Super Saturday coming for Penn College athletics

A busy Saturday saw 11 Pennsylvania College of Technology wrestlers place among the top four as first-time members in the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference. At the same time, the college’s basketball teams moved one game closer to their regular-season finales, which come on Tuesday.

And, it all points to what will be a Super Saturday this coming week with both basketball teams in postseason play, the wrestlers facing crosstown rival Lycoming College at a historic local venue and the college men’s lacrosse team getting its season underway.

FLASHBACK:
WRESTLING
Earlier in the week, coach Pankil Chander called the AMCC Championship a “great opportunity” for his wrestlers. And they made the most of it with one individual champ, three second-, five third- and two fourth-place finishers, while ending second in a five-team field.

Noah Hunt, of Muncy, ranked third in the Feb. 9 National Wrestling Coaches Association Division III Mideast Region, claimed the 141-pound individual championship with a 3-0 record on a pin, win by technical fall and then a decision in the final over teammate Patrick Snoke, of Northampton. En route to a 2-1 second-place finish, Snoke upended Alfred State’s Dominick Vinci, ranked eighth in the Mideast Region, with a 14-5 major decision.

Also placing second for Penn College were 125-pounder Luke Heimbach, of Boyertown, and 149-pound TJ Martin, of Honesdale, ranked seventh in the Mideast Region, as both went 2-1 on the day. Martin’s loss in the final came on a 7-5 decision against Penn State Behrend’s Peyton Hearn, who is ranked No. 1 in the Southeast Region.

Finishing third were Kaden Ware, of Brooklyn, Connecticut, at 133, after going 3-1; Liam Goodrich, of Cogan Station, at 157, after going 2-1; Andy Muzika, of Chalfont, at 184, after going 2-1; Gabriel Kennedy-Citeroni, of Blairsville, at 197, after going 3-1; and Nicholai Brotzman, of Marietta, at 285, after going 3-1 with two pins and a technical fall. Muzika’s loss was to Alfred’s Sean Malenfant, who is ranked second in the Mideast Region.

Placing fourth were Ryan Trimber, of Moon Township, at 149 and Logan Ledebohm, of Mechanicsburg, at 165, after both went 2-2 on the day.

Alfred State captured the team crown with 191.5 points and was followed by Penn College with 123.5, Penn State Behrend 96, Pitt-Bradford 52.5 and Hiram (Ohio) College 21.5

This Saturday, Penn College and crosstown rival Lycoming College will square off at Williamsport’s Community Arts Center in the first Billtown Brawl.

The event set up by Chander is the first-of-its-kind in Central PA as Penn College joins a select few programs in the country across all NCAA divisions to host a contest on a theater stage.

“This is a unique opportunity for the student-athletes from both programs to gain exposure throughout the community and compete in an environment like this. It will be an exciting event, and we are glad to have the opportunity to execute new ideas with great partners at the Community Arts Center,” Chander said.

Both programs have been featured in multiple National Wrestling Coaches Association Top 25 polls this season, and the two sides will meet for the fourth time since the Wildcats became a full Division III program in 2017. Lycoming leads the series, 3-0.

Four Penn College wrestlers recently were featured in the latest NWCA Regional poll released on Feb. 9, headlined by junior Hunt, third at 141 in the Mideast Region. Freshmen Ware (133), Travis Green, of Manchester, Maryland (165), and Martin (149) also are in the rankings at fifth, sixth and seventh, respectively. Fellow freshman Brotzman also is ranked among the NCAA's most dominant as he is top-10 in the Division III falls list with 14 pins in 25:15, as of the NCAA’s Jan. 31 release.

Lycoming’s Warriors also have four regionally ranked wrestlers in Kaden Majcher, third at 125; Eli Crum, fifth at 174; Gable Crebs, fourth at 197; and Robbie West, seventh at 285, in the Southeast Region.

Schedule/Results/Series History
Overall dual record: 8-9
Saturday, Feb. 10 — Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference Championships at Alfred State University, 2 of 5
Saturday, Feb. 17 — Billtown Brawl vs. Lycoming College at Community Arts Center, 2 p.m.
Sunday, Feb. 18 — Scranton Tri-Meet vs. Scranton, 2 p.m.; vs. St. John Fisher, TBA

MEN’S BASKETBALL
The Wildcats completed a season sweep of Penn State Abington on Saturday with a 94-91 win that assured them of a No. 4 seed and a United East Volt Division first-round home game this Saturday, with details to be announced in the coming days.

Livingston Cross, of Union, New Jersey, scored a personal season-high 35 points and snared 17 rebounds against Abington, while teammates Gavin Barrett, of Roselle, New Jersey, added 27 points and Landon Reeder, of Montoursville, chipped in with 18 points.

