Penn College Wrestlers Find Success at Bloomsburg, Bucknell

Pennsylvania College of Technology men's and women's basketball teams both went 0-3 last week, but several wrestlers found individual success in competition at Bloomsburg and Bucknell universities.

Flashback Men's Basketball On Tuesday, for the second time this season, the Wildcats played Penn State Hazleton tough, going down to the final two seconds before losing, 62-60. Earlier, Penn College fell to the same foe by one point. Colton Acorn, of Wellsboro, scored a personal season-high 20 points to lead all scorers while Scott Fenton, of Dickson City, added 15 points and Ethan Kline, of Hazleton, had 13.

Two nights later, the Wildcats fell to Penn State Wilkes-Barre, 62-49. Fenton scored 15 points to lead the offense, but 24 Penn College turnovers proved too much to overcome. Acorn added 10 points.

Closing out the week Saturday, Penn College fell behind Penn State DuBois 47-18 at the half and lost 78-49. Fenton led the Wildcats with 15 points as the team dropped to 2-18 overall and 2-9 in the Penn State University Athletic Conference.

Women's Basketball Against Penn State Hazleton on Tuesday, Penn College led by six at the half before losing 52-44. Bryanna Valentine, of Mifflinburg, scored 11 points and hauled in 12 rebounds for the Wildcats. Dana Reed, of Sunbury, grabbed 14 caroms and Kierstin Steer, of South Williamsport, added 11 points.

On Thursday at Penn State Wilkes-Barre, Mackenzie Brown, of Lititz, scored 13 points in a 70-55 Penn College loss. Steer added 12 points.

At Penn State DuBois on Saturday, three Wildcats scored in double figures, led by Bryanna Valentine, of Mifflinburg, with 12 points, but the home team led from start to finish in a 59-55 Penn College loss. Also scoring in double digits for the Wildcats were Steer and Casey Braun, of Hughesville, with 10 points each. Penn College now is 2-18 overall and 1-9 in the conference.

Wrestling Friday night at Bloomsburg University, five Wildcats competed in preliminary bouts with Derek Leiby, of Troy, winning his 149-pound match on a 5-1 decision and Tyler Myers, of Centre Hall, coming away with a pin at 157. Sunday at Bucknell University, four Penn College grapplers saw action in preliminary bouts and Leiby again was a winner, this time on a 13-1 major decision.

For the second week in a row, a Penn College grappler was honored by the PSUAC as Myers, a sophomore, was named the Wrestler of the Week for the period ending Jan. 29. Myers competed at the Jamestown, N.Y., Community College Jayhawk Open on Jan. 28 placing third in the 157 weight class by going 4-1 with two falls.

On Sunday, Feb. 12, the Wildcats compete in the PSUAC/United States Collegiate Athletic Conference championships at Rec Hall on Penn State's main campus.

ArcheryFreshman Nicole Lapinski, of Bloomsburg, placed first in the women's open flight as the Penn College archery team competed at the Early Bird Expo Shoot in Bloomsburg from Jan. 27-30.

"We did well," said first-year head coach Brian Parker. "It was an event that got their feet wet and got us ready for what is to come."

Also for Penn College, sophomore Ashley Baker, of Coudersport, took second in the women's open flight; senior Glen Thomas, of Mercer, placed third in men's open class first flight; freshmen Matthew Cummings, of Mountville, and Andrew Everett, of New Market, Md., placed fifth and 10th, respectively.

In bowhunter second flight, sophomore Kelvin Dewalt, of Easton, was fifth and sophomore Joseph Dowdrick, Lebanon, was eighth. Rounding out the place finishers was senior Clint Hinton, of Lock Haven, who was fifth in the men's open class third flight.

Schedule/Results/Records Men's Basketball Overall record: 2-18 PSUAC record: 2-9Tuesday, Jan. 31 host Penn State Hazleton, L, 62-60 Thursday, Feb. 2 at Penn State Wilkes-Barre, L, 62-49 Saturday, Feb. 4 at Penn State DuBois, L, 78-49 Monday, Feb. 6 at Penn State Brandywine, 8 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 8 host Penn State Scranton, 8 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 9 host Penn State Wilkes-Barre, 8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 11 host Penn State New Kensington, 3 p.m. Monday, Feb. 13 at Penn State Schuylkill, 7:30 p.m. (End of regular season)

Women's Basketball Overall record: 2-18 PSUAC record: 1-9 Tuesday, Jan. 31 host Penn State Hazleton, L, 52-44 Thursday, Feb. 2 at Penn State Wilkes-Barre, L, 70-55 Saturday, Feb. 4 at Penn State DuBois, L, 59-55 Monday, Feb. 6 at Penn State Brandywine, 6 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 8 host Penn State Scranton, 6 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 9 host Penn State Wilkes-Barre, 6 p.m. Monday, Feb. 13 at Penn State Schuylkill, 6 p.m. (End of regular season)

Wrestling Overall record: 6-3 PSUAC record: 5-1Thursday, Feb. 2 host Penn State New Kensington, canceled Friday, Feb. 3 at Bloomsburg University (preliminaries) Sunday, Feb. 5 at Bucknell University (preliminaries) Sunday, Feb. 12 PSUAC/USCAA Championships at Rec Hall, University Park

Archery Saturday, March 3 Pennsylvania Indoor Championships at Taylor, to be announced

Vol. 10, No. 25