Category: Sports

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Beyond the Bison Sports

Beyond the Bison: A Life Well Lived

By Julian Dorey

Columnist

Some of us are college football fans. Others casually watch. Others don’t watch at all. But just about all of us have heard of Joe Paterno.

On Jan. 22, the world lost a great one. Never again shall we see an old-school, long-reigning, dynamic—yet so humble–football coach like Joe Paterno. Paterno was more than a football coach. He was an idol.

For 62 years—46 as head coach of Penn State’s football team—the Italian kid from Brooklyn aged with success and grace in the farmland of Pennsylvania. Among that farmland, Paterno built a utopia—a place where young and old could assemble every Saturday to escape from whatever stresses their lives brought upon them.

“Happy Valley,” as Penn State has now long been known, became one of the few football meccas in America.  It is one of the rare situations in life when a triumph can be completely attributed to one person.  Paterno single-handedly built a respected and revered program by marching a selfless, diligent and proud football team out of the tunnel every Saturday.

For all 46 years.

After a successful life living among the cornfields, Joe Paterno went out the same way he lived: without a complaint.

During this sad time, some have chosen to refocus on the recent tragedy that occurred at Penn State—and unfortunately, they’ve chosen to rehash empty claims that Joe Paterno was the man at fault.

In the words of Nike CEO, Phil Knight: “If there is a villain in this tragedy, it lies in [the] investigation—and not in Joe Paterno’s response.”

So in this one last nostalgic piece about the old ball coach, I’ll leave the “scandal” at that.  Never before has a man been so undeserving of what he got—and so graceful in how he handled it.

Joe Paterno accomplished many great things on the football field.  He won two national titles, he sent hundreds of players to the NFL, he created never-before-seen offensive and defensive play packages and he took the Penn State program to the pinnacle of excellence.

But nothing can compare the lasting impact he has left on so many off the field.  Penn Staters and non-Penn Staters alike have been witnesses to that for the last half-century.  Paterno touched more people than most could touch in a billion lifetimes.

Being a good—great—person was what consumed Joe’s life—not winning another football game.

That’s a beautiful thing.

 

Joseph Vincent Paterno

1926-2012

 

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Men Sports Track & Field

Bison Athlete of the Week: Andrew Powell ’12

By Chris McCree

Sports Editor

 

Profile:

Andrew Powell

Senior

Jumps/Multi

Hometown: Charlton, Mass.

Major: Accounting

Statistics:

Heptathlon –

Total points- 5,049

60 – 7.40
Long Jump – 22-6.25
Shot Put – 35-1.75
High Jump – 6-6
60 Hurdles – 8.58
Pole Vault – 12-9.5
1000 – 2:48.68

 


During the final day of the Bison Open & Multi this past weekend, Andrew Powell ’12 made his way into the men’s track and field record books, becoming the first Bison to break 5,000 points in the heptathlon. Powell finished with 5,049 points, beating his previous best time by 82 points and former teammate Ryan White’s ’10 previous record of 4,973. Heading into Saturday, Powell held a healthy lead over UMBC’s Malte Bertram, and extended his lead with two first place finishes in the 60-meter hurdles and pole vault. Capping his meet off with a third-place finish in the 1000-meter dash, Powell cruised to a 459 point victory over Bertram and the rest of the field.

Since joining the squad in 2008, Powell has been no stranger to success. The reigning Patriot League champion in the heptathlon, Powell further exerted himself as one of the league’s elite athletes with his record-breaking performance. On top of this, Powell currently holds the school record of 6,552 points in the decathlon and is a member of the record-holdings 4×60 shuttle hurdle relay squad.

With two weeks remaining before the indoor Patriot League Championships, the Orange and Blue will rely on Powell to continue his strong performances and be the big point-earner they need to claim the title. Over the past five seasons, the Bison have finished in the top three every year.

Before concentrating on championships, Powell and the rest of the squad will head to Youngstown, Ohio this weekend to compete in the Youngstown State Invitational.

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Featured Men Sports Wrestling

Austin Miller ’15 emerges as dominant force

By Andrew Lichtenauer

Staff Writer

Austin Miller ’15 has been a force to be reckoned with for the men’s wrestling team this season. The rookie has the most wins of any Bison wrestler (16-10), going 10-6 in duals and 3-0 in the EIWA duals. 

