Collegium posts first district playoff win

Ahamdou Sa rnor scored 20 points as a balanced Collegium Charter posted a victory in its first District 1 Class A playoff game, by beating Jenkintown, 62-55 on Friday in the first round

The four th- seeded Cougars ( 17- 9) wi l l face No. 1 Phi l-Mont Christian in the semifinals Tuesday at Cheltenham High School at 7:30 p.m.

Sahmere Miller added 11 points, while Gary Grove, Damion Dixon and Merrick Evans had seven points each.

“It was a great experience, said assistamnt coach Paul Harkins of the home crowd. “It was a full house and they willed us to victory. We’re very excited about the challenge ahead of us. Thursday evening. West Chester has accumulated 504 points thru nine events and holds a 119.5 lead over second-place Bloomsburg, which has amassed 384.5 points. Indiana (Pa.) is third with 179 points and Gannon is fourth with 150. Edinboro stands fifth with 118 while Clarion is sixth (107) and Shippensburg is seventh (105.5).

Polyakov and Oliver swam the first two legs of the 400 medley relay that broke the PSAC record, meet record and pool record with a time of 3 minutes, 16.06 seconds. Luke Maguire and Evan Sherkness made up the other half of that relay.

Polyakov, who has two individual titles and has been a part of two relay wins, claimed the top prize in the 200 freestyle prior to his leading off the 400 medley relay. West Chester claimed the top four spots in the 200 free, after landing five swimmers in the finals. Bradley Strathmeyer was runner-up in 1:38.30, and Eric Long was third in 1:40.36. Daniil Sokman was fourth in 1:40.96 while Sherkness was sixth in 1:41.85.

Oliver’s win came in the second race of the evening during the 400 Individual Medley. He clocked a time of 3:55.01, leading four other teammates to the podium in another event dominated by the Golden Rams. Thomas McCormick was second in 3:54.58 while Conor Forlini was fourth in 4:02.89. Mason Azais was seventh in 4:09.95 while Kyle Supko was eighth in 4:11.04..

Women’s Swimming

team leaderboard with 45 and 40 points, respectively.

West Chester opened the Day 2 finals session in the evening with a first-place showing in the 200-yard freestyle relay. The team of Morgan Haney, Emily Stang, Sydney Wareham and Hayward clocked a time of 1 minute, 35.14 seconds.

Johansson then picked up her first conference championship in the 400 Individual Medley with a winning time of 4:28.93. Freshman Megan Burns was third in 4:30.97. West Chester placed four swimmers in the finals of the 400 IM. Kaitlyn Bentzel placed sixth in a time of 4:37.09 while Felicia Grego was eighth in 4:41.77.

The Golden Rams again placed four swimmers in the f inals of the 200 free. This time, Hayward came away a winner with a time of 1:51.61. It was the junior’s second individual title at this year’s championships and the third overall with one relay crown tossed in as well. Dani Barron was third in 1:53.51, while Stang was right behind in fourth in 1:53.78. Wareham placed seventh with a time of 1:55.45.

Softball

WEST CHESTER 14, VIRGINIASTATE0; WESTCHESTER 11, VIRGINIA STATE 0 >> A pair of WCU hurlers picked up complete game shutouts inside the circle, and freshman Alyssa Herion hit her first collegiate home runs, with a home run in each game. West Chester swept a non-league doubleheader on Friday afternoon from Virginia State University by scores of 14-0 (5 inn) and 11-0 (6 inn).

Herion went deep in her first collegiate atbat and finished game one a double short of the cycle. After two full innings of scoreless ball, the Rams erupted for 12 runs in the top of the fourth inning. Madison Kelly hit a grand slam in the fourth en route to a three-hit, six RBI game.

Eight WCU starters collected a hit or more in game one.

Katie Erb drew the start and went the distance in game one. In five innings of work, the senior scattered three hits and stuck out two batters, while not allowing a run.

Amanda Houck took a no-hitter into the fifth inning of game two. Her final line in six innings read two hits, one walk, and six strikeouts.