Over the past 12 years, Pennsylvania College of Technology archery teams have done very well on the national level, but, this year, they rewrote the book.
Competing in the 42nd annual U.S. Intercollegiate Archery Championships with more than 30 other colleges and universities and more than 200 archers at Long Beach, Calif., May 15-17, the Wildcats won a school-record three team championships, had one individual champion, had a school-record seven All-Americans, finished third overall (the highest in school history) and qualified two archers for the World University Games.
On the team's return flight Monday, coach Chad Karstetter said he had to pay for an additional bag check at the airport to bring the trophies and awards home. He added that he didn't mind one bit.
Penn College claimed team titles in the female compound, male recurve and mixed compound events. On the female compound team were Lindsey Fackler (Halifax), Cheryl Brooks (Reynoldsville) and Julie Cain (Bellefonte). Male recurve team members were Glen Thomas (Mercer), Martin Smith (Brookville) and James Fanelli (Glastonburg, Conn.). Mixed compound team members were Dan Wido (Shickshinny), Zachary Plannick (Coraopolis), Fackler and Brooks.
In individual head-to-head competition, Wido won the men's compound championship, becoming only the third Penn College archer to do so. Wido, Plannick, Brad Ferguson (Lewistown), Aaron Lapinski (Bloomsburg), Brock Smith (Brookville), Fackler and Thomas earned All-American honors (combined scores from the indoor Eastern Regional and outdoor national championships), while Plannick and Thomas were chosen for the men's compound team that will represent the United States in the World University Games July 2-12 in Belgrade, Serbia.
"Danny shot excellent all weekend. You could tell from the serious look on his face that he was there to win," Karstetter said. "He didn't get a lot of practice in before we left because of his class load and he was a little worried about that until we got out there. But his experience paid off. He came out strong."
Going into the nationals, Karstetter, in his ninth season as coach, thought his male compound team of Wido, Plannick and Lapinski had the best shot at a title as it had been unbeaten throughout the year. But it lost by one point in the final to Atlantic Cape (N.J.) Community College.
That was a surprise to the coach, but an even bigger and better surprise was how well his women's compound team did especially considering that Brooks and Cain never shot before this year.
"It was kind of unexpected. Being that we had such a young women's compound team, with Lindsey Fackler being the only one with any experience, it was amazing to watch how well these girls worked together," Karstetter said. "They got into the finals against Stanford and it came down to the last two arrows. They were amazing. I wish everybody could have been there to see it because it was very exciting." Brooks dropped the last two arrows into the hit-or-miss target to give the Wildcats a 14-12 win and the trophy, he said.
"Being the first national women's championship team is a great accomplishment for the college, for the girls, for me. I couldn't have been happier. They were so excited," the coach continued.
Penn College defeated California State-Berkley 9-7 in the male recurve final and in the mixed compound final the Wildcats scored 5,043 points to James Madison University's 4,969.
In other individual competition, Thomas placed second in men's recurve, Fackler was fourth in women's compound, Ferguson was fourth in men's compound and Plannick 10th in men's compound.
Fackler, Thomas, Martin Smith, Brock Smith, Wido, Ferguson, Plannick, Lapinski and Tyler Gale (Kennedyville, Md.) also were named to the Collegiate Archery Program All-Academic Team, and Fackler won two $500 scholarships.
Fackler and the Smith brothers are seniors and Karstetter said they will sorely be missed.
"Lindsey blossomed from never having competed in archery whatsoever to becoming a two-time All-American and member of a national championship team. I was very proud to have had her for the past four years," Karstetter said. "Marty started out shooting a compound and, two years ago, picked up a recurve. He and Brock have been great assets to the team." Like Fackler, Brock Smith was a two-time All-American.
Reflecting on the season, Karstetter added, "I couldn't ask for a better team than I have now. These guys are a pleasure to be around. They work well together and it showed this year at nationals. Everything worked out."
Penn College Archery National Achievements
Team 1998 National Collegiate Outdoor male compound champion 1999 National Collegiate Indoor male compound champion 1999 National Collegiate Outdoor male compound champion 2008 National Collegiate Outdoor male compound champion 2009 National Collegiate Outdoor male recurve champion 2009 National Collegiate Outdoor female compound champion 2009 National Collegiate Outdoor mixed compound champion
Individual National Champion 1999 Shawn Naylor, male compound 2004 Ryan Romberger (Pillow), male compound 2009 Dan Wido (Shickshinny), male compound
Individual National Runner-Up 1997 Chad Karstetter (Salona), male compound 2005 Karen Morse (Canton), female compound 2009 Glen Thomas (Mercer), male recurve
All-Americans 1997 Chad Karstetter, Chris Champaign, Brian Parker 1998 Chad Karstetter, Brian Parker, Steve Craig, Shawn Naylor 1999 Chad Karstetter, Brian Parker, Shawn Naylor 2000 Chris Champaign, Jason Harris, Harry Bauman, Beth Dentler 2001 Matt Frye, Justin Wendorf, Harry Bauman 2002 Matt Frye, Justin Wendorf, Harry Bauman, Sarah Douglas 2003 Ryan Romberger 2004 Ryan Romberger, Ryan Benny, Michelle Wright 2005 Ryan Romberger 2006 Michelle Wright 2007 Michelle Wright, Ryan Rambo 2008 Dan Wido, Zachary Plannick, Brock Smith, Lindsey Fackler 2009 Dan Wido, Zachary Plannick, Brad Ferguson, Aaron Lapinski, Brock Smith, Glen Thomas, Lindsey Fackler