The Pennsylvania College of Technology men’s cross-country team opened the United East Conference championship season with a third-place finish over the weekend, while the fall seasons ended for the men’s soccer and women’s volleyball squads.FLASHBACK
Cross-country
Freshman Mitchell Campbell, of Riegelsville, placed third individually in 28:37 over an 8K course and helped the Penn College men to a third-place team finish Saturday in the United East Championships. The Wildcats’ finish was their best since 2018 when they were also third.
Matthew Woolcock, of Oil City, finished seventh as he and Campbell were awarded UE first-team honors and Campbell was named the UE Rookie of the Year.
Also for the Penn College men, Dillon Betts, of Manchester, New Jersey, was 21st; Spencer Doughty, of Mechanicsburg, was 29th; Alec Rees, of Centerport, New York, was 31st; Noah Bowers, of Burnham, was 36th; and Nick Snow, of York, was 37th in a field of 66.
In capturing Rookie of the Year honors, Campbell joins former Wildcat Josh Velez, of Lewistown, who was a co-winner in 2016.
“A top-three finish by the men is outstanding. Three freshmen led the way (Campbell, Woolcock and Betts). Doughty and Rees turned in solid races. Two first-team all-conference selections are a reward for our work and commitment,” first-year coach Tom Leeser said.
Skyelar Splain, of Liverpool, placed 16th over a 6K course in 31:23 to lead the Penn College women, who didn’t have enough runners to field a full team. Also running were Emily Witherow, of Perkasie, 31st, and Isabella Telford, of Greensburg, 32nd, in a field of 38.
“All three women ran significantly faster than they did on this course (Lorimer Park in Abington Township) earlier this season. Splain missed second-team all-conference by two spots. (They showed) great growth and improvement!” Leeser said.
Penn College runners now await the NCAA Division III Mid-Atlantic Region Championships at Lock Haven University on Nov. 12.
Men’s soccer
A goal in the 73rd minute by Tad Shellenberger, of Port Royal, and shutout goalkeeping by Braeden Eckard, of Danville, lifted the Wildcats to a 1-0 nonconference win over Keuka College on Tuesday, marking the first time in nine tries since 2014 that Penn College has beaten the Wolves.
On Saturday, after a scoreless first half, Penn College erupted in the second half for a 4-1 season-ending United East win at Wells College. The Wildcats finished 3-4-1 in the conference and 5-10-3 overall. Their five wins were the most since a seven-win season in 2018. Will Gallagher, of Mechanicsburg, put Penn College on top 1-0 in the 50th minute before Wells knotted the score five seconds later. Shellenberger then scored what proved to be the game-winning goal in the 66th minute. In goal, Eckard recorded four saves.
Final United East regular-season standings: St. Mary’s (Md.), 7-1; Penn State Harrisburg, 6-0-2; Lancaster Bible College, 6-1-1; Penn State Abington, 4-3; Penn College, 3-4-1; Penn State Berks, 3-5; SUNY Morrisville, 3-5; Gallaudet University, 1-6; Wells College, 0-8.
Women’s volleyball
On Tuesday in a nonconference match at Dickinson College, Penn College lost, 3-0. Dickinson led in kills, 37-17; aces, 12-4; blocks, 5-0; assists, 30-16; and digs, 38-28. Wildcats’ double-digit individual leaders were Cheyenne Stein, of Orwigsburg, with 11 assists, and Coryn Oswald, of Langhorne, with 10 digs.
Closing out their UE season at home on Saturday, the Wildcats lost to Penn State Harrisburg, 3-1, and to Lancaster Bible College, 3-0, to finish 0-8 in the United East and 2-19 overall. Harrisburg led in kills, 41-29. Brooke Simmons, of Waterford, had 20 digs against Harrisburg and Stein had 15 assists. Lancaster Bible led in kills, 35-18, and aces, 13-6. Simmons led Penn College with 16 digs against LB and Stein had 11 assists.
“As the season ends, reflection is always important,” coach Carolyn McKeon said Sunday.
“What worked for us was team bonding and growth as a team in trusting our teammates on and off the court. This is a tight group of women who spend time together off the court and everyone fits together. This is so unusual in sports to find a group who all genuinely like each other and will spend time building those bonds outside of practice,” McKeon continued.
“We had struggles, with injuries with no fewer than five of our 12 players consistently injured most of the season. This left us with another season of a shallow bench and players having to play positions they have never played. At one point, we had to use a player who was new to volleyball as a sport. This is another positive for our program, that our players are willing to bring in ‘new to the sport’ players and help them become volleyball players. I am proud of the encouragement these women provide to their fellow teammates,” McKeon said.
“Our season was full of adjustments on many levels, from injuries to sickness, and personal circumstances that prevented us from having a full roster all season. Despite our challenges, the players came to practice every day happy to be there and working hard to make adjustments and learn new positions. We had fun this season despite our 2-19 record. We had close games and even won some sets that no one expected, especially against PSU Harrisburg and going all five sets with St. Mary’s,” the second-year coach said.
“We had players make it onto the United East Top 10 list this season. Stein had a seventh-place finish in assists and a fifth-place finish with aces, while Simmons had a sixth-place finish in digs. Oswald also made the dig list at No. 10. These are real accomplishments for our players. These three women have been nominated for the United East All-Conference team and Simmons has been nominated as Rookie of the Year. Our record was the best in the school’s recent history, posting the best season since 2017,” McKeon said.
