Lehigh grad Warning protects his old turf
LUCAS WARNING (KUTZTOWN) » The former Lehigh track standout returned to Bethlehem for two meets to kick off the indoor season. Competing with Garage Strength out of Fleetwood, Warning captured the shot put at the Lehigh Season Opener on Dec. 1 with a personal best indoor toss of 61 feet, 4¼ inches. On Dec. 8, he finished first in the shot put at the Fast Times Before Finals meet with a 61 foot effort. He holds Lehigh records both indoors (59 feet, 10½ inches) and outdoors (62 feet, 3¼ inches).
KAITLYN FLOYD (KUTZTOWN) » The sophomore competed with the Bloomsburg women’s swim team at the annual Zippy Invitational on Dec. 1-3 in Akron, Oh to wrap up the first semester. The Huskies finishing seventh out of nine teams including seven from Division I. Floyd led off the 800 free relay which finished 10th (7:42.67) and the 200 medley relay which finished 17th (1:39.76). She qualified for the PSAC Championships in the 100 freestyle with a time of 54.84 and was 35th out of 50 in the 500 freestyle in 5:13.50.
KALI HEPNER (HAMBURG) » It’s been a month since the senior broke the Shippensburg pole vault record when she cleared 12 feet, 3 ½ inches to capture the title at the Bison Opener on Dec. 2 in Lewisburg. She bettered the previous record of 12 feet, 1 ¼ inches set in 2012 and earned a spot on the NCAA Division II performance list. Hepner and the Raiders will head to Lewisburg for two more meets this month – the Guiden Invitational on Saturday, Jan. 20 and the 20th annual Bison Open on Friday, Jan. 26.
COURTNEY STEWART (HAMBURG) » The sophomore is a member of the Cheyney State women’s bowling team. The 5-foot-6 right-hander was the third best finisher for the Wolves at the Intercollegiate Singles Championships with a 161.2 average. A psychology major, Stewart earned National Tenpin Coaches Association Academic All-American honorable mention for carrying a 3.4 or better grade point
average during the 20162017 season. BRI BIEBER (GOVERNOR MIFFLIN) » Brianna ‘Bri’ Bieber is just a freshman but she’s competing like an upperclassman with the East Stroudsburg women’s swim team.
Bieber, from Mohnton (Governor Mifflin), had a solid meet as the Warriors finished third out of seven teams at The College of New Jersey Invitational Dec. 1-3 in Ewing, N.J. Facing a number of Division I athletes, she finished fourth in the 400 IM in 4:48.24 and sixth in both the 200 IM in 2:15.28 and the 200 backstroke in 2:14.93. An indication of just how well she did is illustrated in the PSAC performance list. She was 25th in the 400 IM but now is ninth. She was 32nd in the 200 IM and is now 25th. And she was 35th in the 200 back and is now up to 18th.
“Brianna Bieber has brought a wide range of talent to our program this year,” coach Brie Golbig said. “She excels in multiple strokes and has been beneficial to our team’s success. She has qualified for the PSACs in multiple events and I look forward to seeing her freshman year progress through the end of the season.”
East Stroudsburg is 4-1 in dual meets at the break and the team is currently doing winter training in Florida. The Warriors will compete in the Tampa Relays Invite on Saturday in Tampa and then return home for a PSAC dual meet at Millersville on Saturday, Jan. 13. XAVIER SMITH (DANIEL
BOONE) » The Penn State senior is ready for action after kicking off the indoor track season at Penn State’s annual Blue & White Intrasquad meet on Dec. 8-9 in University Park. Smith, with the White team, finished first in the 55 meter dash (6.31) and second in the 300 meter dash (33.54). He finished first in the 60 meter dash with a school record time of 6.66 and helped the 4x400 take first with a school record time of 3:04.80 at last year’s Big Ten Indoor Championship. He’s face ‘real’ competition when Penn State hosts the Nittany Lion Challenge Saturday, Jan. 13 in University Park. ELIZABETH CHEMEY (EXETER)
The sophomore finished third in the 100 backstroke (1:03.54), eighth in the 200 IM (2:24.19) and swam a leg on the 200 medley B squad which finished fourth (1:53.80) for the Georgia Southern women’s swim team in a 14894 loss to Florida International on Dec. 14 in Miami, Fla. Chemey helped the Eagles finish first out of six teams at the Florida Tech Invitational Nov. 17-19 in Melbourne, Fla. She finished 11th in both the 100 back (59.87) and 200 back (2:09.76) and helped the 200 medley B team finish seventh (1:47.21).
ALLIE MUELLER (GOVERNOR MIFFLIN) » The senior helped the Gettysburg women’s swim team finish second out of six schools at the Gettysburg Invitational on Dec. 1-2 in Gettysburg. She swam a leg on the 200 medley relay which finished second (1:49.39) and swam with three B squads, the 400 medley which finished fourth (4:09.49), the 200 free which finished seventh (1:44.30) and the 400 free relay which finished seventh (3:48.33). Individually, Mueller finished seventh in the 100 breaststroke (1:09.70) and 20th in the 50 freestyle (57.90).