Saucon Valley’s Diggs sprinting among NCAA elite for Florida
Talitha Diggs is not only the top sprinter on the Florida women’s track team, she’s one of the fastest in the Southeastern Conference. And she is also among the elite in Division I NCAA.
The sophomore/freshman, a Saucon Valley High graduate, has already earned five All-American honors in her short career, three individual and two with Gator relay teams.
Diggs is currently ranked seventh in the 400-meter sprint (51.91) and ninth in the 200-meter sprint (22.78) on the Division I performance list. She is ranked third in the 200 and fifth in the 400 on the East Region qualifying list.
All three of Diggs’ individual efforts came in the 400. She recorded her first NCAA Championship victory indoors last March, was second in the outdoor championship last June and third indoors in 2021. She earned her other certificates in the 4x400 in both coming in the indoor and outdoor season in 2021.
Diggs has three upcoming events on her calendar, the SEC Championship May 12-14 in Oxford, Miss, the Eastern Preliminaries May 25-28 in Bloomington, Ind. and the NCAA Championship June 8-12 in Eugene, Ore.
Kaitlin Hoffman — Fairfield softball (Northern Lehigh)
The 5-foot-10 senior outfielder helped the Stags win two of three games against Canisius in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference home games last weekend in Fairfield, Conn. Hoffman hit a three-run, game-winning homer in a 4-3 victory last Friday and knocked in a pair of runs with a single in the first inning of a 4-0 triumph last Sunday. Hoffman is hitting .252 (26-for103) with seven doubles, a triple, two home runs, 10 runs scored and 21 runs batted in. She has handled 52 chances without an error.
Rachel Tanczos — Notre Dame women’s track (Bethlehem Catholic)
The graduate student has had back-to-back solid performances for the Fighting Irish. At the Louisville Invitational on April 15-16, she finished first in the hammer throw (197 feet, 3 inches), first in the discus throw (176 feet, 1 inch) and second in the shot put (52 feet, 4 inches). Last weekend at the 2022 Indiana Invitational in Bloomington, Ind., she was second in the hammer (202 feet, 7 inches) and third in the discus (182 feet, 8 inches). The discus effort was a personal record.
Austin Mueller — Indiana baseball (Parkland)
The graduate student hit a two-run home run in the first inning of the final game as the Crimson Hawks salvaged a 2-2 weekend in a pair of key PSAC West doubleheaders last weekend. His homer led the team to a 6-2 victory last Sunday. He also had a two-run homer in a 12-8 loss in the first game of the series last Friday. He is hitting .365 (42-for-115) for Indiana, which is 23-17 overall and 12-8 in league play. He has nine doubles, a triple, three home runs, 25 runs batted in with 37 runs scored.
Josh Moyer — Calvin men’s lacrosse (Central Catholic)
The 5-foot-8, 155-pound freshman attack had a team-high three goals to help the Knights top Alma in an 11-8 Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Conference victory last Friday, the team 8-8 overall and 2-3 in league play with one league game remaining. Moyer is third on the Knights in scoring with 28 points on with a team-high 21 goals and seven assists. He has scored two goals in eight games. He kicked off his college career with a pair of goals in an 13-8 nonleague victory over Concordia (Wisc.) on Feb. 26.
Sarah Supplee — West Chester women’s track (Northeastern Lehigh)
The junior finished first in the 1,500-meter run at Shippensburg’s Midweek Meet on April 20, posting a personal record time of 4:45.97. She finished eighth with a personal record time of 10:47.38 in the 3,000meter steeplechase on April 16 in Princeton, N.J. She was the first Division II runner to cross the line. Sophomore Reagan Pender (Northern Lehigh) competes in middle-distance events and has victories in the 800 (2:26.18) and 1,500 (4:58.19), both personal records, for the Golden Rams.
Zac Fitzgerald — Florida Southern men’s lacrosse (Parkland)
The 6-foot-1, 200-pound sophomore has started all 16 games on defense for the Mocs who are 11-5 overall and 5-2 in the Sunshine State Conference. He’s first on the team in caused turnovers with 23 and tied for fourth in ground balls with 35. He has at least one ground ball in 15 games and at least one caused turnover in 12. Florida Southern ranks seventh in Division II in ground balls per game (39.60) and 11th in caused turnovers per game (10.93).
Jen Slanovec — UMass Lowell softball (Freedom)
The freshman righthander has a 2-3 record with three saves for the River Hawks who are 22-14 overall and 6-3 in America East Conference play. Slanovec has pitched in 16 games with eight starts and four complete games. She recorded her first college career shutout in a 3-0 victory over Rider on March 6, giving up five hits, walking one and striking out three. She has a 4.23 earned run average, working 51.1 innings, giving up 59 hits and 37 runs, 31 earned, with 18 walks and 32 strikeouts.
Justin Johnson — Coppin State (Md) baseball (Easton)
The 6-foot-1, 210-pound left-hander has a 1-2 record with three saves for the Eagles who are 18-23 overall and 14-10 in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference after an 18-6 league victory at Delaware State last Sunday. Johnson has a 4.32 earned run average. In 33.1 innings, he has given up 27 hits and 26 runs, 16 earned, with 15 walks and 32 strikeouts. He picked up his first collegiate victory in a 12-4 win over St. Peter’s on Feb. 27. He worked three innings in relief, giving up three hits and two runs, one earned.
Elizabeth Mattair — St. Rose (N.Y.) women’s track (Notre Dame Green Pond)
The freshman is having a solid season for the Golden Knights. She posted her first collegiate victory when she captured the 10,000-meter run at the Springfield (Mass) Classic on April 9 with a time of 41:53.37. It was her first attempt at that distance. On April 16, she finished fourth in the mile in 5:52.06 at Southern New Hampshire’s Penmen Relays. Last weekend, Mattair finished 10th in the 1,500-meter run at the Albany (N.Y.) Spring Classic in 5:18.23. She was the first Division II finisher.
Trey Rinehardt — Misericordia men’s track (Easton)
The freshman captured the 1,500-meter run at the college’s invitational last Friday in Dallas. He posted a time of 4:10.98. It made the ECAC Division III performance list. He also finished fourth in the 800-meter run in 2:02.67 and was a member of the 4x400 relay which finished third in 3:49.08. Senior Ty’Shawn Hopkins (Pennridge) also had a good effort with the Cougars finishing third in the triple jump with a 39 foot, 7 ¼ inch effort and fifth in the long jump with a 19 foot, 6 ¾ inch effort.
Armani Dunkley — St. Francis (N.Y.) women’s track (Pleasant Valley)
The versatile junior finished first in the long jump (18 feet, 2 ¼ inches), fourth in the 200-meter dash (26.19) and seventh in the triple jump (36 feet, 2 inches) at the Rider Invitational last Saturday in Lawrenceville, N.J. Her long jump and triple jump efforts were personal records. Her career best in the 200 is 24.99 which she recorded at the UConn Northeast Challenge on April 16 in Storrs, Conn. Dunkley also competes in the 100-meter dash and the high jump for the Terriers in the spring.