MEN\’S TRACK & FIELD
FROSTBURG, Md. – Penn State-Behrend sophomores John Bowman and Michael Johnson of Clearfield earned All-Mason-Dixon Conference honors Saturday at the 2009 championships in Bobcat Stadium.
Nine schools from four states and the District of Columbia were represented, and thinclads had to place sixth or higher for all-conference recognition.
Bowman was third in the javelin with a throw of 50.5 meters (164\’2\”) and fourth in the discus with a toss of 38.33 meters (125\’9\”). Both were season-best efforts in events that had 20 and 18 participants, respectively.
He just missed making all-conference in the hammer throw Friday, but his heave of 32.85 meters (107\’9\”) did set a school record. He placed seventh.
Johnson placed sixth in the 400-meter hurdles in 59.38 seconds, his best time of the season.
The two ex-Bisons helped the Lions finish in third place with 105 points.
Salisbury (Md.) won the title with 200 points, and Christopher Newport (Va.) was runner-up with 122.
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BASEBALL
ALTOONA – A very good week for Phil Solley of Grampian (Curwensville Area High School) and a good one for Bart McGary of Curwensville had a disappointing end when Pitt-Bradford was bounced out of the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference by Penn State-Altoona.
Solley had his best week of the season with six hits in four games, including pairs of singles in a 6-5 win over Medaille at Buffalo, N.Y., on April 27 and a 10-7 victory in the opener of the AMCC first-round best-of-three series at Altoona Saturday.
He scored five runs and drove in two as the Panthers went 3-2, beating Medaille 5-2 for a sweep.
In four games, McGary had three hits, two of them doubles good for three RBIs in Pitt-Bradford\’s first-game playoff win.
The Panthers were held to three hits by senior Paul Keith of Smithmill (Moshannon Valley H.S.) in Game 2, with Solley singling and scoring the lone run. Keith, whose seventh win in eight decisions is a season record for the Lions, struck out nine and walked one. He was named AMCC Pitcher of the Week.
PS-Altoona rallied for 11 runs in the fifth inning to win the deciding game 16-8 to earn a trip to Erie for the AMCC Final Four this weekend.
Grady Luzier of Force (West Branch H.S.) put the Lions ahead 6-5 with a two-run homer. The sophomore first baseman, sporting a .450 average, had seven hits and three RBIs in the series.
With a .337 average for 29 starts, McGary finished as the second-leading hitter among Pitt-Bradford (16-16) players who started at least half of the games. The junior right fielder was 32-for-95 with eight doubles, two home runs and a team-high 29 RBIs. He reached base 14 times on walks and three times when hit by a pitch and scored 16 runs.
A season-ending seven-game hitting streak raised Solley\’s average to .272 for 26 starts behind the plate. The Panther junior scored 22 runs and drove in 15. He drew nine walks and was hit four times.
Solley threw out 10 of 32 runners on steal attempts and had only two errors for a .987 fielding average. He totaled 136 outs and 15 assists.
McGary committed just one error in 52 chances for a .981 fielding average.
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SLIPPERY ROCK – Adam Jury of Bigler (Clearfield Area H.S.) ended the regular season with a .399 batting average for Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference playoff-bound Slippery Rock after having a career-high 11-game hitting streak snapped in the first game of an 8-7 and 10-5 sweep of Wheeling (W.Va.) Jesuit on April 27.
With his single in the nightcap game, the sophomore shortstop-designated hitter registered hits in 22 of the last 24 games.
Jury was 61-for-153 with 11 doubles, three home runs and 41 RBIs. He has scored 43 runs, received 23 walks and been hit four times.
A third-place finish in the PSAC West Division gave Slippery Rock (34-16) a pairing with East Division runner-up Kutztown (32-14) for the first round, which was rained out Monday and Tuesday.
Two games were played Tuesday, West runner-up California (32-14) beating East No. 3 Shippensburg (23-21) 6-2 and East champ West Chester (40-10) downing West No. 4 Lock Haven (21-32) 7-3.
West champ Mercyhurst (33-14) meets East No. 4 Mansfield (23-29) in the other first-round game Wednesday.
