Checking In: Alumni Update (3-4-12)

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BASEBALL
Kevin Christy (North Penn)
started and worked six innings but earned his third straight no decision in La Salle’s 5-3 win over North Carolina A&T on Saturday. Christy struck out five and leads the staff with 23 strikeouts this season. Adam Kammler (Pennridge) was 2-for-4 with a run scored. In La Salle’s 11-1 win over Lafayette on Tuesday, Jon Gyles (Central Bucks West) contributed a pair of RBI singles and scored a run. Mike McLeod (Harry S Truman) earned the save with 2.2 no-hit innings of relief.

Dan Hinchliff (North Penn) drove in a pair of runs in Catholic University’s 8-3 win over York on Thursday.

Sophomore Greg Welsh (Council Rock South) worked two innings in relief in Penn State’s 7-4 win over Samford on Saturday, allowing three hits and one run.

Senior leftfielder Alex Latchum (Central Bucks South) contributed three hits and an RBI in Chestnut Hill’s 6-4 loss to Franklin Pierce University in the opening game of the Northeast Challenge last Saturday. Sophomore catcher Joe Mullin (Central Bucks South) had one of his team’s three hits in Chestnut Hill’s 5-2 loss to Franklin Pierce in the second game. In Chestnut Hill’s 5-4 loss to CW Post, sophomore first baseman Ray Puskar (Pennridge) was 2-for-5 with an RBI double.

Freshman Ryan Henritzy (Council Rock North) was 2-for-5 in Lock Haven’s 6-4 loss to Apprentice School last Sunday.

Senior Ryan Brown (Souderton) doubled and scored a run in Messiah College’s 6-4 win over nationally ranked Johns Hopkins on Thursday.

Robbie Zinsmeister (North Penn) was 2-for-5 with a double and solo home run in IUP’s 4-3 win over Bloomsburg on Saturday at the Ram Invitational at Shepherd University. Keith Meyer (Council Rock South) batted leadoff for Bloomsburg, collecting a hit and scoring a run. IUP fell to the host Rams 7-6 in its afternoon game. In last Sunday’s doubleheader split with Chowan, Zinsmeister went 3-for-8 with five RBIs and five runs scored. IUP fell in the first game 7-2 before rallying for an 11-3 win in the second. In the 11-3 win, Zinsmestier was 2-for-5 with a double, homer, five RBIs and three runs scored.

Meyer singled and scored on a throwing error in the 10th inning to give Bloomsburg a 6-5 win over Shepherd on Sunday. In Saturday’s 11-1 win over Lock Haven, Meyer contributed a hit and scored a pair of runs.

Junior catcher Matt Albaugh (North Penn) delivered an RBI single in the bottom of the ninth to propel Kutztown to a 3-2 win over Bloomsburg in the championship game of the Builder Invitational last weekend. Albaugh stepped to the plate in the ninth with two outs and the bases loaded. With a 2-2 count, the junior connected on a single through the left side, driving in the game winner.

Chris Edgar (North Penn) delivered a home run and two RBIs in Millersville’s 9-1 win over California (Pa.) on Saturday. In Millersville’s 6-0 loss in game two of the twinbill, Edgar contributed a hit.

Ken McCormick (Pennsbury) contributed an RBI and scored a run in Philadelphia University’s 9-6 win over Southern Connecticut State on Friday.

Tyler Orr (Neshaminy) contributed a single, RBI and scored a run in Eastern University’s 9-8 loss to Arcadia on Tuesday. Jordan Hofferman (Cheltenham) started the game for Arcadia but was not involved in the decision. In Friday’s 18-8 win over Lancaster Bible, Orr was 1-for-3 with two runs scored while teammate Eric Smith (Plymouth Whitemarsh) also contributed a hit and scored a pair of runs.

MEN’S BASKETBALL
Ursinus sophomore Jesse Krasna (Pennsbury) was named to the 2012 Centennial Conference Winter Academic Honor Roll. To be nominated, a student must participate in at least 50 percent of the contests, be a sophomore or higher and boast a cumulative GPA of 3.40 or higher.

