WILLIAMSPORT — Senior Nolan Barger (Clearfield) has excelled in the classroom as well as on the mat during his four-year Lycoming wrestling career.
Just days after becoming the Warriors’ first three-time NCAA Division III All-American, Barger was named a National Wrestling Coaches Association Scholar All-American for the fourth year in a row, another first for the program.
To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must carry a cumulative Grade Point Average better than 3.20 or have earned a 3.20 GPA in the past two semesters and either win 66 percent of his matches, place in an NCAA regional tournament or qualify for the national championships.
Barger, a business marketing and finance major, was 36-8 with a team high 16 pins and placed sixth at 165 pounds at the NCAA Division III Tournament after losing in the finals of the Mideast Regional.
His career record of 138-28 ranks second all-time for wins, and his 47 falls also are second in Warrior history.
Senior 149-pounder Seth Lansberry (Line Mountain High School) and junior 174-pounder Brandon Conrad (Bloomsburg) also earned NWCA Scholar All-American honors.
Lycoming also returned to the NWCA Division III All-Academic Top 30 Teams List for the first time since 2009. The Warriors’ GPA ranked No. 29. It is calculated as an average of the top 14 student-athletes, with the first 10 being regional starters and the next four backups who competed in at least half of the team’s events.
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SOFTBALL
CLERMONT, Fla. — Junior right-hander Rachel Hoffman (Clearfield) was tagged with two tough losses in Clarion’s trip to the PFX Spring Games on Legends Way Ballfields at the National Training Center last week.
Against Fairmont (W.Va.) State Tuesday, she gave up a walk and a hit in the first inning and then set down the next 14 batters before issuing two walks and hitting a batter with one out in the sixth.
Paige Baker was called on to protect the Golden Eagles’ 2-0 lead, but a passed ball and a two-out error gave Fairmont a 3-2 win.
Hoffman came back Thursday with a route-going performance that Philadelphia University spoiled with three runs in the top of the 10th inning for a 6-3 victory. Clarion had erased one-run deficits three times, the first on Hoffman’s RBI single in the fourth inning.
Nine strikeouts highlighted Hoffman’s second complete game in seven starts, with three of Philadelphia’s runs unearned. She allowed one walk and nine hits.
Hoffman, who owns Clarion’s only win in 18 games, also was the losing pitcher in the week’s opener, a 5-0 blanking by Bridgeport (Conn.) State.
She has worked 40.2 innings with a 5.68 earned run average, 32 strikeouts and 18 walks.
Hoffman has four singles for a .190 batting average in 11 games, including seven starts in the circle and one as the designated player.
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WOMEN’S TRACK & FIELD
MOUNT OLIVE, N.C. — Senior Jessica Shomo (Clearfield) earned points in two events as Clarion opened the outdoor season with a fifth-place finish at the eight-team Mount Olive Trojan Invitational Friday.
Shomo placed eighth in the 100-meter dash in 12.74 seconds and sprinted the second leg for the 4×100 relay foursome that finished third in 39.09 seconds.
