Penn College archers ready to open
The Pennsylvania College of Technology archery team is set to open while the college’s basketball and wrestling squads continue their seasons.
Archery
After a bit of a down year, Penn College archery coach Chad Karstetter looks for his team to rebound this season. The Wildcats openSaturday at the Eastern Seaboard Indoor Championships in Mays Landing, New Jersey.
A year ago, after getting a late start with no coach named until January, Penn College saw a six-year streak snapped when it failed to have any archers or team disciplines place among the top two in the nation. With three returning All-Americans, however, Karstetter, in his 13thseason, is confident about this year’s squad.
“So far everything looks pretty good. We have three returning All-Americans (three-timer Nicole Lapinski, of Bloomsburg, and two-timers Kendel Baier, of Jersey Shore, and Matt Cummings, of Mountville) who definitely are going to lead the team this year to a good season. And we’ve got a lot of newcomers who are really shooting very well,” the coach said.
“I think it’s going to turn out to be a pretty good season. We got started plenty early this season, back in late September, early October, and some of these guys have really turned it on at the beginning of the spring semester and are shooting really well,” he continued.
Looking ahead to Saturday, Karstetter said, “It’s at Atlantic Cape Community College and they’ve put on an event but it’s something that we haven’t attended in the past. It’s going to be a season-opener for us but not as intense as if we headed right to the indoor nationals. … It’s going to be very beneficial for us to go down and compete against other college students who are in the beginning, learning stages of how a tournament operates before we get to indoor nationals.”
Disciplines and Penn College archers who will shoot in them include:
Female compound – Lapinski; Abigail Hricko, of Nicholson; and Chelsea Douglass, of East Greenville.
Male compound – Cummings, Justus Leimbach, of Westminster, Maryland; Markus Weber, of La Plata, Maryland; and Cody Wolfe, of Tioga.
Female bowhunter — Baier; Courtney Deshong, of McConnellsburg; Rikki Johns, of Adrian; and Holly Neely, of Lebanon.
Male bowhunter – Tyler Schoonover, of Bradford; Jason Komar, of Waymart; Cody McCracken, of Loyalsock Township; Andrew Rupp, of Dayton; and Jeremy Williams, of Westminster, Maryland.
Female recurve – Pamela Hartman, of Harrisburg, and Julie Carr, of Souderton.
Male recurve – Gregg Foust, of Murrysville; Brandon Lonaberger, of Shillington; Ronald Ferreri, of Waldwick, New Jersey.
Addressing Lapinski and Baier, Karstetter said, “With the experience they have and how they’ve performed in the past, they are going to be an asset to the final teams when it comes down to nationals. They are both shooting very strong. We worked a little bit on Kendel’s form from last season and she really has turned it on strong. She’s going to be a contender for a national championship this year.”
“Cummings, along with Leimbach and Wolfe, who just missed being All-Americans, are going to be pretty tough to beat this year,” the coach added.
“Overall, I’ve very pleased with how this season is turning out. The men’s bowhunter team is new this year and I would say it is stronger than last year and we had a very strong team last year. I expect these guys to be around for another few years and it’s going to be a good team,” Karstetter said.
Women’s basketball
A strong second-half, sparked by a game-high 37 points from Jamie Steer, of South Williamsport, helped lift the Lady Wildcats to a 93-85 home North Eastern Athletic Conference win over Bryn Athyn on Thursday. Steer also had 12 rebounds while teammates Charese Bova, of Beech Creek, ended with 12 points and 14 rebounds; Alicia Ross, of Williamsport, scored 20 points and Danielle Mowery, of Shamokin, added 12 points. Penn College trailed 42-38 at halftime and then outscored its opponent 55-43 in the second half.
Another strong second half paid dividends on Saturday as Penn College, leading by three points at the half, outscored SUNY-Cobleskill 48-26 after the intermission for an 86-61 victory that keeps the Wildcats tied for third place in the NEAC South Division with a 7-3 conference and 8-6 overall record. Ross led Penn College with 24 points while Bova had 15 points and 10 rebounds, Hannah Schoenly, of Hamburg, added 13 points and Steer 10 points.
