Penn College Archers Off to Great Start

Before the archery season began, Pennsylvania College of Technology coach Chad Karstetter spoke of his team's potential. It hasn't taken long for that potential to show itself.

After two competitions, Karstetter says his Wildcats are right where he wants them to be.

"So far, I'm very pleased. The men's compound, women's compound and also the men's recurve teams are doing excellent," the coach said.

One of the early season standouts for the Wildcats has been Dan Wido, a freshman from Shickshinny. In the team's opener, at the PA State Indoor Championships on Feb. 2, Wido won the collegiate male compound competition with 580 points. Two weeks later, he finished second in the same event at the Virginia State Indoor Championships, scoring 589 points and setting a new tournament record for an out-of-state archer. A James Madison archer won the Virginia event with 595 points.

"We shot against Penn State and did very well at the first event. At the Virginia State Indoor, being that James Madison is usually in the top two and is our big rival in the east, our guys were right there with their guys. We're going to have a good showing against them, I think, the rest of the year," Karstetter said.

Wido has not been the only bright spot for Penn College .

At the PA State Indoor event, Zack Plannick (freshman/Coraopolis) was second in male collegiate compound with 576 points, Brock Smith (junior/Brookville) tied for third with 573 points, Brad Ferguson (sophomore/Lewistown) was fifth with 562 points and Jered Boers (freshman/Pine Grove) was eighth with 528 points.

James Fanelli (sophomore/Glastonburg, Conn. ) won the PA State Indoor male recurve division with 496 points. Right behind were Wildcats Martin Smith (junior/Brookville) with 487 points and Tyler Gale (freshman/Kennedyville, Md. ) with 449 points.

"Danny Wido and Zack Plannick are both doing excellent for freshmen. They do have the background. They have been competing for quite a while. Danny is shooting some of the highest scores that have ever been shot by a Penn College archer. He's right in there with some of the top guys in the country. Any record that can be broken, in state or out of state, is quite an accomplishment," Karstetter said.

Commenting on Fanelli, Karstetter said, "James is shooting really well. This is his third year with us and he is doing very well."

In women's competition at the PA event, Lindsey Fackler (junior/Halifax) placed third in collegiate compound with 543 points, Sarah Wilson (senior/Tyrone) was fourth with 541 points and Sarah Pierson (freshman/Eldred) was fifth with 468 points.

Rebecca Deist (freshman/Manheim) was third for the Lady Wildcats in female recurve with 277 points.

Behind Wido for Penn College in the men's compound at the Virginia event, Plannick was fourth with 582 points, Aaron Lapinski (freshman/Scranton) and Brock Smith tied for sixth with 565 and Ferguson was eighth with 560 points.

Fanelli was second in male recurve at Virginia with 535 points, Tyler was fourth with 515 points and Martin Smith was fifth with 513 points. A James Madison archer won the event with a state record 575 points.

In women's compound at Virginia , Wilson was third with 549 points, Fackler fourth with 545 points and Pierson fifth with 337 points.

Deist was sixth in women's recurve with 291 points in Virginia .

Indoor competition concludes for Penn College on March 7-9 at the U.S. Indoor Championships. Action then moves outdoors with two events in April, including the Eastern Regional Intercollegiate Championships that will be hosted by the Wildcats April 26-27, and ending in May at the U.S. Intercollegiate Championships.

"We're excited about the rest of the season. Usually, we excel outdoors; so if we're doing this well indoors I can only expect more when we get outdoors," Karstetter added.

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