Locals help Benedictine to NAIA title
OJR grad Stalletti, Spring-Ford grad Wechter star during title run
GIANNA STALLETTI (SPRING CITY/ OWEN J. ROBERTS) AND NATALIE WECHTER (ROYERSFORD/SPRING-FORD) » Wechter, a senior midfielder, and Stalletti, a sophomore goalie, helped Benedictine College (Kans.) to its first NAIA national championship on Saturday with a 9-8 win over undefeated and top-ranked Lawrence Tech.
Wechter assisted on four goals, including her team’s final three scores. She fed Clare Ryan on the game-winning score with 4:08 left in the game. Stalletti saved 14 shots in net to protect the win.
The two were standouts throughout the postseason run.
In Thursday’s 15-14 semifinal win over SCAD-Savannah, Stalletti made nine saves and scooped three ground balls, while Wechter scored twice and assisted on another goal. She fed Aidan McEnerney with 2:23 left for the game-winner.
Wechter, who was named to the All-Tournament Team, was also one of the stars of Wednesday’s 1411 quarterfinal win over Cumberlands with five goals. She scored Benedictine’s final three goals to break open an 11-11 tie with 8:39 remaining. Stalletti had nine saves in the game.
Benedictine finished the season at 16-1, winning 16 straight games after dropping its opener and Wechter and Stalletti were two of the team’s top players throughout the season.
Wechter was the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference’s Offensive Player of the Year and a first team All-KCAC performer. She also won the award in 2019 and 2021. Wechter finished the season with 89 goals, which ranked third in all of NAIA, and also added 33 assists.
Stalletti also earned first team AllKCAC honors. She finished the season with 103 saves compared to just 92 goals against (52.8 save percentage). Stalletti led the conference in both save percentage and goals against average.
ERIKA BOYER (EAST GREENVILLE/UPPER PERKIOMEN) AND MADISON WINEBURG (PHOENIXVILLE/PHOENIXVILLE) » Lycoming College senior attack Boyer and junior defender earned MAC Freedom All-Conference distinction this season.
A second team choice, Boyer, who finished her career with 99 points in 41 career games, led the Warriors with 25 assists, finishing sixth in the league in the category. She also was 20th with 32 goals scored, finishing 12th in the conference with 3.12 points per game.
Wineburg, who received honorable mention distinction, consistently drew opponents’ top offensive threat and was key to the team’s success on defense as well as in the clearing game. She finished the year with 14 caused turnovers and 31 ground balls. She had a season-high four ground balls in the conference championship first round against DeSales and posted three caused turnovers against Wilkes.
Lycoming finished 10-9 overall and 4-4 in the MAC Freedom, which recovered from a 1-7 record during two COVID-shortened seasons in 2020 and 2021. MARY PAT MCKENNA (ROYERSFORD/SPRINGFORD) » The junior defender provided Franklin & Marshall solid play during the Centennial Conference playoffs this past weekend.
The second-seeded Diplomats ended up as runnersup, falling to top seed Gettysburg 8-5 Sunday after getting by Haverford Saturday, 11-9.
McKenna had a teambest three caused turnovers and four ground balls in the title game, but a first quarter deficit proved too much for F&M to overcome. Against Haverford, she had four caused turnovers as the fourth-ranked Diplomats (16-3), with four goals in the fourth quarter, overtook the Fords for the win.
Sunday’s result notwithstanding, the Diplomats have a very strong case for selection into the NCAA Division III Tournament as they have been ranked inside the top five nationally all year long.
MAGGIE SELL (PERKIOMENVILLE/PERKIOMEN VALLEY) » The East Stroudsburg junior helped anchor the Warriors’ defense as they won their first PSAC championship since 2017 this weekend. Sell, a PSAC East Second Team, scooped two ground balls and a caused a turnover in a 13-2 semifinal win over Mercyhurst on Friday. She then grabbed three ground balls and caused three turnovers in a 15-12 championship game victory over West Chester. The Warriors’ season continues in the first round of the NCAA Division II Tournament on Friday against Mercyhurst.
Men’s lacrosse
RICH MARSHALL (COLLEGEVILLE/PERKIOMEN VALLEY) » Senior attack Marshall scored a team-high four goals but Neumann suffered a season-ending 19-11 defeat to Marymount (Va.) in the semifinals of the Atlantic East Conference tournament on May 5.
Marshall scored 40 goals and had 19 assists, finishing second on the team in points (59). Neumann, which also featured PV grads Max Nice (19 goals, 1o assists) and Sam Nice (16 goals, 5 assists), finished 11-8 on the year.
Men’s track & field
NICHOLAS SPEAKMAN-VIGGIANO (POTTSTOWN/OWEN J. ROBERTS) » The sophomore helped Immaculata University’s 4x100 relay to a medal finish in its season-ender at the Atlantic East Championships.
Speakman-Viggiano ran the second leg of a relay that finished third in 47.04, joined by Peter McHugh, Dylan Crews and Gerard Faia kicked off the day for the Macs with a third-place time of 47.04. He also competed in the 800 run, placing ninth in 2:25.93 ahead of Fala (10th, 2:26).
The Mighty Macs earned fourth place overall as a team, missing third place by one point while earning eight overall medals in the meet.
Women’s track & field
FAITH GILLIN (POTTSTOWN/ POTTSGROVE) » The sophomore was part of a recordsetting run for the Immaculata University 4x100 relay during the seasonconcluding Atlantic East Championships it hosted this past weekend.
Gillin ran third in the Mighty Macs’ foursome, joining Peyton Hays, Jillian Humphries and Julia Darlak to finish second overall in a time of 54.54 that was a program record on the event. The Mighty Macs placed fourth overall on the day while earning medals in eight events.
Men’s tennis
JASON WATTS (POTTSTOWN/ POTTSGROVE) »
The Immaculata University sophomore was honored by the Atlantic East Conference on its allconference team this past week.
The 2021 Rookie of the Year made his secondstraight first team All-Conference selection after earning a 4-1 record in Atlantic East Conference play this season out of the first singles position for the Macs. He is joined on the first team by freshman teammate Nicholas Fleming, who made his Atlantic East debut out of the second singles position and earned a 4-1 slate of his own on the season.
The duo also represented Immaculata out of the firstdoubles position on the season, earning first team AllConference together after posting a 4-1 record in conference doubles play. The pair dominated the Atlantic East on the season, only dropping matches against the Atlantic East Champions in Marymount.