Of his 16 wins so far this season, Miller’s most notable has to be his upset against Princeton’s Garrett Frey. Frey was ranked No. 20 in his weight class at the time, and Miller’s victory marked his first-ever win against a ranked opponent. Miller’s win contributed significantly to the Bison’s victory over Princeton, as it kick-started the rest of the team and eventually led the Orange and Blue to a 27-9 victory. 

There is no doubting Miller’s commitment to the sport of wrestling and his will to win. Men’s wrestling head coach Dan Wirnsberger attests to Miller’s dedication. “Austin is very committed to the preparation process which translates into success in the competition arena … He is a tireless worker, gritty competitor and he has excellent endurance,” Wirnsberger said. “He understands the importance of preparation and how it leads to success on and off the mat.”

According to Miller, putting faith and trust in his coaches has helped him improve significantly as a wrestler in a short period of time, while maintaining faith in himself and his abilities has gotten him through some of the tougher opponents he faced this season.

“I believe in my ability to win every single time I step onto the mat, even though I don’t always succeed. That has helped me more than anything. Wanting to win and believing that you will win are two completely different things,” Miller said.

Despite his success, Miller has certainly not reached his full potential as a young wrestler. His relentless attitude is indicative of any great competitor, and his drive to improve is certainly a big reason why Miller has won so many matches.

Looking ahead to the rest of the season, Miller still sees room for improvement. “I really would like to get a little bigger and stronger for EIWAs over our three-week break between regular and post-season,” he said. “Also, I need to be able to escape on anyone automatically so I need to work on my bottom technique. I will try to improve on some things on my feet, like creating angles and moving my opponents.”

If Miller continues to believe in himself and his abilities, he will likely add more W’s to his win column before the end of the season. Needless to say, Bison fans should keep an eye out for Austin Miller to see if he can improve on his already impressive rookie season.

Miller and the rest of the men’s wrestling team will return to the mats on Sunday when they host EIWA rival American in Davis Gym at 12 p.m.

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Sports Swimming & Diving Women

Women’s swimming wins four races

By Lindsay Regruto

Staff Writer

Gina Gautieri ’15 clinched first place by 0.27 seconds in the 200-yard breaststroke to give the women’s swimming and diving team one of four wins on Saturday at the Navy Invitational in Annapolis, Md. The Orange and Blue faced Navy, American, Lafayette and Shippensburg in an unscored meet in preparation for the upcoming Patriot League Championship.

“…It was the last chance to see where we were individually and as a team with our training,” Gautieri said. “I felt we raced very well as a team and are ready for great performances at our championship meets.”

Gautieri’s first-place finish was her first victory of the season, and her time of 1:08:91 in the 100 breast put her at fifth on team’s 2011-2012 fastest time list. Elizabeth Porcellio ’13 added to the list of wins with a first-place finish in the 400 IM, claiming her victory by 5.83 seconds.

Katie Hetherington ’15 swept both diving events to give the Orange and Blue its other two wins. The first-year scored 231.15 on the one-meter, followed closely behind by teammate Tori Molchany ’15, who placed second with 222.10. Hetherington grabbed her first-place finish on three-meter with a score of 276.85.

“It was a fun meet to go to because it was one of the last meets before Patriots and everyone was pumped up and cheering everyone on,” Hetherington said.

Top Bison performers also included Emily Wright ’14, who came in second in the 50 free and Sydney Schroder ’15, who finished second in the 200 back.  The Orange and Blue did not have swimmers entered in every event, but used the meet to try swimmers in new, unfamiliar events.

The next competition will be the Patriot League Championships hosted at Navy. The three-day event begins Feb. 16.

 

 

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Men Sports Swimming & Diving

Bison prepare for Patriots

By Scott Padula

Writer

The men’s swimming and diving team closed its regular season with two individual first-place finishes at the Navy Invitational last Saturday in Annapolis, Md. The unscored meet featured a host of Patriot League rivals including the host Midshipmen, American and Lafayette, as well as Shippensburg.

In a competition in which the Mids won 14 of 17 total events, Orange and Blue swimmers Eric Sokolosky ’12 and Trevor Reitz ’14 still managed to take the top spot in their events.

Sokolosky claimed first in the 200 freestyle in 1:42.12 for the Orange and Blue and led the Bison swimmers in the 200 individual medley with a time of 1:59.64, finishing fourth overall. As a whole, the 200 freestyle event was the best event of the day for the Orange and Blue as Christian Treat ’13, Thomas Brown ’12, Daniel Wallace ’14, Ben Seketa ’15 and Reitz combined to capture six of the first nine places in the event. Reitz claimed the only other victory for the Bison in the 200 butterfly, recording a season-best time of 1:57.42.