The coach added, “(We) also brought back the Pink Out game, which has been missing for a few seasons. The girls raised money for Breast Cancer Awareness through a bake sale.
“In the offseason, the players will spend time weekly volunteering at the local YMCA supporting local youth volleyball programs. We are also looking to our out-of-season play to develop some new offensive skills as well as work to provide a more clearly defend defensive strategy.
“We are getting the word out that PCT has a women’s volleyball program, and we have 2023 high school graduates seeking us out. The goal is to continue to build the program through recruitment and an active social media presence that provides awareness to graduating players that Penn College is actively seeking women’s volleyball players.”
Final United East regular-season standings: SUNY Morrisville, 8-0; Gallaudet University, 7-1; Penn State Berks, 6-2; Lancaster Bible College, 5-3; Penn State Harrisburg, 4-4; Penn State Abington, 2-6; St. Mary’s (Md.), 2-6; Wells College, 2-6; Penn College, 0-8.
Esports
Penn College teams picked up five wins on the week, with the Overwatch 2 team earning two of them.
Golf
Sophomore Peyton Mussina, of Montoursville, was honored for the second time this season as the United East Golfer of the Week, it was announced Tuesday. Mussina capped his fall season on Oct. 17 at the Lebanon Valley College Invitational by shooting a 76, tying him for the top spot in a field of 64 and helping the Wildcats to a second-place team finish.
SCHEDULES/RECORDS
Men’s soccer
Final UE: 3-4-1
Final overall: 5-10-3
Tuesday, Oct. 25 – host Keuka College, W, 1-0
Saturday, Oct. 29 – at Wells College (UE), W, 4-1
End of regular season
Women’s volleyball
Final UE: 0-8
Final overall: 2-19
Tuesday, Oct. 25 – at Dickinson College, L, 3-0 (25-10, 25-13, 25-16)
Saturday, Oct. 29 – host Penn State Harrisburg (UE), L, 1-3 (9-25, 26-24, 15-25, 18-25; host Lancaster Bible College (UE), L, 3-0 (25-11, 25-17, 25-16)
End of season
Men’s/women’s cross-country
Saturday, Oct. 29 – United East Conference Championship at Penn State Abington, men 3 of 8 (no women’s team)
Saturday, Nov. 12 – NCAA Division III Mid-Atlantic Region Championships at Lock Haven University, 11 a.m.
Men’s basketball
Tuesday, Nov. 8 – host Elmira College, 7 p.m.
Friday, Nov. 11 – host John Jay College, 5 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 12 – host Clarks Summit University, 1 p.m.
Monday, Nov. 14 – host Juniata College, 5 p.m.
Women’s basketball
Tuesday, Nov. 8 – host Elmira College, 5 p.m.
Wednesday, Nov. 9 – at Marywood University, 6 p.m.
Wednesday, Nov. 16 – host Mt. Aloysius College, 7 p.m.
Esports
Formula Four Championship
Monday, Oct. 31 – Circuit de Spa, 9 p.m.
Monday, Nov. 14 – Watkins Glen, 9 p.m.
Monday, Nov. 28 – Red Bull Ring, 9 p.m.
Collegiate iRacing League GT3 Challenge
Tuesday, Nov. 1 – COTA, 9 p.m.
Tuesday, Nov. 15 – Monza, 9 p.m.
Tuesday, Nov. 29 – Red Bull Ring, 9 p.m.
Collegiate iRacing League Premier Series
Tuesday, Oct. 25 – Darlington, 10 of 30
Tuesday, Nov. 8 – Phoenix, 9 p.m.
Tuesday, Nov. 22 – Dover, 9 p.m.
Tuesday, Dec. 6 – Michigan, 9 p.m.
ENASCAR
Tuesday, Nov. 8 – Round 3, Charlotte Motor Speedway, 8 p.m.
Tuesday, Nov. 29 – Round 4, Nashville Superspeedway, 8 p.m.
Rocket League
Record: 3-2
Monday, Oct. 24 – vs. Virginia Wesleyan, W, 3-1
Monday, Oct. 31 – Ontario Tech and RIT, 7 and 8:30 p.m.
Valorant
Record: 2-3
Wednesday, Oct. 26 – vs. Principia College, W, 2-0
Wednesday, Nov. 2 – vs. Texas Wesleyan, 7 p.m.
GS:GO
Record: 0-6
Sunday, Oct. 23 – vs. Central Florida, L, 2-0
Friday, Oct. 28 – Clemson, L, 2-0
Friday, Nov. 4 – Northwestern, 7 p.m.
Overwatch 2
Record: 4-2
Tuesday, Oct. 25 – vs. Oklahoma City University, W, 3-0
Thursday, Oct. 27 – vs. Central Michigan University, W, 3-0
Tuesday, Nov. 1 – vs. Michigan Technological University, 7 p.m.
League of Legends
Record: 1-3
Thursday, Oct. 27 – vs. Keiser University-Sarasota, W, 2-0
Friday, Oct. 28 – vs. Florida Southern College, L, 2-0
Tuesday, Nov. 1 – vs. vs. Keiser University, 7 p.m.
For more about the United East, visit the conference website.
For additional information, visit the Wildcat Athletics website.
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