Mueller caps solid career at Lycoming
Shelby Mueller wrapped up her season and career by earning back-to-back MAC Commonwealth first team honors with the Lycoming women’s basketball team.
The 5-foot-11 forward from Collegeville (Spring-Ford) averaged 15.0 points and 10.1 rebounds, the first Warrior since 1994-95 to average a double-double. And, she started all 25 games and had 12 game double-doubles during the season to lead Lycoming to a 17-8 overall record and an 11-6 mark in league play. She led the conference in scoring and was second in rebounding. She hit 139 of 290 shots from the field (.479) and led the conference in free throw percentage (.857) making 97 of 144.
“Shelby improved by leaps and bounds each year,” coach Christen Ditzler said. “She loves basketball and loves working on her game. Even when it was clear that she was one of the best five players in the league last year, she pushed herself to get better.”
The coach said that while Mueller missed out on Player of the Year honors this season there was no more valuable player in the MAC Commonwealth Conference.
“We had periods when we had four or five players on the shelf with injuries that would have been significant contributors, but Shelb led us through it all,”
Ditzler said. “She is such a great competitor she still kept us in every game.”
Mueller finished her career with 1,266 points (fifth in school history), 741 rebounds (fourth), 150 steals (11th) and 103 blocks (fourth). She led the Warriors in rebounding in all four seasons and played a school record 102 games. Lycoming posted a winning record during every one of her seasons and had a 6141 record during that time. PAYTON MILES (THE HILL SCHOOL) » The sophomore from Limerick helped the Lehigh women’s swim team finish third with 543 points at the Patriot League Championships Feb. 14-17 in Annapolis, Md. She finished first in the 100 freestyle (50.04) and second in the 50 freestyle (23.13). And, she swam a leg on the 200 free relay which finished first (1:31.41) and the 400 free relay which finished second (3:14.78). She also swam the anchor leg on the 200 medley relay which finished fourth (1:43.14).
“I’m extremely proud of everything Payton has accomplished in her short career and the positive impact she has made on the program,” coach Rob Herb said. “I’m very excited to see what lies ahead as she continues to climb the ranks as one of the top swimmers in the league.” HALEY PRESCHUTTI (SPRINGFORD) » The Richmond senior successfully defended her title in the 1,000 meter run at the Atlantic 10 Conference Indoor Track Championships Feb. 17-18 in Kingston, R.I. Her time was a personal record 2:51.36 and bettered her winning time last year which was 2:53.23. Preschutti also ran a leg on the 4x800 relay which finished first with a time of 9:02.73. The Spiders finished fourth out of eight in the team standings with 84 points. RAE RAE TAYLOR (OWEN J. ROBERTS) » The Penn StateHarrisburg freshman set a school record when she captured the long jump at the Capital Athletic Conference Indoor Track Championships Feb. 16-17 in Newport News, Va. The versatile athlete cleared 17 feet, 6¼ inches. She also finished second in the triple jump (35 feet, 5¼ inches) and fourth in the high jump (4 feet, 11¾ inches). And, she was 10th in the 60 meter dash with a season-best time of 8.19. Taylor also ran a leg on the 4x400 which finished seventh in 4:31.17. JOSH TUPPER (SPRING-FORD) » The Widener senior captured the 400 meter dash at the Middle Atlantic Conference Indoor Track Championships last weekend in Bethlehem. His time was a season-best 49.88. He also finished third in the 200 meter dash in 22.78 and ran a leg on the 4x400 relay which finished second in 3:24.29 and the 4x200 relay which finished third in 1:32.12. His performance helped the Pride score 162 points and finish second out of nine in the team standings. KIRSTEN SIWY (UPPER PERKIOMEN) » The sophomore led the way as the King’s women’s swim team finished seventh out of 12 at the Middle Atlantic Conference Championship Feb. 15-18 in York. Siwy defended her championship in the 400 IM (4:40.56), tied for first in the 200 breaststroke (2:24.31) and finished third in the 200 IM (2:10.75). She also swam legs on the 200 medley relay which finished third (1:50.83) and the 400 free (3:45.31), the 800 free (8:10.20) and the 400 medley (4:04.52), all finishing sixth. MICHAEL MELISSEN (PERIOMEN VALLEY) » The junior had a big effort to help the Arcadia men’s swim team finish second in the Middle Atlantic Conference Championship Feb. 15-18 in York. He swam legs on the winning 400 medley relay (3:28.81) and the 800 free relay (6:54.09). He also swam with the 200 free relay which finished second (1:26.09) and the 200 medley relay which finished fifth (1:37.41). Individually, he was third in the 200 backstroke with a school record 1:55.70, third in the 500 free (4:42.02) and eighth in the 100 butterfly (53.04). MADDY ZIMMERMAN (SPRING-FORD) » The senior competed in six events for the Yale women’s swim team at the Ivy League Championships Feb. 14-17 in Cambridge, Mass., the Bulldogs finishing second. Zimmerman earned NCAA B cut times in five events when she finished second in the 100 butterfly (52.89), third in the 200 butterfly (1:58.99) and ninth in the 50 freestyle (22.97). She also swam legs on the winning 200 medley (1:37.30) and the 400 medley (3:34.22) relays along with a secondplace finish in the 200 free relay (1:30.73). MEKHI CLEMONS (PERKIOMEN VALLEY) » The 6-foot senior guard and his Rosemont men’s basketball team saw the season come to an end with a 91-72 loss to Cabrini in the Colonial States Athletic Conference semifinals last Wednesday in Radnor. Clemons had 14 points and six rebounds in the game, the Ravens finishing 17-10. He started all 27 games and led the team in scoring (15.6) and steals (48). He also averaged 4.1 rebounds a game and had 50 assists. He scored in double figures in the final 20 games of the season. DANTE STEFFENINO (UPPER PERKIOMEN) » Shippensburg’s redshirt senior was eliminated from the NCAA Division II Super Region One Championships last Friday in Johnstown. Competing at 133 pounds, he posted a pin in 2:30 in the opening round but then went toe-to-toe with Division II’s No. 1 wrestler in his weight class, Darius Bunch of West Liberty. Bunch took a 7-5 decision. Moving to the consolation round, Steffenino appeared to record a defensive pin against Kutztown’s Chris Crane but it was not allowed and Crane won 8-5. KEVIN BASCH (POTTSGROVE) » The Delaware sophomore finished second in the 1,650 freestyle at the Colonial Athletic Association Swim Championships Feb. 14-17 in Christiansburg, Va. His time was 15:32.18. He also finished fourth in the 500 freestyle in 4:27.27. He finished 19th in the 200 backstroke in 1:52.91 but didn’t score any points. Basch also anchored the 800 free relay which finished fifth in 6:41.44. The Blue Hens finished fifth in the team standings with 349 points.