Notable performances also came from Orange and Blue swimmers Taylor Harris ’12 and Evan Palumbo ’12 who earned second places in the 100 and 200 breaststrokes, respectively. Harris led a group of three Bison who finished in the top five in the 100 breaststroke with a career-best time of 58.88 seconds, while Palumbo narrowly beat two other Orange and Blue swimmers to take second in the 200 breaststroke. Palumbo’s second-place finish was a satisfying result for the senior who was competing in his final collegiate meet. 

The Orange and Blue will now have two weeks to train before they head back to Annapolis to compete in the Patriot League Championships.

“It’s a good experience to be at the pool we will be competing at in Patriots,” Mike Nicholson ’14 said. “It was our last chance to race before championships and I think we swam pretty well.”

Last season, the Orange and Blue took third place, falling to both Navy and Army, but the Bison come into this year’s meet a much-improved squad. With just one loss to Patriot League opponents during the regular season, the team expects nothing short of second this year. The three-day meet begins Feb. 16.

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Men Sports Wrestling

Wrestling falls to two ranked opponents

By Andrew Arnao

Writer

The wrestling team opened last weekend with a 27-9 win over George Mason but faltered in its matches against nationally-ranked Oklahoma State and Binghamton by scores of 35-6 and 36-6, respectively. The Orange and Blue are now 3-13 on the year.

The Bison were slow out of the gate against George Mason, starting the meet behind by six after dropping their first two bouts to the Patriots. Derrik Russell ’13 gave the Bison their first points of the meet with a 3-1 overtime decision, and Alex Pellicciotti ’14 followed the win with a technical fall to give the Orange and the Blue an 8-6 lead.

From there, the Bison went on to win five of their next six decisions, including a decisive 16-2 decision by Stephen McPeek ’14 and a pin by Tyler Lyster ’15 in 3:22.

After snapping its six-match losing streak at George Mason, the Bison traveled to Stillwater, Okla. to face a pair of ranked opponents in No. 2 Oklahoma State and No. 22 Binghamton. Against the Cowboys, John Regan ’12 scored the only points for the Bison with a pin against Alex Munoz.

The Orange and Blue fared no better against Binghamton with Austin Miller ’15 and Corey Lear ’13 recording victories. Miller’s 5-4 decision marked his fifth win in seven bouts and gave the Bison a short-lived lead.

The Bison will return home on Sunday for the first time since December and host American at noon in Davis Gym.

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Sports Track & Field Women

Women’s track impresses

By Katherine Harris

Writer

The women’s track and field team came away with five ECAC qualifiers and a new school record last weekend in the Bison Open & Multi and Penn State National Invitational.

On Friday and Saturday, many of the top Bison athletes traveled to the Penn State National Invitational to race, throw and jump against some very tough competition.  Highlighting the meet was Beth Braunegg ’14, who claimed the top spot in program history for the 1000 meters with a time of 2:53:73. With this time she beat the previous record by .17 and claimed fourth in the race.

Hana Casalnova ’13 in the 800, Braunegg and Caroline Tolli ’13 in the 1000 Emily Liggett ’12 in the 3000 and the distance medley relay team all secured ECAC qualifying times.

“Our women had a very nice weekend. We seemed much more confident than we were for the Gulden Invitational and we had quite a few season best marks,” head coach Kevin Donner said. “I believe the hard work we did in early January is now paying off.”

Many of the members of the Orange and Blue squad also remained at home this weekend, participating in the Bison Open & Multi. Though the meet was not scored to produce an overall team winner, there were many impressive performances all around by the Bison.

Alexandra Romanelli ’14 won the triple jump at 37 ft, 6.75 inches, putting her tenth all-time in school history. Romanelli also tied for first in the long jump along with teammate Alyssa Cardillo ’14. Abby Monaghan ’13 won the weight throw with a throw of 50 ft, 6.75 inches.

Winners of the track events included Katie Jessee ’15 in the mile, Kim Nagotko ’15 in the 400 and Kylie Pearse ’15 in the 1000. 

“I was very happy with my performance. I achieved my goal for the meet of breaking three minutes in the 1000 meters,” Pearse said. “As a team our main goal is to win Patriot Leagues. That being said, there is always room for improvement. Every second and every inch of improvement brings us closer and closer to achieving our goal.”

