West Allegheny High School graduate Luke Palko, a senior wide receiver at St. Francis College in Loretto, has been selected to be among "the best and the brightest from the college gridiron," as he was named as one of 17 collegiate football players from across all levels of NCAA and NAIA as a 2006 National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame National Scholar-Athlete.

Palko will be honored at the 49th annual NFF Awards Dinner on Dec. 5 at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City. He will receive an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship, and is a finalist to be the recipient of the 2006 Draddy Trophy, which recognizes an individual as the top scholar-athlete in the nation.

"Words cannot describe how thrilled the Saint Francis community is that Luke Palko will receive this prestigious honor," said Saint Francis director of athletics Bob Krimmel. "We are excited for his family and him to go to New York City to receive this award.

"Luke has put in a tremendous amount of work, and has continued to be dedicated not only to his studies and the Saint Francis football team, but to the entire University. His Saint Francis athletic family is very proud of him as he represents the ideal student-athlete."

Palko, whose brother Tyler was one of the semifinalists for the same award, will be the recipient of the Jefferson Walker Kirby National Scholar-Athlete Award at the dinner.

"I feel honored to be given this prestigious award," said Palko. "To me, this award represents a combination of my entire career, and not just my accomplishments on the field. It's a testament to how I've been raised by my parents that athletics can only take you so far.

"And it's a testament to the university and the high academic standards they have. It shows people that if you can do well in school, it doesn't matter that you are at a school with just 1,200 undergraduate students in the middle of the mountains in Pennsylvania. You can still achieve a lot at a school such as Saint Francis University.

"I'm definitely looking forward to the trip to New York City. As of Dec. 4 my season is going to be over, but I look at this as my mini-bowl game."

An accounting major, Palko is second on the Saint Francis, and Northeast Conference, all-time receptions list with 222, and is second in school history with 2,001 receiving yards.

PAC cites Beaver grad

Beaver Area High School graduate Kim Walsh has been named Presidents' Athletic Conference Women's Volleyball Player of the Week.

Walsh, a 5-6 junior setter at Grove City College, averaged 13.3 assists per game for the 2-1 Wolverines last week, posting 50-plus assist efforts in all three matches.

After recording 58 assists in a 3-2 PAC loss at Waynesburg, she totaled 57 in a 3-1 win at PAC foe Bethany and 58 more in a 3-1 league victory at Thiel.

CV grad a Duquesne standout

Chartiers Valley High School graduate Travis MacKenzie, a three-year starter on Duquesne University's men's soccer team, leads the Dukes with six goals and eight assists for 20 points.

MacKenzie, a junior midfielder, scored his most recent goal on Sunday in the Dukes 1-0 win over Massachussets in their regular-season finale. The Dukes take an 11-6-1 record into the Atlantic 10 tournament.

MacKenzie broke into Duquesne's starting lineup as a freshman and started in 14 of 20 games, scoring five goals and one assist, and was named to the Atlantic 10 Conference All-Rookie team.

Last season, MacKenzie garnered first-team All-Conference honors by recording five goals and three assists, while starting all 16 games.

In high school, MacKenzie was a three-time WPIAL All-Star and also a three-time Post-Gazette Finest 11 selection.