TRAFFORD, Pa. (pacathletics.org) -The Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) announced the 2024 All-PAC women's lacrosse teams and yearly award winners Wednesday morning, which were determined by vote of the league's 10 head coaches.

Earning PAC Offensive Player of the Year award was Washington & Jefferson College senior attack Sofia Jenkins (Hughesville, Md./The Calverton School), while Grove City College junior defender Amber Wartman (Ellicott City, Md./Mount Hebron) was honored as the Defensive Player of the Year and Thiel senior Ashlyn Wightman (Pittsburgh, Pa./Shaler) was recognized as the Midfielder of the Year.

Completing the major award winners was Westminster junior Jade Hromanik (Pittsburgh, Pa./Shaler) being chosen as Goalie of the Year, Allegheny freshman midfielder Katherine Surdykowski (Chesterfield, N.J./Northern Burlington County Regional) honored as Newcomer of the Year and W&J 11th-year head coach Alison Valerio was selected as the PAC Coach of the Year. 

Jenkins becomes the second straight and third W&J player in the past four years to receive PAC Offensive Player of the Year honors. She helped pilot the Presidents' offense to 14.72 goals per game, which ranked as the most in the PAC.
 
Jenkins led the PAC with a W&J single-season record 55 assists and that total ranks as 12th most in Division III. Her 95 points, which equals the W&J single-season school record, ranks as second most in the conference. Jenkins was also the team leader with 65 draw controls and added 22 ground balls and 13 caused turnovers in 2024.
 
She wraps up her career ranking first in program history with 139 assists, third with 236 points and fifth with 161 draw controls. This is the third All-PAC honor for Jenkins, who also earned First Team recognition as a freshman in 2021.

Wartman's honor as top defensive player marks two consecutive years a Grove City player has earned the distinction. She anchored a defensive unit that allowed a PAC-low 8.35 goals per game and also forced 14.35 turnovers a game, most in the conference. The Wolverines limited nine opponents to eight goals or less in a game this season, including five PAC opponents, and in Saturday's 13-10 win over W&J in the PAC title game, Grove City held the Presidents to four goals below their season average.

Individually, Wartman ranked second in the PAC with 2.95 caused turnovers per game and had six games with four or more CTs this year. She also led the team with 57 ground balls, ranked second on the squad with 66 draw controls and added five goals and six assists for 11 points during the season.

Wightman's Midfielder of the Year honor comes after she led the PAC in goals and points for the second year in a row. In addition to leading the conference in both stats this season, Wightmnan ranks second in the nation with her 96 goals and 13th in Division III with 109 points. She posted 10 goals in wins over West Virginia Wesleyan March 10th and at Bethany April 27th and amassed eight or more points in nine different games this season. In addition to her scoring, Wightman ranked third in the conference in draw controls (103), tied for fourth in ground balls (55) and ranked ninth with 31 caused turnovers.

In her final game at Thiel, Wightman scored all eight of her team's goals in a 9-8 loss at Chatham in the PAC Tournament Quarterfinals. That gave her 274 for her career and 305 career points, which are both Thiel career records and the goals standing as the most by a PAC player since women's lacrosse became an official conference sport in 2019.

Hromanik earned the Goalie of the Year after she led the conference with 12.44 saves per game, a total that raised to 13.43 in her match-ups with PAC opponents. She also had a save percentage of .534 in PAC tilts. Hromanik stopped 14 or more shots in four games this season, including a career-high 22 against Thiel on April 13th. She also ranked sixth on the team with 27 ground balls this season.

Surdykowski had an impact all over the field in her first season for the Gators. She tied for second in the conference in ground balls (59), with 46 of those coming in PAC games, and eighth in the league with 33 caused turnovers. Offensively her 35 goals placed her third on Allegheny, as did her 46 total points, while she was second with 62 draw controls. Surdykowski was the top scorer for the Gators in their PAC semifinal OT loss to eventual champion Grove City, as she totaled five goals and three assists, as well as five caused turnovers in her first career PAC playoff game.

This is Valerio's fourth straight PAC Coach of the Year honor and her fifth coach of the year award overall. She was chosen after leading W&J to the top of the regular season standings with an undefeated 9-0 PAC record and into the PAC Title Game for the fifth straight time. The Presidents have not lost a conference regular season game since April 9, 2019. Valerio earned career win No. 100 when W&J topped Bethany by a 20-1 score on April 3.

