The Varsity Blog

Quick picks for D11 baseball quarterfinals

Stephen Miller — Wed, 22 May 2013 19:13:04 GMT

As long as the thunderstorms stay away, the District 11 baseball tournament will be down to its final four in all four classifications after today.

Here's my best guess at who will still be playing Friday in the three biggest classifications.

Class 4A

Whitehall over Freedom: The Zephyrs may be the most complete team in the 4A bracket. They will benefit from their time off.

Emmaus over Stroudsburg: Stroudsburg should be smarting after missing out on a third straight Mountain Valley Conference title last week. The Mounties won't make it easy, but the Green Hornets will survive.

Pocono Mountain East over Pleasant Valley: Pocono Mountain East played like the MVC favorite it was billed as before this season when it won the league title last week. It will take out the Bears again today.

Parkland over Liberty: Parkland has had more consistent pitching, and that will be the difference in this rematch of an LVC semifinal.

Class 3A

Lehighton over Northwestern: Northwestern beat the Indians 5-4 when the teams played during the regular season, but Lehighton will turn the tables this time.

Southern Lehigh over Blue Mountain: Just a hunch, but I'm looking for the Spartans to rebound from losing to Salisbury in the Colonial League final.

Class 2A

Pine Grove over Catasauqua: Catasauqua has struggled with consistency this season, making me lean toward the Cardinals.

North Schuylkill over Minersville: I'll take the higher-seeded team since I haven't had a chance to watch either team this season.

Notre Dame-GP over Pen Argyl: The Crusaders have been the better team this season, and I'm counting on that to continue.

Four-time Olympian coming to Easton

Tom Housenick — Wed, 22 May 2013 14:46:06 GMT

Easton High School is hosting a track & field camp for boys and girls ages 7 to 17, from July 15-19 with a very special guest.

Four-time Olympian Joetta Clark Diggs (1988, 1992, 1996, 2000), a New Jersey native, will conduct the event along with other technique specialists.

Specific training includes distance running, conditioning and track & field events, with Olympian and certified coaches in speed and agility, long, high and triple jumps, sprints/hurdles, middle distanced and distance.

The camp runs from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. each day. Non-refundable Registration is required. Cost is $75. There is limited space. For an application, visit www.joettasportsandbeyond.com, or call (484) 851-3148. Applications should be received by July 8. Make checks payable to Joetta Sports & Beyond, P.O. Box 6262, Hillsborough, N.J. 08844.

Email questions to Joettaevents@yahoo.com.

There will be free snacks, fruit, drinks, T-shirts and gifts.

Hightower helps put Rider win MAAC track title

Tom Housenick — Wed, 22 May 2013 14:18:03 GMT

Easton High graduate David Hightower recently took home two gold medals to help the Rider men’s track and field team win the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference outdoor track and field championship.

The senior won the 110 hurdlers in an IC4A qualifying time and established a new meet record with a time of 14.24. He also ran a leg on the victorious 400 relay team, which finished in 42.08. And the Easton resident was fourth in the 200, running a 22.48.

The Rider men finished with 242 points, knocking off defending champs Manhattan (185 points).

3 locals among 10 KU all-regional athletes

Tom Housenick — Tue, 21 May 2013 20:17:06 GMT

Three local products are among the 10 Kutztown University men's and women's track and field athletes named to the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) All-Atlantic Region team.

For the men, junior steeplechaser Zach Fleming (Northern Lehigh grad), junior pole vaulter Lanny Buck (Palmerton grad), senior hurdler Kori Meshaw and senior thrower Michael Stramara earned all-region accolades from the coaches association.

For the women, junior thrower Rosie Farrell (Freedom grad), senior runner Stephanie Borland, senior thrower April Doyle, freshman jumper Katie Catania, junior jumper Rachel Eshleman and freshman pole vaulter Emma Sullivan also earned all-region honors.

Of the 10 all-region candidates, five will be competing at the NCAA National Championships this week.

Meshaw repeats as an all-region performer after achieving All-America status last season in the 400m hurdles. The senior is a three-time conference champion in the 400m hurdles and was named the Men's Track Most Valuable Player for his performance at this year's Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Outdoor Championships. He won the race in 51.89 seconds in a career-best time and the ninth fastest time in Division II this season to improve his second place mark on Kutztown's all-time list.

Fleming finished second with a career-best performance in the 3000m steeplechase at the conference championships for his first career all-region honor in the outdoor season. With his NCAA provisional time of 9:11.04, he moves up to second on Kutztown's Top 10 list in the event.

Buck is a two-time all-region performer after earning recognition in his freshman season in 2011. He finished second overall at the PSAC Championships and cleared a mark of 15-07.25 (4.76m) to earn All-PSAC recognition. His top mark this year is 16-4.75, good for third in KU history and 14th in Division II this season.

Farrell won her first PSAC Championship and first all-region award this season. She won the conference championships in the hammer throw with a stadium-record toss of 180-03 (54.93m). It moved her up to second all-time in Kutztown history and ranks 12th in Division II this season.

Stramara collects the first all-region honor of his career. He finished with the 38th best mark in the hammer throw this season and threw a season-best mark of 178-10 (54.51m) at Richmond's Fred Hardy Invite.

Eshleman is a two-time all-region selection after earning the accolade in her freshman season in 2011. She broke her own school-record at the PSAC Championships which she set earlier this season. Eshleman cleared 5-8 (1.73m) to finish first overall for her first PSAC Championship in her third year in the Maroon and Gold. Her mark is the 10th highest in Division II this season.

Catania won what could be the first of many PSAC Championships of her young career. Just a freshman, Catania already owns the school-record in the event of 5.93m, which rates 17th in Division II.

Borland brings home her first outdoor all-region honor and earned All-PSAC honors and finished second in the 1500 in 4:37.60. Borland also finished second in the finals of the 800m at the PSAC Championships with her time of 2:16.54.

Doyle is now a four-time all-region selection in the outdoor shot put. She also earned all-region honors in the two events last season. She earned her eighth shot put title (four indoor, four outdoor) of her career, a mark that has never been done before by a female in PSAC history. Not only did she win the shot put, she set the stadium-record for her mark of 45-5 (13.84m) and broke her previous stadium record she set last season. Doyle followed Farrell in the hammer throw by finishing second overall in an NCAA provisional mark of 171-00 (52.15m).

Sullivan earned all-region honors in her freshman season after she broke the school-record in the finals of the pole vault as she earned All-PSAC honors by finishing third overall. She vaulted an NCAA Provisional mark of 12-01.25 (3.69m) to set the record by more than two inches.

ESU's Tholis honored by USTFCCCA

Tom Housenick — Tue, 21 May 2013 20:10:21 GMT

East Stroudsburg University senior Matt Tholis has been named the Division II Atlantic Region Men’s Field Athlete of the Year by the USTFCCCA (U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association).

Tholis has the No. 3 mark in Division II in the javelin entering this week’s NCAA Championships, which are Thursday through Saturday at Colorado State-Pueblo.

Tholis hit his career best and school record mark of 226-5 at Lafayette on March 30, part of a season in which he won the PSAC championship at 223-10 and is pursuing his second straight All-America honor after finishing seventh in the nation last spring.

He has hit three NCAA automatic qualifying marks this year and six straight marks of at least 210-0 entering the NCAA Championships. After opening with 197-4 at Washington & Lee, he had his throw of 226-5 at Lafayette, followed by 222-1 at Millersville, 210-0 at Bucknell, 216-2 at ESU’s All-American Meet and 213-11 at the Penn Relays.

Tholis, an exercise science major, transferred to ESU from Rowan after qualifying for the NCAA Division III Championships in 2010.

ESU alumnus Quanette (Jester) Ford also earned USTFCCCA honors as the Atlantic Region Women’s Assistant Coach of the Year. Ford, in her second year at Lincoln (Pa.), coached her women’s jumpers to 33 points at the CIAA Championships and had two CIAA champions and NCAA provisional qualifiers in Diane Lindsey (long jump) and Morgan Heath (high jump).

Jester was the PSAC champion in the triple jump in 1998 and still holds ESU records in the triple jump both indoors (37-7) and outdoors (39-5 3/4).

A look at the D11 baseball schedule

Stephen Miller — Tue, 21 May 2013 18:39:16 GMT

District 11 has its plans in place for the entirety of its baseball tournament.

Allen athletic director and District 11 baseball chairman Scott Cooperman said via email this afternoon that Friday's district semifinals are still scheduled to be played in doubleheaders at four sites. The Class 4A semifinals are at Hackett Park, Class 3A are at Parkland, Class 2A are at Limeport Stadium and Class A are at Pine Grove. One school may have a conflict if it advances past Wednesday's quarterfinals, but the doubleheader plan is staying in place for now.

The plan for the district finals is for the Class A and Class 3A championships to be held in a Tuesday, May 28 doubleheader at Coca-Cola Park (4:30 p.m./7 p.m.). Class 2A and Class 4A are scheduled for Wednesday, May 29 (4:30 p.m./7 p.m.) at Coca-Cola Park.

The full brackets for the District 11 tournament can be found on the district website. I'll have my picks for Wednesday's quarterfinals tomorrow.

ESU sending 5 to NCAA D2 track championships

Tom Housenick — Tue, 21 May 2013 13:00:00 GMT

Five East Stroudsburg University athletes will pursue All-America status, including a pair of seniors who will look for their second citations in the men’s javelin, at the NCAA Division II Track & Field Championships, which begin Thursday at Colorado State-Pueblo.

