UE champ Penn College golfers going to nationals; lacrosse team seeks crown

For the second time in three years, the Pennsylvania College of Technology men’s golf team on Saturday won the United East Championship and will represent the conference at the NCAA Division III Championships.

In the running for a United East title this week is the college’s men’s lacrosse team, while the college’s baseball and softball teams – which both qualified for the conference postseason a week ago – await word on when their playoffs will begin as wet weather took a toll over the past week, pushing back several regular-season games into Finals Week and forcing schedule changes.

Golf
After a rainy Friday during a practice round and more rain forecast for Sunday’s scheduled second round, it was decided to make the conference championship a one-day, 36-hole event on the par 73, 6,781-yard Clinton Country Club course in Mill Hall, and the Wildcats used it to their advantage by placing three golfers in the top 10 who also earned all-conference honors.

A second-place individual finish by Peyton Mussina, of Montoursville, after rounds of 74-70–144, helped the Wildcats to a 613 team score (rounds of 307 and 306) to outdistance second-place defending champ Rosemont College by 15 strokes.

Also for Penn College, Gunner Redmond, of Lock Haven, finished tied for eighth with rounds of 76-78–154; Will Orwig, of Mifflintown, was 10th after shooting 76-80–156; Trevor Keaton, of Worcester, shot 81-78–159 to tie for 12th; and Gavin Baer, of Bainbridge, shot 83-83–166 and tied for 25th. Only the top four scores count toward the team total.

For their finishes, Mussina earned United East first-team honors, with Redmond and Orwig earning second-team honors.

And, in his first full season, coach Rob Lytle walked away with the conference’s Coach of the Year award.

“They’re huge,” Lytle said of the mental and physical challenges players faced with the tournament format change that had them walking more than 10 miles carrying roughly 40 pounds of equipment much of the time for more than nine hours. “I think it took everybody off guard that we were going to play 36. Even though it was a grind, we just outlasted all the other teams,” the coach added.

Behind Penn College were Rosemont, 313-315–628; Penn State Abington, 316-317–633; Rutgers-Camden, 321-313–634; Lancaster Bible College, 325-313–638; Penn State Berks, 316-322–638; Penn State Harrisburg, 320-326–646; Wilson College, 371-366–737; and Clarks Summit University, 406-387–793.

Individually, Josh Africa, of Penn State Harrisburg, took medalist honors after shooting 72-71–143, edging Mussina by one stroke, although Mussina’s second-round 70 was the low score of the day among 44 golfers.

Earlier in the week, Mussina, a sophomore, was named United East Golfer of the Week (April 17-23) for the third time this season as he finished first, ninth and 11th at three tournaments as the team put in final preparations for the conference finale.

“Peyton has been trending upward all year. He puts in a lot of time, a lot of practice. He’s a grinder on the golf course, so it was no surprise that he would be first team,” Lytle said.

“Will, equally, has adapted the mindset, and he is practicing hard, working hard, and has really turned out to be a solid player. And Gunner, as a freshman, has been a great addition to our team. He works hard. It takes a lot getting used to going from high school golf to college golf, and he’s really started to come into his own,” the coach continued.

Speaking about those three along with Keaton and Baer, who was second-team all-conference and last year’s UE Rookie of the Year, Lytle said, “The great thing about having a good, solid five players is that when one has a glitch in their swing the other ones can pick it up and carry the team. It’s our mindset that all five players need to contribute every tournament that we go to.”

As for being named coach of the year, Lytle said, “It’s humbling. In our conference, we’ve got some great coaches and I’m just glad to be a part of it.”

The Wildcats now advance to the NCAA Division III Championship May 16-19 at Keene Trace Golf Club in Nicholasville, Kentucky.

Penn College won the conference championship in 2021 and finished 34th of 37 NCAA Division III Championship teams.

“(Monday) starts finals, and that is the focus. I put the emphasis on finals this week, but we’re still going to practice,” Lytle said. “School is over at the end of the week, and some of them are going to go home and work out on their home courses. A lot will return early to practice on our home course (Williamsport Country Club) to get ready for Kentucky.”

Men's lacrosse
The Wildcats scored in every quarter on Monday en route to a 15-2 United East home win over Hilbert College that assured them of reaching the conference playoffs as they went to 2-2 in the UE and 10-5 overall.