Junior Khalif Wyatt (Norristown) scored seven of his game-high 26 points in overtime to lead #23/25 Temple to a 90-88 overtime win over Massachusetts on Wednesday. He contributed a three-point play to knot the score 88-88 and then scored a breakaway lay-in with 16 seconds left for the final points. Wyatt, among the A10’s best free throw shooters (.846), connected on 17-of-17 from the charity stripe. It is the second most free throws in school history behind only Lynn Greer’s 18 against Saint Joseph’s in 2002.  In Saturday’s 80-60 win over Fordham, Wyatt scored 10 points. The win clinched Temple’s 10th regular season Atlantic 10 title.

Lorenzo Christmas (Norristown) scored 14 points in Bloomsburg’s 83-70 loss to West Chester in the PSAC quarterfinals on Tuesday.

Goldey-Beacom sophomore AJ Picard (Souderton) received CACC All-Conference honorable mention recognition He averaged 14 points a game and connected on 39 percent of his shots from three-point range. Goldey-Beacom finished first in the CACC South Division.

Picard scored 14 points in Goldey-Beacom’s 72-66 overtime win over Dominican College in Friday night’s CACC semifinal game. His jumper from the right elbow with 1:15 remaining in regulation knotted the score 58-58, setting the stage for OT. In Saturday’s title game, Goldey-Beacom fell to Bloomfield 62-50. Picard had four points.

Sophomore Fran Rafferty (Upper Merion) scored 17 points in #5 Cabrini College’s 104-87 win over Castleton State College on Friday in an opening round game of the NCAA Tournament.  Teammate Goran Dulac (Pennsbury) recorded a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds. In Saturday’s second round 90-88 overtime win over Hobart, Rafferty had seven points while Gulac had eight points and seven rebounds. The win extended the Cavaliers winning streak to 19 games, and they are now 28-1 on the year. This marks the second consecutive year and third time in school history that the Cavaliers have advanced to the Sweet 16. The Cavaliers will face #21 Eastern Connecticut this weekend.

Jaylen Bond (Plymouth Whitemarsh) contributed four points and eight rebounds in the University of Texas’ 72-64 win over Oklahoma on Wednesday.

Guard Jim Connolly (Souderton) connected on 6-of-11 shots from three-point range to finish with 23 points in Philadelphia University’s 72-63 loss to Bloomfield in Friday’s CACC semifinal. Connolly scored 15 of his points during a 22-10 run that gave Philadelphia a 38-24 lead with 40 seconds left in the first half.

Freshman Whis Grant (Plymouth Whitemarsh) scored eight points in East Stroudsburg’s 90-85 win over West Chester on Saturday to capture the second PSAC championship in school history. In East Stroudsburg’s 66-58 win over Mercyhurst in Friday’s semifinal game, Grant scored 18 points. It was the 11th time this season he scored at least 18 points. He became ESU’s second freshman to score more than 400 points in a season. He also has freshman records with 53 three-pointers, 105 free throws and 41 steals. East Stroudsburg will face West Liberty in an opening round game of the NCAA Division II Tournament.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Lauren Peters (Central Bucks West)
contributed four points and one assist in Holy Family’s 71-46 win over the University of the Sciences in Saturday’s Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference Championship game on Saturday night. As a result, Holy Family (24-7) has won 11 straight games and 17 of its last 18, and the team will be making its ninth straight appearance in the NCAA Division II Tournament.

Sam Simononis (Pennridge) scored four points in the University of Vermont’s 74-61 loss to Albany in an America East Tournament quarterfinal game on Friday.

Sarah Kiely (Council Rock North) had two points and four rebounds in American University’s 59-54 win over Lafayette on Friday.

Swarthmore junior Madeline Ross (Central Bucks East) was named to the 2012 Centennial Conference Winter Academic Honor Roll. To be nominated, a student must participate in at least 50 percent of the contests, be a sophomore or higher and boast a cumulative GPA of 3.40 or higher.

