Gov. Mifflin grad starts for Clarion
Stevan Rodriguez has started all six games for the Clarion men’s basketball team.
The forward from Reading and a graduate of Governor Mifflin and Lackawanna Community College is averaging 11.7 points and 6.0 rebounds a game for the Golden Eagles who are 2-4 overall and 1-2 in PSAC play after a 71-65 league victory over Mansfield on Dec. 8 in Clarion. Rodriguez had 12 points in the game.
The 6-foot-5, 225-pounder had his best game in a Clarion uniform in an 81-76 loss to Davis & Elkins in a nonleague game on Nov. 10 in Clarion when he scored 18 points and was 9-for-17 from the field.
“Stevan has been one of our more consistent players on a team with a bunch of new guys,” coach Marcess Williams said. “He has a real professionalism about him that has been great.”
The coach said that Rodriguez is the first player in the gym and the last one to leave.
“Stevan displays great leadership skills and selfdiscipline,” Williams said. “He is fun to coach because he wants to be great. He has been a high energy rebounder and a reliable scorer.”
The junior, fresh from competing with the women’s volleyball team in the fall, is back in the pool for the Shippensburg women’s swim team. She made her debut in the Bomber Invitational Nov. 30-Dec. 2 in Ithaca, N.Y. and captured the 200 breaststroke (2:23.77) and was second in the 100 breaststroke (1:05.45). Both times are PSAC qualifiers. She also qualified in the 200 freestyle when she finished 14th (1:58.94). Johnson also helped the 200 medley relay finish second (1:46.13) and the 400 medley relay finish fourth (3:58.24).
The junior kicked off his season with the Franklin & Marshall wrestling team by finishing second in the Bearcat Open on Nov. 11 in Binghamton, N.Y. Kulp, competing at 141 pounds, opened the tourney with a technical fall (19-2) and followed that up with a decision (70) and a fall (2.49). He won his semifinal match with a 10-2 major decision but lost by medical default against Nicholas Gil of Navy in the title bout. Kulp has a 28-20 lifetime record with an 1813 mark in Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association matches.
The 6-foot-1 sophomore guard scored a season-high 18 points, one point shy of his career best, to lead the Widener men’s basketball team to an 8861 victory over Hood in a MAC Commonwealth contest on Dec. 8 in Frederick, Md. He was 5-for-7 from 3-point range. That effort betters his performance in the Widener Tip-Off Tournament on Nov. 17 in Chester when he was named to the All-Tournament team after scoring 15 points and hit 3-of-4 3-pointers and was six-for-six from free throw line. The Clarion sophomore finished third in the 184-pound bracket at the PSAC Wrestling Championships on Dec. 8 in Kutztown. He received a first-round bye and then posted a 13-1 major decision over Lock Haven’s Breylon Douglas before losing his semifinal match 7-4 against Edinboro’s Zach Ancewicz, the eventual champion. In the consolation round, he turned back Pitt-Johnstown’s Alexander Delp 11-4 before taking the third place bout with a 7-2 triumph over Mercyhurst’s Trever Begin.
The 5-foot10 freshman forward scored a college career-high 18 points but her Coast Guard women’s basketball team dropped a 65-54 decision to Babson in a New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference game on Dec. 8 in Babson Park. Hartman is second on the Bears in scoring with an 8.7 average. She’s also averaging 3.2 rebounds with eight assists and 12 steals. Coast Guard is 3-6 overall and 2-1 in NEWMAC play.
The 5-foot-11 freshman has started all nine games for the Ursinus women’s basketball team, the Bears 6-3 overall and 4-2 in the Centennial Conference after a 60-34 victory at Bryn Mawr on Dec. 8. Downs scored 31 points in her first college game, an 80-28 triumph over Alvernia in Collegeville. She was 8-for-10 from 3-point range. On the season, Downs is averaging 9.0 points a game and has hit on 17 of 53 3-pointers (32.1 percent).
“Gabby has made a huge impact from the very start of the season,” coach Margaret White said. “Her perimeter shooting ability has made an immediate statement early on and compliments her teammates’ strengths well.” The freshman is competing in three events for the Arizona men’s swim team – the 50 and 100 free and the 100 butterfly. He had his season and college career best marks when the Wildcats competed in the Texas Invitational Nov. 28-Dec. 1 in Austin. His 50 time was 20.92, his 100 free time was 45.81 and his 100 fly time was 50.34. Gwiazdowski’s best finish thus far is a came in the 50 free when he finished fifth with a time of 21.76 in a dual meet against Grand Canyon on Oct. 13 in Phoenix.
The freshman kicked off his career with the Lebanon Valley men’s indoor track team by finishing seventh out of 21 competitors in the 60 meter hurdles at Franklin & Marshall’s Diplomat Open on Dec. 1 in Lancaster. His time (9.31) is 10th all-time on the program’s record list. Grauer also ran a leg on the 4x400 relay which finished 11th with a time of 3:43.90. The team’s next meet is Jan. 18 when it hosts the Dutchmen Invitational in Annville.
The 5-foot-5 senior guard is averaging 13.4 points a game but has averaged 19.0 points in the last four contests for the Penn State Berks women’s basketball team. Daddona scored 23 points in an 81-78 loss to Gallaudet on Dec. 1 in Washington, D.C. and came back with 19 points in an 86-69 victory over Penn College on Dec. 5 in Williamsport. She’s also averaging 3.9 points with 14 assists and is second in steals with 21 for the Nittany Lions who are 3-5 overall and 2-1 in North Eastern Athletic Conference play.