Fleetwood’s Shigo re-sets Penn St. hammer throw record
MORGAN SHIGO (FLEETWOOD) » The Penn State junior broke his own school record when he captured the hammer throw at the Triton Invitational April 1314 in San Diego, Calif. He actually broke his record (222 feet, 11 inches) twice during the meet. On his first attempt, he posted a distance of 224 feet, 7 inches and then on his final toss of the day, he set the newest standard when he beat out a field of 34 throwers with a 225 foot, 7 inch effort. He currently stands third in the Big Ten and is 12th on the NCAA Division I East qualifying list.
COURTNEY STUMP (KUTZTOWN) » The sophomore continues to do the job at shortstop for the West Chester softball team, the Golden Rams 30-11 overall and 10-2 in PSAC East play after splitting a league doubleheader with Shippensburg on April 20 in West Chester. Stump has made nine errors on 150 chances (.940) with four double plays. At the plate, she is hitting .213 in 41 games with 40 starts with 23 hits in 108 at-bats with a double, 12 runs scored and 10 runs batted in.
NIKO HULSIZER (GOV. MIFFLIN) » Morehead State baseball coach Mike McGuire couldn’t wait to see what junior Niko Hulsizer would do this season after his All-American campaign with the Eagles as a sophomore. But the coach didn’t figure on his hitting star getting injured.
Hulsizer, a 6-foot-2, 225-pounder from Mohnton (Governor Mifflin), started and played in nine games to start the season but it was found out that he was playing with a broken bone in his hand and he missed a month getting it repaired and rehabbed. He returned on April 5 against Tennessee-Martin and hit a home run on the first pitch he saw. Since his return, the Eagles are 7-1 and he has batted .387 with four home runs and nine RBI in that span. The team is 24-14 overall and 11-4 in the Ohio Valley Conference after topping West Virginia Tech 18-1 in a non-league game on April 18 in Morehead, Ky.
“Niko has worked very hard to develop himself into an elite player at the college level as well as a bona fide pro prospect,” McGuire said. “He continues to grow as a hitter. He can change games with one swing of the bat, but he is more than just a power hitter. He can run and defend as well.”
Overall this season, Hulsizer is hitting .339 in 17 games. He has 21 hits in 62 at-bats with four doubles, a triple, five home runs, 22 runs scored and 15 runs batted in.
Last year, the Eagles rode Hulsizer’s big bat to a 36-23 season. He hit .349 and led Division I with 27 home runs, 82 runs batted in and 193 total bases. He was named a Collegiate Baseball, a National College Baseball Writers and a Rawlings Coaches Association first-team All-American and was the OVC Co-Player of the Year and a first-team selection.
ANABELLE DISTEFANO (EXETER) » The 5-foot-5 sophomore midfielder scored the second goal of her career to help the Jefferson women’s lacrosse team get by Felician 10-0 Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference victory on April 19 in Philadelphia. DiStefano, who scored her previous goal as a freshman, has played in all 15 games with 11 starts and the defender has seven ground balls and five caused turnovers. The Rams are 8-7 overall and are second in the CACC with a 7-1 record.
TANNER DELUCIA (GOVERNOR MIFFLIN) » The senior is a righthanded relief specialist for the Felician baseball team, the Falcons 19-19 overall and 17-15 in the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference after sweeping league foe Goldey Beacom 6-5 and 4-0 in a home doubleheader on April 17 in Lyndhurst, N.J. DeLucia has pitched in 13 games with no decisions and a 3.07 earned run average. In 14.2 innings, he’s given up 12 hits and five runs, all earned, with two walks and nine strikeouts. DeLucia has pitched in 48 games out of the bull pen in his career.
KALI HEPNER (HAMBURG) » The senior stands all alone as the top pole vaulter in history with the Shippensburg women’s track team after she finished first at the Raiders’ SU Mid-Week Invitational on April 19 in Shippensburg. She previous shared the record with All-American Megan Breski with a 12 foot, 9 1/2 inch effort but bettered that with a leap of 12 feet, 10 inches. Hepner’s record jump stands eighth on the Division II performance list.