2, 145), Bryan Whitaker (2-2, 189), Anthony Wills (1-2, 140) and Jerry Pasquale (0-2, 103).
Thiel's Valentinohonored by PAC
GREENVILLE, Pa. -- Thiel senior guard Nicole Valentino (Sharon) was named the Presidents' Athletic Conference women's basketball player of the week.
Valentino finished with 25 points, 10 rebounds and four assists in the Tomcats' 68-55 win over La Roche College Dec. 16. She was 7-of-15 from the floor, including 3-of-5 from 3-point range.
Bowling tournament
YOUNGSTOWN -- Entries for the ninth-annual Youngstown Senior Singles Bowling Tournament are available until Jan. 5.
Bowlers age 65 and older will compete Jan. 6-7. Seniors 55 to 64 will bowl Jan. 13-4. Entry deadline is Jan. 12. Cost is 26 per person. Contact Ted Bundy at (330) 770-8161.
REGION
Penguins focuson Isle of Capri
PITTSBURGH -- Pittsburgh Penguins owner Mario Lemieux said Tuesday that a deal to sell the team to a Canadian billionaire is "unequivocally" dead and that the club continues to focus solely its relationship with Isle of Capri Casinos. But if Isle of Capri doesn't get a slot-machine license from state gambling regulators on Wednesday, Lemieux said the Penguins would have to "consider all of our options."
Canadian billionaire Jim Balsillie last week withdrew his offer to buy the financially troubled Penguins for 175 million, but has said that he might still try to purchase the team. Lemieux said that won't happen and that the club will try to make Balsillie forfeit his deposit.
Meanwhile, other suitors surfaced over the weekend.
Vindicator staff/wire reports
COPYRIGHT 2006 ASSOCIATED PRESS. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THIS MATERIAL MAY NOT BE PUBLISHED, BROADCAST, REWRITTEN, OR REDISTRIBUTED.