Where are they now?
// Catching up with former area high school athletes
West Allegheny grad has big assist in Duquesne soccer cracking top 25
The Duquesne University men’s soccer team recently cracked the national top 25 rankings for the first time since 2005, and one of the Dukes’ top players is Nate Dragisich, a graduate of West Allegheny High School. Dragisich, a junior, has not scored a goal in eight games, but his six assists ties him for the team lead in points. Dragisich, a second-team all-Atlantic 10 Conference selection a year ago, has helped Duquesne to a 6-0-2 start. The Dukes were ranked No. 25 in the country last week.
Purdue’s second-leading scorer in soccer is a graduate of Mars
The Purdue women’s soccer team is off to a 3-7 start, but one of the bright spots for the Boilermakers is a player from Mars. Gracie Dunaway, a sophomore from Mars High School, is the leading scorer on the team with 10 points — four goals and six assists. Dunaway, a former Post-Gazette AllArea selection, is coming off an excellent freshman year when she started all 22 games and had seven assists for a Purdue team that won 15 games, second most in school history.
Third-leading receiver in Division II is a junior at Cal from Serra Catholic
One of the top receivers in the country in NCAA Division II football is from the WPIAL. JaQuae Jackson is a junior receiver at California (Pa.) and is third in the country in receptions per game at 8.8. In four games, Jackson, a graduate of Serra Catholic, has 35 receptions for 442 yards and five touchdowns. He had 13 catches for 179 games in a game against Shepherd earlier this season. Last year as a sophomore, Jackson had 58 receptions for 744 yards and eight touchdowns.