The Southern Berks News

DeSanto, Iowa place 1st at Midlands Championsh­ips

- By Bill Arsenault

Sophomore Austin DeSanto helped the University of Iowa wrestling team capture the Midlands Championsh­ips Dec. 29-30 in Hoffman Estates, Ill. The Hawkeyes topped the 10-field team with 184 points, and DeSanto captured the 133 pound title.

DeSanto, an Exeter Township grad, had a first round bye as the No. 2 seed and then went on to score a 22-4 major decision and a fall in 2:16 to advance to the semifinals. He was declared the winner in that match when his opponent, the No. 3 seed, was disqualifi­ed.

In the finals, he scored a 15-5 major decision over No. 4 seed Noah Gonser of Campbell to claim the title. DeSanto now has a 9-1 record in his first season with Iowa after a standout freshman season at Drexel.

“Austin is a sponge, number one,” Iowa coach Tom Brands said. “Number two, he works really hard because wrestling means a lot to him. And, he’s conscienti­ous.”

DeSanto has become popular with the college’s wrestling fans who pack the Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City every time the team has home matches.

“Austin is a pleaser,” Brands said. “He wants to please his fans, he wants to please his teammates and he wants to please his coaches. I attribute a lot of that to the motivating factors in his life.”

The Hawkeyes open their Big Ten Conference schedule against Minnesota on Jan. 13 in Minneapoli­s. KYLE SEIBERT (GOVERNOR

MIFFLIN) >> The true freshman is seeing action at 133 pounds in open tournament­s for the Ursinus wrestling team. Seibert posted a 2-2 record in the Messiah Open on Nov. 3 in

Grantham and picked up his first college pin in 4:22 in his third match of the meet, but was eliminated with a 6-4 setback in the consolatio­n round. At the Ursinus Fall Brawl on Nov. 10 in Collegevil­le, he posted a 1-2 record and dropped a 5-0 decision to be eliminated in the first consolatio­n round. SHARLENE JENSEN (GOVERNOR MIFFLIN) >> The sophomore is the second best diver behind a junior on the Ohio Wesleyan women’s swim team, the Battling Bishops 3-1 overall and 1-0 in North Coast Athletic Conference meets. Jensen had her best effort of the season in the team’s only loss – 179-54 to nationally-ranked Findlay in a non-league meet on Nov. 2 in Findlay, OH. Jensen finished third in the 1-meter dive with a season-best score of 228.08 and followed that up by finishing third in the 3-meter dive with a season-best total of 231.53. JOE GUILIANO (DANIEL

BOONE) >> The freshman swimmer and his Albright teammates closed out the first semester by competing against Division II West Chester and a strong Ursinus team in the Golden Ram Invitation­al Dec. 7-8 in West Chester, and Guiliano scored points in all three of his individual races. He finished fifth in the 100 backstroke with a personal best time of 54.89, ninth fastest in team history. He also finished 11th in the 200 IM (2:04.61) and the 200 backstroke (2:08.87). And he helped two relay teams score points as well. EMONIE REVIERE (GOVERNOR MIFFLIN) >> The Millersvil­le sophomore opened the women’s indoor track season by finishing second out of 79 runners in the 60 meter dash at Franklin & Marshall’s Diplomat Open on Dec. 1 in Lancaster. Her time was 7.95 which was a PSAC Indoor Track

qualifying mark. She finished second in the same meet last year with a time of 8.00. Reviere’s personal best time in the 60 came in the PSAC Indoor Track Championsh­ips last February when she finished 13th with a time of 7.89. KENZIE MYER (DANIEL

BOONE) >> The sophomore had a solid first semester for the 6-3 Arcadia women’s swim team. In a 20346 victory over Wilkes on Dec. 8 in Wilkes-Barre, Myer finished first in the 100 backstroke (1:04.48) and second in the 200 backstroke (2:21.53). It was her second victory in the 100 back thus far this season. Freshman Kira Alderman (Owen J. Roberts) is also scoring points for the Knights. She finished second in the 200 breaststro­ke (2:39.39) and third in both the 50 freestyle (27.20) and the 100 freestyle (58.92). BROOKE BOLLINGER (EXETER) >> The freshman is seeing action with the Towson women’s swim team, the Tigers 5-2 in the first semester and are led by 21 seniors and juniors. At the semester-ending Bucknell Invitation­al Nov. 16-18 in Lewisburg, Bollinger picked up points for finishing 15th in the 100 breaststro­ke with a time of 1:07.76 and 23rd in the 200 breaststro­ke in 2:27.39. She also swam the 50 freestyle (25.78) and the 200 IM (2:15.15) but didn’t score. Towson returns to action at home against Drexel on Jan. 12 in Towson, Md. ERICA LUTZ (HAMBURG) >> The 5-foot-11 sophomore forward continues her standout play with the Lycoming women’s basketball team, the Warriors 10-4 overall and 5-1 in MAC Commonweal­th play after a 69-66 non-league victory over Juniata on Jan. 2 in Huntingdon. Lutz had a team-high 17 points in the game. She leads the team in scoring with a 16.0 average and is tied for first in rebounding with an 8.9 average. She had a careerhigh 23 points in a 55-52 league victory over Arcadia on Dec. 8 in Williamspo­rt and has scored in double figures in 13 of 14 games with four double-doubles.

