SJU’s Duffy dropping time like ‘crazy’
Sophomore Caroline Duffy is the top sprinter on the St. Joseph’s women’s indoor track team and one of the top performers in the Atlantic 10 Conference.
Duffy, from Collegeville (Methacton), stands sixth on the league performance list in the 200-meter dash with a time of 24.98 after finishing first at the Wagner Invitational on Jan. 5 in Staten Island, N.Y. She’s seventh in the 400-meter dash after a secondplace finish in the Penn 8-Team Select meet on Jan. 20 in Philadelphia with a personal best time of 56.58. And, she’s 12th in the 60-meter dash when she posted a prelim time of 7.83 and then finished third in the finals at Lehigh’s Angry Birds Challenge Jan. 13 in Bethlehem. And, she runs a leg on the 4x400 relay which stands third in the league (3:48.85).
“Caroline is strong,” coach Melody O’Reilly said. “The way she’s dropping time in the 400 right now is crazy. She started out the indoor season incredibly strong and the way she pulls the 200 and 4x400 relay doubles (prelims and finals) is amazing.”
The Atlantic 10 Indoor Championship is set for Feb. 17-18 in Kingston, R.I. Duffy finished sixth in the 200 last year as a freshman.
“I think Caroline will be a true contender in the 400 at the championships,” O’Reilly said. “She is getting faster every day and she’s tough as nails. She’s one of those great athletes who will do anything you ask her to do and she’s got great speed and great strength.” FRANKIE KRAUSS (SPRING-FORD) » The No. 15-ranked York wrestling team hosted No. 10 Messiah in a big dual meet on Feb. 2 in York and the junior came up with a big effort to help the 11-2 Spartans turned back the 13-5 Falcons 20-16. Krauss posted a 17-9 major decision at 184 pounds. He trailed early but tied it at 5-all after one period but took control to lead 10-6 after two periods and had three take downs and earned riding time for the victory. He’s 24-4 on the season with two pins, five major decisions and three technical falls. CHRISTIAN DEVOL (THE HILL SCHOOL) » The freshman is the top diver for the Yale men’s swim team. DeVol, from Kimberton, captured the 1-meter dive with 316.05 points in an Ivy League trimeet on Feb. 2-3 in Cambridge, Mass., the Bulldogs beating Princeton 177-176 and losing to Harvard 242-111. He also finished fifth in the 3-meter dive with a score of 330.20. DeVol finished the dual meet season with eight victories and will now prep for the Ivy Championships Feb. 21-24 in Princeton, N.J. PAUL POWER (SPRING-FORD) » The sophomore distance runner made his debut with the Villanova men’s indoor track team and finished fourth out of 20 runners in the 3,000 meter run at the Villanova Invitational on Feb.3 at the Ocean Breeze Athletic Complex in Staten Island, N.Y. Power’s time of 8:21.45 was a personal record by more than 21 seconds and ranks 12th on the Big East Conference leader board. It also was a big improvement over the 8:51.87 time he recorded when he finished 19th at the Big East Indoor Championships last year. JORDAN WOOD (BOYERTOWN) » The redshirt freshman is 13-4 overall and 8-2 in dual matches competing at 285 pounds for the No. 9-ranked Lehigh wrestling team. He has a pin and two major decisions for the Mountain Hawks who are 9-3 overall and 7-1 in Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association matches. Wood posted a 4-0 victory in Lehigh’s 20-17 loss to No. 10 Virginia Tech on Jan. 26 in Blacksburg, Va. He posted an 11-2 major decision victory in a 30-6 EIWA victory over Army on Jan. 21 in West Point, N.Y. LAUREL FINK (OWEN J. ROBERTS) » The freshman is a key performer on the powerful Nova Southeastern women’s swim team, the Sharks 8-3 overall and regular-season champion in the Sunshine State Conference with a 4-0 mark after a 190-72 home non-league victory over Keiser Jan. 27 in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Fink swam a leg on the 400 free relay which finished first in 3:34.29. She also picked up points for finishing second in the 200 free (1:57.77) and third in the 100 free (53.61). The league championship is Feb. 22-25 in Clearwater. MICHAEL PRIOR (POTTSGROVE) » The Ursinus freshman is primed to make some noise in the Centennial Conference men’s swim championships Feb. 22-25 in Lancaster. He currently stands third in the 200 backstroke (1:54.49) and fourth in the 100 backstroke (53.21). Prior is ranked eighth in both the 50 backstroke (25.57) and the 200 IM (1:58.46) on the list. He prepped for the meet by swimming the leadoff leg on the 400 medley relay which finished first (3:32.89) and winning the 200 back (1:55.94) in a 115-85 victory over Washington College on Feb. 2 in Collegeville. ALEC SCHNEIDER (OWEN J. ROBERTS) » The Elizabethtown men’s swim team edged Frostburg 132-130 on Feb. 2 in Elizabethtown and the junior had a big part in the victory which gave the Blue Jays a winning 6-5 record for the dual meet season. Schneider swam the leadoff leg on the 200 free relay which captured the final event of the meet with a season-best time of 1:30.79. He also picked up points for finishing second in the 50 freestyle in a season-best time of 22.04 and finished third in the 100 freestyle in 51.84. NICK SHAFFER (METHACTON) » The sophomore sprinter came up with a big effort for the Gwynedd Mercy men’s indoor track team at the Ursinus Frank Colden Invitational on Feb. 2-3 in Collegeville. Shaffer captured the 400 meter dash in a personal best time of 51.50 which earns him a berth in the ECAC Division III Championships and ranks 13th in the country. And, he ran a leg on the 4x200 relay which finished second in 1:33.82 and also earned a berth in the ECAC meet set for March 2-3 at The Armory in New York City. CHEYENNE CHURCHVILLE (PERKIOMEN VALLEY) » The sophomore helped the Rider women’s indoor track team defeat The College of New Jersey 100-60 in a dual meet on Feb. 2 in Lawrenceville, N.J. Churchville captured the 55 meter dash in 7.41 and ran the leadoff leg on the 4x200 relay which finished first in 1:47.92. She currently stands seventh in the 60 meter dash (7.93) and 10th in the 200 meter dash (26.29) on the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference performance list, the league championship Feb. 17-18 at The Armory in New York City. NATALEE SERWATKA (PHOENIXVILLE) » The middle distance runner finished sixth out of 28 runners in the 3,000 meter run at Susquehanna’s S.U. Indoor Track Challenge on Feb. 3 in Selinsgrove. The Shippensburg freshman had a time of 10:47.40 and her adjusted time (10:41.80) ranks 14th on the PSAC performance list. She’s also a member of the Raiders’ 4x800 relay which finished fifth at the Guldon Invitational on Jan. 20 in Lewisburg in 10:26.90. The converted time (19:19.76) stands third on the PSAC list.