The progression his young team has made throughout the season has pleased Pennsylvania College of Technology first-year archery coach Brian Parker. Now, it’s time to see what they can do at the national level.
Friday, Saturday and Sunday (May 18-20), the Wildcats will compete at the U.S. Intercollegiate Archery Championships in Harrisonburg, Va. A year ago, they finished second in the country for the second consecutive year and five Wildcat archers earned All-American honors.
“We’re looking to do very well. I would love to win nationals, but that might be setting the bar a little high. I think we have quite a few talented individuals on the team this year and I think we will do well,” Parker said.
“A lot of the team is new this year so I’m not sure how all of the pressure of nationals will weigh on them. We’ll see how that works itself out,” the coach continued.
Events and Wildcat archers expected to compete in them are:
Men’s compound – Either Zachary Bixby, of Gillett; Clint Hinton, of Lock Haven; Matt Cummings, of Mountville; Andrew Everett, of New Market, Md.; or Justus Leimbach, of Westminster, Md. (three of the five will compete).
Women’s compound – Nicole Lapinski, of Bloomsburg; Ashley Baker, of Coudersport; and Rebecca Boyer, of Palmerton.
Men’s recurve – Glen Thomas, of Mercer; Brandon Allison, of Roaring Springs; and Stephen Keys, of Reynoldsville.
Women’s recurve – Ashley Mull, of Williamsport; Carrie Eichenlaub, of Neelyton; and Tiffany Turgeon, of Hooversville.
Men’s bowhunter – Joe Dowdrick III, of Lebanon; Kelvin Dewalt, of Easton; and Jordan McGowan, of Carlisle.
Women’s bowhunter – Kendel Baier, of Jersey Shore; Brianna Batykefer, of Butler; and Eileen McKinney, of New Brighton.
Competition also will be held in mixed team events with Thomas and Mull expected to compete in recurve, Lapinski and Justice in compound, and Baier and Dewalt in bowhunter. Those teams could change, however, depending on who is hot that day.
Thomas has been an All-American four times already in his career. He finished second in men’s recurve last year and went on to represent the college on the All-World Team at the World University Summer Games in China last September. Dowdrick won the first bowhunter national title last year.
Defending champion Texas A&M and host James Madison universities are perennial contenders for the national crown.
The first half of qualifying (72 arrows) is set for Friday along with mixed team rounds. The second half of qualifying (72 arrows) and team rounds will be shot on Saturday. Competition wraps up Sunday with individual elimination rounds.
“It’s been an extremely good year. I’ve been very pleased with the team. No matter what we do at nationals, I’m very proud of what they have done,” Parker added.
Baseball
The Penn College baseball team was shut out in postseason playoff action, but its players earned numerous accolades for their regular-season performance.
Two (losses)-and-out. That was the postseason story for Penn College as its season ended Tuesday in the United States Collegiate Athletic Association Small College World Series. A little more than a week earlier. it was eliminated in similar fashion during the Penn State University Athletic Conference playoffs.
The Wildcats, seeded ninth in the USCAA event, dropped their opener on Monday, 8-4, to No. 8 Selma, Ala., University in rain-delayed action at Robin Roberts Stadium on the campus of Robert Morris University in Springfield, Ill. On Tuesday, they were eliminated by No. 4 Clark State, Ohio, Community College, 9-5, to close out a 23-14 season.
For Penn College on Monday, Garrett Hornung, of Emporium, had two hits, including a triple, and scored a run while Zachary Smith, of Middletown, drove in two runs. Starting pitcher Harrison Myers, of Lebanon, took the loss. The team was plagued by four errors.
In their final game on Tuesday, the Wildcats led 5-3 in the fifth inning but gave up six runs in the bottom half of the frame and couldn’t recover. Cody Buterbaugh, of Conestoga, ended the game with two hits. Pitcher Josh Longsderff, of Columbia, who earlier in the season tossed the first perfect game ever for Penn College, took the loss.
Earlier in the week, senior Skylar Gingrich, of Lititz, and sophomore Cody Buterbaugh were awarded USCAA honors -- Gingrich as a First Team All-American and Buterbaugh as an Academic All-American for maintaining a 3.5 or higher cumulative grade point average.
Also, Gingrich was named the PSUAC Player of the Year and seven Wildcats were named to the All-Conference Team. Gingrich ended the season leading the conference in batting average (.443), runs batted in (51) and home runs (eight). Also cited on the First Team, in addition to Gingrich, were senior Hornung; sophomore Brian Santangelo, of Middletown, Conn., and freshman Zachary Buterbaugh, of Conestoga, while earning Second Team honors were senior Jared Johnson, of Wyalusing; junior Myers; and sophomore Longsderff.
A second baseman, Hornung led the conference in on-base percentage (.533) and walks (32) while pitcher Santangelo led the conference in earned-run average (1.71). In his rookie season, center fielder Zachary Buterbaugh batted an impressive .384. Right fielder Johnson batted .386 with three triples while pitcher Myers racked up four wins with 30 strikeouts and pitcher Longsderff had a solid year recording 28 strikeouts.
“It (playoffs) didn’t go the way we planned it to. They were games that I felt like we could have and should have won. … It’s hard to explain the way our postseason went, but that’s just part of the game,” coach Chris Howard said.
“What happened to us in the postseason in no way should put a damper on the type of year we had. It was a fantastic year. … When you win, there’s a reason that you win and it’s because of good players and we certainly had a lot of them,” Howard added.
Schedule/Results/Records
Baseball
Final Overall record: 23-14
Final PSUAC record: 14-6
Monday, May 7 – vs. No. 8 Selma, Ala., University in USCAA Small College World Series at Springfield, Ill., L, 8-4
Tuesday, May 8 – vs. No. 4 Clark State, Ohio, Community College in USCAA Small College World Series, L, 9-5
Archery
May 17-20 – U.S. Intercollegiate Archery Championships at Harrisonburg, Va.
Vol. 10, No. 39