Bethlehem Catholic grad unbeaten for Alvernia
Lackman takes 40-0 record into regionals
Matt Lackman is shooting for his third straight All-American honor with the Alvernia wrestling team, but the senior has bigger fish to fry – vying to be a national champion.
Lackman, from Warnersville and a Bethlehem Catholic graduate, finished second at 165 pounds at the Division III Championships as a junior and fifth as a sophomore.
This season, the National Wrestling Coaches Association announced its latest NCAA ranking and Lackman was listed first. He is 40-0 with 14 falls, 16 technical falls and four major decisions. He is first in the Southeast Region in technical falls at 165 pounds and tied for second in Division
III.
Lackman’s season is a highlight film for the Golden Wolves. He captured his second straight Middle Atlantic Conference championship on Jan. 20 and recorded his 100th career victory on Dec. 2. He is 125-24 in his career. He was named MAC Wrestler of the Week seven times during the season.
The Southeast Regionals will be held this weekend in Williamsport. The Division III Championships are set for March 15-16 in La Crosse, Wisconsin.
Caleb Einolf – Grove City men’s
swimming (Quakertown): The sophomore was named Most Valuable Performer after leading the Wolverines to the Presidents’ Athletic Conference Championship Feb. 15-17 in Grove City. Einolf finished first in the 50 freestyle (20.50), the 100 free (44.86), the 200 free (1:22.32) and the 100 butterfly (48.58). He also swam legs on the winnings 200 medley relay (1:30.99), the 400 medley relay (3:21.07) and the 400 free relay (3;03.02). The latter time is a PAC and Grove City record.
Adriana Popp – Boise State women’s gymnastics (Commonwealth Charter):
The fifth-year senior from Easton was named Beam Specialist of the Week by the Mountain West Conference on Feb. 20 after matching her career-best score of 9.950 in victories over Sacramento State and Southern Utah on Feb. 16. Popp came back to win the beam with a score of 9.925 as the 11-3 Broncos topped Utah State, Iowa State and
Texas Women’s in a quad meet last Friday in Logan, Utah. It was her 14th career victory, 11th on the beam.
Mason Boyd – Shippensburg men’s track (Emmaus): The junior bettered his PSAC record in the heptathlon when he finished first to help the Raiders claim their 13th straight indoor championship Feb. 17-19 in Bethlehem. Boyd totaled 5176 points, which was 14 points better than his winning total as a sophomore.
His total ranks 11th in Division II. He had two firsts, two seconds, a third, a fourth and a sixth in the seven-event competition. His 2:44.56 victory in the 1,000-meter run was the highlight.
Jeanne Haverhill – Texas Christian rifle (Southern Lehigh): The graduate student and the Horned Frogs are heading to their 18th appearance in the NCAA Championships on March 8-9 in Morgantown, Pennsylvania. Haverhill is fourth on the team with an aggregate score of 1.178.12 and has recorded the best scores of her career in the air rifle (595.41) and smallbore (583.00). This is her first season with TCU. Prior to that, she spent four seasons with Akron and had top scores of 588.93 (air rifle) and 575.50 (smallbore).
Thomas Kitchell – Wake Forest men’s track (Notre Dame-Green
Pond): The senior finished first out of 14 throwers in the shot put at the Atlantic Coast Conference Championships last weekend in Boston. He hit 63 feet, 4 ¾ inches on his final toss of the day to win the event by almost two feet. Kitchell has three seconds in his previous ACC championship events. He posted a toss of 63 feet, 9 ¾ inches for runner-up honors in the 2022 indoor meet. His other two second-place finishes came in the ACC outdoor championships.
Gavin Webb – Youngstown men’s swimming (Parkland):
The senior captured the 1,650 freestyle for the third straight season to help the Penguins finish fourth in the Horizon League Swimming Championship Feb. 14-17 in Indianapolis, Ind. His time was 15:00.60. Webb also finished third in the 500 freestyle in 4:26.22 and ninth in the 400 IM in 3:52.12. He kicked off the meet by swimming the leadoff leg in the 800 free relay, which finished fourth in 6:37.94, a school record. Webb’s 1:39.08 leg is a school record for 200 meters.
John Musella – Stevenson
men’s hockey (Freedom): The 5-foot-11 sophomore right wing scored the third goal in a 4-3 overtime victory over Wilkes last Saturday in Reisterstown, Maryland, to earn a berth in the United Collegiate Hockey Conference Championship game at No. 1 seed Utica Sunday. Musella has 10 goals and 11 assists for 21 points with two game winners. He is also one of the top face-off players on the 21-5-1 squad. Musella had his best collegiate game with three goals and an assist in a 7-4 win over Cortland.
Antonia Bates – Rutgers (N.J.) women’s basketball (Notre
Dame-Green Pond): The Scarlet Knights are suffering through an 8-22 season (2-15 in the
Big Ten Conference), but the 6-foot-3 sophomore has been an all-round key performer this season. Bates leads the team in assists with 90 and blocked shots with 44. She is second on the team in steals with 35. She has played in 28 games with 24 starts and is averaging 3.4 points and 3.5 rebounds. Bates had a seasonhigh 11 points in a loss to Indiana and 10 rebounds in a win against Lafayette.
Lydia Bottelier – Pitt women’s
track (Palisades): The senior finished fourth in the pentathlon at the Atlantic Coast Conference Indoor Track Championships last weekend in Boston. Bottelier totaled 4,093 points. She finished second in the 800-meter run (2:19.50) and high jump (5 feet, 9 ¼ inches) and had personal records when she finished fifth the shot put (38 feet, 6 ¼ inches) and the 60-meter hurdles (8.80). Bottelier finished first with a personal best total of 4150 at the Penn State National Open Jan. 26-27.
Nandee Correia – Juniata women’s track (Stroudsburg):
The senior thrower finished first in the shot put at the Landmark Conference Championships last Saturday in Selinsgrove. She had a personal record toss of 40 feet, 8 ¼ inches. Correia also finished third in the weight throw with a heave of 45 feet, 6 ½ inches. She broke the Eagles’ weight throw record with a 46-foot, 2 ½-inch effort in finishing fourth at the Susquehanna Early Season Multi and Invite Dec. 8-9 also in Selinsgrove.