Senior Matt Tholis, ranked No. 3 in the javelin and a 2012 All-American, and redshirt senior Josh Hontz, a Jim Thorpe High School graduate ranked No. 9 and the 2011 national runner-up in 2011, lead the Warriors’ five participants.

Senior Corinne Fitzgerald is making her third consecutive NCAA appearance in the 3000-meter steeplechase and two Warriors will make their first trip to the NCAAs: sophomore Travis Toth in the hammer and freshman Seth Bailey in the high jump.

The top eight finishers in each event will earn All-America honors.

ESU will have at least one athlete in action on all three days, beginning Thursday with Toth in the hammer and Fitzgerald in the prelims of the 3000m steeplechase. On Friday, Bailey competes in the high jump and Fitzgerald will hope to be included in the steeplechase final. Tholis and Hontz finish the weekend in the javelin on Saturday.

Tholis and Hontz are the 6th set of ESU teammates to qualify in the men’s javelin (also 1988, 1992, 2003, 2004, 2009) … they give ESU at least one entry in the men’s javelin for the 8th consecutive year, and 13th time in 14 years … will aim to become the 4th and 5th multiple-time All-Americans in men’s javelin, joining Ed Long (1971-72), Mike Revenis (1981-82) and Barry Krammes (2002-03) … ESU has had multiple All-Americans in the same event just once - 1992, when Lance Branyan was 4th and Al Yackenchick was 6th in the men’s javelin.

Hontz hit a provisional mark of 209-5 (9th in DII) to finish 3rd at PSAC Championships on May 11 … had previous provisional mark of 207-8 … NCAA DII runner-up as a junior in 2011 with mark of 225-4 (was school record) … NCAA qualifier as a sophomore in 2010, finishing 13th … was 2011 PSAC champion at 222-8.

PIAA track weather, time slate for area athletes

Tom Housenick — Tue, 21 May 2013 12:00:00 GMT

It has been a brutal spring weather wise.

However, comfortable, dry conditions could be the light at the end of the tunnel for the PIAA Track & Field Championships, which are Friday and Saturday at Shippensburg University.

According to weather.com, temperatures both days will top off around 70 degrees under partly sunny skies with only a slight chance of a shower.

Below is a schedule of events for this weekend’s state meet, with a list of participating locals.

PIAA TRACK & FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS

At Seth Grove Stadium, Shippensburg University

FRIDAY

On the track

Preliminaries

3,200 RELAY, 9 a.m.

Class 2A girls

Notre Dame-GP

Saucon Valley

Class 3A girls

Northwestern

Parkland

Class 3A boys

Parkland

Whitehall

GIRLS 100 HURDLES, 10:30

Class 2A

Alexa Rossi, Palisades

Carla Dutt, Wilson

Class 3A

Ramonia Benitez, Pocono Mountain West

Maria Justus, Emmaus

Alyssa Kresge, Nazareth

BOYS 110 HURDLES, 11

Class 2A

Austin Shupp, Palmerton

Austin Weiss, Northwestern

Class 3A

Tyler Horton, Bethlehem Catholic

Eric Hertzog, Tamaqua

Carter Taylor, Nazareth

Freddie Simmons, Bethlehem Catholic

100 DASH, 11:30

Class 2A girls

Mary Ramsden, Palisades

Danielle Gehman, Palisades

Class 3A girls

Jody-Ann Evans, Quakertown

Kiana Farrar, Easton

Lauren Channer, East Stroudsburg South

As-sata Hall, East Stroudsburg North

Class 2A boys

Chris Bruno, Marian Catholic

Class 3A boys

Demetrius Lanier, East Stroudsburg South

Keyautay Aulder, Stroudsburg

Shakur Lester, Dieruff

1,600 RUN, noon

Class 2A girls

Sydney Brannon, Wilson

Katie Downing, Notre Dame-GP

Class 3A girls

Marissa Sheva, Pennridge

Caitlyn Sheva, Pennridge

Haley Yost, Northwestern

Rachele Cerrone, Northwestern

Class 2A boys

Anthony Brinkley, Catasauqua

Class 3A boys

Colin Abert, Easton

John Wathen, Pleasant Valley

400 DASH, 1 p.m.

Class 2A girls

Anna Robinson, Palisades

Lindsay Bauer, Salisbury

Class 3A girls

Jess Pereira, Palmerton

Allyson Stitzer, Nazareth

Class 2A boys

Caleb Johnson, Northern Lehigh

Nico Agosti, Marian Catholic

Class 3A boys

Donovan McDonald, Stroudsburg

Collin Bergy, Southern Lehigh

400 RELAY, 2

Class 2A girls

Palisades

Wilson

Class 3A girls

Pennridge

Easton

Pocono Mountain West

Emmaus

Palmerton

Class 2A boys

Northwestern

Palmerton

Class 3A boys

East Stroudsburg South

Stroudsburg

Liberty

300 HURDLES, 3

Class 2A girls

Wilson’s Carla Dutt, Wilson

Marian Catholic’s Christy Digiandomenico

Class 3A girls

Lexi Reightler, Bethlehem Catholic

Emmy Geis, Central Catholic

Class 2A boys

Austin Shupp, Palmerton

Class 3A boys

Tyler Horton, Bethlehem Catholic

Carter Taylor, Nazareth

Colby Trauger, Pennridge

Freddie Simmons, Bethlehem Catholic

Ishmael Wright, Quakertown

Andrew McFarland, Nazareth

800 RUN, 3:30

Class 2A girls

Christina Scartelli, Notre Dame-GP

Chelsea Frantz, Tamaqua

Class 3A girls

Hanna Brosky, Emmaus

Kiana Tucker, Stroudsburg

Angela Stella, Whitehall

Class 2A boys

Anthony Brinkley, Catasauqua

Class 3A boys

Joey Logue, Pennridge

Michael Kopach, Nazareth

Jarret Palmer, Stroudsburg

200 DASH, 4

Class 2A girls

Mary Ramsden, Palisades

Lindsay Bauer, Salisbury

Class 3A girls

Jody-Ann Evans, Quakertown

Kiana Farrar, Easton

Taylor Chapman, Pennridge

Lauren Channer, East Stroudsburg South

Class 2A boys

Caleb Johnson, Northern Lehigh

Cam Richardson, Northwestern

Nico Agosti, Marian Catholic

Class 3A boys

Demetrius Lanier, East Stroudsburg South

Donovan McDonald, Stroudsburg

1,600 RELAY, 4:30

Class 2A girls

Notre Dame-GP

Palisades

Class 3A girls

Bethlehem Catholic

Stroudsburg

Class 2A boys

Marian Catholic

Palmerton

Class 3A boys

Pennridge

Nazareth

Bethlehem Catholic

In the field

CLASS 2A GIRLS POLE VAULT, 9 a.m.

Kaitlyn Toman, Salisbury

Alexa Rossi, Palisades

CLASS 2A GIRLS LONG JUMP, 9

Maria Streisel, Tamaqua

Lindsay Bauer, Salisbury

CLASS 3A GIRLS HIGH JUMP, 9

Casey Harewood, Liberty

Lauryn Solt, Palmerton

Naomi Jiminez, Pocono Mountain West

CLASS 3A GIRLS SHOT PUT, 9

Gracie Hargrove, Liberty

Gwen Remaley, Lehighton

Jocelen Ruth, Kutztown

CLASS 2A BOYS TRIPLE JUMP, 9

Dan Reichenbach, Salisbury

Jarred Sacks, Palmerton

Dan Stola, Notre Dame-GP

CLASS 2A BOYS JAVELIN, 9

Austin Bartholomew, Salisbury

Corry Quick, Marian Catholic

CLASS 3A BOYS DISCUS, 9

Bryan Pearson, Bangor

Shawn Green, Bangor

CLASS 2A GIRLS HIGH JUMP, 12:30 p.m.

Holly Szita, Salisbury

Mary Paige Nesfeder, Notre Dame-GP

CLASS 2A GIRLS DISCUS, 12:30

Mary Paige Nesfeder, Notre Dame-GP

CLASS 3A GIRLS LONG JUMP, 12:30

Ariana Przybylowski, Pennridge

Jordan Luciano, Easton

Kaitlyn Remely, Nazareth

Aspen Gaita, Stroudsburg

CLASS 3A GIRLS JAVELIN, 12:30

Ella Fox, Pennridge

Sarah Keer, Lehighton

Jasmine Vass, Bangor

CLASS 2A BOYS POLE VAULT, 12:30

Dylan Bonge, Salisbury

Darris Rodrigues, Palmerton

CLASS 2A BOYS SHOT PUT, 12:30

John Snyder, Palmerton

CLASS 3A BOYS TRIPLE JUMP, 12:30

David Clowney, Stroudsburg

Javante Tooley, Wilson

Jryi Davis, Bangor

SATURDAY

On the track

Semifinals

Class 2A-3A girls 100 hurdles, 10 a.m.

Class 2A-3A boys 110 hurdles, 10:15

All classes 100 dash, 10:30

All classes 200 dash, 11:30

Finals

3,200 RUN, 9 a.m.

