With one United East Conference championship in the bag (men’s cross-country) and another still possible (women’s soccer), the Pennsylvania College of Technology fall sports season is nearing its end in brilliant fashion.
Also, this past week, as the men’s soccer and women’s volleyball seasons were ending, the wrestling season began, and action is about to get underway for the men’s and women’s basketball teams, with previews of those two teams forthcoming.
Cross-country
For the second season in a row, the men’s team, led by the fifth-place finish of Alec Rees of Centerport, New York, captured the United East Conference Championship on Saturday with 49 points in an 11-team field. The women’s team, paced by the 10th-place finish of Elaina Brady of McConnellsburg, was fourth with 126 points among 13 teams in races at Oak Ridge Park.
Rees, leading the team for the first time this season, turned in a season personal-best time of 28.14.14 and was followed by Mitchell Campbell of Riegelsville, seventh in 28:52.40, Ethan Knapp of Franklin 10th in 29:10.60, Matthew Woolcock of Oil City 11th in 29:12.86, Aaron Guerrisky of South Williamsport 16th in 29:49.84, Holden Furey of Williamsport 17th in 29:53.96, Chase Ebeling of Bellefonte 21st in 30:23.51, Jacob Parker of Weatherly 25th in 30:57.42 and Noah Bowers of Mifflin County 33rd in 31:22.98. Only the top five count for team points.
As a result of their finishes, a program-record nine runners earned all-conference honors, with Rees, Campbell, Knapp and Woolcock named to the first team, Guerrisky, Furey and Ebeling to the second team, and Parker and Bowers to the third team. Also, coach Tom Leeser was named the men’s Coach of the Year for the second straight year, and Rees won the men’s scholar-athlete Elite-20 Award.
“We had a nice day,” Leeser said afterward. “There was a definite goal of winning the team championship, and we really emphasized running together. Alec was running with Mitch for a while, and then he pulled away later in the race. All of the guys were a little less focused on the individual.
“St. Mary’s was the main competition, and they were wearing yellow jerseys, so when we saw yellow jerseys, we knew we better go catch them. We did a pretty good job of doing that throughout the day.
“That (conference crown) has been our goal since the start of the year. We ran against some good competition throughout the year and took our lumps against some teams that definitely were better than us, but the goal was always to be in good shape and healthy when the end of the season rolled around. Our top nine guys ran really well. Our depth was a factor.”
The Penn College men last won back-to-back conference championships in 2011 and 2012 when they capped a 10-season title-clinching run.
Coach Tom Leeser was named the men’s Coach of the Year for the second straight year, and Alec Rees won the men’s scholar-athlete Elite-20 Award.
Finishing behind the Wildcats were St. Mary’s (Md.) with 68 points, Penn State Berks 97, Lancaster Bible College 104, Penn State Harrisburg 152, Cairn 163, Bryn Athyn 184, Valley Forge 193, Gallaudet University 231, Penn State Abington 240 and Penn State Brandywine 318.
Lancaster Bible’s Mitchell Gray finished first in 26:04.03 in the 99-runner field.
Brady covered the course in a season personal-best time of 26:37.7. Also, Isabella Kerlin of Pottstown was 23rd in 28:54.0; Karleigh Hunter of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma was 27th in 29:44.0; Lillian DePew of Muncy was 32nd in 30:07.91, Kayleigh Miller of Sayre was 44th in 31:50.2; and Isabella Telford of Greensburg was 75th in 39:47.0. Only the top five count for team points.
Brady was named to the all-conference first team, and Kerlin, Hunter and DePew to the third team. Also, Miller won the women’s scholar-athlete Elite-20 Award.
The St. Mary’s (Md.) College women were successful in defense of their championship with 30 points. Following were Cairn 92, Lancaster Bible College 101, Penn College 126, Valley Forge 164, Cedar Crest 166, Penn State Harrisburg 197, Notre Dame (Md.) 215, Gallaudet University 245, Penn State Berks 249, Penn State Brandywine 255, Penn State Abington 256, Bryn Athyn 318.
Clarisse Hayden of Cairn led an 84-runner women’s field in 24:04.6.
“I was really happy for the girls. We thought a top three to top five was a good goal and we finished fourth,” Leeser said of their best finish since also placing fourth in 2018.
Schedule
Saturday, Nov. 2 — United East Championships hosted by St. Mary’s (Md.) College, men 1 of 11, women 4 of 13
Saturday, Nov. 16 — NCAA Division III Mid-Atlantic Regional Championship at Lock Haven University, TBA
Women’s Soccer
Hosting seventh-seeded Wilson College in a United East quarterfinal match on Saturday, second-seeded Penn College scored four second-half goals in a 5-1 win that lifted them into Wednesday’s 6 p.m. home semifinal against third-seeded St. Mary’s (Md.) College.
