A new day looms on the horizon for Pennsylvania College of Technology and it comes as a result of decades of persistence, patience and effort by those who have participated in and supported Wildcat athletics.
This season, Penn College teams completed their final year as a provisional member of NCAA Division III in fine fashion with several reaching and finishing high in North Eastern Athletic Conference playoffs; also, numerous student-athletes garnered all-conference honors. Beginning this fall, the Wildcats will have full NCAA membership, and, with it, the possibility of playing for national championships.
A sport-by-sport review of the 2016-17 year (alphabetically) for Penn College teams:
Archery
In its 15th season under coach Chad Karstetter, the Wildcats competed over the weekend at the season-ending outdoor national championships in Chula Vista, California, where the men’s bowhunter team placed first, one archer earned All-American honors and the team ended eighth in the country for the second year in a row.
Competing on the national-championship bowhunter team were Andrew Rupp, of Dayton; John Kleinfelter, of Lebanon; and Adam Thomas, of Shade Gap. Rupp earned All-American status as a result of his indoor and outdoor national scores, and Kleinfelter placed eighth individually in the men’s bowhunter event.
“John shot very well in the elimination round, might have been the best all season for him," Karstetter said. "He fell just short to an archer that went on to win the class. Andrew shot strong all season long with a good finish at nationals and earned a spot on the All-American team.”
“It was a long, very hot week. We shot well, but a point here or a point there kept us from bringing home more awards," the coach continued. "The men’s bowhunter team shot well all day Saturday and just edged out Texas A&M for the gold."
Both compound men and women ended fourth, just missing a podium finish, Karstetter said. Those teams consisted of Markus Weber, of La Plata, Maryland; Tim Lamont, of Eldred; Tyler Schoonover, of Bradford (men’s compound); and Chelsea Douglass, of East Greenville; Sabrina Toplovich, of Spring Creek; and Rylee Butler, of Bellefonte (women’s compound).
Three Penn College archers — Rupp, Thomas and Logan Booth, of New Kensington, graduate and, according to the coach, “They were key players throughout the whole year and will be hard to replace.”
“(Assistant coach) Dustin (Bartron) and I are already looking forward to next season,” Karstetter added.
Baseball
In its 11th season under coach Chris Howard, Penn College won a school single-season record 25 games, ending 25-13 overall and 13-6 in the NEAC (11-4 regular season), where it finished second to Penn State Berks after going 2-2 in the championship playoffs. Three Penn College players earned all-conference honors: Ben Flicker, of Topton, was named the Rookie of the Year while he and Max Bair, of Centre Hall, were named to the all-conference First Tean and Brittan Kittle, of Millville, earned a Second Team nod. Overall, Howard’s teams have won 250 games and lost 151.
Basketball (men)
The Wildcats finished 9-16 overall, their most wins in a season since 2010-11, and 7-13 in the NEAC. In two seasons under coach Ryan Callahan, Penn College is 12-37. Senior Thomas Ross, of Williamsport, ended his career with 1,044 points.
Basketball (women)
In its first season under coach Lauren Healy, Penn College finished 3-22. It was 3-17 in conference play and finished tied for 12th. Senior Alicia Ross was the top scorer with 410 points and she closed out her career with a school women’s-record 1,515 points. Ross was named to the NEAC Third Team, marking the second consecutive season that she received the same honor and making her the first player in program history to earn consecutive all-NEAC honors.
Cross-country (men and women)
In the end-of-the-season NEAC Championship, the Penn College men finished fifth in a 12-team field (freshman Josh Velez, of Lewistown, ended seventh and sophomore Tom Runner, of Elkridge, Maryland, 10th individually) and the woman were 12th in a 12-team field during coach Nick Patton’s second season. When postseason awards were handed out, Velez became the first student-athlete in Penn College history to earn a NEAC yearly honor when he was named Men’s Cross-Country Rookie of the Year. Velez also was named to the All-NEAC First Team and Runner was awarded All-NEAC Second Team honors.
Golf
After a four-match fall season that saw the Wildcats practicing and playing at Williamsport Country Club for the first time, the team finished fourth in a nine-team field during the spring end-of-the-season NEAC Championships with a two-day score of 669. Sophomore Ned Baumbach, of Elizabethtown, earned Second-Team All-NEAC honors after finishing eighth with a 162 total and freshman Ben Fails, of Hummelstown, was awarded Third-Team all-conference honors after tying for 13th with a 165 total.
Soccer (men)
The Wildcats finished 4-16 overall and 3-10 in the NEAC during the second season under coach Tyler Mensch, whose career mark at the college now is 10-28-1.