UE Volt Division standings through Sunday: Penn State Harrisburg 11-0, Lancaster Bible College 9-2, St. Mary’s (Md.) College 8-3, Penn College 5-6, Penn State Berks 3-9, Gallaudet University 2-9, Penn State Abington 1-10.

Schedule/Results/Series History
Overall record: 8-15
UE record: 5-6
Saturday, Feb. 10 — at Penn State Abington (UE), W, 94-91
Tuesday, Feb. 13 — at Gallaudet University (UE), 5 p.m. (Gallaudet leads 8-7)
Saturday, Feb. 17 — Volt Division First Round, TBA
Monday, Feb. 19 — Volt Division Semifinals, TBA
Wednesday, Feb. 21 — Volt Division Final, TBA
Saturday, Feb. 24 — United East Championship, TBA

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
In Saturday’s 91-54 loss at Penn State Abington, Emily Pardee, of Williamsport, led the offense with 10 points and Mia Patterson, of Loyalsock Township, was the rebound leader with 10. Abington led in points off turnovers, 35-5.

UE Volt Division standings through Sunday: Penn State Harrisburg 10-1, Gallaudet University 9-2, St. Mary’s (Md.) College 6-5, Penn State Abington 6-5, Lancaster Bible College 6-5, Penn College 2-9, Penn State Berks 0-12.

Schedule/Results/Series History
Overall record: 6-18
UE record: 2-9
Saturday, Feb. 10 — at Penn State Abington (UE), L, 91-54
Tuesday, Feb. 13 — at Gallaudet University (UE), 7 p.m. (Gallaudet leads 9-6)
Saturday, Feb. 17 — Volt Division First Round, TBA
Monday, Feb. 19 — Volt Division Semifinals, TBA
Wednesday, Feb. 21 — Volt Division Final, TBA
Saturday, Feb. 24 — United East Championship, TBA

WOMEN’S SOCCER
This past week, Kaelynn Sheetz, of Elizabethtown, was named one of six United East Senior Scholar-Athletes for the Fall 2023 season as a result of her excellence on the field, in the classroom and in the community.

Over her career, Sheetz was a two-time United East first-team honoree, five-time Player of the Week, a United Soccer Coaches Division III All-Region IV third-team selection, and the program record holder for career goals (49) and career points (113). 

In the classroom, she became the first Wildcat to earn College Sports Communicators Academic All-American recognition, has made the dean’s list seven times. The nursing major presently carries a 3.94 GPA. Additionally, she has earned multiple UE Scholar-Athlete honors.

In the community, Sheetz has worked with organizations helping clean up the Susquehanna Riverwalk and volunteers with the Special Olympics and Yards for Yardley. She also works within National Girls and Women in Sports Day on campus to provide soccer training to local youth.

ESPORTS
Schedule/Results
iRacing
CIL Cup Series
Monday, Feb. 5 — Future Made by Hand 200-Pocono, 21, 23, 29
Monday, Feb. 12 — Charlotte Roval, 8 p.m.
Monday, Feb. 19 — Freedom 250, 8 p.m.

CIL Formula World Championship
Wednesday, Feb. 7 — Miami-Homestead-Miami Road Course, 22
Wednesday, Feb. 14 — Germany-Nurburgring GP, 8 p.m.

Rocket League Varsity
Overall record: 1-0
Monday, Feb. 5 — vs. John Brown University, W, 3-2 (5-0, 1-4, 0-2, 3-1, 1-0)
Monday, Feb. 12 — vs. Manchester University, 7 p.m.

Overwatch 2
Overall record: 1-0
Tuesday, Feb. 6 — vs. Buena Vista University, W, 3-0 (2-0, 1-0, 3-2)
Tuesday, Feb. 13 — vs. Coffeyville Community College, 7 p.m.

Valorant
Overall record: 1-0
Wednesday, Feb. 7 — vs. St. Xavier University, W, 2-0 (13-6, 13-8)
Wednesday, Feb. 14 — vs. Minnesota State-Mankato, 7 p.m.

Counter Strike 2
Overall record: 1-0
Friday, Feb. 9 — vs. Nova Southeastern University, W, 2-1 (13-5, 13-16, 13-9)
Friday, Feb. 16 — vs. Nichols College, 7 p.m.

League of Legends
Overall record: 0-0
Tuesday, March 5 — vs. TBA, 7 p.m.

ON THE HORIZON:
MEN’S LACROSSE
The Wildcats will begin their fourth season under coach Jordan Williams at 1 p.m. on Saturday at Misericordia University in Dallas.

A lacrosse preview, along with men’s and women’s basketball playoff previews, will be coming this week.

Schedule/Series History
Saturday, Feb. 17 — at Misericordia University, 1 p.m. (first-time opponent)
Wednesday, Feb. 24 — host Westminster College, 4 p.m. (Westminster leads 2-0)

For more about the United East, visit the conference website.
For additional information, visit the Wildcats Athletics website.