Despite Dismal Weather, Three Archers Named to All-East Team After Weekend Tourney

Published 04.24.2006

News
Wildcat Weekly

Rain gear part of standard equipment for Saturday's archery tournament at Penn College. (Photo by Phillip C. Warner, student writer%2Fphotographer)Vol. 5, No. 37

Record/Results/Upcoming Games(Through Sunday, April 23)

BaseballOverall record: 14-6 PSUAC record: 18-4 (includes first-half fall season)

Tuesday, April 18 at Northampton Area Community College, W, 5-1; W, 5-4 Saturday-Sunday, April 22-23 host PSUAC West Division tournament at Bowman Field, ppd. Monday, April 24 PSUAC West Division tournament at Bowman Field (noon - Penn College vs. Penn State Harrisburg; 3:30 p.m. - Penn State Fayette vs. Penn State Beaver; 7 p.m. championship). Tuesday, April 25 at Lehigh Carbon Community College, 2 p.m. Saturday, April 29 PSUAC championship at University Park, TBA

SoftballOverall record: 13-7 PSUAC record: 11-7

Tuesday, April 18 host Penn State Harrisburg at Elm Park, L, 15-0; L, 4-2 Thursday, April 20 at Northampton Community College, canceled Saturday-Sunday, April 22-23 at PSUAC playoffs, ppd. Monday, April 24 PSUAC West Division tournament at Penn State Harrisburg (11 a.m. - Penn State Harrisburg vs. Penn State New Kensington; 1 p.m. - Penn College vs. Penn State Beaver; 3 p.m. - championship) Saturday, April 29 PSUAC championship at University Park, TBA

Men's VolleyballFinal overall record: 28-5 Final MACVC regular-season record: 7-1

Monday, April 17 vs. Lehigh Carbon Community College and Harrisburg Area Community College at Harrisburg Area Community College, def. Lehigh Carbon, 25-14; 15-16; def. Harrisburg Area CC, 25-11; 25-15. Saturday, April 22 EPCC championships at Northampton Community College (W, 6-0). Pool play: def. Northampton County Community College, 30-15, 30-17; def. Delaware Valley Community College, 30-18, 30-12; def. Harrisburg Area Community College, 30-14, 30-24; def. Lehigh Carbon Community College, 30-18, 30-20. Semifinal: def. Harrisburg Area Community College, 30-15, 30-22. Final: def. Northampton County Community College, 30-20, 30-11.

Archery

Saturday-Sunday, April 22-23 host East Regional Outdoor Intercollegiate Championships Wednesday-Sunday, May 17-21 at U.S. Intercollegiate Championships (Los Angeles, Calif.)

'Cat TalesMen's Volleyball

The Pennsylvania College of Technology men's volleyball team closed out its season in grand fashion Saturday, winning all six of its matches and claiming its second-straight Eastern Pennsylvania Collegiate Conference championship.

In pool play, the Wildcats defeated host Northampton County Community College, 30-15, 30-17; Delaware Valley Community College, 30-18, 30-12; Harrisburg Area Community College, 30-14, 30-24; and Lehigh Carbon Community College, 30-18, 30-20.

They then outdid Harrisburg Area Community College, 30-15, 30-22, in the semifinal before stopping Northampton County Community College, 30-20, 30-11, in the final to cap a 28-5 season.

Over the past two seasons, Penn College has gone 54-6 and is 64-8 in three years under coach Wes Strayer.

"What the kids did and how they went about it was fantastic. They play well, they enjoy each other's company and they won. It's not so much about winning, it's a lot about playing together and enjoying playing with the people you are playing with. I think that really helps winning," Strayer said.

"All of the kids played well. You take Cody Umberger (Lower Dauphin), nobody can stop him outside. He's got a 40-inch vertical leap and is over top everybody.

"My two middles Gregg Stoneham (Hunterdon, N.J.) and Phil Neiderer (New Oxford) were just dominating. They're very good.

"Freshman Ashlin Hollinger (Penn Manor) just is a devastating hitter. He's a lefty; he's tough to read and he's a very smart ballplayer.

"And (setter) Kyle Flook (Cedar Cliff) was on the all-tournament team at the MAC conference. It doesn't get any better than that," Strayer continued.

"They played extremely well all year. They grew with each practice and each tournament. It's not just a learning experience for volleyball; it's a learning experience in life. If you put enough hard work into it, you're going to get the results out of it," Strayer added.

The Wildcats will lose four players to graduation: starters Stoneham and Dave Atkinson (State College) and reserves Josh Tomkiel (Springford) and Jeff Hortman (Red Lion).

"They're going to be sorely missed," Strayer said. "It's going to be tough to replace a few of those guys."

"We have a good start to a good program. If the (high school or other college) kids hear about it (the success Penn College has had) and see it; as a player I would want to go here if we're offering what their majors are going to be," the coach said.

"(The season) has been a great stepping stone to next year," Strayer concluded.

ArcheryDespite some of the worst weather conditions under which coach Chad Karstetter said his archers will ever have to compete, Penn College did well in the East Regional championships that it hosted, with one second in a team event, a third in individual competition and three archers being named to the all-East team.

Scores from Saturday's qualifying rounds were used to determine all-East honors, and they went to Ryan Rambo of Millville in men's compound, Michelle Wright of Kendall, N.Y., in women's compound and Chris Adams of Pen Argyl in men's recurve.

"All three of them shot really well outdoors, and with their good indoor scores (from an event in March) they made the all-East team," Karstetter said.

In team competition, Penn College was second in female compound, third in male compound and fourth in male recurve. On the female team were Wright, Jessica Larson of Montoursville and Sarah Wilson of Tyrone.

Individually, Wright was third in female compound; Larson, eighth; and Wilson, ninth. In male compound, Rambo was fifth; Brock Smith (Brookville), sixth; Shawn Tappen (Wellsville), seventh; Nate Potteiger (Middletown), 10th; and Chris Keiper (Sidman), 11th. In the male recurve division, Jason Kornbau (Red Lion) was sixth; Adams, eighth; and Mark Lambert (Venus), 13th.

"All of my archers, even shooting through bad weather, shot really well," Karstetter said.

"Ryan Rambo only lost by three points (during the quarterfinal elimination round) to the guy who won the whole thing. And Michelle only lost by a point. They really did shoot good; it's just depends on who you get paired up with and what time in the event you get paired up," the Wildcat coach explained.

"I'm very proud of them. I'm looking forward to getting to the outdoor nationals (May 17-21 in Los Angeles) and giving them another chance to shoot against these same guys. Right now, we're right at their heels nipping at them. My archers see that they can compete," Karstetter added.

Archers from James Madison University took team titles in male and female compound and male recurve events, while Columbia won the female recurve team title. Individually, archers from James Madison were winners in male and female compound and male recurve, and an archer from Columbia took the female recurve crown.

Baseball In a tuneup for the PSUAC playoffs, the Wildcats swept two games at Northampton Community College. In the first game, Austin Upright (Montoursville) and Christian Worth (Williamsport) combined to pitch a 3-hitter while James Woodring (Waynesboro) and Tai Mitchell (Milton) combined for five hits. Phil Woodring (Waynesboro) had three hits in the second game.

Softball Against Penn State Harrisburg, the Lady Wildcats were held to one hit in the opener. Bethany Hoffman (East Juniata) and Chelsea Lyons (Howard) each had two hits in the second-game, nine-inning loss.

Complete rosters and season schedules are available on the college's Athletics Web site .