Lutz leads the team in blocked shots with 25 and also has 19 steals and 16 assists.

“Erica has certainly played at a high level this year, making one of the most pronounced jumps from her freshman to sophomore year that I have seen

in my time as a coach here,” Lycoming coach Christen Ditzler said. “The best part of Erica is her composure. She’s as steady at the end of the game as she is in the first quarter.”

Lutz averaged 3.6 points and 4.0 rebounds in 25 games as a freshman. JOSH GIORGIO (SCHUYLKILL

VALLEY) >> The senior is wrapping up his career with the Air Force Academy wrestling team. Competing at 149 pounds, Geirgio is 2-5 this season. That brings his four-year record to 30-27. He was 11-8 at 141 pounds as a freshman, 14-8 at 149 pounds as a sophomore and 5-4 at 149 pounds as a junior. At Schuylkill Valley, Giorgio still holds the school record in victories by a freshman with 42 and was a four-time sectional champion. LAUREN LISTER (FLEETWOOD) >> The 5-foot-8 sophomore guard is on a roll with the Millersvil­le women’s basketball team, the Marauders 4-8 overall and 1-4 in PSAC East play after an 88-71 non-league loss to Shepherd on Jan. 2 in Shepherdst­own, W.Va. Lister had 15 points in the game. In her four prior games, she averaged 25.3 points including a career-high 31 in a 62-58 league loss to PittJohnst­own on Dec. 30 in Johnstown. She leads the team in scoring (21.2) and blocked shots (22). SARAH CRISSMAN (FLEETWOOD) >> The 5-foot-5 freshman competed in her first collegiate mile race and her debut with the Monmouth women’s indoor track team and she was a winner. Crissman covered the course in 5:05.52 at the Wagner College Showdown on Dec. 7 at the Ocean Breeze Sports Complex in Staten Island, N.Y. At Fleetwood, Crissman set records in the 400, 800 and 1500 meters and was an AllState performer as a freshman and an All-County

pick as a sophomore and junior. KEBA MITCHELL (BERKS

CATHOLIC) >> The 6-foot-4, 189-pound freshman forward is seeing more and more action with the DeSales men’s basketball team, the Bulldogs 8-4 overall and 2-0 in MAC Freedom play after defeating Bryn Athyn 90-71 and Johnson & Wales 91-78 in the Al Senavitis Memorial Tournament on Dec. 29-30 in Center Valley. Mitchell had nine points against Bryn Athyn and 10 points and eight rebounds against Johnson & Wales. On the season, Mitchell has come off the bench in all 12 games and is averaging 6.0 points and 3.0 rebounds a game. He also leads the team in blocked shots with 23. NICK VILLAREAL (BERKS CATHOLIC) >> The sophomore opened the season with the McDaniel men’s indoor track team by finishing 21st out of 33 in the shot put at Franklin & Marshall’s Diplomat Open on Dec. 1 in Lancaster. His toss of 34 feet, 11 ¼ inches is a personal record and it tops his previous best by more than three feet. That came at the Blue Jay Tuneup last April in Elizabetht­own as a freshman last spring when he finished 19th with a throw of 31 feet, 6 inches. SETH WRIGLEY (BOYERTOWN) >> The junior is a key performer with three relay teams for the Washington College men’s swim team. He swims legs on 200 free (1:29.24), the 200 medley (1:38.18) and the 400 medley (3:34.79). Wrigley also is one of the top two competitor­s for the Shoremen in the butterfly with season-best times of 53.32 (50 fly) and 2:02.12 (100 fly). He finished second in the 100 fly (2:02.55) as Washington closed out the first semester with a 151-98 loss to York on Dec. 8 in York.

 ?? COURTESY MARK LUNDY PHOTOGRAPH­Y ?? Iowa’s Austin Desanto has his hand raised in victory after a win at the Midlands Championsh­ips.
COURTESY MARK LUNDY PHOTOGRAPH­Y Iowa’s Austin Desanto has his hand raised in victory after a win at the Midlands Championsh­ips.

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