MEN’S GOLF
DUBOIS — Junior Jason Thorp (Curwensville) recorded a career-best 2-under-par 69 at the DuBois Country Club to claim medalist laurels and lead Thiel to the championship in the five-team Penn State DuBois Invitational Tuesday, Aug. 30.
The Tomcats checked in with a 308 score, 20 strokes better than runner-up Kent State Tuscarawas, the defending Ohio Region Campus Conference champion.
Thorp, one of three Tomcats named to the preseason Players To Watch List by Presidents’ Athletic Conference coaches followed up with a team-best 79 over the Pine Acres Country Club Saturday to help Thiel finish eighth in the Pitt-Bradford Invitational with a 334 total.
Junior Brett Gardner (Curwensville) keyed Pitt-Bradford’s fourth-place tie finish by matching his career low of 78 which came on his home course a year ago. The Panthers turned in a 330 score.
Individually, Gardner tied for seventh and Thorp tied for 11th overall in the 85-golfer tourney.
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FOOTBALL
WILLIAMSPORT — Sophomore linebacker Nick Kovalick (Clearfield) was one of the leading tacklers and junior center Brad Stubbs (Curwensville) anchored the offensive line as Lycoming got off to a winning start to the 2016 season by holding off Susquehanna 27-24 in the 20th Stagg Hat Trophy game to the delight of 1,865 fans at David Person Field Saturday afternoon.
Kovalick logged four solo stops, one for a loss of four yards, and one assist.
The 5-10, 220-pounder made three starts in six appearances last fall, finishing with seven tackles, six of them solo.
Stubbs (6-2, 281) is the successor to All-Middle Atlantic Conference Matt Patterson at center after making four starts at offensive right tackle and one at defensive tackle while playing in two other games as a sophomore.
“Brad has to be a good player for us if we are going to be a good team,” coach Mike Clark said for an article that appears on the school’s football website. “He is strong and mean. He can move people. He plays with some strength that not a lot of people do.
“We are really excited about him. If he can do it at center, then we are going to be very good inside.”
Stubbs and ‘O’ linemates, including 6-3, 290-pound All-MAC second teamer and senior captain Austin Mital (Moshannon Valley H.S.), paved the way for Blake Bowman’s big rushing performance of 164 yards and three touchdowns on 28 carries for the Warriors.
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FROSTBURG, W.Va. — Junior safety Austin Jacobson (Curwensville) made two solo tackles and assisted on two other stops in the second half of Geneva’s 31-10 loss to Frostburg (W.Va.) State with 3,875 fans on hand in Bobcat Stadium Saturday night.
The appearance was only the second in a Golden Tornado game for the 6-0, 195-pounder.
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MEADVILLE — Sophomore linebacker Dustin Maines (Clearfield) recorded one tackle and one assist for the Thiel Tomcats as they spoiled the season opener for most of the 2,255 fans at Furher Field by beating Allegheny 44-21 Saturday night.
Maines, a 5-9, 180-pounder, played in four games with one start last season and had one tackle for a seven-yard loss.
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GROVE CITY — Junior offensive lineman Jon Janocko (Clearfield) made his first start for Juniata as the Eagles opened the season with a 31-26 victory over Grove City at Frank Fuhrer Field Saturday afternoon.
A crowd of 3,100 saw the Eagles pile up 444 yards in the non-conference game.
Janocko, a 6-3, 270-pounder, saw action in three games as a freshman and five games as a sophomore.
Freshman Seth Sloppy (Curwensville) also is an offensive lineman for the Eagles. He’s a 5-10, 255-pounder.
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PITTSBURGH — Erik Sellers (Clearfield), a 6-1, 230-pounder, is a redshirt freshman linebacker for the Pitt Panthers, who will host Penn State Saturday after defeating Villanova 28-7 in front of 50,149 fans at Heinz Field Saturday.
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LOCK HAVEN — Christian Rumery (Clearfield Area) is a freshman quarterback for the Lock Haven Bald Eagles.
The 5-11, 200-pounder did not play in their 41-24 non-conference loss at Clarion Thursday night.
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WORCESTER, Mass. — Sophomore Spencer Herrington (Clearfield) is a placekicker and punter on the Worcester Polytechnic Institute team that opened with a 37-34 overtime thriller over Massachusetts Institute of Technology Friday night.
Herrington averaged 32.3 yards on six punts in his lone appearance last fall.
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WOMEN’S SOCCER
INDIANA — Junior defender Carlee Freeberg (Clearfield) earned the assist on Marina Kelly’s goal in the 47th minute that gave Clarion the lead that Indiana University of Pennsylvania overcame for a 2-1 win in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference action Saturday.
The helper was the first for Freeberg, who played in 31 games, including 14 starts, as a freshman and sophomore.
She has played the entire way in both games for the Golden Eagles, who opened the season with a 2-1 PSAC loss at Edinboro.
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LORETTO — After missing her freshman season because of a knee injury, sophomore Heather Thorp (Curwensville) has played 53:02 minutes in three games for St. Francis, including 36:31 Sunday when the Red Flash broke into the win column after five loss by slipping past Maryland-Baltimore County 1-0 at the Stokes Soccerplex.
The 5-3 forward/midfielder did start against the visiting Papua New Guinea U-20 National Team in an international friendly Aug. 30, logging 33 minutes.
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ERIE — Sophomore midfielder Tessa Munshower (Clearfield) was credited with one shot in 21:45 minutes in Penn State Behrend’s season-opening 2-0 victory over Wooster (Ohio) in the Herb Lauffer Memorial Tournament Saturday.
She did not play Sunday when Baldwin Wallace (Ohio) claimed the title with a 1-0 overtime win.
Munshower had one goal and two assists in 17 games off the bench last fall. She record nine shots, with three on goal.
Junior McKenna Aleksivich (Clearfield) is seeking her third letter for the Lions after appearing in 20 games with two starts as a freshman and 13 games with one goal and five shots as a sophomore.
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HARRISBURG — Raquel Grice (Clearfield) is a freshman forward for the Penn State Harrisburg Lions but has been sidelined by an injury and did not see action as the Lions split their first two outings.
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WOMEN’S CROSS-COUNTRY
LORETTO — Senior Rebecca Johnson (Curwensville Area) ran 5,000 meters in 22:46 at the Immergun Golf Club Friday but was a non-scorer for St. Francis as the Red Flash had four runners in the top six in winning the Father Bede Invitational with a total of 30 points.
Johnson, a three-year letterwinner, finished 39th among the 74 runners representing nine teams.
Her personal records are 20:49.2 for 5,000 meters, 24:28 for 6,000 meters and 19:51 for three miles.