Over the past week, Pennsylvania College of Technology archers finished 22nd in the USA Archery Collegiate Target Nationals, the men’s golf team finished 37th in the country in NCAA Division III and the Wildcats softball team claimed a conference championship to close out the competitive 2022-23 athletics year.
FLASHBACK
Archery
Competing Friday through Sunday in the season-ending USA Archery Collegiate Target Nationals at Statesboro, Georgia, three Penn College archery teams reached the quarterfinals and two individuals narrowly missed achieving All-American status, and overall the team was 22nd of 49.
In team competition:
- Men’s compound – Matthew Byrnes, Emery Gunsallus and Alex Edwards qualified seventh of nine with a score of 2,002 before losing in the quarterfinals to the University of the Cumberlands 234-222.
- Men’s fixed pins – Brady Fowkes, Jansen Balmer and Grant Walters qualified last in a field of 11 with a 1,466 before being eliminated by Michigan State in the quarterfinals 187-164.
- Mixed fixed pins – Fowkes and Alexis Burrell qualified eighth of 18 with a 1,249 score, drew a bye in the 1/16th round, defeated a team from James Madison University in the 1/8th round 148-129 and then lost in the quarterfinals to the University of the Cumberlands 145-139.
Fowkes missed the top 10 and coveted All-American honor by two places in the men’s fixed pins discipline and Byrnes missed in men’s compound by three places. Fowkes, however, was named to the All-American Academic Men’s Fixed Pins Team.
In All-American Archer of the Year honors, Byrnes was seventh and Edwards 28th in men’s compound and Fowkes was ninth and Balmer 36th in men’s fixed pins.
“We experienced some equipment issues due to travel that it seemed like it took all weekend to figure out,” coach Dustin Bartron said afterward.
Golf
Competing on Tuesday and Wednesday in the NCAA Division III Championship at Keene Trace Golf Club in Nicholasville, Kentucky, Penn College posted a 317-313–630 and finished 37th in an elite 43-team field. In all, 304 men’s golf teams compete in D-III.
Carnegie Mellon rallied on Friday to claim the overall team championship and Josh Hebrink, of Piedmont University, shot a final-round 66 to medal with a 281 after four rounds.
Leading the way individually for the Wildcats were Gavin Baer, of Bainbridge (77-77–154 tied 130); Peyton Mussina, of Montoursville (78-77–155 tied 141); Will Orwig, of Mifflintown (83-79–162 tied 189); Gunner Redmond, of Lock Haven (79-83–162 tied 189); and Trevor Keaton, of Worcester (88-80–168 tied 207 among 220 players who finished).
Fresh off the golf course himself on Sunday evening, where he shot rounds of 77 and 74 during a weekend tournament, coach Rob Lytle said of the NCAA Championship, “I wanted them to experience it. Were we all disappointed in the finish? Yes. But at the end of the day, it was what we wanted to do. It was what we needed to do, to go there and compete and play.
“There are some really good teams out there and some good players out there. Are we good enough to compete with them? We are. A lot of them get to play golf all year round, but we can play with them. I think it was a great opportunity for our team to see what kind of competition is out there. It’s going to help the players because it gives them the motivation to get back there. Next year is Las Vegas and that’s our goal.
“As a coach, I had to experience it for the first time like the kids did, and now I know what to expect, and my expectation is that I want to be back there next year.
“I am super proud of this team, and we are going to keep pushing forward. I want to continue the success for the college, for the kids and for the program. That’s my motivation every day.”
Softball
Top-seed Penn College went 2-0 – including a 1-0 win on Friday over St. Elizabeth University in its first game and a 6-0 win on Saturday over Marywood University in the second – to capture its first Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference Division III Softball Championship and complete a 31-10 season. The 31 wins is a program single-season record.
Against St. Elizabeth, hits and runs both were at a premium as the lone run scored in the bottom of the sixth when Maddie Hurst, of Mechanicsburg, singled, stole second, moved to third when Jordan Specht, of Frederick, Maryland, grounded out, and scored on a two-out wild pitch.
“We weren’t hitting the ball and she (Hurst) got on and it was a no-brainer that I was sending her. We had to make something happen in that moment,” coach Angela Stackhouse said.
In the circle, Mackenzie Weaver, of Montoursville, was magnificent for the Wildcats as she struck out 11 and walked none while giving up five hits in the seven-inning shutout while improving to 17-6.
“Between that moment (Hurst scoring) and Weaver pitching an absolute gem, that was the game,” Stackhouse said. “We went into that game thinking, this is the game we want to win because it immediately puts us in that championship game.
“It was a difficult win because we hadn’t seen live pitching in more than a week and our bats just weren’t going. Thankfully, Weaver turned it on and did what she always does, Maddie Hurst used her speed and that was it. We knew if we won that game, we were going to be in great shape because with the team that I have, it’s very difficult to beat us twice in a day.”
Lifetime, United East Conference regular-season champ Penn College now is 3-2 against St. Elizabeth as the two previously competed together in the North Eastern Athletic Conference in 2018 and 2019 before St. Elizabeth left for the Colonial States Athletic Conference, which it won this season. And next season they may meet again once the CSAC and UE complete their merger.
In Saturday’s title tilt, the Wildcats wasted no time getting on the scoreboard with a three-run first inning after Ivvy Morder, of Mechanicsburg, plated two runs with a single and Hailey DeBrody, of Cogan Station, drove in Morder with a single.