Class 2A girls

Elizabeth Chikotas, Saucon Valley

Sydney Brannon, Wilson

Class 3A girls

Mikayla Stoudt, Parkland

Class 2A boys

Tyler Stelmack, Northwestern

Class 3A boys

Alec Lederer, Northampton

Wade White, Bangor

All classes 3,200 relay, 10:45

Class 2A-3A girls, 100 hurdles, noon

Class 2A-3A boys 110 hurdles, 12:10 p.m.

All classes 100 dash, 12:15

All classes 1,600 run, 12:30

All classes 400 dash, 1

All classes 400 relay, 1:15

All classes 300 hurdles, 1:30

All classes 800 run, 1:45

All classes 200 dash, 2

All classes 1,600 relay, 2:30

In the field

(all events are finals)

Event, Time

CLASS 2A GIRLS TRIPLE JUMP, 9 a.m.

Carli Swiatek, Wilson

Jessica Olewine, Northern Lehigh

CLASS 2A GIRLS JAVELIN, 9

Christine Streisel, Tamaqua

Paige Demetriades, Tamaqua

CLASS 3A GIRLS POLE VAULT, 9

Mara Blanchard, Bethlehem Catholic

Taylor Sullivan, Stroudsburg

CLASS 2A BOYS LONG JUMP, 9

Dan Reichenbach, Salisbury

Class 2A BOYS DISCUS, 9

Alex Partington, Northwestern

CLASS 3A BOYS HIGH JUMP, 9

Donovan Clay, Stroudsburg

Griffin Schwab, Nazareth

Scott Schlegel, Emmaus

Ishmael Wright, Quakertown

CLASS 3A BOYS SHOT PUT, 9

Kory DeCesaris, Northampton

Bryan Pearson, Bangor

CLASS 2A GIRLS SHOT PUT, 12:30 p.m.

Christine Streisel, Tamaqua

Amanda Solt, Tamaqua

CLASS 3A GIRLS TRIPLE JUMP, 12:30

Ramonia Benitez, Pocono Mountain West

Kelly Robertson, Parkland

CLASS 3A GIRLS DISCUS, 12:30

Jocelen Ruth, Kutztown

Oksana Wittbrodt, Parkland

Gracie Hargrove, Liberty

CLASS 2A BOYS HIGH JUMP, 12:30

Reggie Carter, Notre Dame-GP

Brad Ehret, Palmerton

CLASS 3A BOYS POLE VAULT, 12:30

Joe Fogle, Pocono Mountain East

Jack Walton, Parkland

CLASS 3A BOYS LONG JUMP, 12:30

Nolan Hay, Parkland

Alize Graham, East Stroudsburg North

Prentice Sprewell, Stroudsburg

Nick Stenderowicz, Pennridge

Javante Tooley, Wilson

Zach Dillon, East Stroudsburg North

CLASS 3A BOYS JAVELIN, 12:30

Tyler Hope, Tamaqua

Stephen Laird, Parkland

ESU has 10 on USTFCCCA all-regional team

Tom Housenick — Mon, 20 May 2013 18:02:35 GMT

Senior Matt Tholis, who is third in the nation in the men’s javelin entering next week’s NCAA Division II Championships, leads 10 East Stroudsburg University athletes on the USTFCCCA (United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association) All-Atlantic Region team for the 2013 outdoor track and field season.

The top five athletes from each region in individual events and each member of a relay ranked in the region's top three are granted All-Region distinction. A total of 1,283 athletes in Division II are members of this year's outdoor class, accounting for 1,836 performances. There were 1,061 athletes recognized during the indoor season.

The Warriors are represented by two women in senior Corinne Fitzgerald (3000m steeplechase) and senior Aniyah Williams (heptathlon) and eight men - senior Frank Fezza (10,000m), senior James Romano (3000m steeplechase), freshman Seth Bailey (high jump), sophomore Travis Toth (hammer), redshirt senior Josh Hontz (javelin), Tholis (javelin), freshman Eric Conard (decathlon) and senior Andrew Sloves (decathlon).

Two athletes are on the team for the third time in Fitzgerald in the steeplechase and Toth, who was recognized in the hammer as a freshman in 2012 and the weight throw during the indoor season.

Tholis and Hontz, a Jim Thorpe High School graduate, are looking for their second All-America honors Saturday at the NCAA Championships at Colorado-Pueblo. They are recognized for a second time. Tholis was on the team last year, and Hontz was mentioned in 2011 before taking a redshirt last year.

They will be joined by Fitzgerald, who is making her third NCAA trip in the steeplechase, Bailey and Toth.

Tholis and Bailey were crowned PSAC champions in their respective events last week at Millersville, and Fezza was the conference champion in the 1500m

Corinne Fitzgerald (3000m Steeplechase) - 10:37.95, Penn Relays, school record (7th in DII, finished 2nd in PSAC)

Aniyah Williams (Heptathlon) - 4461 points, PSAC Championships (finished 3rd in PSAC)

Frank Fezza (10,000m) - 30:16.22, Penn Relays, school record (PSAC champion in 1500m)

James Romano (3000m Steeplechase) - 9:15.30, Penn Relays (finished 8th in PSAC)

Seth Bailey (High Jump) - 6-10 1/4, PSAC Championships (t-14th in DII, PSAC champion)

Travis Toth (Hammer) - 192-8, Millersville Metrics (13th in DII, finished 2nd in PSAC)

Josh Hontz (Javelin) - 209-5, PSAC Championships (9th in DII, finished 3rd in PSAC)

Matt Tholis (Javelin) - 226-5, Lafayette (3rd in DII, PSAC champion at 223-11)

Eric Conard (Decathlon) - 5979 points, PSAC Championships (finished 4th in PSAC)

Andrew Sloves (Decathlon) - 6229 points, PSAC Championships ( finished 2nd in PSAC)

Moravian sending 6 to NCAA D3 track event

Tom Housenick — Mon, 20 May 2013 15:42:58 GMT

Moravian is sending six athletes to the NCAA Division III Track & Field Championships at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, which are May 23-26.

They are: junior Timothy Lorah, javelin; senior Travis King and junior Kristopher Joint (a Parkland High graduate), triple jump; senior Micah Leonard, triple jump; sophomore Hailey Kester (Salisbury product), pole vault; and sophomore Brielle Sutter, 400.

Kester is making her first trip to the NCAA Championships to compete in the pole vault. Kester enters the meet tied for 13th with a career best height of 3.71 meters (15 feet, 5 ½ inches). She'll be competing Thursday at 3:40 p.m.

Joint is making his second trip to nationals this year after earning All-America honors in the long jump indoors back in March with a sixth place finish. He has the fifth-best qualifying mark and a school and Landmark Conference record leap of 14.76 meters (48 feet, 5 ¼ inches). He'll compete Saturday at 12:35 p.m.

Bauer power headed to NCAA D3 nationals

Tom Housenick — Mon, 20 May 2013 15:35:13 GMT

Northampton High School graduate Tyler Bauer is headed to Wisconsin-La Crosse this weekend for the NCAA Division III Track & Field Championships.

The Muhlenberg College sophomore is seeded 10th of 20 competitors in the javelin competition, which is Saturday afternoon.

Bauer, a two-time Centennial Conference champion, is making his first NCAA appearance. His career-best throw of 209 feet, 3 inches, is a school record.

The pre-med major is the first national qualifier in a field event from the men’s team since 2002.

He also is the first Muhlenberg male to qualify for NCAAs as a sophomore since 2003.

He is coached by Mules assistant Andy Fahringer, a Whitehall and University of Virginia graduate.

PIAA track seeds for all area athletes

Tom Housenick — Mon, 20 May 2013 11:00:00 GMT

Saucon Valley’s Elizabeth Chikotas, Bangor’s Bryan Pearson, East Stroudsburg South’s Demetrius Lanier, Salisbury’s Dan Reichenbach, Quakertown’s Jody-Ann Evans and North Schuylkill’s Carter Green all share the same accomplishment.

They are top seeds for the PIAA Track & Field Championships, which are Friday and Saturday at Shippensburg University’s Seth Grove Stadium.

Evans is tops in the 3A girls 100 and 200. Chikotas is first in the 2A girls 3,200. Pearson is first in the 3A boys discus. Lanier leads the 3A boys 100 pack. Reichenbach is No. 1 in the 2A triple jump. Green leads the 2A girls discus by a mile.

Parkland’s Nolan Hay (3A boys long jump), North Schuylkill’s Brendan Shearn (2A 3,200) and Christine Streisel (2A javelin) are seeded second.

Pennridge boys 1,600 relay team is seeded second in 3A as District One has the top seven seed times in the event.

Pennridge girls 400 relay is second in 3A.

Palmerton’s Austin Shupp (2A 300 hurdles), Notre Dame’s Reggie Carter (2A high jump) and Streisel (2A shot put) posted the third-best performances from last weekend’s district competitions.

Below is the list of all area qualifying athletes with their seed and state qualifying times/distances.