The Rock is led by former Philipsburg-Osceola H.S. standout Matt Adams, who tops PSAC in average (.497), hits (90), doubles (24), runs batted in (64) and slugging (.862). He is second in home runs (14).
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ERIE – Kyle Kline of Clearfield singled in four plate appearances as Penn State-Behrend tuned up for the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference Tournament with five games last week.
The sophomore first baseman singled and scored a run in an 11-8 win over visiting Fredonia (N.Y.) State Wednesday.
The Lions, ranked No. 23 in NCAA Division III, lost double-headers at Washington & Jefferson 9-4 and 6-1 Tuesday and to Denison at Granville, Ohio, 11-3 and 7-3 Sunday for a 28-11 record.
By virtue of winning the regular season title, PS-Behrend will host the AMCC Final Four Thursday through Sunday, taking on Pitt-Greensburg (19-17) while runner-up Frostburg (Md.) State (24-12) meets Penn State-Altoona (28-15) in the first round.
Kline has a .320 average in 18 games, four as a starter, with eight hits, three of them doubles, and five runs batted in.
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SOFTBALL
ALTOONA – Alanna Luzier of Frenchville (Clearfield Area H.S.) punctuated her outstanding rookie season for Penn State-Altoona with a single that turned into the deciding run in a 4-1 victory over Juniata April 29.
The Lady Lions lost the first game 5-1 and finished 7-27, including one forfeit win.
Luzier, who started every game at second base, still leads the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference in stolen bases with 16.
She was third on the team with a .314 batting average.
Luzier led the Lady Lions in official at-bats (105) and was second in hits (33), doubles (7) and runs (21).
She also drove in six runs, received three walks and was hit once.
Her fielding average was .906 for 128 chances, and she participated in two double plays.
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LOCK HAVEN – Sophomore Brittany Pataky of Clearfield is a member of the Lock Haven\’s fourth consecutive Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference championship team.
The Lady Eagles, ranked No. 3 in NCAA Division II, defeated No. 15 Bloomsburg 8-1 in the title game Sunday for their 72nd consecutive win at Lawrence Field.
The showdown of the Central Division\’s top two teams was preceded by Bloomsburg\’s 8-1 win over No. 8 Kutztown, the East Division champ.
Lock Haven (41-5) and Kutztown (43-9-1) are seeded one and two for the NCAA Division II Atlantic Region Tournament and will be hosts for four-team division brackets Thursday through Sunday.
The first-round pairings are Lock Haven against Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association champion Bowie (Md.) State (26-6) and PSAC-West champ California (33-8) against Shippensburg (25-17) in Division I and Kutztown against West Chester (28-18) and Bloomsburg (34-9) against West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference West Virginia Wesleyan (43-12) in Division II.
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WOMEN\’S TENNIS
TOLEDO, Ohio – Clearfield Area High School graduate Tracy (Honko) Mauntler guided the Toledo Rockets to a 14-10 record against an upgraded scheduled in her sixth season as head coach.
They reached the semifinals of the Mid-American Conference Tournament for the second time in three years after finishing 4-4 for fifth place during the regular season.
Toledo avenged an earlier 4-3 loss to fourth seed Bowling Green with a 4-0 victory in the quarterfinals before losing 5-0 to No. 1 seed Miami. The RedHawks, 8-0 in the regular season, then defeated Western Michigan for their first title since 1993.
The Rockets took on Auburn, Texas Tech, Louisville, Purdue, Marquette and Michigan State in addition to sweeping Gonzaga, Sacred Heart and San Jose State during the Spring Break Tournament at Palm Springs, Cal.
Toledo won only nine matches during Mauntler\’s first two seasons but has posted at least 14 wins in each of the last four seasons to give her a 67-66 record as the school\’s first full-time women\’s tennis coach.
The 2006-07 Rockets lost to eventual champion Buffalo in the MAC semis for a 16-6 record that stands as the best in the program\’s history.
Mauntler stresses academics and community service to her netters, and the Rockets\’ combined fall semester grade point average of 3.669 was the highest of all Toledo fall teams. That GPA ranks third highest all-time behind the women\’s soccer teams of 2006 (3.683) and 2002 (3.679).