Soccer (women)
In its third season under coach John McNichol, Penn College finished 11-9-2 overall, 9-5-1 in the NEAC (9-4 regular season), and went 1-1 in the postseason, reaching the conference semifinals. Also, four Wildcats were honored as All-NEAC selections as senior defender Jordan Courter, of Mill Hall, and sophomore defender Lauren Herr, of Manheim, were named to the First Team, while junior forward Hailee Hartman, of Lampeter, and sophomore midfielder Jane Herman, of Greencastle, were named to the Second Team. The four players are the most All-NEAC honorees in program history for the Wildcats, which finished the season with a program record-tying 11 wins. McNichol’s career record now is 24-30-5.
Softball
In her second season with a mostly sophomore and freshman-loaded squad, coach Jackie Klahold’s team finished 21-13 overall, 17-8 in the NEAC (16-6 regular season) where it finished second in the North Division and went 1-2 in the conference playoffs. Klahold, whose career record at Penn College is 38-33 (26-14 NEAC regular season), was honored as the North Division Coach of the Year while Taylor Brooks, of Cogan Station, and Taylor Krow, of Mechanicsburg, were awarded NEAC First Team honors and Kassie Winters, of Sayre, and Maddie Wenk, of Biglerville, earned Second Team honors. Brooks picked up her second consecutive First Team honor as a pitcher and outfielder and Krow earned Second Team honors last season. Klahold became the first coach in Penn College history to earn a NEAC Coach of the Year in any sport.
Tennis (men)
The Wildcats were 0-4 during the fall season and 2-7 in the spring for a 2-11 campaign (1-3 in the NEAC where they finished fourth among five teams) in coach John Machak’s first season. Five players qualified for the season-ending conference tournament.
Tennis (women)
After an 0-7 fall season under first-year coach John Machak, the Wildcats went 2-5 in the spring for a 2-12 overall record and finished 2-4, fifth of seven teams, in the NEAC. In the NEAC Championships, Melissa Stabley, of Cogan Station, at No. 1 singles, and Jane Herman, of Greencastle, at No. 3 singles, both finished third and were awarded All-NEAC Third Team honors after they both went 1-1.
Volleyball (women)
Showing improvement over the previous season, coach Tom McLaughlin’s squad finished 8-23 overall and 4-9 in the NEAC giving him a two-year career mark of 9-48. Over the winter, McLaughlin resigned his position.
Wrestling
Penn College went 1-15 in dual matches and over seven seasons coach Schuyler Frey’s teams were 29-55, with the best campaigns coming in 2011-12 when the Wildcats went 6-3 and 2012-13 when they finished 13-8. At the end of the season, Frey, who restarted the program in 2010-11 after a 27-year lapse, announced his resignation.
For more, visit the Wildcat Athletics website.
This season, Penn College teams completed their final year as a provisional member of NCAA Division III in fine fashion with several reaching and finishing high in North Eastern Athletic Conference playoffs; also, numerous student-athletes garnered all-conference honors. Beginning this fall, the Wildcats will have full NCAA membership, and, with it, the possibility of playing for national championships.
A sport-by-sport review of the 2016-17 year (alphabetically) for Penn College teams:
Archery
In its 15th season under coach Chad Karstetter, the Wildcats competed over the weekend at the season-ending outdoor national championships in Chula Vista, California, where the men’s bowhunter team placed first, one archer earned All-American honors and the team ended eighth in the country for the second year in a row.
Competing on the national-championship bowhunter team were Andrew Rupp, of Dayton; John Kleinfelter, of Lebanon; and Adam Thomas, of Shade Gap. Rupp earned All-American status as a result of his indoor and outdoor national scores, and Kleinfelter placed eighth individually in the men’s bowhunter event.
“John shot very well in the elimination round, might have been the best all season for him," Karstetter said. "He fell just short to an archer that went on to win the class. Andrew shot strong all season long with a good finish at nationals and earned a spot on the All-American team.”
“It was a long, very hot week. We shot well, but a point here or a point there kept us from bringing home more awards," the coach continued. "The men’s bowhunter team shot well all day Saturday and just edged out Texas A&M for the gold."
Both compound men and women ended fourth, just missing a podium finish, Karstetter said. Those teams consisted of Markus Weber, of La Plata, Maryland; Tim Lamont, of Eldred; Tyler Schoonover, of Bradford (men’s compound); and Chelsea Douglass, of East Greenville; Sabrina Toplovich, of Spring Creek; and Rylee Butler, of Bellefonte (women’s compound).
Three Penn College archers — Rupp, Thomas and Logan Booth, of New Kensington, graduate and, according to the coach, “They were key players throughout the whole year and will be hard to replace.”
“(Assistant coach) Dustin (Bartron) and I are already looking forward to next season,” Karstetter added.
Baseball
In its 11th season under coach Chris Howard, Penn College won a school single-season record 25 games, ending 25-13 overall and 13-6 in the NEAC (11-4 regular season), where it finished second to Penn State Berks after going 2-2 in the championship playoffs. Three Penn College players earned all-conference honors: Ben Flicker, of Topton, was named the Rookie of the Year while he and Max Bair, of Centre Hall, were named to the all-conference First Tean and Brittan Kittle, of Millville, earned a Second Team nod. Overall, Howard’s teams have won 250 games and lost 151.