Sophia Waters (Norristown) scored 12 points while teammate Mashira Newman (Upper Dublin) added eight points in Millersville’s 64-57 loss to West Chester in a PSAC playoff game on Tuesday. Tiffany Johnson (Cheltenham) had two rebounds and an assist in 14 minutes of action off the bench for West Chester.

Newman was selected to the PSAC East All-Conference team before the season, and she lived up to her billing, earning a spot on the All-PSAC East first team. Newman was the only Millersville player to start all 27 games this season. She ranked fourth in the conference in minutes played with an average of 35.2 minutes per game. She was second on the team in points with 12.3 per game. She became just the 18th player in program history to break 1,000 points in just 80 games and now has 1,082 career points to rank her 14th at Millersville all time. Newman led the team in steals (66) and assists (131) for the second straight season. She also blocked 42 shots, which is more than in her first two seasons combined, to rank fifth in the conference. Newman ranks third in school history with 292 steals and ninth in assists with 368.

Walsh University sophomore Daniella Ciccarone (Quakertown) received All-American Mideast Conference honorable mention recognition. She was the second-leading scorer on the team with an average of 9.4 points per game and established herself as one of the better free throw shooters in the nation as she made 85.6 percent (101 of 118) of her shots from the charity stripe. Ciccarone led the team in assists with 79 and was third on the team in steals with 39. Last year, Ciccarone was on the All-AMC Freshman Team.

Ciccarone scored 10 points in Walsh University’s 68-60 loss to Urbana in the first round of the Ohio Independent Championships on Tuesday.

Ursinus College senior Jen Sroba (Council Rock North) was named to the 2012 Centennial Conference Winter Academic Honor Roll. To be nominated, a student must participate in at least 50 percent of contests, be a sophomore or higher and boast a cumulative GPA of 3.40 or higher.

Junior Shakia Robinson (North Penn) contributed 13 points and six rebounds in the University of Massachusetts’ 70-61 loss to Xavier in last Sunday’s season finale.

MEN’S LACROSSE
Sophomore face-off specialist Shawn Caven (Pennsbury) had a game-high 11 ground balls and went 16-for-21 from the X on face-offs in Ursinus College’s 14-8 win over Widener on Wednesday. In Saturday’s 10-6 win over Messiah, Caven had two goals and finished the day 13-for-20 in face-offs while grabbing a team-high nine ground balls.

Heath Kupecky (Upper Merion) scored two goals and added an assist in Messiah College’s 10-6 loss to Ursinus College on Saturday. In Wednesday’s 21-6 win over La Roche, Kupecky contributed a goal.

Junior Johnny Casey (Abington) scored a pair of goals in Widener’s 13-10 loss to Swarthmore on Saturday.

Zachary Goodman (Council Rock South) scored a goal in Gwynedd-Mercy’s 11-5 loss to Catholic University on Saturday.

WOMEN’S LACROSSE
Junior Lauren McDermott (North Penn) scored four goals in La Salle’s 16-10 win over Howard on Tuesday. In La Salle’s 9-8 win over Delaware on Saturday, McDermott contributed a single goal.

Bernadette Maher (Council Rock North) recorded a hat trick in American University’s 16-10 win over Old Dominion on Saturday. Emily Maher (Pennridge) added a single goal. In American’s 12-11 loss to Richmond on Wednesday, Bernadette Maher scored three goals.

Hannah Vogel (Hatboro-Horsham) scored a goal while teammate Lauren Mateja (Upper Merion) turned away 13 shots in goal in Millersville’s 11-4 loss to Seton Hill on Saturday. Jessica Jones (Council Rock North) was credited with two ground balls and five draw controls.

Junior midfielder Elizabeth Chatburn (Upper Dublin) contributed the hat trick in Ursinus College’s 19-8 win over Eastern University on Thursday. Junior Kendall Rood (Central Bucks East) contributed a goal for Eastern.

Senior midfielder Rachel Dirksen (Abington) scored six goals and contributed an assist in Messiah College’s 17-8 win over SUNY Fredonia on Saturday. She scored four of Messiah’s first six goals, two off free positions. Senior defender Rachel Coyle (Souderton) successfully shut down Amy Simon after she scored her team’s first four goals. In Wednesday’s 16-10 win over McDaniel College, Dirksen scored five goals on just eight shots – seven on goal. She also added an assist.

