YORK, Pa. — The Clarion University men’s swimming team finished in third place overall with 368 points after the fourth and final day of PSAC Championships at York YMCA Aquatic Center.
Perhaps the biggest highlight of the day came from Sam Kinney, who received the PSAC Scholar Athlete Award for the 2016-17 season. This annual award is given to the athlete with the highest GPA of any men’s swimmer or diver in the PSAC conference, which Kinney earned with a remarkable 4.0 GPA this year.
The Golden Eagles had more than a few memorable moments come from the pool as well.
Junior Ben Spencer took home first place overall in the 200 backstroke final, touching out in 1:49.08 to earn CUP 20 points, while Sophomore Chris Fenoglietto finished in tenth with a final time of 1:58.1.
Ian Lindsey kept the momentum rolling for the Blue and Gold, racing out to a fourth-place finish in the 200 yard breast stroke with a final mark of 2:02.38. In the distance events, Patrick Oliver earned a tenth-place finish in the 1650 freestyle with a final time of 16:46.46, while Josh Thurston turned in a sixth-place performance in the 100 freestyle with a final time of 46.54.
Ending the afternoon and the weekend on a high-note, Clarion’s 400 yard freestyle relay team of Joe Folz, Josh Thurston, Robert Hacku, and Nathan Porter finished in third overall with a final time of 3:07.32.
Women’s Swim Team Fifth At PSACs
YORK, Pa. — The Clarion University women’s swim team took home fifth place with 672 points after the fourth and final day of competition at the PSAC Championships in the York YMCA Aquatic Complex.
Junior Summer Dacheux kept her weekend hot streak rolling, earning a third-place finish in the 200 yard backstroke with a final time of 2:03.90.
Saturday night for the Golden Eagles, Dacheux won the 100-yard backstroke with a final time of 56.97, earning the Golden Eagles 32 points in the process.
Katherine Querciagrossa followed suit, taking tenth place with a mark of 208.05.
Alexis Lopez kept it going for CU, turning in a sixth overall finish in the 100 yard freestyle with a final time of 52.69 to earn the Golden Eagles 24 points, while Abbigale Newman finished in 54.04 to take 16th. Letizia Collini took home 24th with a time of 54.59. Elsewhere, Becca Yonek finished seventh in the 1650 freestyle with a final time of 17:37.27.
Katie Gore earned a seventh-place finish in the 200-yard breast stroke, touching out in 2:26.28. The 400-yard freestyle relay team of Kelsey Burke, Lopez, Morgan Manglaviti, and Collini took home third-place with a final mark of 3:36.83.
Track and Field Competes in Kent State Tuneup
KENT, Ohio — The Clarion University track and field team took part in the Kent State Tune Up Saturday afternoon in Kent, Ohio, competing against a number of other programs.
The Blue and Gold return to action on Feb. 25 when they head to Edinboro for PSAC Indoor Championships.
Tatiana Cloud had the most memorable day for the Blue and Gold, setting a Clarion program record in the 200 meter sprint with a final time of 26.45, good enough to snag a 17th-overall finish. Cloud also finished seventh overall in the 400 meter with a time of 58.94.
In addition, the 4X400 relay team of Cloud, Amanda Batey, Courtney Corban, and Nicole Young took sixth overall, racing out to a final time of 4:18.50.
Elsewhere, Taylor Donia kept it rolling, racing out to a final time of 19:46.58 in the 5000 meter, good enough for 19th overall.
Danielle Stoner and Megan Schwerzler recorded 21st and 22nd overall finishes, respectively, in the 3000 meter with times of 11:57.00 and 11:57.81.
Rebecca Dudek earned a 53rd overall mark in the 800 meter with a final time of 2:52.90, while Batey took 23rd overall in the 60 meter with a time of 8.15.
Clarion Wrestlers Lose to West Va. on Senior Day
CLARION, Pa. – The Clarion wrestling team honored their seniors in their final career matches at Tippin Gymnasium, but the Golden Eagles were unable to come out on top in falling 22-10 to West Virginia.
In addition to Senior Day, the Golden Eagles welcomed back more than 15 alumni from the 1990s. The group was recognized on the mat midway through the match.
Of the trio of seniors Clarion honored Sunday, Evan Daley was the one that punctuated his career in Tippin Gym with a win, defeating Brandon Ngati by decision.