Penn College increased its lead to 6-0 with a three-run fourth as Specht singled in two runs and Lexi Snyder, of Hegins, plated one, and that’s how it ended as Weaver twirled a five-hitter, striking out five and recording her second shutout in as many days. For her efforts, Weaver (18-6) was named the tournament MVP.
“With us putting up three runs right away and having Weaver on the mound with her ERA, it eased everybody’s mind and put us in a very comfortable position for the rest of the game,” Stackhouse said.
Winning the tournament, Stackhouse said, “meant we could go out the right way, the way we wanted to; send our seniors off under a championship banner with a win and allowing the body of work that we did all season makes it feel all worthwhile.
“We look to keep moving forward with the program. Every year seems to get a little bit better and we keep putting ourselves in these (playoff) situations, so hopefully, it will continue to pay off in the future. That’s the plan.”
Baseball reflections
Reflecting on the accomplishments of his team throughout the season and its second-place finish April 13 in the UE, coach Chris Howard offered the following comments:
Going back to his team’s May 11 UE first-game slugfest against Abington (16-14 loss), the team had a lot of hits and had some great scoring opportunities that it couldn’t take advantage of as it left the bases loaded twice and left two on twice –
Howard: The first game with Abington was a tough loss because I feel like we missed so many opportunities. What was encouraging, though, was how well we hit the ball and scored runs despite leaving so many men on base. I think we all felt confident after that game that we could get the job done; we just needed to step up.
Facing elimination May 12 against Lancaster Bible College, you trailed 4-0 before Quinn Hanafin, of Sayre, and Tristan Current, of Reinholds, got hot at the plate and the pitching settled down for a 14-4 win to stay alive –
Howard: One of the things we talked about after the Abington game was who was going to be the person to step up big for us when we needed it the most. Quinn Hanafin is one of the best hitters in this conference, hands down. When he is swinging a hot bat, we are just a really good offensive team. When he hit the three-run home run to put us ahead, it was what we needed to get everyone going. That was as big a hit as we had all year. From that point on, we played with a lot of confidence.
Up against Abington that Friday afternoon with your backs to the wall again, Current and Hanafin continued their red-hot days (Hanafin ended the day with nine RBIs) and you got great relief pitching from Zac Weaver, of Pottstown, in a 10-7 win that avenged the opening loss –
Howard: Tristan’s home run to put us up 3-1 was one of those hits that got everyone relaxed and focused on winning. Hanafin stayed hot and just hammered his next two home runs. Even when Abington came back and tied the game, we felt like we were in control. Zac Weaver pitched lights out for three innings when we needed him the most. The home run Hanafin hit to break the 7-7 tie was as clutch as it gets. The young man can swing the bat!
That set you up for a return to the May 13 championship game, but to get there, you had used a lot of pitchers. Despite that, you got off to a 5-1 lead against the conference’s two-time champ before Harrisburg pulled away for its title –
Howard: There’s no doubt that it was going to be a tall task to beat Harrisburg two in a row considering the pitching situation we were in, but I feel like we thought and really believed that we could do it. When we went up 5-1, we were confident. Harrisburg is a really good ball club and just kept at us. They have a really good offensive squad and were just too much for our depleted and tired pitching staff. It is tough to come up through the loser’s bracket (as it should be), and we just didn’t have enough firepower to get the job done.
Before the week was over, you had all-conference players in Brian Robison, of Quakertown; Jacob Carles, of Bernville; Chance Webb, of Hughesville, and Weaver –
Howard: Brian Robison has been the backbone of our team for three years. His outstanding defense at shortstop and his breakout year offensively were a big reason we were playing in the championship game. He’s a great player, a good teammate and even a better person.
Jake Carles was a fantastic player for us during his career, a four-time all-conference player who deserved all the accolades he got. He was the first person in program history to collect 200 career hits and will go down as one of the best players in program history.
Chance Webb is the epitome of toughness. He went out on the mound every time and gave you everything he had. I was so happy that he was recognized by the conference as one of its best pitchers because there is no doubt he was.
Zac Weaver is just getting started. He stepped up all season out of the pen and also as a starter. He will no doubt come in next year as our probable number-one guy in the rotation.
You were honored as Coach of the Year –
Howard: A Coach of the Year award is about the players and the coaching staff. Both of them were exceptional! I was lucky enough to be able to hop on the train and enjoy the ride all season long.
You finished second in the regular season and second in the postseason –
Howard: (That) wasn’t what we were shooting for, but we have nothing to hang our heads about. It was a great year with a great group of young men.
SCHEDULES/RECORDS
Archery
Friday-Sunday, May 19-21 – USA Archery Collegiate Target Nationals at Statesboro, Ga., 22 of 49
Golf
Tuesday-Friday, May 16-19 – NCAA Division III Championships at Keene Trace Golf Club in Nicholasville, Ky., 37 of 43
Softball
Overall: 31-10
Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference
Division III Championship
(All games at Marywood University, Scranton)
Friday, May 19 – St. Elizabeth University (26-12) vs. Marywood University (26-16), St. Elizabeth W, 5-2
Friday, May 19 – Penn College (29-10) vs. St. Elizabeth University (27-12), Penn College W, 1-0
Friday, May 19 – Marywood University (26-17) vs. St. Elizabeth University (27-13), Marywood W, 2-1
Saturday, May 20 – Championship; Penn College (31-10) vs. Marywood University (27-18), Penn College W, 6-0
For more about the United East, visit the conference website .
For additional information, visit the Wildcats Athletics website .
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