Basketball (men)
The Wildcats finished 9-16 overall, their most wins in a season since 2010-11, and 7-13 in the NEAC. In two seasons under coach Ryan Callahan, Penn College is 12-37. Senior Thomas Ross, of Williamsport, ended his career with 1,044 points.
Basketball (women)
In its first season under coach Lauren Healy, Penn College finished 3-22. It was 3-17 in conference play and finished tied for 12th. Senior Alicia Ross was the top scorer with 410 points and she closed out her career with a school women’s-record 1,515 points. Ross was named to the NEAC Third Team, marking the second consecutive season that she received the same honor and making her the first player in program history to earn consecutive all-NEAC honors.
Cross-country (men and women)
In the end-of-the-season NEAC Championship, the Penn College men finished fifth in a 12-team field (freshman Josh Velez, of Lewistown, ended seventh and sophomore Tom Runner, of Elkridge, Maryland, 10th individually) and the woman were 12th in a 12-team field during coach Nick Patton’s second season. When postseason awards were handed out, Velez became the first student-athlete in Penn College history to earn a NEAC yearly honor when he was named Men’s Cross-Country Rookie of the Year. Velez also was named to the All-NEAC First Team and Runner was awarded All-NEAC Second Team honors.
Golf
After a four-match fall season that saw the Wildcats practicing and playing at Williamsport Country Club for the first time, the team finished fourth in a nine-team field during the spring end-of-the-season NEAC Championships with a two-day score of 669. Sophomore Ned Baumbach, of Elizabethtown, earned Second-Team All-NEAC honors after finishing eighth with a 162 total and freshman Ben Fails, of Hummelstown, was awarded Third-Team all-conference honors after tying for 13th with a 165 total.
Soccer (men)
The Wildcats finished 4-16 overall and 3-10 in the NEAC during the second season under coach Tyler Mensch, whose career mark at the college now is 10-28-1.
Soccer (women)
In its third season under coach John McNichol, Penn College finished 11-9-2 overall, 9-5-1 in the NEAC (9-4 regular season), and went 1-1 in the postseason, reaching the conference semifinals. Also, four Wildcats were honored as All-NEAC selections as senior defender Jordan Courter, of Mill Hall, and sophomore defender Lauren Herr, of Manheim, were named to the First Team, while junior forward Hailee Hartman, of Lampeter, and sophomore midfielder Jane Herman, of Greencastle, were named to the Second Team. The four players are the most All-NEAC honorees in program history for the Wildcats, which finished the season with a program record-tying 11 wins. McNichol’s career record now is 24-30-5.
Softball
In her second season with a mostly sophomore and freshman-loaded squad, coach Jackie Klahold’s team finished 21-13 overall, 17-8 in the NEAC (16-6 regular season) where it finished second in the North Division and went 1-2 in the conference playoffs. Klahold, whose career record at Penn College is 38-33 (26-14 NEAC regular season), was honored as the North Division Coach of the Year while Taylor Brooks, of Cogan Station, and Taylor Krow, of Mechanicsburg, were awarded NEAC First Team honors and Kassie Winters, of Sayre, and Maddie Wenk, of Biglerville, earned Second Team honors. Brooks picked up her second consecutive First Team honor as a pitcher and outfielder and Krow earned Second Team honors last season. Klahold became the first coach in Penn College history to earn a NEAC Coach of the Year in any sport.
Tennis (men)
The Wildcats were 0-4 during the fall season and 2-7 in the spring for a 2-11 campaign (1-3 in the NEAC where they finished fourth among five teams) in coach John Machak’s first season. Five players qualified for the season-ending conference tournament.
Tennis (women)
After an 0-7 fall season under first-year coach John Machak, the Wildcats went 2-5 in the spring for a 2-12 overall record and finished 2-4, fifth of seven teams, in the NEAC. In the NEAC Championships, Melissa Stabley, of Cogan Station, at No. 1 singles, and Jane Herman, of Greencastle, at No. 3 singles, both finished third and were awarded All-NEAC Third Team honors after they both went 1-1.
Volleyball (women)
Showing improvement over the previous season, coach Tom McLaughlin’s squad finished 8-23 overall and 4-9 in the NEAC giving him a two-year career mark of 9-48. Over the winter, McLaughlin resigned his position.
Wrestling
Penn College went 1-15 in dual matches and over seven seasons coach Schuyler Frey’s teams were 29-55, with the best campaigns coming in 2011-12 when the Wildcats went 6-3 and 2012-13 when they finished 13-8. At the end of the season, Frey, who restarted the program in 2010-11 after a 27-year lapse, announced his resignation.
For more, visit the Wildcat Athletics website.
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