Youndt wins Heartland Conference title
Hill grad Youndt wins Heartland Conference title for Rose-Hulman
Rose-Hulman sophomore Tim Youndt dominated the triple jump and took third in the 60-meter hurdles at the nineteam Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Indoor Track Championship Sunday on the Fightin’ Engineers’ home track in Terre Haute, Ind.
Youndt, from Pottstown and a graduate of The Hill School, hit 44-feet, ¼ inches – just short of his personal best of 44-feet, 4¾ inches – in the triple jump and had a personal best time of
8.72 in the prelims and 8.74 in the finals in the 60 hurdles.
Youndt bested the runner-up in the triple jump by just shy of two feet.
The effort helped Rose-Hulman capture its 11th straight league indoor track title.
Rose-Hulman hosted five straight Friday Night Spikes meets during the season on its Sports & Recreation Center in Terre Haute, one of the top indoor tracks in the country. Youndt competed in all five meets and finished first in the triple jump in each one of them. He had four firsts and a second in the 60 meter hurdles, the Fightin’ Engineers winning all five meets to go undefeated.
“Tim has shown outstanding improvement in both of his events,” coach Larry Cole said. “He is a superb leader for the jumps training group and is an exceptional teammate for his peers. Tim has always displayed an exceptional work ethic and his leadership skills.”
The coach takes just partial credit for Youndt’s performance at Rose-Hulman.
“Tim enjoyed a successful high school career at The Hill School and was very well coached,” Cole said. “His family and educational background in the Pottstown area have helped to provide him with a smooth transition to his efforts on the track and the challenging climate of our college’s engineering institutions, one of
the best in the country.”
JORDAN WOOD (BOYERTOWN) » The fifth-year senior will be gunning for his fourth straight 285-pound title at the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association Championship Saturday in Manheim. He’s seeded first in his weight class and has a 4-1 record in the shortened season. Wood was listed 7th in Division I on the first Coaches’ Ranking on Feb. 11. He’s a two-time All-American (2019 and 2020) and is in a good spot to return to the NCAA Championships set for March 18-20 in St. Louis, Mo. with the league allotted 35 berths this season. Wood just missed being a threetime All-American but was injured in the round of 12 in 2018.
MICHAEL BEARD (POTTSTOWN NATIVE) » The Malvern Prep graduate and North Coventry native clinched the win for the Penn State wrestling team in a 28-12 win over Ohio State Friday. Beard pinned Gavin Hoffman in 1:20 at 197 pounds as the redshirt freshman improved to 2-1 for the No. 3 ranked Nittany Lions.
HAILEY LIU (COLLEGEVILLE NATIVE) » The junior from Collegeville who competed with Silvia’s Gymnastics in Perkiomenville continues to be a solid performer with the New Hampshire women’s team. In a 192.050190.575 Eastern Atlantic Gymnastics League victory over Long Island University on Feb. 13, she had three seconds – balance beam (9.825), floor exercise (9.825) and uneven bars (9.700). Liu, who was named EAGL Rookie of the Year in 2019, earned first team EAGL honors on bars and floor last season.
MADDIE COOKE (PHOENIXVILLE) » The versatile senior will be a key performer for the Penn State women’s swim team at the Big Ten Conference Championship starting Tuesday in Minneapolis, Minn. Cooke usually competes in the 100 breaststroke, the 50 freestyle and the 100 butterfly. She prepped for the league meet by winning the 100 breaststroke in a personal best time of 1:00.19 as the Nittany Lions closed out the regular season with a 120-50 league victory over Michigan State on Feb. 6. Cooke also helped the 200 freestyle and 400 medley relay teams score victories. She is also a member of the 400 free and 200 medley relay teams.
ANNA KONIENCKI (PERKIOMEN VALLEY) » The senior attack scored the first goal of the season for the Virginia Commonwealth women’s lacrosse team in a 11-7 victory over Old Dominion on Feb. 12. She had two draw controls and two caused turnovers. Koniencki came back to score four goals in a 20-8 triumph over Longwood on Feb. 17. She played in all seven games for the Rams in the pandemic shortened season last spring and had 18 goals, five assists and 14 draw controls.
EMILY SMITH (SPRING-FORD) » The South Carolina freshman will make her first appearance in the Southeast Conference Indoor Track Championship starting Thursday in Fayetteville, Ark. Smith will compete in the mile run and with the Gamecocks’ distance medley relay. She prepped for the meet by finishing 10th in the mile at the Carolina Indoor Open on Feb. 13 in Columbia, S.C. Smith posted a personal best time of 5:23.90 and was the second freshman finisher. The team’s DMR finished third with a time of 12:44.10.
MEREDITH LEE (OWEN J. ROBERTS) » The senior has gotten off to a great start with the Duquesne women’s tennis team. Playing No. 3 singles, she stands 2-0 and posted a 6-1, 4-6, 6-2 victory in a 5-2 season-opening triumph over St. Bonaventure on Feb. 7. She also won her doubles match 6-3. Lee scored the Dukes only points in a 6-1 loss to Youngstown on Feb. 14, scoring a 7-6, 6-3 victory. She dropped her doubles match 6-3. Last season, Lee was 11-7 in singles and 8-8 in doubles. She’s a transfer from Wingate University.
MADDI KOURY (OWEN J. ROBERTS) » The 5-foot-8 freshman attack came off the bench and had a goal and an assist in her first collegiate game, but her Mercer women’s lacrosse team opened its season with a 1311 loss to High Point on Feb. 14 in High Point, N.C. The Macon, Ga-based Bears saw their game against Gardner-Webb canceled last Friday due to COVID-19 related concerns. The team is scheduled to face Winthrop this Saturday in Rock Hill, S.C.
CASSIE MARTE (SPRINGFORD) » The sophomore midfielder scored a goal, but her Lehigh women’s lacrosse team opened the season with a 19-17 loss to Drexel last Saturday in Bethlehem. Marte also led the Mountain Hawks with four caused turnovers and picked up a ground ball and had a draw control. She started all seven games for Lehigh in last spring’s shortened season and had two goals and an assist along with seven ground balls, four draw controls and four caused turnovers.
ANNA CURRAN (SPRINGFORD) » The freshman is seeing action with the Loyola (Md.) women’s swim team. In a 197-75 victory over Mount St. Mary’s in a home meet last Saturday in Baltimore, Curran swam the 100 and 200 breaststroke. She finished ninth in the 100 in 1:15.85. She was the third freshman to touch the wall. She finished fifth, the second freshman finisher, in the 200 with a time of 2:42.98. Curran also competes in the 200 free relay B team and the 200 medley relay C team.