Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)

WCU swimmers lead field after first day of PSAC championsh­ips

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The West Chester University men’s and women’s swimming teams each were in first place after the first day of the 2023 Pennsylvan­ia State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Swimming Championsh­ips Wednesday at the Graham Aquatics Center in York.

The West Chester men jumped out in front with 221 points, followed by Gannon (120) and Clarion (111). Paul Demesy started off the men’s championsh­ips with a win in the 1000-yard freestyle in 9:15.85. Teammate Collin Pettit was third in 9:23.73, and Frank McCutchan was seventh in 9:36.72.

The Golden Ram men put three in the finals of the 200 individual medley as well. Fifth-year senior Logan Brockway placed third overall in 1:51.61 while Nikita Pisarenko and Ben Desclous were seventh and eighth respective­ly. Devin Metzger was edged in the 50 free by .04 hundredths of a second by two-time PSAC Swimmer of the Meet from Bloomsburg, Andy Thomas. Metzger, who had a tremendous swim in the morning to earn the top seed, swam a personal best 20.15. Teammates Nolan Benner and Dalton Fink were third and fourth, respective­ly, in the 50 free. The Golden Rams’ mens 800 free relay team of Kolos Nagy, Tyler Hall, Metzger and Brockway were second in 6:43.40.

The West Chester women were in first place after Day One with 401 points, followed by Indiana (Pa.) with 190.5 and Bloomsburg (162). The Golden Rams’ Keeley Durkin establishe­d a new personal best in the 1000yard freestyle, and the 800 free relay set a new meet record.

Durkin swam the 1000 in 10:10.62, which was seven seconds faster than runner-up Sophia Gerhart, who also placed second to Durkin a year ago at the PSAC Championsh­ips. Her time of 10:17.80 was also a personal best. Danielle Stewart placed fourth in the 1000 free final in 10:25.30, which was a new personal best.

Fifth-year senior Ann Carozza, a West Chester East High School alum, continued her dominance at the conference meet by successful­ly defending her title in the 50 free with a time of 22.92. Mikayla Niness was right behind her in 23.49 to place second behind Carozza for the second straight year. Samantha Trumble was fifth in the ‘A’ Final while Lila DiCarlo won the ‘B’ Final in 24.24. Skylar Strunk was 17th overall.

McKenzie Hemingway led a trio of Golden Rams to the finish line in the 200 IM, placing third overall in 2:04.37. Isabella Kil was fourth in 2:05.81 while Lenya Ryan was fifth in 2:07.30. Hemingway and Ryan set new personal bests in the process.

The Golden Rams women’s 800 free relay, consisting of Carozza, Kil, Gerhart and Durkin, touched the wall in 7:24.06 to establish a new PSAC Championsh­ip meet record.

College Men’s basketball WEST CHESTER 64, SHEPHERD 63 >>

Elijah Allen hit a jumper in the corner as time expired to lift West Chester (18-7, 13-6) to an improbable comeback victory over Shepherd (13-12, 10-9) on Wednesday night. West Chester never led in the second half until the final second of regulation and Shepherd had back-toback chances in the final 15 seconds to put the game away at the free throw line but West Chester made the most of the Rams final miss at the line with 5.3 seconds to play, racing the length of the floor to set Allen up for the game-winning jumper. Kyle McGee led the Golden Rams in scoring with 20 points on 8-of-16 shooting, set up the comeback with a pair of clutch three-pointers with under two minutes to play in regulation, bringing West Chester back to within one twice, including the final 63-62 score, which set up Allen to be the hero. McGee was one of three Golden Rams in double figures, as Robert Smith finished with 12 while freshman guard Anthony Purnell Jr. added 11 in the victory. West Chester ended the game with a 38-34 lead in rebounding once again, improving to 15-2 in games in which it wins the rebounding battle.

Women’s basketball WEST CHESTER 68, SHEPHERD 42 >>

Looking for its first season sweep of Shepherd (1-23, 1-18) since the Rams joined the PSAC in 2019-20, West Chester (18-7, 15-4) returned to action on Wednesday night in West Virginia, cruising to a 6842 victory over the Rams. West Chester had three players score in double figures, led by Emily McAteer, who finished with 16 points and nine rebounds, while Leah Johnson added 11 to go along with 12 points from Anna McTamney. As a team, West Chester shot 43.3 % (26-of-60) from the field while shooting an even 50.0 % (7-of-14) from beyond the arc, led by to made threes each from McAteer and Warley. West Chester also shot 69.2 % (9-of-13) from the line while holding Shepherd to just 34.1 % (15-of-44) from the field and 21.1 % (4-of-19) from beyond the arc. West Chester ended the game with a 3732 lead in rebounding and a 25-10 advantage in turnovers and made the most of those turnovers, finishing the game with a 26-4 lead in points off turnovers in the victory.

LINCOLN’S POLLOCK VOTED CIAA DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF WEEK >>

The Lincoln University women’s basketball program has had at least one student-athlete recognized with a weekly award in four of the past five weeks as senior Kania Pollock was acknowledg­ed as this week’s Central Intercolle­giate Athletic Associatio­n Defensive Player of the Week. Pollock, a former Manhattan College transfer from Queens, New York, notched her first career double-double in her 48th contest as a Lion, posting 16 points and a careerbest ten rebounds in the victory over Virginia Union on Thursday. In the pair of wins over VUU and at Shaw, the 5-foot-8 guard averaged 7.5 rebounds (15 total), 3.5 defensive rebounds (7 total), and 2.0 steals (4 total). She also dropped 16 points in each matchup, dished out six assists, and shooting 41.7% (10-of-24) while committing just a single turnover. Pollock will be the lone senior honored prior to Wednesday evening’s Senior Night versus Elizabeth City State, with first tip slated to be at 5:30 p.m. inside Manuel Rivero Gymnasium.

Baseball MIGHTY MACS RATED FIRST IN CONFERENCE IN PRESEASON POLL >>

Immaculata University, led by head coach Josh Copskey, was voted first in the 2023 Atlantic East Conference Baseball Preseason Coaches Poll, released by the Atlantic East Conference office on Wednesday. The Mighty Macs -- who are the defending Atlantic East Conference Champions -- received 36 points and the first-place vote of each of the other six conference members. Marymount who was the runnerup to Immaculata last season finished second in the poll with 30 points and remaining first place vote. Cabrini finished third in the poll with 27 points, while Neumann finished fourth with 18 points. Immaculata who captured their first Atlantic East Conference title in 2022, finishing with a record of 29-14 overall, and 14-4 in the Atlantic East. The Mighty Macs return the 2022 Atlantic East Conference Pitcher of the Year Jason Hughes to their rotation. Hughes had an era of 1.38 and allowed only nine earned runs in 2022. The Macs also return all six members who were named to the 2022 All Atlantic East Conference First team, and all three members name to the 2002 All Atlantic East Conference Second team. Immaculata will open their 2023 season Feb. 25 when they travel to Salisbury for a doublehead­er.

High school Wrestling DOWNINGTOW­N EAST 49, POTTSGROVE 19 >>

The Cougars (10-6) finished their regular season with a non-league win Wednesday. Declan McDowell (121 pounds) and Paxson Warnock (139) earned pins, Josh Hillestad (145) won by technical fall and Ryan Loraw (160) and Adham Abouraya (285) picked up major decisions.

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