FAN's Class of 2025 Dr. Judith Benscoter Female Athlete Scholarship winner: Wyoming Area's Ella McKernan
Wyoming Area’s Ella McKernan carries the ball in the 2025 PA Field Hockey Senior Cup. She represented Team Allentown in the East pool. Photo: Mark Pynes
For the third year in a row, Female Athlete News is proud to present its annual female athlete scholarship to a Wyoming Area student-athlete, who is planning on attending Michigan State this Fall.
Out of the hundreds of votes cast, it was senior Ella McKernan who secured a majority of votes in FAN's Class of 2025 Dr. Judith Benscoter Female Athlete Scholarship competition.
The weeklong contest was held in March. This year’s contest expanded to include the top 10 states where FAN is read the most. Additionally, FAN expanded it to include second and third place winners.
The team at FAN also decided to extend an honorable mention to this year’s finalists. There were 14 seniors who participated.
Athletes were asked to write a short essay and to publish a video on Instagram as part of the contest rules.
This is the third time that a field hockey athlete from Wyoming Area won the scholarship.
Bianca Pizano was the inaugural recipient. Pizano is a NCAA student-athlete at Michigan State. Nina Angeli won the second contest and is also a Michigan State field hockey player.
In all competitions, the athletes were tasked with gathering supporters to vote for them. To vote online, a $2.99 one-time fee revealed the paywalled essays written by the athletes.
All subscribers in each scholarship campaign - 2023, 2024, and 2025 - were given one vote for the online vote.
McKernan received 43 percent of the votes cast and a majority of the social media votes.
Fun fact, she is one of five siblings in her family.
Congratulations to all and thank you for supporting the scholarship.
Q&A
Name: Ella McKernan
High school: Wyoming Area Secondary Center
College: Michigan State University
Position: Midfield/forward
Extracurricular activities: Track and Field, swim and dive, community service, and babysitting.
Why Michigan State?: “I chose Michigan State because of the positive atmosphere and people there. The campus is beautiful and the coaches are exactly what I was looking for.”
Describe a field hockey memory you won’t forget: “When my team won the district championship for the first time in school history and I scored the winning goal. This is my favorite memory because of the chills I got during our win and the celebrations on the field.
“Once again earning this scholarship means so much to my family and I. It really shows how much having a supportive family and community can do for one another! Thank you so much for this amazing opportunity!”
Thank you for reading Female Athlete News.