Quinn Caviola, of Ridgefield, Connecticut, had four goals and two assists, while Sam Hills, of Maynard, Massachusetts, added two goals and four assists, and Camden Elmo, of Hanover, tacked on three goals. In goal, JJ Cella, of Cape May, New Jersey, worked just the first half and made five saves to pick up the win.

Hosting Westminster College in nonconference play on Friday, the Wildcats fell, 15-6.

Elmo had three goals and an assist and Hills had two goals and an assist to pace the Penn College offense.

Closing out its regular season on Saturday, Penn College took an 11-0 first-quarter lead en route to a 26-5 victory to go to 3-2 in the UE and 11-6 overall, a single-season win record.

Pacing the offense were Guerin San Agustin, of Old Bridge, New Jersey, with three goals and one assist; CJ Jones, of Glenolden, with three goals; Andrew Osterman, of Laurel, Maryland, with two goals and five assists; AJ Dotson, of Wilmington, Delaware, with two goals and four assists; and Hills and Caviola with two goals and two assists each. The Wildcats led in shots on goal, 38-8. Brody Borkowski, of Eagleville, won 11 of 12 faceoffs; Joey Rebilas, of Pennsauken, New Jersey, won 13 of 15 faceoffs; and Michael Stank, of York Haven, won 7 of 8 faceoffs.

The Wildcats enter the United East tournament as the No. 3 seed and will take on No. 2 seed SUNY Morrisville at 6 p.m. on Wednesday at Morrisville. This is their third trip to the playoffs in as many years since the program was started under coach Jordan Williams.

The winner of those two contests then will square off at the highest remaining seed’s campus at 1 p.m. on Saturday for the championship, with the winner an automatic qualifier to the Division III Championship.

During the regular season, Penn College lost to Morrisville, 18-13, and to St. Mary’s, 29-7, and topped Hilbert, 15-2.

“We found out a lot about ourselves and the young men in our program with those two losses. This is a group of young men who do not quit – regardless of the score – and that is more important to me than anything,” Williams said. “We saw we aren’t as good as we think we are, but we were nowhere near our potential, which we are starting to get closer to each game. I am grateful that we got exposed in different ways in those two games because it has helped us improve as a team.

“We are a different team than we were in March and early April. We have continued to fix the issues that teams have exposed throughout the season and that is what it is all about. Win or learn. We made our schedule much more difficult this year, and I believe that has prepared us for our rematch with Morrisville on Wednesday. We are looking to go 1-0 on Wednesday against a Morrisville team that has had our number. Our ultimate goal is to play our best lacrosse in May, and I believe we are on the right track.”

Offensive leaders for the Wildcats this season have been Hills, who has 37 goals and 20 assists; Caviola, who has 24 goals and 22 assists; and Elmo, who has 28 goals and 16 assists. In the goal, Cella made 165 saves, allowed 132 goals with a 10.93 goals against average, and owns a 10-5 record.

“Those four young men have done a lot of really great things this season on and off the field. Offensively, we have found ways to make a difference, whether in the ride, in transition, from the midfield, or from the attack. On the defensive side, we have seen that we have a capable keeper who can keep us in games when we need him to, but the best part about James (JJ) is he is a leader the guys follow. These four guys will have a role in our opportunity to go 1-0 on Wednesday,” Williams said.

The key thus far, Williams said, “We are one year older, more experienced and closer as a team. Those relationships matter!

“The best part about our offense is it is a different guy every game who is stepping up when called upon. While those guys (Hills, Caviola and Elmo) have the most points on the team currently, we have a lot of moving parts that make us hard to cover when we are clicking.

“Last year, we had 11 guys with over 10 points on the year; this season, we have 13. Last year, we had two guys over 30 points; this season, we have four (nearly five). We don’t have any one guy doing it all and I think that has been a big reason we have found some success this year. “Between the lines, we have become more dangerous at the X and in transition, which makes teams have to worry about those facets of the game.

“Defensively, we have more depth at every position, which has allowed us to rotate guys in, compete more in practice, and really let us press out and push the pace of the game. This has let us throw some different things at teams. While we have given up more goals this year, our schedule is harder and that is to be expected. We wanted to challenge ourselves so when we see good teams; we are not shell-shocked. While no one wants to lose, we have found positives in those losses to build on and move forward with.”

Looking ahead to the rest of the week, Williams said, “Four things will make the difference for us: Goalkeeping, Winning at the faceoff X, Winning the ground ball battle and staying out of the penalty box. If we give our goalie shots he can save, that is when we play our best. When we win at the X and the ground ball battle helps create more possessions for our offense, we can be pretty effective, and when we make teams beat us six versus six, we are a tough defensive unit.