BOYS

CLASS 3A

100 (27 boys)

1. Demetrius Lanier, East Stroudsburg South, 10.82

4. Keyautay Aulder, Stroudsburg, 10.93

13. Shakur Lester, Dieruff, 11.02

200 (26 boys)

9. Demetrius Lanier, East Stroudsburg South, 22.17

20. Donovan McDonald, Stroudsburg, 22.66

400 (29 boys)

24. Donovan McDonald, Stroudsburg, 50.37

27. Collin Bergy, Southern Lehigh, 50.84

800 (29 boys)

4. Joey Logue, Pennridge, 1:53.73

25. Michael Kopach, Nazareth, 1:57.82

27. Jarret Palmer, Stroudsburg, 1:58.30

1,600 (29 boys)

20. Colin Abert, Easton, 4:21.87

25. John Wathen, Pleasant Valley, 4:26.27

3,200 (33 boys)

27. Alec Lederer, Northampton, 9:40.26

28. Wade White, Bangor, 9:44.07

400 relay (34 teams)

6. East Stroudsburg South 42.47

12. Stroudsburg 42.71

15. Liberty 42.77

1,600 relay (26 teams)

2. Pennridge 3:16.45

20. Nazareth 3:24.85

24. Bethlehem Catholic 3:26.93

3,200 relay (29 teams)

24. Parkland 8:02.00

26. Whitehall 8:06.24

110 hurdles (27 boys)

7. Tyler Horton, Bethlehem Catholic, 14.50

9. Eric Hertzog, Tamaqua, 14.55

17. Carter Taylor, Nazareth, 14.81

22. Freddie Simmons, Bethlehem Catholic, 14.99

300 hurdles (29 boys)

6. Tyler Horton, Bethlehem Catholic, 38.46

7. Carter Taylor, Nazareth, 38.48

12. Colby Trauger, Pennridge, 38.78

13. Freddie Simmons, Bethlehem Catholic, 38.88

15. Ishmael Wright, Quakertown, 39.07

16. Andrew McFarland, Nazareth, 39.09

High jump (28 boys)

6. Donovan Clay, Stroudsburg, 6-5

7. Griffin Schwab, Nazareth, 6-5;

8. Scott Schlegel, Emmaus, 6-5

9. Ishmael Wright, Quakertown, 6-5

Long jump (34 boys)

2. Nolan Hay, Parkland, 23-4.5

8. Alize Graham, East Stroudsburg North, 22-9.75

14. Prentice Sprewell, Stroudsburg, 22-2.5

17. Nick Stenderowicz, Pennridge, 22-1.5

20. Javante Tooley, Wilson, 22-1.25

25. Zach Dillon, East Stroudsburg North, 21-10.75

Triple jump (30 boys)

7. David Clowney, Stroudsburg, 46-1.5

9. A.J. Stevens, Pottsville, 45-11.75

13. Javante Tooley, Wilson, 45-4.5

22. Jryi Davis, Bangor, 44-6.75

Shot put (24 boys)

6. Kory DeCesaris, Northampton, 54-8

7. Bryan Pearson, Bangor, 54-1

Discus (24 boys)

1. Bryan Pearson, Bangor, 171-11

10. Shawn Green, Bangor, 156-8

Javelin (30 boys)

15. Tyler Hope, Tamaqua, 184-5

24. Stephen Laird, Parkland, 179-0

Pole vault (23 boys)

6. Joe Fogle, Pocono Mountain East, 14-9

16. Jack Walton, Parkland, 13-9

CLASS 2A

100 (25 boys)

5. Daniel McSurdy, North Schuylkill, 11.16

12. Chris Bruno, Marian Catholic, 11.27

200 (25 boys)

4. Caleb Johnson, Northern Lehigh, 22.66

6. Cam Richardson, Northwestern, 22.73

7. Nico Agosti, Marian Catholic, 22.74

400 (27 boys)

6. Caleb Johnson, Northern Lehigh, 50.23

12. Nico Agosti, Marian Catholic, 50.62

800 (28 boys)

16. Anthony Brinkley, Catasauqua, 1:59.62

24. Ben Hinkel, Minersville, 2:01.50

1,600 (32 boys)

4. Brendan Shearn, North Schuylkill, 4:24.22

22. Anthony Brinkley, Catasauqua, 4:34.42

3,200 (28 boys)

2. Brendan Shearn, North Shuylkill, 9:17.31

20. Tyler Stelmack, Northwestern, 10:08.83

400 relay (26 teams)

8. Northwestern 43.63

12. Palmerton 43.89

1,600 relay (32 teams)

13. Marian Catholic 3:28.39

27. Palmerton 3:32.46

3,200 relay (28 teams)

17. Minersville 8:17.60

23. North Schuylkill 8:22.35

110 hurdles (24 boys)

6. Austin Shupp, Palmerton, 15.09

20. Austin Weiss, Northwestern, 15.80

300 hurdles (24 boys)

3. Austin Shupp, Palmerton, 39.29

5. Daniel McSurdy, North Schuylkill, 39.73

High jump (26 boys)

3. Reggie Carter, Notre Dame-GP, 6-6

13 .Brad Ehret, Palmerton, 6-4

Long jump (27 boys)

9. Dan Reichenbach, Salisbury, 21-9.5

18. Cody Antalosky, North Schuylkill, 21-4.5

Triple jump (26 boys)

1. Dan Reichenbach, Salisbury, 46-11.25

6. Jarred Sacks, Palmerton, 44-5.25

9. Dan Stola, Notre Dame-GP, 44-2.5

Shot put (26 boys)

8. John Snyder, Palmerton, 52-2.25

16. Tyler Cavenas, Mahanoy Area, 48-10.5

Discus (26 boys)

11. Tyler Canevas, Mahanoy Area, 149-9

17. Alex Partington, Northwestern, 141-1

Javelin (25 boys)

7. Austin Bartholomew, Salisbury, 175-8

13 .Corry Quick, Marian Catholic, 167-0

Pole vault (22 boys)

15. Dylan Bonge, Salisbury, 13-0

16. Darris Rodrigues, Palmerton, 13-0

GIRLS

CLASS 3A

100 (30 girls)

1.Jody-Ann Evans, Quakertown, 11.75

11. Kiana Farrar, Easton, 12.47

18. Lauren Channer, East Stroudsburg South, 12.60

20. As-sata Hall, East Stroudsburg North, 12.61

22. Sarah Lombel, Pottsville, 12.63

200 (28 girls)

1. Jody-Ann Evans, Quakertown, 24.28

9. Kiana Farrar, Easton, 25.42

11. Taylor Chapman, Pennridge, 25.45

20. Lauren Channer, East Stroudsburg South, 25.69

400 (26 girls)

21. Jess Pereira, Palmerton, 58.91

24. Allyson Stitzer, Nazareth, 59.61

800 (29 girls)

4. Hanna Brosky, Emmaus, 2:12.94

12. Kiana Tucker, Stroudsburg, 2:15.03

21 .Angela Stella, Whitehall, 2:18.30

1,600 (33 girls)

5. Marissa Sheva, Pennridge, 4:57.12

20. Caitlyn Sheva, Pennridge, 5:07.28

27. Haley Yost, Northwestern, 5:10.69

29. Rachele Cerrone, Northwestern, 5:12.50

3,200 (28 girls)

10. Paige Stoner, Pottsville, 10:58.60

20. Mikayla Stoudt, Parkland, 11:11.26

400 relay (35 teams)

2. Pennridge 47.75

10. Easton 48.78

21. Pocono Mountain West 49.56

28. Emmaus 49.72

31. Palmerton 49.74

1,600 relay (30 teams)

18. Bethlehem Catholic 4:00.80

24. Stroudsburg 4:01.87

3,200 relay (28 teams)

15. Northwestern 9:28.64

17. Parkland 9:30.89

100 hurdles (25 girls)

5. Ramonia Benitez, Pocono Mountain West, 15.03

9. Daniella Woiski, Pottsville, 15.23

10. Maria Justus, Emmaus, 15.26

13. Alyssa Kresge, Nazareth, 15.40

300 hurdles (31 girls)

8. Lexi Reightler, Bethlehem Catholic, 44.85

13. Emmy Geis, Central Catholic, 45.40

High jump (31 girls)

7. Casey Harewood, Liberty, 5-4

12. Lauryn Solt, Palmerton, 5-4

19. Naomi Jiminez, Pocono Mountain West, 5-3

Long jump (35 girls)

9. Ariana Przybylowski, Pennridge, 18-1.25

14. Elizabeth Rauenzahn, Blue Mountain, 17-11.5

26. Jordan Luciano, Easton, 17-6

30. Kaitlyn Remely, Nazareth, 17-4.25

31. Aspen Gaita, Stroudsburg, 17-4.25

Triple jump (25 girls)

4. Ramonia Benitez, Pocono Mountain West, 38-4.75

10. Kelly Robertson, Parkland, 37-3.5

Shot put (29 girls)

10. Gracie Hargrove, Liberty, 40-0.25

13. Gwen Remaley, Lehighton, 39-9.25

18. Jocelen Ruth, Kutztown, 38-1.5

Discus (26 girls)

12. Jocelen Ruth, Kutztown, 120-6

21. Oksana Wittbrodt, Parkland, 113-7

22. Gracie Hargrove, Liberty, 112-10

Javelin (27 girls)

4. Ella Fox, Pennridge, 131-11

18. Sarah Keer, Lehighton, 122-11

19. Jasmine Vass, Bangor, 122-8

Pole vault (28 girls)

19. Mara Blanchard, Bethlehem Catholic, 11-0

20. Taylor Sullivan, Stroudsburg, 11-0

CLASS 2A

100 (24 girls)

20. Mary Ramsden, Palisades, 13.00

21. Danielle Gehman, Palisades, 13.09

200 (25 girls)

17. Mary Ramsden, Palisades, 26.61

23. Lindsay Bauer, Salisbury, 26.92

400 (27 girls)