Cassie Johnson of Richland led the offense with the team’s first and final goals and also had an assist, while goalkeeper Nicole Lichtinger of Erie made five saves as the Wildcats upped their unbeaten record to 15-0-4, 8-0-1 in the UE.
In other quarterfinal matches on Saturday, top-seeded Penn State Harrisburg blanked ninth-seeded Bryn Athyn College 5-0, third-seeded St. Mary’s (Md.) College edged sixth-seeded Lancaster Bible College 2-1 in overtime, and in an upset fifth-seeded Penn State Abington edged fourth-seeded Penn State Berks 2-1 in overtime.
Although Penn College and St. Mary’s didn’t meet during the regular season, they met five common UE opponents with similar results. St. Mary’s beat Wilson 3-0 and Penn College won 6-0 and 5-1. St. Mary’s beat Valley Forge 10-0 and Penn College won 7-0. St. Mary’s beat Lancaster Bible 2-0 and 2-1 in overtime, while Penn College won 2-1. St. Mary’s beat Notre Dame (Md.) 7-0 and Penn College won 5-0. St. Mary’s beat Rosemont 6-0, the same as Penn College did.
St. Mary’s comes into the semifinal with a 16-1-3 overall record and was 7-0-1 in regular-season UE matches, with 46 goals scored and none allowed in conference play. Penn College scored 40 and allowed two during the regular season.
Lichtinger owned a 0.25 goals-against average in UE action with 15 saves and a 0.882 save percentage. St. Mary’s’ leading goalie, Kyleigh Bland, owned a 0.00 goals-against average with 10 saves and a 1.000 save percentage.
“We know that St. Mary’s has a strong defensive record. Watching their quarterfinal match with Lancaster Bible, we saw that LBC had some chances and even managed to score. This gives us confidence that we could also find the net in our match. Our forwards are working hard and preparing to execute if given the chance,” coach Ian Scheller said.
The teams are tied in their lifetime series 1-1-1 after they played to a scoreless tie in their most recent meeting last season. The winner will face either Penn State Harrisburg or Penn State Abington on Saturday for the championship.
In the NCAA era, since 2014, Penn College has reached the finals once, in 2017, where it lost. The Wildcats reached the UE semifinals and lost three times — 2016, 2019 and 2022.
Record/Schedule/Series History
Overall: 15-0-4
UE: 8-0-1 (7-0-1 regular season)
Saturday, Nov. 2 — host United East Quarterfinal vs. Wilson College, W, 5-1
Wednesday, Nov. 6 — United East Semifinal host St. Mary’s (Md.) College, 6 p.m. (series tied 1-1-1)
Saturday, Nov. 9 — United East Championship, TBA
Men’s Soccer
Robert Antonini of Schuylkill Haven came off the bench and scored in the 67th minute and goalkeeper Cole Catherman of Selinsgrove had a clean sheet that lifted Penn College past Keystone 1-0 in a UE first-round match on Wednesday. That put the Wildcats into Saturday’s quarterfinals at third-seeded Cairn University.
Coach Tyler Mensch was keen on his sixth-seeded team’s defense going into the match and it didn’t let him down as it held 11th-seeded Keystone to no shots on goal for the entire 90 minutes. Catherman, who has 10 wins, lowered his goal-against average to 0.87 and his save percentage to 0.807 while earning his third shutout.
In Saturday’s quarterfinal, Cairn prevailed 2-0. During the regular season, they tied 1-1. Carin led in shots on goal 8-4, with Catherman making six saves.
Elsewhere on Saturday, top-seeded St. Mary’s (Md.) College turned back eighth-seeded Penn State Brandywine 3-1, second-seeded Penn State Abington stopped Lancaster Bible College 2-0 and fourth-seeded Penn State Harrisburg downed 12th-seeded Wilson College 5-1.
“Saturday was a really good match. We didn’t quit. We battled. We were right in it. At the end of the day, we couldn’t score,” Mensch said. “But not to give up any goals in the second half, I was definitely proud of them.
“This was the best record (11-5-3), best season in the NCAA era of the program history. You can’t take that away from them.
“This was a special group. We started seven seniors and moving forward, it’s going to be tough to overcome next year, but hopefully, the young guys saw what it takes and will build off what the seniors were able to establish. I’d like to thank the seniors; they are a great group of guys. We couldn’t have done it without them.
“Now, it’s just recruit, and hopefully, some (high school) players see our success and see that we’re going in the right direction, we’re building a winning culture, and some top-quality players will come and join us.”
