It was a banner weekend for a number of former District 9 and District 10 athletes at the college, headlined by several conference champions.
Here’s a look at the highlights.
PREP GRAD STAROCCI WINS BIG 10 TITLE; NITTANY LIONS TAKE TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP
Starooci the No. 1 ranked wrestler at 174, beat Nebraska’s Mike Labriola, 6-1, to win his second consecutive Big Ten crown. He will enter the NCAA championships with a 19-0 record.
Penn State won the team race with 147.0 points, ahead of second-place Iowa’s 134.5. Penn State also qualified nine individuals for the 2023 NCAA Championships in two weeks.
PUNXSUTAWNEY ALUM LINGENFELTER SETS PENN STATE SOFTBALL SINGLE-GAME STRIKEOUT RECORD
Penn State Softball won both games against Delaware (11-1) and Norfolk State (8-1) on Saturday, highlighted by a 17-strikeout performance from Punxsutawney graduate Kylee Lingenfelter in game two against Norfolk State.
Lingenfelter, who broke the program record for strikeouts in one performance with 17, pitched seven innings allowing one earned run, three hits, and two walks against the Spartans. Lingenfelter allowed just a single run in the first inning in Penn State’s 8-1 win.
CATHEDRAL PREP GRAD JOHNSON WINS BIG 12 WRESTLING TITLE FOR IOWA STATE
Paniro Johnson won his first conference title, taking the crown at 149 pounds.
Johnson won his rematch over top-seeded Brock Mauller, 10-4, thanks to three takedowns, including a feet-to-back toss for a pair of near fall points as time expired in the match. Johnson, a freshman, is Iowa State’s first Big 12 Champion at 149 pounds is the 24th wrestler in Big 12 history to win a title as the No. 3 seed or worse.
Iowa State finished third in the team race with 131 points behind Oklahoma State (134) and Missouri (148), which wrapped up its second consecutive team championship.
IUP LED BY PORTERFIELD, MORRIS, WIN PSAC MEN’S BASKETBALL TITLE
Sharon grad Ethan Porterfield and Strong Vincent alum Dave Morris had 18 and 12 points respectively to lead IUP to its fourth consecutive PSAC title, 54-53 over Mercyhurst.
Porterfield was named tournament MVP for his efforts.
PSAC Tournament MVP Ethan Porterfield.
IUP will be joined in the NCAA Tournament by Mercyhurst, Pitt-Johnstown, and East Stroudsburg.
On the women’s side, PSAC champion California will be joined in the NCAA Tournament by Gannon, West Chester and Shippensburg.
REYNOLDS ALUM MATTHEWS WINS ACC WRESTLING TITLE FOR PITT
Reynolds alum Cole Matthews won his second-straight ACC title for the Panthers, taking first at 141.
Matthews beat Virginia Tech’s Tom Crook in the semifinals, 6-3, and followed that up with a win over NC State’s Ryan Jack in the finals, 2-1.
DUBOIS GRAD SCOTT QUALIFIES FOR NCAA WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIP FOR NC STATE
DuBois grad Ed Scott finished third at 157 pounds at the ACC championships, qualifying for the NCAA championships.
Scott helped lead the Wolfpack to their fifth straight NCAA team title in the process.
PITT-JOHNSTOWN WINS PSAC WRESTLING TITLE
The Pitt-Johnstown Mountain Cats won their second straight and 25th overall NCAA Division II Super Region 1 title with four champions and a total of eight national qualifiers, Saturday evening in East Stroudsburg.
Pitt-Johnstown won the team title with 148.0 points, followed by Gannon with 134.0 points as the runners-up. Mercyhurst (109.5 pts.), Kutztown (77.5 pts.) and Millersville (71 pts.) rounded out the top-5 in the 11-team field.
For the Mountain Cats, Trevon Gray (125 lbs.), Jacob Ealy (149 lbs.), Nate Smith (157 lbs.), and Brock Biddle (184 lbs.) all won individual titles, while four others placed top three in their weight class to qualify for the National Championships. At Nationals, Ealy will be the top seed in his weight class.
GM GRAD LAIRD WINS MAC WRESTLING TITLE FOR RIDER, LOCK HAVEN CLAIMS TEAM TITLE
For the first time in his career, General McLane grad Ethan Laird won a Mid-American Conference Champion at 197 pounds.
Laird was able to keep rolling through the MAC as he defeated Carston Brewer of Ohio 8-4 in the championships to qualify for his fourth NCAA Tournament and his third at 197. Laird now sits at 24-1 entering his fourth NCAA Championship after picking up the lone auto bid at 197 at the MAC Championships.
The reigning champions will bring the MAC team trophy The Haven. Buoyed by two individual champions and seven total place winners the Bald Eagles tallied 112.5 points, edging out Central Michigan’s 110. The Bald Eagles have now won the team title in two of four years since their introduction to the MAC in 2019.
CLEARFIELD GRAD HIPPS GOES TO 3-0 IN THE CIRCLE FOR CLARION SOFTBALL
Emma Hipps allowed three first-inning runs but was nearly perfect after that, tossing a complete game in Clarion’s 6-3 win over Saint Anselm.
Hipps allowed eight hits, struck out nine and walked two in the win to improve her overall record to 3-0. The Golden Eagles are 5-5 overall.