“We have yet to play a complete game this season where our offense, defense and special teams are all clicking. I hope this Wednesday we can see that come to fruition.

“We look forward to the opportunity to compete this week and hope we can keep it going for as long as possible. It has been a fun season with a lot of program records being set. I know the guys aren’t ready for the season to end just yet.”

Final UE regular-season standings: St. Mary’s (Md.) College, 5-0; SUNY Morrisville, 4-1; Penn College, 3-2; Hilbert College, 2-3; Wells College, 1-4; La Roche University, 0-5.

Baseball
The Wildcats split a nonconference twin bill at Penn State Altoona on Tuesday, winning the first game, 10-8, and losing the second, 11-4.
 
In the opener, Quinn Hanafin, of Sayre, and Tristan Current, of Reinholds, both went 3 for 4 at the plate with Hanafin driving in three runs and scoring twice and Current plating two runs and scoring once as they, along with Tyler Rudolph, of Hemlock, New York, and Brian Robison, of Quakertown, each hit home runs. Starting pitcher Zac Weaver, of Pottstown, went five innings and improved to 5-1.

Penn State Altoona came out of the box strong in the second game, leading 9-2 after three innings as Wildcats’ starting pitcher Jason Cute, of Glenside, went one inning and took the loss. Hanafin had a home run, double and two RBIs.

Penn College split a United East baseball doubleheader at Penn State Berks on Thursday, losing the first game 3-0 and winning the second 15-4 to go to 14-5 in the conference and 20-17 overall.

Cameron Dick, of Dillsburg, went 2 for 4 at the plate to lead the Wildcats in the first game with a double in the fourth inning and Shane Price, of Kersey, had a double in the seventh.

In the nightcap, Jake Wagner, of Palmyra, went 3 for 6 with three RBIs and two runs scored; Robison went 2 for 4 with three RBIs; Jacob Carles, of Bernville, went 4 for 4 with two RBIs and four runs scored; Current went 3 for 6 with two RBIs and one run scored; and Cameron Dick, of Dillsburg, went 4 for 6 with one RBI and two runs scored as Penn College pounded out 20 hits. Starting pitcher Chance Webb, of Hughesville, went five innings, striking out five, to improve to 6-2 on the mound.

United East standings through Sunday: Penn State Harrisburg, 19-1; Penn College, 14-5; Penn State Abington, 12-8; Lancaster Bible College, 9-9; Penn State Berks, 9-11; St. Mary’s (Md.) College, 7-10; Wells College, 4-14; Gallaudet University, 1-17.

Softball
Hosting Penn State Harrisburg in UE play on Tuesday, Penn College won the opener, 7-0, behind the two-hit, six-strikeout pitching of Mackenzie Weaver, of Montoursville, who improved to 13-4, and then took the second game, 9-1, with Kyla Benner, of Bethlehem, hurling a three-hitter and fanning seven to improve to 9-3.

Jordan Specht, of Frederick, Maryland, keyed the offense as she went 3 for 4 at the plate with a home run and three RBIs in the first game; then in the nightcap, she went 3 for 4 with a homer and two RBIs.

At home with Penn State Berks on Thursday, Penn College won the opener, 9-2, and took the second game, 3-1, to improve to 18-4 in the UE and 26-8 overall.

Specht again led the offense in the first game, hitting an RBI single in the third inning and a three-run home run in the fourth as Weaver improved to 14-4 with a four-hitter.

In the nightcap, Benner (10-3) and Weaver combined on a four-hitter as Margaret Mangene, of Boalsburg, went 3 for 3 at the plate and drove in two runs with a single in the second inning and Maddie Hurst, of Mechanicsburg, drove in the other with a single in the fourth.

United East standings through Sunday: Penn College, 18-4; Penn State Berks, 18-4; Penn State Harrisburg, 14-8; Penn State Abington, 14-8; Gallaudet University, 10-14; Lancaster Bible College, 5-19; Wells College, 1-23.

Archery
Three Penn College archers earned All-East Team accolades April 22-23 at the Eastern Regional Outdoor Championship. They were Matthew Byrnes, of Manahawkin, New Jersey, and Alex Edwards, of Kutztown, in the men’s compound discipline and Brady Fowkes, of Mayport, in men’s fixed pins.