Record/Schedule/Series History
Final overall: 11-5-3
Final UE: 6-2-2 (5-1-2 regular season)
Wednesday, Oct. 30 — host United East First Round vs. Keystone College, W, 1-0
Saturday, Nov. 2 — United East Quarterfinals, Penn College at Cairn University, L, 2-0
Tuesday, Nov. 5 — United East Semifinals, TBA
Saturday, Nov. 9 — United East Championship, TBA
This was the best record (11-5-3), best season in the NCAA era of the program history. You can’t take that away from them.
Tyler Mensch
head coach, men's soccer
Women’s Volleyball
Hosting Penn State Abington in UE play on Tuesday, Penn College lost 3-0 as Ava Harple of Downingtown led with 16 digs and two aces, Nevaeh Ward of Odenton, Maryland, had nine kills, Jo Hess of Jersey Shore had 14 assists and Hailey DeBrody of Cogan Station had four blocks. Hess now has 201 assists on the season.
Wrapping up the season on Saturday at St. Elizabeth College, the Wildcats lost 3-0. Among the statistical leaders were Lana Howard of Liberty, New Jersey, with 14 digs and two aces, Ava Harple of Downingtown with seven kills and Hess with nine assists, ending her campaign with 210.
“I think the season went really well. We weren’t as focused on wins and losses so much as we were developing the program and players to set us up for continued success in the future,” first-year coach Kyle Hawk said. “We had a young team and had several players that had to step into roles they weren’t overly familiar with. They all did a great job and we appreciate everyone’s willingness to try new things this year.
“I think the future is bright for the program. If we can continue to build on our progress this year and recruit well, I think we will be well on our way to having success.”
Final UE regular-season standings: Gallaudet University 10-0, Lancaster Bible College 9-1, St. Mary’s (Md.) College 9-1, Penn State Harrisburg 8-2, Cairn University 7-3, Notre Dame (Md.) University 7-3, Penn State Abington 7-3, Keystone College 7-3, St. Elizabeth University 4-6, Cedar Crest College 4-6, Penn State Berks 3-7, Wilson College 3-7, Penn State Brandywine 3-7, Bryn Athyn 2-8, Penn College 1-9, Rosemont College 1-9, Valley Forge 0-10.
Record/Schedule/Series History
Final overall: 3-24
Final UE: 1-9
Tuesday, Oct. 29 — host Penn State Abington (UE), L, 3-0 (8-25, 19-25, 16-25)
Saturday, Nov. 2 — at St. Elizabeth College (UE), L, 3-0 (21-25, 13-25, 15-25)
End of season
Wrestling
After Friday’s first rounds at the Ithaca College Invitational, Penn College was third among 11 teams with half of its original 32 entries still alive, 10 of them in contention for gold, and when the dust settled on Saturday, the Wildcats saw eight wrestlers podium and the team finish fourth in their season opener under first-year coach Dalton Rohrbaugh.
Noah Hunt of Muncy led the contingent with a second-place finish in the 149-pound weight class and led the team with 21.5 points. Also, TJ Martin of Honesdale was fourth at 149, Carter Davis of York was fourth at 165, Justin Adams of York was fifth at 125, Kaden Ware of Brooklyn, Connecticut, was fifth at 133, Blake Dergham of Slatington was sixth at 133, Nick Woodruff of Wyalusing was sixth at 197 and Nic Brotzman of Marietta was sixth at 285.
Castleton took the team crown with 190 points, followed by Johnson and Wales 162, Ithaca 119, Penn College 112, Springfield 111.5, American International 65.5, Alfred State 57, SUNY Oswego 50.5, Norwich 50, Greensboro 38.5 and Elmira 7.
Schedule
Friday-Saturday, Nov. 1-2 — at Ithaca College Bombers Invitational, 4 of 11
Saturday, Nov. 16 — host Penn State Altoona (AMCC), 12:30 p.m. (first-time opponent)
Men’s Basketball
Schedule/Series History
Friday, Nov. 8 — Host Elmira College, 5 p.m. (tied 3-3)
Saturday, Nov. 9 — Host Keuka College, 1 p.m. (Keuka leads 7-0)
Wednesday, Nov. 13 — at Muhlenberg College, 7:30 p.m. (first-time opponent)
Women’s Basketball
Schedule/Series History
Friday, Nov. 8 — at Chatham University Cougar Tip-Off Classic vs. Chatham, 7 p.m. (first-time opponent)
Saturday, Nov. 9 — at Chatham University Tip-Off Classic vs. Susquehanna University, noon (Susquehanna leads 2-0)
For additional information, visit the Wildcats Athletics website.
For more about the United East, visit the conference website.