Also announced were the members of this year's PAC Sportsmanship Team. The PAC's Sportsmanship Teams were established to recognize student-athletes who have distinguished themselves through demonstrated acts of sportsmanship and ethical behavior and are an ongoing effort to both recognize and encourage positive sportsmanship among all conference teams.     

PAC Award Winners
Offensive Player of the Year: W&J senior attack Sofia Jenkins (Hughesville, Md./The Calverton School)
Defensive Player of the Year: Grove City junior defender Amber Wartman (Ellicott City, Md./Mount Hebron)
Midfielder of the Year: Thiel senior Ashlyn Wightman (Pittsburgh, Pa./Shaler)
Goalie of the Year: Westminster junior Jade Hromanik (Pittsburgh, Pa./Shaler)
Newcomer of the Year: Allegheny freshman midfielder Katherine Surdykowski (Chesterfield, N.J./Northern Burlington County Regional)
Coach of the Year: W&J head coach Alison Valerio
 

All-PAC First Team
Position	Name	School	Yr.	Hometown/High School
A	Taylor Blythe	Grove City	Fr.	Honeoye Falls, N.Y./Honeoye Falls-Lima
A	Sofia Jenkins	W&J	Sr.	Hughesville, Md./The Calverton School
A	Aisa Uhler	W&J	Sr.	East Lansing, Mich./East Lansing
A	Emma Brazier	Westminster	So.	Northport, N.Y./Northport
M	Sam Beall-Dennell	Chatham	Jr.	Sykesville, Md./Century
M	Madison Nazigian	Grove City	5th	Forest, Va./Jefferson Forest
M	Ashlyn Wightman	Thiel	Sr.	Pittsburgh, Pa./Shaler
D	Amelia Henderson	Allegheny	So.	Pittsburgh, Pa./North Allegheny
D	Sarah Jackson	Grove City	Jr.	Brookfield, Conn./Brookfield
D	Amber Wartman	Grove City	Jr.	Ellicott City, Md./Mount Hebron
D	Mary Cassano	Thiel	Sr.	Fairview, Pa./McDowell
G	Jade Hromanik	Westminster	Jr.	Pittsburgh, Pa./Shaler
At-Large	Sybi Gerhart	Allegheny	Sr.	Denver, Pa./Cocalico
At-Large	Emily Herrold	Allegheny	Sr.	Hampstead, Md./Manchester Valley
At-Large	Ella Phillips	W&J	Jr.	Arnold, Md./Broadneck

 

All-PAC Second Team
Position	Name	School	Yr.	Hometown/High School
A	Ema Caragein	Allegheny	Jr.	Pittsburgh, Pa./Seton LaSalle
A	Felicia Hutter	Chatham	Sr.	Rochester, N.Y./Penfield
A	Joanna Hilkert	Franciscan	Sr.	Danville, Pa./Danville Area
A	Anna Kloehn	W&J	So.	Canton, Ohio/Jackson
M	Lauren Petrarca	Allegheny	Jr.	Simi Valley, Calif./Royal
M	Katherine Surdykowski	Allegheny	Fr.	Chesterfield, N.J./Northern Burlington County Regional
M	Caleigh Bogats	W&J	So.	Oakdale, Pa./Chartiers Valley
M	Nina Rascona	Westminster	Sr.	Somerset, Pa./Somerset
D	Avery Redd	Chatham	Sr.	Indiana, Pa./Indiana
D	Emily Arnold	Grove City	Jr.	Ijamsville, Md./Urbana
D	Sammy Hartz	W&J	Fr.	Ijamsville, Md./Oakdale
D	Isabella Cespedes	Westminster	So.	Merrick, N.Y./Sanford H. Calhoun
G	Madison Liggett	Thiel	Sr.	Baltimore, Md./Catholic

 

Honorable Mention All-PAC
Position	Name	School	Yr.	Hometown/High School
A	Bailey Donofrio	Chatham	Grad.	Pittsburgh, Pa./Chartiers Valley
A	Brooke Biagi	Franciscan	So.	Powell, Ohio/Bishop Watterson
A	Bailey Nicely	Saint Vincent	So.	Beaver Falls, Pa./Blackhawk
M	Theresa Lyle	Franciscan	Jr.	McMurray, Pa./Seton LaSalle
M	Waverly Lorne	Waynesburg	Fr.	New Providence, N.J./Governor Livingston
M	Ella Holland	W&J	Fr.	Healdsburg, Calif./Cardinal Newman
D	Sarah Sberna	Bethany	Grad.	Sherrard, W.Va./John Marshall
G	Elyse Kiggins	Grove City	Jr.	Zelienople, Pa./Seneca Valley