12/24/23

SCRANTON, Pa. -- As we approach the end of 2023, Lackawanna College Athletics is reflecting on the top moments from the 2023 athletics calendar, and revealing them one day at a time between now and the new year! 

Today's top event comes to us courtesy of three coaches being chosen as tops in their respective regions and leagues!  

#8: McCarry, Morgan, and Gabriel Win Coach Of The Year Awards
Lackawanna College coaches had a stellar 2023, with three coaches being recognized for their efforts in pushing the Falcons to heights in 2023. 

First, it was former Lackawanna College men's basketball coach Landon Gabriel winning the Eastern Pennsylvania Athletic Conference (EPAC) Coach of the Year award, as he helped guide the Falcons to an 18-11 overall record and an appearance in the Region XIX Division II championship game. Coach Gabriel's Falcons overcame a mid-season swoon and won five of their final seven regular season games, including an undefeated 4-0 mark in Region XIX contests, to get in as the #2 seed in the playoffs. The Falcons won a riveting ovetime game at home against Essex to advance to the championship, then led at halftime over top-seed Raritan Valley on the road in the title game, before eventually bowing out. Lackawanna won 18 games, its most since since the 2018-2019 year, and more than the previous two seasons under Gabriel combined. The Falcons had EPAC Player of the Year Caleb Mims (Bethlehem, PA), and also had All-EPAC selections Aamir Mack (Atlantic City, NJ) and Malek Mims (Bethlehem, PA), as well as All-Region XIX selection Nasir Brown (Wilmington, DE). 

A few months later, Lackawanna College baseball coach Mike McCarry was honored as the Region XIX Coach of the Year for the 2023 season, as the Falcons put together a historic campaign. In McCarry's fifth season, the Falcons won their second-most games, ever, with 40 overall victories. Lackawanna was 16-2 in Region XIX play, 9-0 in Region games at home, and won 12 straight games at one point. The Falcons were 17-2 overall at home, earned the top-seed in the Region XIX playoffs, and won six straight playoff games to qualify for the Division II World Series, winning both the Region and East District title in the process. Then, the Falcons did something they've never done before, and that's win two games at the NJCAA Division II World Series. Lackawanna won its first game against Glendale CC, pushed top-seed (and eventual national champion) Heartland CC to the brink, eliminated Glendale CC, then ran out of steam against St. Johns River. It was a performance for the ages for Lackawanna on the national stage, and solidified what had been a stellar season for McCarry and the Falcons. 

Then, in the fall semester, it was another team's turn to make history. Lackawanna College women's volleyball and head coach Shelby Morgan, in her second season, won the first Region XIX title for the program since 2006, taking a pair of matches in the Region XIX tournament, which Lackawanna hosted, to secure the historic win. The Falcons won 14 matches in the 2023 season, their most wins in a year since 2015, which was even more significant in light of the recent history of the program, having been dormant for nearly a year and a half through the pandemic, and then winning just two matches through its previous two years of competition. The Falcons accomplished all of that with a team comprised exclusively with first-year student-athletes.  

Top 14 Moments Of 2023 For Lackawanna College Athletics  
14) Lackawanna Softball and Ally Lemerise's Big Week
13) Paserk, Riddick, and Rush Highlight All-Academic Selections
12) Colonel Volk Day At Football Homecoming
11) Lackawanna Esports Raises $12K For Charity
10) Kyle Scott and Ji'Ayir Brown Drafted
9) Worthy, Walsh, and Collins Lead The NJCAA
8) McCarry, Morgan, and Gabriel Win Coach Of The Year Awards
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