LOCK HAVEN, Pa. — Behind two conference championships and a runner-up season highlighting ESU Athletics' fall season, the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) announced Thursday that East Stroudsburg ranks second out of 17 programs in the Dixon Trophy standings.
The Warriors compiled a 64-28-5 (.686 winning percentage) while earning 40 All-PSAC selections, 28 PSAC conference athletes of the week, and three major conference awards.
The ESU women's teams finished the fall season with the best average finish at the PSAC Championships, while the men's teams were fourth. The top three teams in the standings were all from the PSAC East, as ESU trails Kutztown and leads West Chester going into the winter season.
Women's Volleyball (17 points): The ESU women's volleyball team is the lone fall season program that is still playing, as the Warriors compete in the NCAA Division II Atlantic Regional bracket. With a 26-5 record, the Warriors won their final 11 matches of the regular season to clinch the PSAC East regular season title on the final day. After beating Seton Hill, Indiana (Pa.), and Gannon, the Warriors won their first PSAC Championship since 2019. The Warriors had two All-PSAC athletes in
Anna Coulter and
Marta Leeland, one of many accolades the former received for her season. Coulter became the first female ESU student-athlete to be named the PSAC East Athlete of the Year in three consecutive seasons, and was also named the D2CCA and AVCA Atlantic Region Athlete of the Year. ESU had an athlete named the division's top athlete of the week eight times this season, with Coulter, Leeland,
Allison Birtcil, and
Kelly Crites earning the honors. Head coach
Tricia Melfy was named the AVCA Atlantic Region Coach of the Year, the first time in program history an ESU coach received the honor.
Women's Cross Country: (17 points): The ESU women's cross country team won its first-ever PSAC Championship, adding another 17 points for the Warriors. ESU finished with 77 points at the conference championship, with
Payton Falkenstein,
Sarah Williams, and
Riley Trentowski leading the way for the Warriors in First Team All-PSAC performances. Falkenstein was also named the PSAC Athlete of the week twice during the season. The Warriors qualified for the NCAA Championships with a second-place finish at the Atlantic Regional behind All-Region runs from Falkenstein and Williams, marking its best team performance at the regional race. At its third overall and second consecutive appearance at the NCAA Championships, ESU wrapped up its season with a 32
nd-place finish.
Men's Cross Country (16 points): The Warriors finished the season as the conference runners-up, placing second at the PSAC Championship race in Edinboro, Pa. The team repeated its finish from last season, marking the sixth time ESU finished the season in second place in the conference. The Warriors were second with 78 points, led by First Team All-PSAC runs by
Landon Boyle,
Brian McGarrity, and
Aiden Voth. At the regional meet, Boyle and
Andrew Tatesure earned All-Region with their top-25 finishes, as ESU finished 5
th.
Field Hockey (13 points): ESU Finished the regular season with a 16-2 record, earning a first-round bye as the second seed in the PSAC Championships. The Warriors fell to the eventual conference and national champion, Shippensburg, but ESU built out an impressive resume on the year. With two win streaks of at least seven games and multiple ranked wins, the Warriors made their 10
th-straight NCAA Tournament appearance. ESU had six All-PSAC selections, headlined by
Elaiana Rivera-Lagalla and
Charlotte Simon as First Team honorees, and three PSAC Athletes of the Week between
Minke Klijn,
Sydney Pope, and
Emma Friend.
Football (11.5 points): The Warriors finished the season with an 8-3 record, the first time ESU has won eight or more games in three-straight seasons since 2003-05. ESU placed 13 athletes on All-PSAC teams, with six First Team selections in
Jaylen Andrews,
Ashton Blose,
Everette Dingle,
Matt Frame,
Beau Heyser, and
Ty Quintois, and garnered eight PSAC East Athlete of the Week awards. Blose and Dingle were named D2CCA All-Super Region 1 Second Teams, with Dingle becoming the first safety in team history to earn All-Region honors twice in his career. The two won the Athlete of the Week award for the division, Blose twice, as well as
Elijah Carroll,
Raquane Matthews,
Sean McTaggart,
Adam Noll, and Quintois.
Men's Soccer (7.5 points): The ESU men's soccer team narrowly missed out on the PSAC championships, finishing the fall season with a 9-7-2 record for fourth place in the PSAC East. The Warriors earned six All-PSAC First Team selections and two major awards, as
Owen Rennie and
Hunter Stites were recognized as the PSAC East Freshman and Defensive Player of the Year, respectively. Rennie was an All-Atlantic Region First Team member, while Stites earned a spot on the Second Team. Joining the two on the all-conference first team were
Nathan Bradway and
Jace Seara. ESU picked up three PSAC East Athlete of the Week awards during the year, as Bradway,
Ryan Kiernan, and
Kevin Kretschman earned the honors.
Women's Soccer (5.5 points): The ESU women's soccer team ended its 2025 season with a 5-9-3 record, one spot out of making the PSAC Championships.
Jade Wiley was named to the All-PSAC East Second Team, and
Emmilia Clarkson was recognized as the PSAC East Defensive Athlete of the Week in September.
The Dixon Trophy, named after F. Eugene Dixon Jr., is awarded by the PSAC to the member institution whose athletic programs earn the best overall finish in the conference championships and/or regular season play. During the course of the academic year, points are awarded based on an institution's finish in the 23 conference sports.
The next standings update will release after the conclusion of the PSAC men's and women's basketball championships in March 2026. The winter season includes seven PSAC Championships, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's swimming, men's and women's indoor track & field, and men's wrestling.
Dixon Trophy Standings — Fall 2025
- Kutztown – 13.92
- East Stroudsburg – 12.50
- West Chester – 12.38
- Indiana (Pa.) – 11.00
- Gannon – 10.93
- Shippensburg – 10.36
- Edinboro – 10.20
- Lock Haven – 8.60
- Shepherd – 8.29
- Slippery Rock – 8.07
- Pitt-Johnstown – 7.50
- Millersville – 7.21
- Bloomsburg – 7.19
- California (Pa.) – 6.43
- Clarion – 6.35
- Seton Hill – 6.21
- Mansfield – 3.00
