MEN\’S SWIMMING
AKRON, Ohio – Duquesne freshman Mark Krchnak of Clearfield made his first college victory a memorable one, lowering his career mark by more than one second to win the 100-yard breaststroke race at the 2009 Zippy Invitational in Akron\’s Ocasek Natatorium Saturday.
Krchnak overtook teammate Ian Walsh in the final 50 yards for his first college victory, touched the wall in 57.98 seconds to earn 32 points for the Dukes. Walsh, who was No. 1 in the prelims ahead of Krchnak\’s 58.34, was second in 58.11.
Krchnak added 24 points with a sixth-place finish in the 200 breast in a career-best 2:10.81 on Sunday.
He also swam the breaststroke legs for the Duquesne medley relay teams, turning in a 59.25 split for the 400 quartet that placed seventh in 3:32.16 and a 26.73 split for the 200 medley foursome that was 12th in 1:37.36.
The medley swimmers contributed 76 points to Duquesne\’s fourth-place total of 1,148. The Dukes finished behind Xavier (1578.5), Buffalo (1327.5) and St. Bonaventure (1,212.5).
Clarion (1,098.5) was fifth in the 10-team field with junior Brandon Boyer of Clearfield recording career-best times in two individual events and season-best splits for four Golden Eagle \’B\’ relay teams.
Boyer picked up 15 points by placing 17th in the 100 back in 53.82 and 19th in the 50 free in 21.67.
He posted 1:48.23 leadoff leg for the 400 free foursome that placed ninth in 3:09.82, a 21.39 anchor split for the 200 free relay quartet that wound up 13th in 1:27.62, a 25.42 as the first Golden Eagle in the water for the 200 medley unit that placed 13th in 1:37.38 and a 54.87 backstroke leg for the 400 medley team that finished 16th in 3:38.98.
* * * * *
COLUMBUS, Ohio – John Lytle of Clearfield placed in three individual events for 33 points and helped four relay teams to sixth-place finishes for 108 points as Notre Dame wound up fourth in the six-team Ohio State Invitational Friday through Sunday at the McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion.
The Fighting Irish senior tri-captain posted season-bests for sixth in the 50-yard freestyle (20.69 seconds) and eighth in the 200 free (1:39.66) and also won the 100 free B final in 45.27 for ninth place.
All four Notre Dame relay foursomes took sixth place with season-best times, the 200 free in 1:22.09, the 400 free in 3:02.67, the 200 medley in 1:30.16 and the 400 medley in 3:18.16.
Lytle swam his fastest splits of the season in all the four events, posting anchor legs of 20.56 and 46.74 in the freestyle races and leadoff legs of 19.72 and 44.42 in the medleys.
Ohio State won 12 of 18 events to easily repeat as champion with 1,346 points. Big 10 Conference rival Minnesota (784) was runner-up, while West Virginia (447) beat out Big East Conference rival Notre Dame (414) for third place.
* * * * *
WOOSTER, Ohio – Twins Chris and John Bodle of Clearfield were point-getters for Westminster in the Wooster Invitational hosted Thursday through Saturday by The College of Wooster in Wooster High School\’s Ellen Shapiro Natatorium.
The Titan juniors qualified for the C finals in the 400-yard individual medley and 200 butterfly events.
In the IM, John Bodle improved his preliminary finish by more than three seconds and jumped three places to 21st with a 4:45.37 time, while Chris Bodle lowered his season mark by more than 16 seconds with a 4:46.39 effort to place 23rd.
Chris Bodle also registered a season-best in the 200 fly, claiming 21st in 2:19.37, more than eight seconds under his previous mark, and John placed 23rd in 2:20.14.
In events they had not entered previously this season, Chris Bodle turned in a 2:11.56 time to finish 33rd in the 200 back while John Bodle touching in 2:13.86 for 38th place in the 200 IM.
Westminster accumulated 964 points to finish behind Wooster (1,300), Ohio Northern (1,145), Case Western Reserve (1,021) and Edinboro (981) in the 10-team invitational.
