The Pennsylvania College of Technology men’s cross-country team is seeking continued improvement on the NCAA regional level when it competes on Saturday in the D-III Mid-Atlantic Regional Championship; while in competition over the past week, the historical women’s soccer season came to an end, and basketball season began.
Cross-Country
Fresh off winning its second consecutive United East Championship a week ago, the men’s team has risen in the Mid-Atlantic Regional ranks over each of the past three seasons, as it was 27th in 2021, 25th in 2022 and 20th last season.
Racing at Lock Haven University’s West Branch Course starts at 11 a.m. for the women and noon for the men.
“The competition in our regional is very good, with some of the top D-III programs in the country leading the way. Our goal for the day will be to improve our individual times and to improve our team standing from last year’s regional,” coach Tom Leeser said.
“The course at Lock Haven is mostly flat and fast. The weather forecast is calling for cooler temperatures, (and) this combination should lead to some good times and hopefully some personal-best or season-best results for our athletes,” Leeser said.
Running for the men’s team will be Alec Rees of Centerport, New York; Mitchell Campbell of Riegelsville; Ethan Knapp of Franklin; Matthew Woolcock of Oil City; Aaron Guerrisky of South Williamsport; Holden Furey of Williamsport; Chase Ebeling of Bellefonte; Jacob Parker of Weatherly; and Noah Bowers of Mifflin County.
Last season, Campbell finished 90th of 211 with a time of 26:43 over the 8K course.
Running for the women’s squad will be Elaina Brady of McConnellsburg; Isabella Kerlin of Pottstown; Karleigh Hunter of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Lillian DePew of Muncy; Kayleigh Miller of Sayre; Isabella Telford of Greensburg; and Adelyn McDermott of Williamsport.
Brady ended 163rd of 204 a year ago over a 6K course in 26:30.
Schedule
Saturday, Nov. 16 — NCAA Division III Mid-Atlantic Regional Championship at Lock Haven University, women 11 a.m., men noon
Women’s Soccer
The winningest season in program history ended in the United East semifinals with a 2-0 loss to St. Mary’s (Md.) College on Wednesday.
Penn College had seven shots on goal but couldn’t find the back of the net, while St. Mary’s connected on both of its shots on goal — one in each half.
“The end of any season is always one that leads to questions. You wonder if there is anything you could have done anything different. Fortunately for us, we’ve now only lost once this year and two times last year, so we are truly making strides in the right direction,” coach Ian Scheller said.
“St. Mary’s is a top team and has been regionally ranked since the beginning of the season. For us to play them and hold them to two shots on goal, outshoot them, and basically match them for corner kicks is incredibly impressive from the team,” Scheller continued.
“We have played in conference and division semifinals in the past two years and needed to set out a more defensive tactic, whereas this year, we proved we were more than good enough to match a team of this caliber. Unfortunately for us, the game came down to small moments and we did not do what was required. We will take this and learn for the future,” the coach said.
“The season as a whole is above and beyond anything I could have ever imagined. We were undefeated in the regular season, regionally ranked eighth by the National Power Index, and hosted a conference semifinal for the first time in program history,” Scheller said. “There is no substitute for time and the only thing our team can do is continue to grow and mature, getting better each year, like we have done in each of the past two seasons.
“(Our) off-season begins today (last Thursday) and we are hungry to get back to the playoffs again next season.”
Record/Schedule/Series History
Final overall: 15-1-4
Final UE: 8-1-1 (7-0-1 regular season)
Wednesday, Nov. 6 — United East Semifinal host St. Mary’s (Md.) College, L, 2-0
Men’s Basketball
Livingston Cross of Union, New Jersey, scored a team-high 24 points and had a team-best 14 rebounds to lead the Wildcats in a 101-92 season-opening win over Elmira College on Friday night. Gavin Barrett of Roselle, New Jersey, added 20 points and three other Penn College players also scored in double figures.
Hosting Keuka College on Saturday, Cross scored 20 and Barrett added 12, but it wasn’t enough in a 79-61 loss.
Schedule/Record/Series History
Overall: 1-1
UE: 0-0
Friday, Nov. 8 — Host Elmira College, W, 101-92
Saturday, Nov. 9 — Host Keuka College, L, 79-61
Wednesday, Nov. 13 — at Muhlenberg College, 7:30 p.m. (first-time opponent)
Saturday, Nov. 16 — host William Paterson, 3 p.m. (WP leads 1-0)
Wednesday, Nov. 20 — at Lebanon Valley, 6 p.m. (LV leads 1-0)
Women’s Basketball
Freshman Gigi Parlante of Williamsport led Penn College with a team-high 15 points in its season-opening 91-35 loss to Chatham University on Friday.
On Saturday against Susquehanna University, the Wildcats lost 75-43 as Parlante again led the team, this time with 16 points and 13 rebounds, and Emily Pardee of Williamsport added 14 points.
Schedule/Record/Series History
Overall: 0-2
UE: 0-0
Friday, Nov. 8 — at Chatham University Cougar Tip-Off Classic vs. Chatham, L, 91-35
Saturday, Nov. 9 — at Chatham University Tip-Off Classic vs. Susquehanna University, L, 75-43
Wednesday, Nov. 13 — at Elmira College, 7 p.m. (Elmira leads 8-0)
Saturday, Nov. 16 — host Pitt-Bradford, 1 p.m. (first-time opponent)
Tuesday, Nov. 19 — at Keuka College, 5:30 p.m. (Keuka leads 6-2)
Wrestling
Senior Noah Hunt of Muncy was named Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference Wrestler of the Week for Oct. 27-Nov. 2.
Hunt, ranked fourth in Region 2 at 141 pounds of the NWCA preseason coaches rankings, bumped up to the 149-pound weight class and made the championship final at the Ithaca Invitational. Hunt started the season with a 4-1 record, including bonus-point victories of two first-period falls, a first-period technical fall, and a second-period fall to score a team-high 21.5 team points and reach the championship bout. His only loss was a 17-15 decision to the No. 5-ranked Region 1 149-pounder Elijah Cyr of Castleton.
Schedule
Saturday, Nov. 16 — host Penn State Altoona (AMCC), 12:30 p.m. (first-time opponent)
Saturday, Nov. 23 — host Penn College Invitational, 10 a.m.
For additional information, visit the Wildcats Athletics website.
For more about the United East, visit the conference website.