8. Anna Robinson, Palisades, 58.87

22. Lindsay Bauer, Salisbury, 1:00.42

800 (27 girls)

21. Christina Scartelli, Notre Dame-GP, 2:25.95

24. Chelsea Frantz, Tamaqua, 2:27.93

1,600 (25 girls)

18. Sydney Brannon, Wilson, 5:25.99

21. Katie Downing, Notre Dame-GP, 5:32.85

3,200 (26 girls)

1. Elizabeth Chikotas, Saucon Valley, 11:03.57

23. Sydney Brannon, Wilson, 12:32.39

400 relay (27 teams)

7. Palisades 50.32

24. Wilson 51.66

1,600 relay (27 teams)

19. Notre Dame-GP 4:10.93

22. Palisades 4:14.20

3,200 relay (29 teams)

15. Notre Dame-GP 9:47.95

21. Saucon Valley 10:01.22

100 hurdles (28 girls)

23. Alexa Rossi, Palisades, 16.21

25. Carla Dutt, Wilson, 16.46

300 hurdles (24 girls)

21. Carla Dutt, Wilson, 48.26

23. Christy Digiandomenico, Marian Catholic, 48.77

High jump (27 girls)

4. Carly Gregas, North Schuylkill, 5-4

13. Holly Szita, Salisbury, 5-2

14. Mary Paige Nesfeder, Notre Dame-GP, 5-2

Long jump (25 girls)

7. Maria Streisel, Tamaqua, 17-7.5

10. Lindsay Bauer, Salisbury, 17-4.5

Triple jump (27 girls)

21. Carli Swiatek, Wilson, 34-3

22. Jessica Olewine, Northern Lehigh, 34-1.5

Shot put (27 girls)

3. Christine Streisel, Tamaqua, 39-5

15. Amanda Solt, Tamaqua, 36-8.5

Discus (27 girls)

1. Carter Green, North Schuylkill, 152-7

6. Ahna Huss, Shenandoah Valley, 122-0

10. Mary Paige Nesfeder, Notre Dame-GP, 116-4

Javelin (26 girls)

2. Christine Streisel, Tamaqua, 144-0

13. Paige Demetriades, Tamaqua, 124-2

Pole vault (26 girls)

4. Kaitlyn Toman, Salisbury, 11-0

6. Alexa Rossi, 10-9

Troublesome start, bonus qualifiers at District 11 track

Tom Housenick — Thu, 16 May 2013 19:27:07 GMT

SCHUYLKILL HAVEN — Bad start to the track events at the District 11 Track & Field Championships: Computer malfunction forcing re-running of the Class 2A girls 100 hurdles final.

In the 3A final, Easton’s Ashley Williams, the top seed, was disqualified after a false start. Pocono Mountain West’s Ramonia Benitez won the re-start in 15.03.

Palisades' Alexa Rossi won the first and re-start of the girls 100 hurdles.

1,600 run winners: Elizabeth Chikotas set a new district record with a 5:07.34 to win the 2A girls race. She has scratched from that race for states. She'll run just the 3,200.; Pottsville's Paige Stoner won the 3A girls race.

North Schuylkill's Brendan Shearn won the boys 2A race.

Palmerton’s Austin Shupp and Northern Lehigh’s Caleb Johnson were 1-2 in the boys 110s.

Bethlehem Catholic’s Tyler Horton nudged Tamaqua’s Eric Hertzog in the 3A final.

Palisades' Anna Robinson and Easton's Kiana Farrar win the 2A and 3A girls 100s. Robinson came back an hour later to win the 2A 400 in 58.87.

North Schuylkill's Daniel McSurdy and East Stroudsburg South's Demetrius Lanier won the 2A and 3A boys 100s. Easton's Colin Abert won the 3A boys race in 4:24.14.

North Schuylkill's Carly Gregas (5-4) won the 2A girls high jump.

Salisbury's Austin Bartholomew won the 2A boys javelin with a toss of 175-8.

Palmerton's Jess Pereira recovered from a fourth-place finish in the 100 to win the 3A girls 400.

thousenick@mcall.com

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Colonial League baseball final preview: Salisbury-So. Lehigh

Stephen Miller — Thu, 16 May 2013 14:00:00 GMT

Salisbury pounded Southern Lehigh the first time the teams played this season. The Falcons squeaked out a one-run win when they faced Southern Lehigh in both teams’ regular-season finale Friday.

They will try for a three-game sweep of the Spartans in their most important game to date.

Salisbury will be playing its third straight game at Limeport Stadium on Thursday when it faces Southern Lehigh in the Colonial League baseball final. The top-seeded Falcons beat the Spartans 5-4 at Limeport on Friday before downing Notre Dame-Green Pond in their league semifinal Tuesday.

Here’s a deeper look into tonight’s matchup.

No. 1 Salisbury (20-1 overall)

About the Falcons: Reached the final with a 4-1 win over No. 4 Notre Dame-Green Pond. … Average 9.1 runs per game and allow 1.8. … Started the season 17-0 before suffering a 3-1 loss to Wilson on May 6. … Have scored fewer than six runs in three of their last four games. They scored at least six runs in each of their first 17 games. … Evan Kulig had three hits, scored three runs and drove in three runs in an 11-0 win over Southern Lehigh on April 10. … Tyler Cooperman (above) threw five shutout innings and struck out six in that game. … Brad Vangeli went 3-for-5 with an RBI in Friday’s win over the Spartans. Salisbury led that game 5-0 after 5 1/2 innings before Southern Lehigh scored two runs each in the sixth and seventh. … Looking for their second straight Colonial League title and third in five seasons.

No. 2 Southern Lehigh (16-5)

About the Spartans: Advanced to the title game with a 14-4 win over No. 3 Catasauqua in the semifinals. … Average 6.6 runs per game and allow 2.4. … Lost their final two regular-season games before beating Catty on Tuesday. They had a 10-game winning streak before those two losses last week. … Trying to win their first league title since 2006. … They have allowed just 19 runs in their last 13 games, holding 11 opponents to three or fewer runs during that span. … Coach Todd Miller told freelancer Mike Blouse that Petey Long would probably start Thursday’s title game. Long did not pitch against Salisbury in either regular season game.

Live results from District 11 track meet

Tom Housenick — Wed, 15 May 2013 20:10:08 GMT

Northwestern’s Sabrina Mertz, Carly Pierce, Rachele Cerrone and Haley Yost broke their school record a couple of weeks to win gold in the Class 3A 3,200 relay with a time of 9:28.64.

Parkland finished second to grab the second automatic qualifying seed at the District 11 Track & Field Championships from Blue Mountain High School.

Notre Dame girls easily won the 2A 3,200 relay, followed by Saucon Valley.

Minersville boys (2A) and Parkland boys (3A) won the 2-mile relays.

Tamaqua’s Maria Streisel set a personal best of 17 feet, 7.5 inches to win the 2A girls long jump. Salisbury’s Lindsay Bauer was second.

Below are the up-to-date results:

FINALS

Girls

Class 2A

3,200: 1.

3,200 relay: 1. Notre Dame-GP (Katie Downing, Nicole Gibki, Erika Edwards, Christina Scartelli) 9:47.95; 2. Saucon Valley (Kelsey Lysek, Caroline Madigan, Caroline Trimbel, Elizabeth Chikotas) 10:01.22; 3. Wilson (Madison Brannon, Sydney Brannon, Julia Sjodahl, Shea Primrose) 10:18.77; 4. Minersville 10:27.74; 5. Northern Lehigh 10:48.50; 6. Palisades 11:05.08.

300 hurdles: 1.

Long jump: 1. Maria Streisel (T) 17-7.5; 2. Lindsay Bauer (Sal) 17-4.5; 3. Carli Swiatek (W) 16-6.25; 4. Kaitlyn Toman (Sal) 16-0.5; 5. Jade Wilson (SH) 15-9.75; 6. Jessica Olewine (NL) 15-7.

Shot put: 1.

Discus: 1.

Pole vault: 1.

Class 3A

3,200: 1.

3,200 relay: 1. Northwestern (Sabrina Mertz, Carly Pierce, Rachele Cerrone, Haley Yost) 9:28.64; 2. Parkland (Mikayla Stoudt, Kayla Tracy, Nicole Albertson, Cassidy Newman), 9:30.89; 3. Emmaus (Ashley Moxey, Katie Bacher, Jaclyn Reinbold, Hanna Brosky) 9:43.29; 4. Pleasant Valley 9:44.51; 5. Stroudsburg 9:52.23; 6. Easton 10:00.22.

300 hurdles: 1.

Long jump: 1.

Javelin: 1.

PRELIMINARIES

Girls

Class 2A

100: 1.

200: 1.

100 hurdles: 1.

Class 3A

100: 1.

200: 1.

100 hurdles: 1.

Salisbury's Nic Ampietro named Colonial League MVP

Stephen Miller — Wed, 15 May 2013 18:21:19 GMT

Salisbury pitcher and infielder Nic Ampietro has been chosen as the Colonial League's MVP. The league released its all-star teams today, with four Falcons landing on the first team.

Ampietro is hitting .419 with nine doubles, one triple, 18 runs scored and 15 RBIs. He is also 8-0 with a 0.66 ERA and 62 strikeouts in 42 1/3 innings for the Falcons, who are 20-1 heading into Thursday’s Colonial League title game against Southern Lehigh.

