MEN’S GOLF
APOLLO — Sophomore John Gaylor (Clearfield) earned medalist honors with a 78 as the first-year Penn State DuBois team got off to a successful start to the 2013 season by besting three opponents in the Bernie Gus Invitational hosted by Penn State New Kensington at The Links at Spring Church Course Thursday.
Gaylor’s six-under-par score keyed the Lions’ 326 that resulted in Pennsylvania State University Athletic Conference wins over Penn State Mont Alto (356) and Penn State New Kensington (391) and a non-conference victory over Butler County Community College (336).
The other three Lions finished in the top seven, John Kane (DuBois) tying for fourth place with an 80, Derek Buganza (Brockway) sixth with an 82, Owen Braun (Mechanicsburg) seventh with an 86.
“It was a great way to start the season and the program,“ said coach Pat Lewis, who had several undefeated teams in his many years mentoring the boys and girls squads at Cameron County High School.
“The administration and athletic department decided in April to introduce golf to the varsity athletic programs at Penn State DuBois and give area golfers a chance to play at the collegiate level,” Lewis noted. “We have put together a very competitive group in a very short period of time. We should represent PSUD well and show that there are many talented golfers in the surrounding areas.”
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FOOTBALL
PITTSBURGH — After receiving two special honors in the preseason, graduate student Nick Redden (Clearfield) was one of the Duquesne veterans who helped pave the way in a 35-24 opening victory over Albany (N.Y.) at Arthur J. Rooney Field Saturday afternoon.
The 6-2, 293-pound center is anchoring the Dukes’ offensive line for the second year in a row and also is the punt protector assigned the responsibility of making calls for that special teams unit.
Redden was named to the Preseason All-Northeast Conference in early August and then was selected as one of the Duquesne tri-captains.
He started all 11 games in 2012 when the Dukes averaged 358 yards and 27.1 points. In his first two seasons, Redden appeared in 17 games, saw action on the offensive and defensive lines, at fullback and on special teams.
NEC coaches pegged Duquesne to finish second behind Wagner, which tied Albany for first place last fall. Albany has since moved into the Colonial Athletic Association.
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LORETTO — Junior linebacker/long snapper Andrew Redden (Clearfield) and sophomore offensive lineman Todd Munchak (Grampian/Curwensville Area H.S.) are vying for playing time for St. Francis, which will open against nationally-ranked Georgia Southern (1-0) at Statesboro, Ga., Saturday evening.
Redden saw action in five games with one tackle during his freshman campaign.
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CLARION — Sophomore Eric White (Clearfield) returns as the long snapper while freshman Trey Jordan (Clearfield) is a member of the receiving corps for Clarion, which will host Kutztown in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference crossover game Saturday at Memorial Stadium with kickoff set for 1 p.m.
In his rookie season, White won the snapping duties for the punting and field goal units with his accuracy and consistency during the preseason and proved reliable in all 11 games. The 6-2, 200-pounder had one solo tackle and one assist covering kicks.
The Golden Eagles were ranked No. 7 in the PSAC West Division Coaches Preseason Poll.
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SLIPPERY ROCK — Redshirt sophomore Derek Morgan (Clearfield) will be counted on to man one of the defensive back positions for Slippery Rock after starting the last four games last season.
The 5-11, 185-pounder made a total of five starts and played in the other six games for The Rock, registering 36 tackles, including 19 solo stops, intercepting one pass with a 46-yard return and breaking up three passes.
The Rock, picked to finish behind Indiana University of Pennsylvania and Mercyhurst in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference West Division, kicks off the season at Northwood (Mich.) Saturday afternoon.
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INDIANA — Redshirt junior Trey Campman (Clearfield) is a wide receiver candidate for defending Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference West Division champion Indiana University of Pennsylvania.
The 6-1, 178-pounder has yet to see action for the Crimson Hawks.
IUP, which travels to New Haven, Conn., Saturday to meet Southern Connecticut State, was ranked in several NCAA Division II preseason polls, No. 2 by D2football.com, No. 7 by Lindy’s Football Annual, No. 10 by the American Football Coaches Association and No. 22 by The Sporting News.
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LOCK HAVEN — Graduate student Jesse Hoover (Curwensville) and sophomore Beau Swales (Curwensville) figure to be key cogs in the Lock Haven offense this fall.