Through Saturday, PSU Abington led the South Division with a 7-0 record and was followed by Lancaster Bible at 7-1, Penn College and Gallaudet both at 7-3, St. Elizabeth at 5-4, Bryn Athyn, 3-5; PSU Berks 0-8 and Wilson College 0-10.
Men’s basketball
Trailing by 14 points at the half, Penn College outscored Alfred State College the rest of the way but it wasn’t enough in a 48-43 non-conference road loss on Monday. Nathaniel Brown, of Philadelphia, led Penn College with 10 points and Ezra Adams, of Muncy, finished with nine rebounds.
Kevin Laurence-El, of Milton, scored 14 points and James Boylan, of Newton, New Jersey, added 10 points and had eight rebounds in an 83-65 NEAC loss to Bryn Athyn on Thursday. Despite falling behind 16-2 at the start, Penn College got back within eight points three times in the second half but couldn’t overcome the early deficit.
On the road on Saturday, the Wildcats fell at SUNY-Cobleskill, 71-57, to drop to 1-8 in the NEAC and 2-14 overall. Boylan led Penn College with nine points.
Through Saturday, Lancaster Bible led the NEAC Southern Division with an 8-0 record, followed by Gallaudet at 5-3, PSU Abington and Bryn Athyn both 4-3, Penn State Berks 3-4, Wilson College 2-7 and Penn College.
Wrestling
Kyle Sunseri, of Athens, in the 141-pound weight class; Slade Storm, of New Oxford, at 149, and Troy Leid, of Terre Hill, at 165, all went 1-2 to lead eight Penn College wrestlers in the Shorty Hitchcock Memorial Classic last Sunday at Millersville against some of the top grapplers on the East Coast, many from NCAA Division I schools. Also wrestling for the Wildcats but going 0-2 were Aaron Doll, of Glen Rock, at 125; Mason Replogle, of New Enterprise, at 157; Dan Frankenfield, of Dushore, at 174; Connor Route, of Canton, at 184; and Brandon Stover, of Oil City, at 197.
“(Last) Saturday (after going 1-2 in a quadrangular match) we looked really good and wrestled really well,” said coach Schuyler Frey. “… Sunday (in the classic), the guys didn’t wrestle well the first thing in the morning. … But hopefully it (the competition) will benefit us.”
PENN COLLEGE SCHEDULES/RECORDS
Men’s basketball
Overall record: 2-14
NEAC record: 1-8
Monday, Jan. 19 – at Alfred State College, L, 48-43
Thursday, Jan. 22 – host Bryn Athyn, L, 83-65
Saturday, Jan. 24 – at SUNY Cobleskill, L, 71-57
Sunday, Jan. 25 – at SUNY IT, 2 p.m.
Wednesday, Jan. 28 – host Penn State Berks, 8 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 7 – host Morrisville State, 3 p.m.
Sunday, Feb. 8 – host Cazenovia College, 2 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 14 – at Wells College, 2 p.m.
Women’s basketball
Overall record: 8-6
NEAC record: 7-3
Thursday, Jan. 22 – host Bryn Athyn, W, 93-85
Saturday, Jan. 24 –at SUNY Cobleskill, W, 86-61
Sunday, Jan. 25 – at SUNY IT, noon
Wednesday, Jan. 28 – host Penn State Berks, 6 p.m.
Saturday, Jan. 31 – at St. Elizabeth, 1 p.m.
Monday, Feb. 2 – at Elmira College, 6 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 7 – host Morrisville State, 1 p.m.
Sunday, Feb. 8 – host Cazenovia College, noon
Saturday, Feb. 14 – at Wells College, noon
Wrestling
Overall dual record: 2-9
Friday, Jan. 30 – at York College, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 7 – at Centenary College, 7 p.m.
Saturday–Sunday, Feb. 14-15 – at USCAA National Championships, 8 a.m.
(End of season)