Earlier this season, I did a story on Ampietro's decision to wear a special helmet when pitching as well as a facemask in the infield. He suffered a head injury last year in the District 11 Class 2A final when he was struck in the head by a line drive while pitching.

The full list of Colonial League all-stars is available on the league's website.

ESU sending 5 to NCAA Division II track

Tom Housenick — Wed, 15 May 2013 16:42:04 GMT

Senior Matt Tholis, an automatic qualifier in the javelin with the No. 3 mark in the country, leads five East Stroudsburg University athletes selected to compete in the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field Championships, which are May 23-25 in Pueblo, Colo.

Tholis will be joined by redshirt senior Josh Hontz, a Jim Thorpe High graduate, in the javelin, along with sophomore Travis Toth in the hammer, freshman Seth Bailey in the high jump and senior Corinne Fitzgerald in the women’s 3000m steeplechase.

Tholis and Hontz will be looking for their second All-America honors. Tholis was seventh last year and Hontz was the national runner-up in 2011 before taking a redshirt last season. Fitzgerald and Hontz are making their third career trips to the NCAA Outdoor Championships.

Tholis hit his career-best and school record mark of 226-5 at Lafayette on March 30 and is one of five automatic qualifiers in the men’s javelin. He won the PSAC championship at 223-11 last weekend at Millersville and has hit a mark of at least 210-0 in his last six meets.

Hontz is ninth on the national list at 209-5, which he threw to finish third at the PSAC Championships on Saturday. He was previously on the provisional list at 207-8. As a junior in 2011, he finished second in Division II at 225-4, the school record before Tholis hit 226-5 earlier this year. He was also an NCAA qualifier as a sophomore in 2010, placing 13th.

Tholis and Hontz give ESU an entry in the men’s javelin for the eighth consecutive year and 13th time in 14 years. This marks the sixth time that the Warriors have sent two in the men’s javelin, along with multiple entries in 1988, 1992, 2003, 2004 and 2009. They will aim to become the fourth and fifth Warriors to earn multiple All-America honors in the men’s javelin, along with Ed Long (1971-72), Mike Revenis (1981-82) and Barry Krammes (2002-03). ESU has had multiple All-Americans in the same event just once, in 1992, when Lance Branyan was fourth and Al Yackenchick was sixth.

The PSAC also has three other entries in Shippensburg’s Derek Northstein (seeded sixth), Slippery Rock’s David Reinhardt and Shippensburg’s Andrew Korrubin.

Fitzgerald is seeded seventh in the steeplechase in 10:37.95, which she ran at the Penn Relays on April 25 to lower her own school record. She was second in the PSAC last week in 10:44.34 and was 10th in DII last year and 15th as a sophomore in 2010. She was also a provisional qualifier in the 5000m (17:16.06) and 10,000m (36:43.36) this spring.

She is one of six PSAC runners in the field, along with Bloomsburg’s Victoria Davis, Edinboro’s Kasey Jones, IUP’s Alyssa Taddie, Bloomsburg’s Katie Filemyr and Clarion’s Megan Toddy.

Toth and Bailey are first-time NCAA qualifiers for the Warriors. Toth is 13th on the national list in the hammer at 192-8, which he threw at the Millersville Metrics on April 6, and has six marks exceeding the NCAA provisional qualifier of 177-10 this season. He was the PSAC runner-up at 184-10 on Friday. He will look to become ESU’s second All-American in the men’s hammer, joining two-time All-American and current graduate assistant Paul Wagner, who was sixth in 2009 and seventh in 2010.

He is joined in the field by two throwers from Lock Haven, PSAC champion Mark Manno and Tyler Thomas.

Bailey had a PR of 3.5 inches to win the PSAC’s high jump title at 6-10.25, the second-best outdoor mark in school history. He is tied for 13th on the NCAA qualifying list. During the indoor season, he was fifth in the conference at 6-5.75 and had cleared at least 6-6.25 three times this year before winning the conference title with a huge career best. Shippensburg’s Jalen Ramsey is the only other PSAC athlete to qualify. He is the first ESU men’s athlete to qualify in the outdoor high jump since Mike Newhard in 2001. Newhard was an All-American indoors in 2002 and 2003.

Toth opens ESU’s action on Thursday at 12:30 p.m. local (Mountain) time, with Fitzgerald running the prelims of the 3000m steeplechase at 6:40 p.m. On Friday, Bailey competes in the high jump at 4:30 p.m. with the finals of the steeplechase coming at 7:15 p.m.

Tholis and Hontz will wrap up the Warriors’ weekend in the javelin on Saturday at 12:15 p.m.

On the men’s side, other ESU athletes with NCAA provisional qualifying marks that didn’t make the field were freshman William Berry in the high jump (6-8 3/4), sophomore Damien Boham in the 400m (47.66), senior Mike Saparito in the 800m (1:51.97), senior Frank Fezza in the 10,000m (30:16.22), senior James Romano in the 3000m steeplechase (9:15.30), senior Andrew Sloves in the decathlon (6,229 points), and the 400m relay team.

Provisional qualifiers for the women were sophomore Dani Smith, a Whitehall grad, in the 100m dash (12.03), sophomore Christina O’Connor in the high jump (5-6), junior Laura Beimfohr in the pole vault (11-6 1/4) and senior Aniyah Williams in the heptathlon (4,461 points) and the 4x100m relay.

LVC baseball final preview: No. 2 Whitehall vs. No. 1 Parkland

Stephen Miller — Wed, 15 May 2013 13:10:01 GMT

Parkland has been the Lehigh Valley Conference's most successful baseball program since the league formed for the 2002-03 school year. Whitehall had never reached the LVC tournament before this season.

Tonight they meet at Hackett Park in a rubber game that will decide the league title.

Both teams pitched well in Tuesday's semifinals, with Jacob Wloczewski shutting out Emmaus in Whitehall's 2-0 win and three Parkland pitchers holding Liberty to three runs despite 10 hits in the Trojans' 4-3 victory.

With no break between games in the LVC tournament, there is no time to include a preview of the title game in the print editions of The Morning Call. So, below is a capsule look at tonight's title game.

Before we get to that, here's one more interesting tidbit. Since the LVC went to a four-team tournament for baseball, Parkland has won two titles (2009, 2011). When the Trojans haven't won, the tournament champion has been a first-time LVC winner. Easton claimed its first LVC title in 2010, while Nazareth nabbed its first LVC championship last year.

Here's the capsule.

No. 1 Parkland (19-2)

About the Trojans: Advanced to the final with a 4-3 win over No. 4 Liberty. … Started the year 5-0 before losing to Whitehall 1-0 at Coca-Cola Park on April 13. … Have won 11 straight games since a 7-5 loss to Wilson-West Lawn on April 23. They have allowed 14 total runs during the winning streak, with no team scoring more than three runs against them. … Average 5.4 runs per game and allow 1.9. … Have allowed three or fewer runs in 17 of their 21 games. … Going for their fifth LVC title in the last seven seasons. They have won the title the last four times they have reached the championship game (2007, 2008, 2009, 2011). … Their only loss in an LVC title game was to Liberty in 2003. … Gabe Mosser, their probable starter for tonight, allowed one run and four hits, and struck out four in an April 13 start against Whitehall. He was on the short end of a 1-0 decision.

No. 2 Whitehall (18-2)

About the Zephyrs: Reached the title game with a 2-0 win over No. 3 Emmaus. … Average 7.8 runs per game and allow 2.8. … Opened the season 6-0 before losing to Liberty 6-5 on April 9. They then won 11 straight games before losing to Parkland 6-2 on Thursday. … Elliot Mortimer (pictured above, No. 10), their scheduled starter for the championship game, threw a five-hit shutout to beat Parkland 1-0 at Coca-Cola Park on April 13. He also drove in the game’s lone run with a sacrifice fly. … They are going after their first LVC title. Their last league title was an East Penn Conference championship since 1984

Moravian sending 21 to ECAC track meet

Tom Housenick — Wed, 15 May 2013 12:05:00 GMT

Moravian is sending 21 athletes to the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships, the last qualifying event for the NCAA Division III championships, at Springfield College in Springfield, Mass., on Thursday and Friday.

Both Greyhounds squads won their sixth consecutive Landmark Conference Championships late last month for second-year head coach Jesse Baumann.

Locals making the trip are: Salisbury grad Hailey Kester, a sophomore competing in the pole vault; Bangor product Christelle Reglas, a freshman in the 400 relay; Parkland grad Kris Joint, a junior triple jumper who set a school and Landmark Conference record of 48-5.25 (he’ll also be in the long jump); Bethlehem Catholic product Jake Donchez, a senior running in the 10,000-meter run; and Freedom grad Travis Dorsa, a sophomore in the 400 relay.

The NCAA Division III National Championships are May 23-25 at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. The top 20 men and 22 women in each event plus the top 16 relay teams qualify.

Entering the ECAC Championships, the Greyhounds have five currently high enough to compete next week, including Kester in the pole vault and Joint in the triple jump.

District 11 track & field top seeds, schedule

Tom Housenick — Tue, 14 May 2013 19:52:47 GMT

Seeds are set for the District 11 Track & Field Championships, which are Wednesday and Thursday at Blue Mountain High School.

