Kevin Dingas just might have found the best of two worlds at Millersville University.
The Central Bucks South senior is considering enrolling in the school’s Occupational Safety and Environmental Health (OSEH) program, and the first team All-SOL National Conference defensive lineman will also have the opportunity to play football.
“I do a lunch pool at the tech school, MBIT (Middle Bucks Institute of Technology), and I already have some OSHA certifications, so it falls in line with that,” said Dingas.
Dingas was one of 13 South seniors – four football players – recognized on Thursday, March 2, for committing to compete in collegiate sports.
“I took a visit, and I knew it was the right decision,” Dingas said. “It was a beautiful campus, and that OSHA program really fit in with me.
“I always thought I wanted to play football in college when I was playing peewee football. It was always a goal to try and play Division II at a high level.”
Tommy Donnelly will continue his football career at Muhlenberg College where he will major in business management.
“I really, really loved the facilities,” said Donnelly, who also considered Susquehanna and Misericordia. “They have an amazing education and the players on the team – it was something I didn’t think any other school could beat.
“I had always thought of playing at the next level, and it became a reality junior year.”
Liam Goss, who will major in business, will play football at Kutztown University, choosing the PSAC school from a final list that included West Chester and Temple.
“Kutztown really felt like home to me – it felt like somewhere I could start fresh and become the best football player I could possibly be,” said Goss, who began playing football in eighth grade. “Ever since I’ve touched a ball, I just had great a love for it, and every day I had aspirations of getting better and better.”
Will Ratcliffe chose Ursinus College from a final list that included Keystone College and West Chester. He will major in health sciences and play football.
“It felt like a second home, the community was very friendly, and the coaches made it known it was a place to go and succeed,” Ratcliffe said. “At a really young age, I knew I wanted to play football as long as I could. I didn’t know how it was going to happen, but I’m happy where I ended up.”
Jack Carver will major in business administration and continue his baseball career at Bloomsburg University.
“It was the right size. I liked all the coaches, and their business program is at the top of the state,” said Carver, who also considered St. Bonaventure. “I fell in love with baseball early. I’ve always played three sports, but this is definitely my best one.”
Julia Pye will compete in track and cross country at Dartmouth College where she will major in biomedical engineering. She also considered MIT, Brown and Yale.
“It was a really great fit for me academically,” Pye said. “On top of that, I loved how progress oriented their track program was, and (the coach) convinced me she could be a major part of my progress when I get there.
“It was a real easy decision for me to run in college because I love to run, and I love to compete. I’m not ready to give up that yet. Just being able to run and compete with girls who also have the same passions as me is a bonus.”
Zoe Levesque-Petsch will continue her track career at York College where she will major in mechanical engineering. She also considered Lafayette or one of Penn State’s satellite campuses.
“It’s a smaller school, which I wanted, and the coach is really nice,” said Levesque-Petsch. “Ever since I was a little girl, I’ve always wanted to run. To get the opportunity to run in college and continue is a really big thing for me.”
Ethan Cunningham will continue his track career at the United States Naval Academy. He also considered the United States Military Academy West Point and St. Joseph’s University.
“I’ve wanted to serve for a long part of my life, so having the opportunity to go there was something I didn’t want to shy away from,” Cunningham said. “I didn’t start running track until freshman year, which happened in COVID. Once it started taking off, it was like – ‘Wow, I can do this, I really want to do this,’ so it’s pushing yourself every day and being able to get there.”
Lily Haag will major in business and continue her field hockey career at Drexel University.
“I loved how close it was to my home, and I loved the team environment and the school, so it was a perfect fit for me,” said Haag, who also considered Stonehill and TCNJ. “I started playing field hockey when I was little, and ever since then, I’ve always had the dream of going Division I for hockey. As soon as it started coming closer, I really wanted to pursue that.”
Noah Moelter will continue his golf career at St. Joseph’s University where he will major in business intelligence and analytics. The senior, who finished sixth in last fall’s state tournament, also considered Gettysburg.
“Being in the Atlantic 10, St. Joe’s was my best opportunity to play against high quality competition in a good conference,” said Moelter. “My freshman year I tried out for the team and played on jayvee the entire year. I was not very good. It was a nice progression all the way up until the end of senior year.”
Riley Reteneller will continue her swimming career at Monmouth University where she will major in exercise science. She also considered Sacred Heart, West Chester and Millersville.
“I had such a good official visit,” Reteneller said. “As soon as I walked on the campus and met the team, I felt so at home. It was a very welcoming atmosphere.
“Ever since I was little, I have really loved swimming. I’ve pretty much known since I was a little girl that I wanted to swim in college. It was more the degree of what I wanted to do – whether club or for the school. My junior year I really decided I wanted to swim for my college.”
Colin O’Hara will continue his soccer career at Penn State Harrisburg where he will major in civil engineering.
“I was actually going to just not play soccer in college and go to Florida Atlantic University,” O’Hara said. “But my dad signed me up for an ID camp. I did the ID camp, I got offered that day, and I decided to take the spot.
“I knew deep down I didn’t want to quit soccer, and this lined up perfectly. I’m grateful my dad signed me up because I didn’t think it was going to happen.”
Nora Sidorski will major in mathematics with a minor in dance at Franklin & Marshall College. She also considered Penn State Brandywine and Northampton Community College.
“I was a dancer, and I quit dance sophomore year and decided I wanted to play softball full time,” Sidorski said. “I decided to step it up, take it to the next level, and it was really quick from there. The end of my junior year I was already talking to Franklin & Marshall and committed at that point.
“Aside from softball F&M has such strong academics, and the campus is just beautiful.”
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