* * * * * * * * * *
WRESTLING
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State redshirt junior Brad Pataky of Clearfield suffered his first loss of the season in the Nittany Lion Open finals in Rec Hall Sunday.
The nation\’s No. 6-ranked 125-pounder was shooting for back points against Jarrod Garnett of Virginia when the Hokie sophomore caught him for a fall at 4:49.
Garnett, a two-time Delaware state champ who was named Atlantic Coast Conference Rookie of the Year after his 38-8 freshman season, went into the high-regarded tourney ranked No. 9 and was one of seven Nittany Open titlists who are in the Top 10 at their weights.
Pataky (9-1) had advanced with an 11-3 major decision over Ryan Link of Pitt-Johnstown, a fall in 3:09 over two-time Virginia state champ Beau Martino of Brown, a 4-0 shutout against three-time Maine state champ Allen Stein of Navy and a 6-4 decision over three-time state champ Bradley Wisdom of Missouri.
* * * * *
Pitt-Johnstown redshirt senior Kyle Keane of Bradford (Clearfield Area High School) split his four matches.
The Mountain Cat 165-pounder, ranked No. 5 in NCAA Division II, advanced with a 10-4 win over Chris Hrunka (UNA-Edinboro) and a fall in 4:55 against Justin Sparrow (The Citadel) before running into eventual champion Nick Marable of Missouri.
After losing 13-5 to the two-time All-American senior who is No. 7-ranked in NCAA Division I, Keane was pinned in 1:55 by Tom Timothy of Penn.
The 2008 D-II All-American and 2009 national qualifier, who major decisioned Jeff Jacobs 15-3 in UPJ\’s 35-4 victory over East Stroudsburg on Dec. 2, is 7-3 for the Mountain Cats, ranked No. 5 nationally and No. 2 in the East Region.
Lock Haven senior 174-pounder Derek Caldwell of Curwensville won his first match, majoring Clarion\’s Jeff Sadler, 11-2, before dropping close decisions to SUNY-Binghamton\’s Matt Berretta 4-3 and Navy\’s Michael Billings 12-10.
Penn State-DuBois freshman 125-pounder Andrew Spicer of Clearfield was beaten 7-4 by SUNY-Binghamton\’s Dan Riggi in the pigtail round and didn\’t qualify for the wrestlebacks.
* * * * *
ADA, Ohio – Freshman Jeff Thomas of Curwensville earned his first collegiate win for Lycoming in the 29th annual Ohio Northern Invitational Saturday.
Wrestling at 157 for the Lycoming 3 squad, Thomas sandwiched a fall in just 1:15 against Zachery McKeone of Limestone (S.C.) between a pair of two-point setbacks.
He was edged 7-5 by eighth seed Ben Hitchcock of Olivet (Mich.) 1 and 3-1 by Colton Eyer of Lycoming 2.
* * * * * * * * * *
FOOTBALL
ALLIANCE, Ohio – Redshirt senior quarterback/punter Tanner Kelly of Olanta and his Albright teammates learned first-hand Saturday why Mount Union has been so dominant in NCAA Division III with 10 titles in a dozen trips to the championship the last 16 years.
With 2,058 fans looking on in Mount Union Stadium, the No. 1-ranked Purple Raiders held the Lions to 213 yards, scored touchdowns on an interception and fumble recovery and set up two more scores with recoveries of fumbled kickoff returns to roll 55-3 in the national quarter-final game.
Kelly\’s brilliant career came to an end with a 26-for-43 passing show that produced 207 yards.
The Clearfield Area High School product was sacked seven times for losses of 30 yards and netted only eight yards on three other carries.
He averaged 30 yards on five punts, including a 59-yarder.
The Middle Atlantic Conference Offensive Player of the Year\’s first pass was picked off by Drew McClain, who dashed 37 yards to the end zone with only 53 seconds gone.
Albright\’s offense went three-and-out on its next three possessions, finally moving the sticks for the first time on Kelly\’s 16-yard completion to Nate Romig on the last play of the first quarter.