The two grapplers were scoreless through two periods in the 285-pound bout and Daley was the first on the board with an escape to open the third. The two remained close late into the period, but Daley got a hold of Ngati and brought him down for two points as time expired to take the 3-0 decision.
The most dominant win of the day came courtesy of Dom Rigous, who cruised to a 9-0 major decision over Ty Millward. Rigous pulled Millward over for a four-point near fall early on to establish control of the match, and tacked on the necessary points in the third period to secure the major decision and bonus points.
Wrapping up the Clarion wins for the day was Brock Zacherl, who returned to action after several matches off with a win at 141 pounds.
Zacherl and Joe Wheeling wrestled a tight bout, with Zacherl holding on for the 4-2 win after scoring late points.
The Golden Eagles (6-10, 3-3 EWL) return to action March 4 at the EWL Championships at Bloomsburg.
Golden Eagles Softball Winless at Myrtle Beach
MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. – The Clarion softball team completed its season-opening weekend with a loss to New Haven on Sunday, falling 6-0 to the Chargers.
The Golden Eagles (0-5) will be back in action when they compete at Shaw Challenge beginning March 3.
Cassie Daniels continued her strong start to the season, going 2-of-3 at the plate with a walk. Four other Golden Eagles recorded hits against New Haven starter Alyssa Monteverde but they could not string enough hits together to plate a run.
Rachel Hoffman allowed five runs in the start to take the loss.
The first scoring opportunity for the Golden Eagles came in the bottom of the second with Clarion trailing 2-0. Casey Wilcox got a one-out base knock and Brigid Stermel walked with two outs to put runners on first and second, but Hoffman struck out and was unable to bring them home.
Daniels reached second after a single and a steal in the third but Runyan stranded her after striking out.
The best opportunity, though, came in the bottom of the fifth inning. Daniels singled with two outs and reached second on a throwing error, and then advanced to third base after a single by Runyan.
Runyan moved ahead to second base on a throwing error, giving the Golden Eagles runners in scoring position with two outs.
The threat ended, though, when Monteverde struck out Taylor Nonnenberg.
Saturday, the Golden Eagles were kept out of the win column with losses to Le Moyne (5-2) and Merrimack (2-0) in a doubleheader.
Women’s basketball falls to No. 3 Cal
CLARION, Pa. – The Clarion women’s basketball team put up a strong fight in the final three quarters of action, but a tough first quarter doomed the Golden Eagles against the third-ranked team in the nation as they fell 79-54 to No. 3 California (Pa.) at Tippin Gymnasium.
Saturday also served as Senior Night in Clarion, with Delrika Jones-Carey, Tyra Polite and Jen Straw playing the final home game of their careers. The trio will take part in their first PSAC Tournament as the Golden Eagles clinched a playoff berth earlier this week.
Those seniors were the ones that delivered against the Vulcans, with Jones-Carey playing one of her best all-around games of the season. She finished 7-of-10 from the field for 15 points, seven rebounds, three blocked shots and two steals. Polite came up just short of a double-double with 10 points, a team-high nine rebounds and three assists. Joining them in double-digit scoring was Amesha Harden-Pullium with 12 points.
The Vulcans outscored Clarion 30-10 in the first quarter.
Clarion will close out the regular season with a pair of road games, taking on IUP and Edinboro in the final week of PSAC play.
Men’s Basketball Honors Seniors In Defeat
CLARION, Pa. — The Clarion University men’s basketball team was defeated at home on senior night against California University of Pennsylvania by a final score of 75-50.
The loss moves the Golden Eagles to 7-19 on the season, including a 4-16 mark in PSAC play.
The Blue and Gold return to action Wednesday when they head to Indiana to take on IUP.
The game was preceded by a pre-tip ceremony to honor the contributions of Clarion’s four seniors, BJ Andrews, Akeem Williams, Jamal Bailey, and Justin Grant.
Junior Jamani Pierce led the Eagles offensively, finishing with 22 points along with five rebounds. Andrews led the Blue and Gold in boards with ten, while Manny Powell grabbed the assist lead with five.
Clarion managed to open the game on a 7-0 run courtesy of some crisp shooting from Andrews and Cam Grumley.
But the Vulcans battled back, finishing the first half on a 12-0 run to take a 43-24 lead after the first 20 minutes of play.