Below are the top seeds for each event followed by Wednesday’s schedule:

BOYS

CLASS 3A

100: 1. Keyautay Aulder, Stroudsburg, 10.76

200: 1. Tanner Lipsky, Nazareth, 21.54

400: 1. Donovan McDonald, Stroudsburg, 49.82

800: 1. John Wathen, Pleasant Valey, 1:59.44

1,600: 1. Colin Abert, Easton, 4:24.14

3,200: 1. Wade White, Bangor, 9:43.12

400 relay: 1. Stroudsburg, 42.96

1,600 relay: 1. Blue Mountain, 3:27.16

3,200 relay: 1. Parkland, 8:03.15

110 hurdles: 1. Eric Hertzog, Tamaqua, 14.24

300 hurdles: 1. Tyler Horton, Bethlehem Catholic, 38.71

High jump: 1. Donovan Clay, Stroudsburg, 6-7

Long jump: 1. Nolan Hay, Parkland, 23-8

Triple jump: 1. David Clowney, Stroudsburg, 46-10.5

Shot put: 1. Kory DeCesaris, Northampton, 55-8

Discus: 1. Bryan Pearson, Bangor, 195-7

Javelin: 1. Tyler Hope, Tamaqua, 194-5

Pole vault: 1. Joey Fogle, Pocono Mountain East, 14-6

CLASS 2A

100: 1. Daniel McSurdy, North Schuylkill, 10.85

200: 1. Nico Agosti, Marian Catholic, 22.25

400: 1. Caleb Johnson, Northern Lehigh, 50.19

800: 1. Anthony Brinkley, Catasauqua, 1:59.66

1,600: 1. Kyle Gonoude, Salisbury, 4:26.85

3,200: 1. Brendan Shearn, North Schuylkill, 9:04.51

400 relay: 1. North Schuylkill, 44.19

1,600 relay: 1. Marian Catholic, 3:29.18

3,200 relay: 1. Minersville, 8:21.93

110 hurdles: 1. Caleb Johnson, Northern Lehigh, 15.00

300 hurdles: 1. Austin Shupp, Palmerton, 39.82

High jump: 1. Caleb Johnson, Northern Lehigh; Brad Ehret, Palmerton, 6-4

Long jump: 1. Dan Reichenbach, Salisbury, 21-6

Triple jump: 1. Dan Reichenbach, Salisbury, 45-7

Shot put: 1. John Snyder, Palmerton, 52-7

Discus: 1. Alex Partington, Northwestern, 146-1

Javelin: 1. Austin Bartholomew, Salisbury, 171-6

Pole vault: 1. Dylan Bonge, Salisbury, 12-9

GIRLS

CLASS 3A

100: 1. Sarah Lombel, Pottsville, 12.32

200: 1. Jess Pereira, Palmerton, 25.76

400: 1. Jess Pereira, Palmerton, 58.55

800: 1. Hanna Brosky, Emmaus, 2:13.82

1,600: 1. Paige Stoner, Pottsville, 5:04.43

3,200: 1. Paige Stoner, Pottsville, 11:02.71

400 relay: 1. Easton, 49.32

1,600 relay: 1. Bethlehem Catholic, 4:04.36

3,200 relay: 1. Northwestern, 9:34.39

100 hurdles: 1. Ashley Williams, Easton, 15.14

300 hurdles: 1. Emmy Geis, Central Catholic, 45.84

High jump: 1. Jane Lukas, Nazareth, 5-5

Long jump: 1. Elizabeth Rauenzahn, Blue Mountain, 18-5.5

Triple jump: 1. Ramonia Benitez, Pocono Mountain West, 39-1.75

Shot put: 1. Gwen Remaley, Lehighton, 40-10

Discus: 1. Gracie Hargrove, Liberty, 124-10

Javelin: 1. Sarah Keer, Lehighton, 129-11

Pole vault: 1. Mara Blanchard, Bethlehem Catholic; Taylor Sullivan, Stroudsburg, 11-0

CLASS 2A

100: 1. Anna Robinson, Palisades, 12.64

200: 1. Mary Ramsden, Palisades, 26.64

400: 1. Anna Robinson, Palisades, 59.64

800: 1. Elizabeth Chikotas, Saucon Valley, 2:22.40

1,600: 1. Elizabeth Chikotas, Saucon Valley, 5:00.77

3,200: 1. Elizabeth Chikotas, Saucon Valley, 10:52.46

400 relay: 1. Palisades, 49.94

1,600 relay: 1. Notre Dame-GP, 4:11.73

3,200 relay: 1. Saucon Valley, 10:00.60

100 hurdles: 1. Alexa Rossi, Palisades, 16.62

300 hurdles: 1. Christy Digiandomenico, Marian Catholic, 48.68

High jump: 1. Carly Gregas, North Schuylkill, 5-4

Long jump: 1. Christine Streisel, Tamaqua, 17-5

Triple jump: 1. Jessica Olewine, Northern Lehigh, 34-9.25

Shot put: 1. Christine Streisel, Tamaqua, 39-7.5

Discus: 1. Carter Green, North Schuylkill, 145-5.5

Javelin: 1. Christine Streisel, Tamaqua, 149-6

Pole vault: 1. Kaitlyn Toman, Salisbury, 11-3

WEDNESDAY’S SCHEDULE

On the track

Girls 3,200 relay final, 3 p.m.

Boys 3,200 relay final, 3:30

Girls 100 hurdles preliminaries, 4

Boys 110 hurdles preliminaries, 4:30

Girls 100 dash preliminaries, 5

Boys 100 dash preliminaries, 5:10

Girls 200 dash preliminaries, 6

Boys 200 dash preliminaries, 6:15

Girls 300 hurdles final, 6:30

Boys 300 hurdles final, 6:45

Girls 3,200 run final, 7

Boys 3,200 run final, 7:30

In the field

2A girls long jump, 2:30 p.m.

2A girls discus, 3

3A boys javelin, 3

2A boys high jump, 3

2A boys pole vault, 3

3A girls long jump, 4

3A boys shot put, 4

3A girls javelin, 5

2A boys discus, 5

3A boys high jump, 5

2A girls pole vault, 5

2A boys triple jump, 5:30

2A girls shot put, 6

3A boys triple jump, 7

Locals representing Kutztown, Shipp at NCAA track

Tom Housenick — Tue, 14 May 2013 18:50:37 GMT

Two locals are among the five Kutztown track & field athletes headed to the NCAA Division II championships May 23-25 in Pueblo, Colo.

Palmerton grad Lanny Buck, a junior, will compete in the pole vault. Freedom product Rosie Farrell, also a junior, is in the hammer throw.

Buck competes at 4:30 p.m. Saturday, May 25. He was second at last weekend's PSAC Championships by clearing 15-7.25 feet. That is third-best in KU history and 14th-best in Division II this season.

Farrell won the PSAC hammer throw title with a toss of 180-3, a Millersville stadium record. That is second best in KU annals and 12th in Division II this season.

Junior Stephanie Pryor, a Northern Lehigh grad, is among three women representing Shippensburg at NCAAs. She'll run in the 5,000- and 10,000-meter runs.

This is Pryor's second trip to the outdoor national championships. She finished 15th last year in the10K with Seton Hill. She is seeded eighth in the 10K and 16th in the 5K. At last week’s PSAC Championships, Pryor took second in the 10K and third in the 1,500 meters.

During the 2013 indoor season, Pryor was a national qualifier with the distance-medley relay. She also placed fourth at the PSAC indoor meet in the mile and 5K.

Running down the last league championships for LVC, Colonial baseball qualifiers

Stephen Miller — Tue, 14 May 2013 13:58:42 GMT

The Lehigh Valley Conference and Colonial League baseball playoffs feature a bunch of teams that have made recent appearances in their league playoffs.

It's been a while without titles for several of them.

No team in the LVC or Colonial League playoffs has gone longer without a league title than Whitehall. The Zephyrs are in their first LVC tournament and haven't won a league championship since 1984, when they claimed the East Penn Conference title.

Every other team in the LVC and Colonial League tournaments has won a league title this century. Here's the rundown of the most recent championships for those teams.

LVC

Parkland, 2011

Emmaus, 2006

Liberty, 2003

Colonial League

Salisbury, 2012

Notre Dame-Green Pond, 2007

Southern Lehigh, 2006

Catasauqua, 2001

Parkland is the all-time leader in LVC titles, winning four championships in the league's 10-year history. It has won four titles in the past six years.

Emmaus has won three LVC titles, claiming championships in 2004, 2005 and 2006. Liberty won the first LVC title in 2003, beating Parkland. It has reached the title game three times since then but lost each time.

Salisbury is looking for its second straight Colonial League title and third in the last five seasons. Over the last 10 seasons, eight different schools have won Colonial League titles. Salisbury and Pen Argyl are the only teams with multiple titles during that time, with each program winning two.

* * * * * * * * * *

While the league semifinals are the biggest games on today's schedule, one other important contest will take place at Bethlehem Catholic. The Golden Hawks will resume a suspended game against Pottsville starting in the 10th inning with the score tied 4-4. It was the sesaon opener for both teams on March 22.

Bethlehem Catholic has to win the game to get to .500, which would give it a berth in the District 11 Class 3A playoffs. The Golden Hawks are currently 9-10.

Here are the latest standings.

