Danko and Albright to play at a collegiate level

Perry County’s athletic seasons are over until fall and with the seniors graduated and moved on, the question now is: what’s next?

For Susquenita’s Jackson Albright, the answer is Juniata College.

Albright will play baseball while majoring in pre-med with the hopes of becoming a pediatrician.

Albright was the captain of this year’s baseball team and he led the Blackhawks to their first postseason appearance since 2018. They also made the Tri-Valley league tournament as the second team in their division.

When deciding where to go, Albright leaned toward Juniata because he liked that it had the same small-town feel as his own community.

“Juniata reminded me of Perry County, growing up there was a big part of my life,” Albright said.

The campus is close to Albright’s home and he knew it was the place for him when he visited.

There are many things that Albright looks forward to as he prepares for the next step of his life.

“I’m ready to tackle things on my own and have the opportunity to achieve my goals,” Albright said.

Albright is also excited to join the baseball team.

Baseball has been a big part of Albright’s life growing up, and was something he always wanted to be doing.

“Baseball has always been my favorite sport,” Albright said. “I’ve always had dreams to play baseball at a higher level.”

Throughout his time as a Blackhawk, Albright earned the PCADA scholarship award, as well as a medal at the West Shore Hall of Fame luncheon. He recorded over 50 hits in high school and was named the team MVP his senior year.

Albright is one of many PeCo seniors moving on to play a sport in college.

Greenwood’s Riley Danko will go above and beyond and play not one sport, but two.

Danko will attend Lancaster Bible College where she will play field hockey and softball while majoring in early childhood education with a masters in special education.

During her time at Greenwood, Danko has earned a long list of accolades.

For softball, Danko was named the offensive MVP in 2021, as well as the defensive MVP in 2022, and she was selected as a Tri-Valley second team all-star in 2022 as well.

This season, she was awarded the Cameron Student-Athlete Award for the second year in a row, and has recorded 264 strikeouts during her Wildcat career. She led her team to a district championship this season.

In field hockey, Danko was a part of four PeCo titles, two district titles, a state championship, and a district championship. She has seven varsity letters between the two sports.

When searching for schools, Lancaster Bible was not one where Danko expected to end up.

“I never heard of Lancaster Bible and originally was not interested in going,” Danko said. “I didn’t even plan on playing sports in college but I went to a clinic and the campus was beautiful and small which was something I wanted.”

While playing two sports and obtaining a major might sound like a packed schedule to most, it is something Danko is used to and actually prefers.

She plans on staying motivated, using the time management skills she learned in high school and knowing when to ask for help. Danko is also looking forward to having the opportunity to connect with new people.

“I liked the things that Lancaster Bible valued and how inviting everyone was,” Danko said. “The biggest thing for me was that they cared about me as a person before an athlete.”