Goalkeeper Alisha Aquilinio (Abington) registered five saves in St. Joseph’s 10-9 loss to Monmouth on Tuesday.

Stephanie Bianco (Upper Merion) was fourth on IUP in scoring last year with 35 goals. She also led the team in draw controls with 61. IUP has been picked to finish fifth in the PSAC preseason coaches poll. The Crimson Hawks return their top nine scorers from a season ago when they were third in the conference with 14 goals per game and set a school mark for wins in a season with an 11-7 record.

SOFTBALL
Rachael Alligood (Harry S Truman)
returns to anchor Holy Family’s young pitching staff after logging 94.0 innings of work during her freshman season. She finished the year 8-9 with an earned run average of 3.72. Alligood struck out 49 batters and limited opposing hitters to a .263 batting average. Deanna Myers (William Tennent) will be managing the pitching staff behind the plate. Junior Lindsey Iden (Council Rock North) will see action at third base. Last season she finished with a .250 batting average to go along with 28 hits, seven runs and 10 RBI. Freshman Kelsi Bunda (Pennsbury) will provide depth and strength in the outfield.

Stephanie Kulp (North Penn) picked up the win in relief in Millersville’s 3-2 win over Chowan on Friday, working 1.1 innings and allowing just one hit and no runs. The freshman hurler relieved starter Alicia Hughes (Quakertown), who allowed four hits and two runs (one earned) in 5.2 innings. Hughes helped her own cause with an RBI single while teammate Danielle DiFilippo (Hatboro-Horsham) contributed a single and scored a run. Gabbie Berry (Norristown) delivered the game-winning RBI. In Millersville’s 7-6 loss to Chowan in game two of the doubleheader, Berry was 2-for-2 with a double and two RBIs.

Senior third baseman Rachel Gieringer (Hatboro-Horsham) led East Stroudsburg with a .500 batting average (8-for-16) with a double, a home run and four RBIs in five games at last weekend’s Catawba Invitational.

Devon Utterback (Central Bucks South) notched the win in West Chester’s 5-4 win over Shepherd, allowing four hits and four earned runs in seven innings while walking two and striking out four. Megan Kelly (Hatboro-Horsham) contributed a hit.

Samantha Schoell (North Penn) singled and scored a run in Temple’s 2-1 win over St. John’s on Saturday.

WOMEN’S SWIMMING
McDaniel senior Rachel Walega (Wissahickon), Gettysburg sophomore Ali Roth (Central Bucks West) and Washington College senior Ellen Liebenow (Pennridge) were named to the 2012 Centennial Conference Winter Academic Honor Roll. To be nominated, a student must participate in at least 50 percent of the contests, be a sophomore or higher and boast a cumulative GPA of 3.40 or higher.

Penn State junior Paige Whitmire (Souderton) was part of the 400 free relay and 400 medley relay team that earned First Team All-Big Ten honors. The 400 free relay tied Wisconsin for first place at the Big Ten Championships with a school and pool record time of 3:16.12. The 400 medley set a school and pool record for the event, posting a time of 3:33.50 to earn the Big Ten title.

Maryland junior Megan Lafferty (Upper Dublin), who broke an ACC record at the championships last season, will compete in the 50 free, 100 free and 100 fly at the NCAA Division I Women’s Swimming Championships March 15-17 in Auburn, Ala.

MEN’S TRACK & FIELD
Chris Niles (Central Bucks South)
was part of Elizabethtown’s distance medley relay team that qualified for a NCAA Division III Indoor Championships berth with a record-setting 9:56.79 Friday night at the Columbia Last Chance Meet in New York City’s Armory. The relay team currently is seventh in the country with that time, which would qualify them for nationals. Niles ran a 51.50 in the 400m, bettering his personal record by over two-tenths of a second.