LVC

West Division

Team, League, Overall

x-Emmaus, 12-2, 17-3

Central Catholic, 4-10, 7-13

Dieruff, 4-10, 5-15

Allen, 2-12, 4-16

North Division

x-Parkland, 13-1, 18-2

y-Whitehall, 12-2, 17-2

Northampton, 6-8, 10-10

Nazareth, 3-11, 7-13

East Division

x-Liberty, 10-4, 15-5

Freedom, 8-6, 12-8

Bethlehem Catholic, 6-8, 9-10-1

Easton, 4-10, 6-14

Colonial League

North Division

Team, League, Overall

x-Catasauqua, 10-6, 12-8

Northwestern, 9-7, 13-7

Bangor, 9-7, 10-10

Pen Argyl, 9-7, 10-10

Palmerton, 3-13, 5-14

Northern Lehigh, 2-14, 4-16

South Division

x-Salisbury, 15-1, 19-1

y-Southern Lehigh, 12-4, 15-5

y-Notre Dame-GP, 10-6, 13-7

Wilson 7-9, 9-10

Saucon Valley, 7-9, 8-12

Palisades, 4-12, 6-14

MVC

Team, League, Overall

z-Stroudsburg, 11-1, 17-3

z-Pleasant Valley, 9-3, 13-6

z-PM East, 8-4, 12-8

z-Lehighton, 7-5, 13-7

PM West, 3-9, 4-16

ES North, 2-10, 8-11

ES South, 2-10, 6-14

x-division champion; y-wild card; z-clinched league playoff berth

Locals excel at PSAC track championships

Tom Housenick — Mon, 13 May 2013 12:00:00 GMT

It was a banner weekend for local track & field products at the PSAC Championships at Millersville University.

Here's a look at who set school records and who qualified for the NCAA Division II Championships, which are May 24-26, in Pueblo, Colo. All champions automatically qualify for nationals. Others who have reached national qualifying standards in their respective events are eligible.

ESU

Whitehall grad Danielle Smith repeated in the 100 and lost her repeat bid in the 200 by one one-hundreth of a second Saturday. She ran a 12.10 to win the 100 and a 24.72 in the 200.

The sophomore, who now has five PSAC titles in two years, had the top time in 100 (12.03) and second-fastest time in the 200 (25.05) in the preliminaries.

She also ran a leg on the ESU 1,600 relay team that was seventh.

KUTZTOWN

Junior Rosie Farrell, a Freedom High grad, won her first PSAC title with a stadium-record toss in the hammer throw. Her mark of 180 feet, 3 inches is an NCAA provisional mark and moved her up to second all-time in Kutztown history.

Junior pole vaulter Lanny Buck, a Palmerton product, finished second with an existing NCAA provisional mark. He cleared a mark of 15-7.25 to earn All-PSAC recognition.

Junior Zach Fleming, a Northern Lehigh grad, also finished second with a career-best performance in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. With his NCAA provisional time of 9:11.04, he moves up to second on Kutztown's Top 10 list in the event.

Iris Burch, a Dieruff grad, turned in a career-best mark in the 400 with a 58.83. The freshman was part of KU's 1,600 relay team that was fifth (3:54.09).

MILLERSVILLE

Bethlehem Catholic grad Ann Kovacs, a sophomore math major, broke the school record again in the hammer throw. She was third with a throw of 166-75, provisionally qualifying for nationals.

The 400 relay of Kiara Allen, Parkland's Jess Fritsche, Erin Mason and Kayla Naughton reset their school record in the event by more than .75 seconds. The foursome completed the race in 47.25 seconds and tied for the second-best time in the preliminaries.

Freshman Erin Madison, a Pocono Mountain East grad, finished second in the 400 hurdles with a time of 1:01.49. Previously, she ran the fourth-fastest time in school history in the 100 hurdles prelims and finished fourth in her heat and ninth overall. Madison's time of 15.07, her career- best time, missed qualifying for the finals by just .03 seconds.

She ran a 1:01.55 in the 400 hurdles preliminaries.

SHIPPENSBURG

Stephanie Pryor, a junior from Northern Lehigh, was second in the 10,000-meter run in 36:18.88, a provisional mark. She also was third in the 1,500 with a time of 4:39.78.

Senior Matt Gillette finished eighth in the 1,500 run (3:57.38). The Parkland grad already secured an NCAA Division II berth.

Gillette and sophomore Bernard England, an Easton High grad, were part of the 3,200 relay team that finished second in 7:44.61.

Shippensburg won its fifth consecutive PSAC team title.

Long-time Lafayette coach retiring

Tom Housenick — Thu, 09 May 2013 21:10:23 GMT

Julio Piazza, who has served as the head track &field and cross country coach at Lafayette for 27 years, has announced that he will retire at the end of this school year.

Piazza (left) has been selected by his peers as the Patriot League Coach of the Year in either track and field or cross country eight time.

During his tenure, the men’s indoor track and field set school records in 16 of 20 events. The women’s indoor team managed marks in 18 of 20 events. In the outdoor competition, Lafayette established new records in 15 of 21 events and the women did so in 19 of 21.

Piazza had a .600 winning percentage against Lehigh on the women’s side, combining cross country and indoor and outdoor track, and boasted a 17-10 mark (.629) on the men’s side against the archrival indoors.

“Coach Piazza has been a stalwart member of the Lafayette community and he has our deepest thanks and appreciation for his 27 years of service to Lafayette,” Lafayette Director of Athletics Bruce McCutcheon said. “Julio’s practice of student-focused learning has made a significant impact on the lives of countless students that have come to College Hill. We thank Julio for his unwavering commitment to his student-athletes and wish him and his family all best wishes in his retirement.”

Piazza has overseen the recruitment and development of multiple school record holders and NCAA qualifiers in his time at Lafayette. His most recent coaching accolade came in 2008, when he coached Lafayette’s women’s indoor track and field team to a second-place Patriot League finish.

“I want to thank the College and Bruce for all the support that they have given me and the program since I’ve been here,” Piazza said. “I also want to thank all of the assistant coaches that I’ve had during my years here at Lafayette. The one common trait that they all share was a passion for track and field. Because of that passion, they have enabled the team members to have an outstanding undergraduate experience.

"I feel very fortunate that throughout my years here I’ve had the pleasure of coaching some outstanding athletes. The one thing that stands out in my mind is how hard all of the athletes have worked while they were here. That’s a compliment to them because one of the hardest things that an undergraduate can do is be an outstanding student-athlete. The time commitment that they have to make in order to succeed in both realms is extraordinary.”

“The thing that I am going to miss the most is the day-to-day camaraderie that you have with the student-athletes and working toward a common goal,” Piazza continued. “The best part of every day was coming down to practice and being with the kids on the team.”

In 2006, he earned his third Patriot League Women’s Outdoor Track and Field Coach of the Year award, after a third-place finish at the Patriot League Championships. He previously won the award in 1996 and 1991. He also was recognized as Men’s Outdoor Coach of the Year in 1997. In the same year, Piazza garnered his first Men’s Indoor Coach of the Year honor, an award he has won three times (2002, 2003).

At the helm of the cross country program, Piazza was selected as the Women’s Cross Country Coach of the Year in 1993, following the Leopards’ first Patriot League Title. Piazza also led Lafayette’s women’s track and field team to four East Coast Conference Indoor and Outdoor Championship crowns in 1986-87 and 1987-88.

Prior to arriving on College Hill, Piazza was an assistant coach for cross country and track and field at Penn. He helped the Quakers to five Ivy League track and field crowns, and back-to-back Heptagonal Outdoor titles. The Quakers women’s cross-country team also reached the NCAA Championships in 1981.

An eight-time All-Ivy middle distance runner, Piazza graduated from Penn in 1972 and still has two relay records. He and his wife, Cheryl, reside in Bethlehem, and have two children. Matt is a 2012 graduate of Lafayette and Katie is slated to complete her Lafayette degree later this month.

Former Moravian standout named to MAC hall

Tom Housenick — Thu, 09 May 2013 16:37:02 GMT

Former Moravian College women’s basketball standout Kathy Beck DeKorte has been selected as part of the second class to be inducted into the Middle Atlantic Conference Hall of Fame.

The MAC, of which Moravian was a member from 1945 until 2007, established a hall of fame as part of the celebration of its 100th anniversary in 2012-13.

Last year, Moravian’s Rocco Calvo and Harvey “Gil” Gillespie were two of a 36-member inaugural class selected from current and former MAC member institutions, and all three Moravian MAC Hall of Fame selections are also members of Moravian’s Athletic Hall of Fame.

DeKorte, who was named to the MAC 100 All-Century Team for Women’s Basketball in March, was a four-year letterwinner at Moravian. She set school records with 1,936 career points and 1,014 career rebounds. She was a two-time Kodak All American and the 1991-1992 Kodak Division III Player of the Year.

DeKorte led the Greyhounds to the National Championship game in 1991-92 when the team was 31-2. She was a three-time Middle Atlantic Conference All-Star, the MAC Southeast and Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference South Player of the Year in 1990-91 and 1991-92, and the ECAC Rookie of the Year in 1988-89. She also led Moravian to the MAC Championship in the 1990-91 and 1991-92 seasons.

In the 1988-89 season, DeKorte led Moravian to the ECAC Tournament, and as a sophomore, junior and senior she helped the team get to the NCAA Tournament. In 1992, she received the Greyhound Award as Moravian's Outstanding Senior Female Athlete.

Moravian is planning an on-campus ceremony to honor DeKorte in 2013-14.