LANCASTER, Pa. - A diving catch by McDaniel College softball senior catcher Bella Sylvester was named the 2024-25 Centennial Conference Top Play of the Year on Monday.

This marks the fourth time the conference has conducted a CC Top Play of the Year Challenge. Plays were chosen from the weekly #CCTopPlays highlight segment produced throughout the year.

Sylvester beat out 31 other entries to win the award. The play occurred in a 4-0 win over Franklin & Marshall in game two of a Centennial Conference doubleheader in Westminster on April 13. The Diplomats' Erika Stewart attempted a bunt to lead off the top of the third, but popped it up into foul territory where Sylvester made a bare-handed, diving catch from behind the plate.
 

In the round of 32, Sylvester advanced over Muhlenberg's Giovanni Rubino game-winner to cap off a 43-point performance in men's basketball, Johns Hopkins' Robby Enright who hauled in a 30-yard touchdown catch, and Dickinson's men's lacrosse team who advanced to the national championship game.

In the quarterfinals, Sylvester beat Pod 5 winner, Kat Esposito of Washington College who evaded several defenders to scores from a difficult angle in field hockey. That set up a showdown with Johns Hopkins' Olivia Piraino who scored from a difficult angle in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division III Women's Soccer Championship. Sylvester sneaked out a win with 51 percent of the almost 1,000 votes.

Sylvester then claimed the title with 56 percent of the nearly 800 votes cast in the finals against Muhlenberg football's Joe Repetti who sidestepped a sack and found Matthew Manning for a 92-yard touchdown.

Voting began back with the round of 32 on July 14 and concluded with the final round August 1-4. The first three rounds featured a 48-hour voting period with the finals extending to 72 hours. Voting was open to anyone through the Centennial Conference Instagram page.