Shippensburg’s Matt Bee (Central Bucks West) finished fourth in the 800 meters at the 2012 PSAC Indoor Track & Field Championships last weekend. Teammate Eric Wolfe (Central Bucks South) was part of the third place 4x400 relay team that set a new school record with a time of 3:18.28. Wolfe has been featured by the PSAC as one of its two weekly student-athlete profiles. Wolfe is a 400-meter runner who will compete at nationals with the distance medley relay squad. To read Wolfe’s profile, please click on the following link: http://www.psacsports.org/news/2012/3/2/MTRACK_0302120950.aspx  Teammate Jake Sitler (Central Bucks South) finished fourth in the 3K with a time of 8:39.09 and also was fourth in the 5K with a time of 15:14.01. Shippensburg won its third conference crown in four years.

Brandon Bennett-Green (Cheltenham) was part of Penn State’s 4x400 relay that set a new school record with an NCAA automatic-qualifying performance at the Alex Wilson Invitational at Notre Dame on Saturday, posting a time of 3:05.22 for a second place finish overall.

West Chester’s Adam Heath (Cheltenham) finished sixth in the triple jump at the PSAC Indoor Track and Field Championships with a leap of 43 feet, 7 ¾ inches. Teammate Nick Drozd (Central Bucks South) missed a place winner standing by one spot in the 400m, finishing ninth.

Millersville’s Zach Kohler (Pennridge) earned Division II All-Region honors in the heptathlon with his performance in the PSAC Championships where he finished with 4,666 points and a fourth place finish. Kohler, a senior, set season bests in two events of the heptathlon (1,000-meter run and high jump) last weekend.

Muhlenberg junior Nate Crossette (Abington) and sophomore Jarrett Felix (Upper Dublin) were named to the 2012 Centennial Conference Winter Academic Honor Roll. To be nominated, a student must participate in at least 50 percent of contests, be a sophomore or higher and boast a cumulative GPA of 3.40 or higher.

Steve Roberts (Quakertown) was part of Lock Haven’s 4x400 relay team that earned U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Division II All-Atlantic Region honors.

WOMEN’S TRACK & FIELD
Ursinus junior Gina Brienza (Central Bucks East) was named to the 2012 Centennial Conference Winter Academic Honor Roll. To be nominated, a student must participate in at least 50 percent of the contests, be a sophomore or higher and boast a cumulative GPA of 3.40 or higher.

Erin Koch (Pennridge) finished 14th in the nation in the 1500m at the US Track and Field National Indoor Championships held in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on Feb. 26.

Shippensburg junior Caitlin Stuetz (Cheltenham) won a photo finish in the 60-meter hurdles with a PSAC meet record of 8.79 seconds at the 2012 PSAC Indoor Track & Field Championships last weekend. It was her second straight PSAC indoor title and edged Edinboro’s Tabitha Bemis by one-hundredth of one second. Shippensburg won its third consecutive conference title and league best fourth overall.

Lock Haven senior Vanita Moses (Neshaminy) earned All-Atlantic Region honors in the weight throw from the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (Division II).

Ijeoma Iheoma (Council Rock South) was part of Penn State’s 4x400 relay that clocked a season-best time of 3:35.43 to finish third at the Alex Wilson Invitational at Notre Dame.

West Chester sophomore Melanie Ruff (North Penn) won the 400m race at the 2012 PSAC Indoor Championships last weekend. Ruff broke the tape with a time of 56.89 seconds. She followed that with a third place showing in the 200m, clocking in at 25.63. Ruff was one of three Golden Rams to qualify for the finals of the 400m.

Alexis Rankin (Hatboro-Horsham) was part of Bloomsburg’s 4x400 relay team that finished ninth at the PSAC championships with a time of 4:03.51 that set a new school record, breaking the old mark of 4:04.84 that was set by that same tear earlier this season. Rankin also was part of the distance medley relay team that earned All-Region honors from the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association in Division II. The DMR was honored for its performance at the Valentine Classic at Boston University where it posted a time of 12:13.08, a national provisional qualifying time and a performance that ranks 11th nationally. The time also broke the school record of 12:18.23 set in 2008. In the race, Rankin ran the 400 leg splitting 59.0.

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