The men’s compound team of Byrnes, Edwards and Emery Gunsallus, of Mill Hall, scored 1,889 to place second. Byrnes led the field with a 678, Edwards was fifth with a 642 and Gunsallus was 13th with a 569. In fixed pins team competition, Fowkes was second with a 642. In February, Byrnes and Edwards had national indoor scores of 1,164 and 1,134, respectively, which, added to their weekend showing, earned them All-East honors. Fowkes earned his All-East nod when combined with his indoor score of 1,183.

In individual action, Byrnes was third, Edwards was fifth and Gunsallus ninth in a field of 15 in men’s compound, Fowkes was fifth and Jansen Balmer, of Ephrata, ninth in the 10-man fixed pins field, while Grant Walters, of Dover, was fifth of five in men’s barebow.

Men's/women's tennis
Penn College wrapped up its tennis season on Wednesday with nonconference losses to King’s College, the men by 7-2 to close out a 2-8 campaign, and the women by 6-3 to finish 2-9.

Wildcat men winning their matches were Logan Ogden, of South Williamsport, at No. 5 singles, 4-6, 6-1, 15-13, and Jesse Kight, of Williamsport/Paul Langbein, of Carnegie, at No. 2 doubles, 8-6. Penn College’s three women’s wins were via forfeit.

Men’s final United East standings: St. Mary’s (Md.) College, 6-0; Penn State Harrisburg, 5-1; Lancaster Bible College, 4-2; Penn State Berks, 3-3; Penn State Abington, 2-4; Penn College, 1-5; Clarks Summit University, 0-6.

Women’s final United East standings: St. Mary’s (Md.) College, 5-0; Penn State Harrisburg, 4-1; Lancaster Bible College, 3-2; Penn State Abington, 2-3; Penn State Berks, 1-4; Penn College, 0-5.

SCHEDULES/RECORDS
Golf
Saturday, April 29 – host United East Championship at Clinton Country Club, 1 of 9
Tuesday-Friday, May 16-19 – NCAA Division III Championships at Keene Trace Golf Club in Nicholasville, Kentucky.

Baseball
Overall: 20-17
UE: 14-5
(Home games at Bowman Field)
Tuesday, April 25 – at Penn State Altoona (2), W, 10-8; L, 11-4
Thursday, April 27 – at Penn State Berks (UE, 2), L, 3-0; W, 15-4
Saturday, April 29 – at Penn State Berks (UE), ppd.
Saturday, May 6 – at Penn State Berks (UE), 1 p.m.
United East Tournament, TBA

Softball
Overall: 26-8
UE: 18-4
(Home games at Elm Park)
Tuesday, April 25 – host Penn State Harrisburg (UE, 2), W, 7-0; W, 9-1
Thursday, April 27 – host Penn State Berks (UE, 2), W, 9-2; W, 3-1
Friday, April 28 – host Penn State Abington (UE, 2), ppd.
Friday, May 5 – host Penn State Abington (UE, 2), TBA
Monday, May 8 – United East Tournament, TBA

Men’s lacrosse
Overall: 11-6
UE: 3-2
Monday, April 24 – host Hilbert College (UE), W, 15-2
Friday, April 28 – host Westminster College, L, 15-6
Saturday, April 29 – host Wells College (UE), W, 26-5
Wednesday, May 3 – United East Semifinals, Penn College at SUNY Morrisville, 6 p.m.; Hilbert College at St. Mary’s (Md.) College, 1 p.m.
Saturday, May 6 – United East Championship (Wednesday’s winners), 1 p.m.

Men’s tennis
Final overall: 2-8
Final UE: 1-5
(All home matches at Central PA Tennis Center)
Wednesday, April 26 – host King’s College, L, 7-2
End of season

Women’s tennis
Final overall: 2-9
Final UE: 0-5
(All home matches at Central PA Tennis Center)
Wednesday, April 26 – host King’s College, L, 6-3
End of season

Archery
Friday-Sunday, May 19-21 – USA Archery Collegiate Target Nationals at Statesboro, Ga.

Esports
(All events at Wildcat Den)
iRacing
Monday, April 24 – CIL Cup Series-Homestead, Miami, 16 of 40
Tuesday, April 25 – ENASCAR Round 4 Daytona International Speedway Heat 2, 2 of 40
Wednesday, April 26 – CIL Short Track Showdown-Five Flags Speedway, 7 of 18
End of season

For more about the United East, visit the conference website .
For additional information, visit the Wildcats Athletics website .

No. 37