Hoover, one of four players elected captains by their teammates and coaches, has amassed 1,152 yards on 78 receptions in 31 games, 28 of them as a starting wide receiver.
The 6-1, 205-pounder ranks ninth in all-time Lock Haven statistics with his averages of 14.77 yards per catch and 2.95 catches per game and has a chance to crack the Top 10 in three other receiving categories by approaching his season-best totals.
Hoover, who sports nine touchdown grabs, has been the second-leading receiver in each of his three seasons for the Bald Eagles.
Swales, a 6-0, 205-pound running back, scored Lock Haven’s only rushing touchdown last year for the winning points in a season-ending 15-7 win over Cheyney that ended an NCAA Division record 52-game losing streak.
He was second on the team with 49 carries for 107 yards and turned four pass receptions into 39 yards. Also, he averaged 17 yards on two kickoff returns.
The Bald Eagles will be on their home turf for Saturday afternoon’s opener against West Virginia State.
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MILLERSVILLE — After redshirting as a true freshman, Curtis Frye (Clearfield) has moved into the back-up role behind sophomore Connor Casey at quarterback for Millersville, which begins the head coach Greg Breitbach era with a Saturday afternoon home game against Long Island University Post.
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BLOOMSBURG — Freshman Brad Stubbs (Curwensville) is listed as an offensive lineman on the Bloomsburg rosters.
The Huskies, ranked among the top 20 in four NCAA Division II preseason polls, will begin their bid for another postseason playoff berth Saturday when they host Stonehill (Mass.).
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GREENVILLE — Freshman Brad Coudriet (Curwensville) is one of the linebacker candidates for Thiel, which opens the season with a non-conference game against Juniata at Huntingdon Saturday afternoon.
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WAYNESBURG — Freshman Josh Ireland (Curwensville) is a member of a stout Waynesburg defense that boasts eight returning starters from a unit that was instrumental in the Yellow Jackets rolling to a 10-1 record and a share of the Presidents’ Athletic Conference crown.
Waynesburg will open at home against Muskingum (Ohio) Saturday.
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HUNTINGDON — Freshman Jordan Russell (Curwensville) is among the wide receiver hopefuls on a very experienced Juniata team that will entertain Thiel in its opener Saturday afternoon.
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WILLIAMSPORT — Junior Zach Fannin (Clearfield) is listed as the No. 2 punter and placekicker on the Lycoming depth chart, while freshman Austin Pollick (Olanta/Curwensville Area H.S.) is a defensive back candidate for the Warriors, selected by the head coaches as the team to beat in the Middle Atlantic Conference this year.
Fannin has been the Warrior junior varsity kicker for the last two seasons.
He’s the back-up to senior Zack Czap (Philipsburg), who owns four all-MAC awards (three as a punter one as a kicker) and is one of 34 players on the 2013 Fred Mitchell Award Watch List for the nation’s top placekicker among 600 teams in NCAA Divisions II and III and the NAIA.
Lycoming travels to Rochester, N.Y., Saturday to take on Brockport in the MAC/New Jersey Athletic Conference Challenge.
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WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRY
BETHLEHEM — Freshman Rebecca Johnson (Grampian/Curwensville Area H.S.) was the third St. Francis runner to cross the line in contributing to a fifth place finish by the Red Flash at the Lehigh Invite Saturday.
Johnson, making her collegiate debut, covered the 6,000-meter course in 25:33.79, good for 54th in a field of 139 athletes from 14 schools.
Junior Kylie Jackson paced the Red Flash with a 22:46.66 that was one second behind the race winner.
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UNIVERSITY PARK — Senior Gwenn Porter (Clearfield) will be running for a Penn State team that enters the season ranked No. 11 in the United States Track & Field/Cross Country Coaches Association Poll.
She has competed for the Lady Lions the last three years with personal bests of 16:22.91 (2012) over a 4,000-meter course and 24:58 (2011) in a 6,000-meter race.
Penn State will open in the Dolan Duals at Lock Haven Friday.
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WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL
DUBOIS — Junior Stephanie Neeper (Curwensville) and sophomore Ricki Wells (Curwensville) are outside hitters for Penn State DuBois.
