MEN’S GYMNASTICS
UNIVERSITY PARK – Another excellent performance on the still rings by sophomore Scott Rosenthal of Clearfield was one of the keys to Penn State pulling off a big 350.400-346.900 win over defending national champion Michigan in their Big 10 Conference opener that delighted more than 2,200 Rec Hall fans Saturday night.
Rosenthal, tied for No. 3 on the rings in GymInfo’s first in-season national rankings, matched his career-best 15.400 and Miguel Pineda had a 15.300 to highlight the Nittany Lions’ 60.200-57.500 advantage for that event.
The Nittany Lions, up two spots to No. 5 in the team rankings, went into the meet No. 1 in the country on the still rings.
Penn State also got wins from Mackenzie Dow (16.000) that paced a sweep in the vault and Warren Yang (14.800) in floor exercise.
No. 6 Michigan competed without reigning NCAA all-around champion Chris Cameron.
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MEN’S SWIMMING
EDINBORO – Sophomore Mark Krchnak of Clearfield swam the breaststroke leg for the winning 200-yard medley relay foursome and finished second overall in both the 100 and 200 breaststroke races as Clarion (3-3) defeated Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference rivals Edinboro 135-127 and Gannon 142-120 in McComb Fieldhouse Saturday.
His season-bests 1:00.86 in the 100 and 2:13.13 in the 200 were good for firsts against Edinboro and seconds against Gannon.
Krchnak turned in a 27.75 breaststroke leg for the Golden Eagle medley unit that was victorious in 1:37.97.
He also had a 22.16 second leg for the Clarion 200 free relay quartet that placed third against both teams in 1:30.25.
In four dual meets, Krchnak has earned seven wins, three seconds and one third in individual events.
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PITTSBURGH – Seniors Chris and John Bodle of Clearfield competed in three individual races for Westminster (6-3) in losses to host Carnegie Mellon 223.5-69.5 and SUNY Geneseo 236-61 in the University Center Pool Saturday.
John placed sixth against both teams in the 200-yard butterfly with a season-best time 2:16.66, eighth in his first 200 breaststroke in 2:31.42 and eighth in the 200 individual medley in 2:16.43.
Chris was seventh against both teams in the 200 free in 1:58.98, seventh in the 200 fly in 2:19.21 and eighth in the 100 freestyle in 53.88. He also posted a 53.43 second leg for the Titan ‘C’ 400 free relay team that finished sixth against both teams in 3:32.28.
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WRESTLING
CLEVELAND, Ohio – Redshirt senior Derek Caldwell of Curwensville moved up to 197 pounds and came through with a key decision as Lock Haven (5-7) slipped past host Cleveland State 21-18 in Eastern League action Sunday afternoon.
Caldwell beat Nick Anthony 6-2 for a 2-4 record in dual meets and 4-8 overall.
He did not wrestle in the Bald Eagles’ 24-19 EWL loss at Edinboro Saturday.
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GRANTHAM – Lycoming sophomore 174-pounder Jeff Thomas of Curwensville was pinned while leading his match against host Messiah’s second-winningest regular in a 26-11 Empire Conference setback Friday night.
Thomas was ahead 11-5 in the final minute when Ricardo Plummer turned him for the fall with just 20 seconds remaining.
The loss dropped Thomas under .500 for the first time this season at 8-9. He is 6-7 in dual meets.
The Warriors are 9-9 with a 2-3 conference record.
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UNIVERSITY PARK – Redshirt senior 125-pounder Brad Pataky of Clearfield was kept out of the Penn State lineup for two weekend dual meets after tweaking an injured knee that sidelined until late December.
The No. 2-ranked Nittany Lions (13-0) thumped No. 22 Pitt 30-7 in front of more than 5,500 Rec Hall fans Friday night and went on the road Sunday to flatten Indiana 36-8 for their second Big 10 Conference victory.
During Penn State’s off week, Pataky (7-2) returned to two national rankings released Jan. 11. He was ranked No. 10 by Amateur Wrestling News and No. 11 by Intermat and The Open Mat.
He also was ranked No. 11 by Wrestling Insider Newsmagazine, which has kept him in its list of top bantams all season, and No. 14 by Wrestling Report.com.
Preseason rankings had Pataky in the top 10.
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MEN’S BASKETBALL
NEW WILMINGTON – Sophomore Matt Shiner of Clearfield scored five points and had one assist in 17 minutes for Westminster (4-14) in a 68-49 Presidents’ Athletic Conference loss to Bethany (W.Va.) Saturday.
He was scoreless in 10 minutes three nights earlier when the Titans topped visiting Grove City 69-62 for their first PAC win.
In 14 games, including one start, Shiner has logged 152 minutes with 49 points, 17 rebounds, four assist and four steals. He has hit nine of 23 three-point field goal attempts and has made all eight foul shots.
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MEN’S INDOOR TRACK & FIELD
EDINBORO – Penn State Behrend seniors Michael Johnson and John Bowman of Clearfield placed in the top 10 in their specialties at the Al Hall Freedom Games in the Mike S. Zafirovski Sports & Recreation Dome Saturday.
Johnson cleared 1.83 meters (6 feet) to tie for fourth place in the high jump, while Bowman got off a heave of 13.79 meters (45 feet, 3 inches) for sixth place in the weight throw.
Johnson also placed 11th in the 400-meter dash in 54.62 seconds and ran the third split for the 4×400 relay foursome that wound up fifth in 3:38.57.
Both Lion three-year lettermen competed in the Golden Flash Gala at the Kent State (Ohio) Fieldhouse in early December.
Johnson registered a personal-best in the high jump, clearing 1.85 meters (6 feet, ¾ inch) for 16th place among 26 entries.
Bowman finished 49th among 75 weight throwers with a toss of 12.78 meters (41 feet, 11-¼ inches).
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WOMEN’S SWIMMING
ROMEOVILLE, Ill. – Freshman Brandie Centi of Clearfield was seventh in two freestyle races for Lincoln (Ill.) in 103.5-95.5 loss to host Lewis Saturday.
Her times were 1:03.04 in the 100 and 2:20.65 in the 200.