John Whelan\’s 26-yard field goal early in the second period averted a shutout, as Mount Union (13-0) opened a 28-3 lead by halftime.
Kelly led Albright (11-2) into the red zone twice in the second half, but the Lions turned the ball over on downs both times in the final moments of the program\’s winningest season in history.
Kelly was No. 1 in the MAC in virtually every passing category. He completed 243 of 358 aerials (67.9 percent) for 3,030 yards and 21 touchdowns and a 155.3 passing efficiency rating. He was intercepted only five times.
In addition, he led the conference in total offense, 3,367 yards on 496 plays for an average of 259 yards a game.
Despite being sacked 46 times for losses of 225 yards, the 6-3, 215-pounder was Albright\’s No. 2 ground gainer with 337 yards for 138 carries.
He rushed for six touchdowns and passed for five two-point conversions.
Kelly also punted 35 times for a 33.4 average, with a 69-yarder his longest. A dozen of his kicks pinned opponents inside their 20.
In Division III, Kelly ranks No. 6 in completion percentage, No. 13 in passing efficiency and No. 14 in passing yards.
Only three quarterbacks have a lower interception percentage than his 1.39, and six were involved in more plays than he was. Were it not for a shoulder injury that limited him to one pass and one sack against Lebanon Valley in the regular season finale, Kelly probably would be second in total plays.
His career statistics for 44 games, all but two of them as a starter, put him the company of Albright\’s all-time greats.
He completed 810 of 1,240 passes for 9,616 yards and 80 touchdowns with only 30 interceptions.
He rushed 446 times for 960 yards and 11 scores, giving him 10,576 yards of total offense and an average of 240.4 yards per game for 1,686 plays.
Kelly averaged 36.3 yards for 168 punts and also made three unassisted tackles.
* * * * *
PITTSBURGH, Pa. – Redshirt sophomore quarterback/holder Andrew Janocko of Clearfield failed on a PAT rush after mishandling the extra point snap when Pitt scored with 1:36 remaining in Saturday\’s Big East Conference showdown with Cincinnati for the 2009 championship at jam-packed Heinz Field, and the undefeated Bearcats covered 61 yards in four plays to pull out a 45-44 win.
While the Bearcats were rewarded for their 12-0 record and No. 3 Bowl Championship Series ranking by being selected to play No. 5 Florida in the Sugar Bowl, the 17th-ranked Panthers wound up with an invitation from the Meineke Car Care Bowl. They\’ll meet unranked North Carolina on Dec. 26 at Charlotte, N.C.
A crowd of 63,387 saw Pitt fail to hold leads of 31-10 late in the first half and 38-24 and 44-38 in the fourth quarter.
Panther place-kicker Dan Huchins booted five extra points and a 33-yard field goal out of holds by Janocko, who has been perfect in handling snaps the last two seasons.
* * * * * * * * * *
MEN\’S BASKETBALL
BRADFORD, Pa. – In his first start of the season, sophomore Todd Hryn of Clearfield played a key role on defense for Pitt-Greensburg in a 73-63 Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference win over Pitt-Bradford Saturday.
The Bobcats utilized a box-and-one in an attempt to slow down Zach Moore, who had torched them for more than 50 points in two games last season, and Hryn was assigned to hound the Panther redshirt sophomore for most of the 27 minutes he played. Moore, an All-AMCC second team as a freshman, was held to 15 points.
Hryn also scored four points and hauled in eight missed shots, one less top Pitt-Greensburg rebounder David Palmer.
Three days earlier, the Bobcats dropped a 57-44 decision to AMCC rival LaRoche in Pittsburgh after falling behind 28-11 at the half and 50-18 with 11:36 remaining.
Hryn had six points and eight rebounds. Palmer again led Pitt-Greensburg (4-3, 2-1 AMCC) with 10 rebounds.
After seven games, Hryn ranks seventh in the AMCC with his 30 rebounds and is 15th with his 5.7 average for 40 total rebounds.
He has tallied 38 points, a 5.4 average.
