Nicholas Licata

PITTSBURGH -- As the javelin left Megan Penrod’s hand, she didn’t expect it to be her best throw.   She was competing at George Mason University in the Duquesne University track and field team’s third meet of the 2024 season. She set her block leg, rotated her shoulders and followed through, throwing 42.71 meters.    The distance marked a new personal best, the second-farthest women’s javelin throw in Duquesne history and the meet-winning throw.   Not only was it her best throw; it was one of her last.     Within the week, it was determined via Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) that Penrod had partially torn her Ulnar Collateral Ligament (UCL), ending her 2023 campaign and turning her life upside down.   However, Penrod’s self-motivating attitude and mindset have never waned.     “I have so much more to prove than I have already, said Penrod. “I know that inside. I’m not done.  I know it .”    The junior’s rise throug...

Duquesne warms up against NEC opponent PITTSBURGH -- “Really good football teams overcome adversity.”  This was the rallying message for Duquesne University, preached at halftime by Head Coach Jerry Schmitt, en route to the team’s comeback and sixth straight win.  Duquesne (6-2) defeated NEC opponent Mercyhurst University (2-7) in a transitional period non-conference match on Saturday afternoon 31-24 at Arthur J. Rooney Field in Pittsburgh.  Adversity, for the Dukes, came in the form of Rylan Davidson, who set a Mercyhurst all-time single-game receptions record and a new NEC season-high single-game receptions benchmark with 14. Davidson produced 152 receiving yards, with 95 coming after the catch, and broke into the endzone twice during the contest. Mercyhurst quarterback Adam Urena completed 38 of 52 passes for 345 yards, three touchdowns and an interception, including completing 6 of 8 passes for 63 yards on a 69-yard touchdown drive to open the contest and give the Lak...

    At the age of 62, Paul Hightower continues to run his athletic program the same way he has for the last 33 years- based on the maintenance of great relationships with those around him. Described as the jack-of-all-trades in his time at Duquesne, Hightower has used his interpersonal relationships to maintain his position as Senior Assistant Athletic Director of Facilities and Home Events for over three decades, an uncommon feat in today’s modern workforce. He says that the key to staying young is keeping up with the kids around him.      Hightower began his pursuit of a sports management career during his latter two years of college at Radford University. He originally had aspirations to be a sound engineer his Freshman year before switching his major to Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology. Having grown up around deaf friends, Hightower sought a career path that would put him in a position to help hearing-impaired children. However, he found that he ...