Next weekend the Bison will continue their season at the Youngstown State Invitational on Friday and Saturday, competing on an oversized indoor track that should lead to fast times. 

“I think we are gaining essential confidence and building momentum for the Patriot League Championships coming up in a few weekends,” Tolli said. “We are excited to be back under one roof for competition next weekend at Youngstown and keep the momentum going.”

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Men Sports Track & Field

Men’s track dominates

By Cooper Mead

Contributing Writer

The men’s track and field team impressed at the Bison Open & Multi last weekend. The team posted record-setting numbers throughout the meet including a monumental performance by Andrew Powell ’12 who set a school record in the heptathlon, becoming the first Bison to break the 5,000-point mark with his score of 5,049.

Sam Brandstadt ’15 and Greg Barbier ’12 joined Powell on the record board, posting the school’s eighth and ninth best performances in the heptathlon with 4,176 and 4,071 points, respectively. Another top performer, Ray Holmes ’14, earned second in the triple jump with a career-best 40’ 0.75’’ which ranks seventh-best in program history.

Other notable Orange and Blue performances came from Leonard Joseph ’13 who claimed first in the weight throw and Patryk Najbar ’14 who earned fifth in the 60-meter dash with a time of 7.06 seconds.

“Overall it was a great weekend for Bison track and field,” head coach Kevin Donner said. “We had a number of IC4A/ECAC qualifiers as well as a couple of school records. The athletes competed with a lot of enthusiasm and that energy will continue through the next three weeks.”

The Bison will compete in the Crusader Classic on Feb. 3 and the Youngstown State Invitational on Feb. 3 and 4 as they continue to prepare for the Patriot League Championships, which are two weeks away.

“It was a great weekend for our team,” Barbier said. “We’re seeing school records fall and a lot of strong performances right now as we continue to train for Patriot League Championships in a few weeks.”

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Basketball Sports Women

Women’s basketball falls just short of first league win

By Thomas Walter

Writer

Still desperately searching for that one elusive win, the women’s basketball team fell 50-49 to Navy in a back-and-forth contest last Saturday at home.  The Bison lost for the third time in the last seven games by a margin of four points or less.

“We are so close to a win and I think we are going to make some big upsets in the second round of league play,” Shelby Romine ’14 said.

The Orange and the Blue had one of their strongest games of the year and held possession with a chance to win in the game’s final seconds following a five-second call against Navy. Romine’s shot with a second remaining in the contest came up just short, leaving the team winless in league play.

Rachel Voss ’13 led the Bison with 13 points and Christina Chukwuedo ’12 also added 12 points for the Bison.

The Bison held a six-point lead with 12 minutes remaining in the second half, but the Midshipmen quickly rattled off seven unanswered points to take the lead. During the second half, the Orange and Blue defense could not find an answer for Navy’s Alix Membreno who recorded 15 points in the second half alone.

The Bison ended up shooting 31% from the field while Navy shot 38% from the field.  

The Bison start the second round of Patriot League play on Saturday when they make the trip to Army.

“The key to our success will be turning up the defensive pressure.  We play our best at a fast pace. We capitalize off of turnovers, scoring baskets in transition,” Romine said.

Categories
Sports

Men’s basketball extends league win streak

By Ajan Caneda

Writer

The men’s basketball team continued its dominance in Patriot League play with a 66-51 victory at Navy on Saturday, improving its record to 17-6 overall and 7-0 in conference action. Mike Muscala ’13 scored 27 points on 11 for 15 shooting, tying his career high, to lead the Bison to their ninth straight victory.

“My teammates did a good job of finding me, whether it was on pick and pops or in the post,” Muscala said. “It was a good win for us, and moving forward we have to stay hungry and focus one game at a time.”

Despite a one-for-six start from the field, the Orange and Blue climbed back behind a 17-2 first half run that gave the Bison an 11 point lead 12 minutes into the first half.

Bryan Cohen ’12 was the second leading scorer for the Bison with 12 points, including a jumper that extended the lead to 18, the largest of the game, late in the first half. Defense was a priority for the Orange and Blue as guards Steven Kasper ’15 and Ryan Hill ’14 both had steals that were followed by baskets, contributing to the Bison’s 16-9 edge in points off turnovers. The Bison led 38-23 at halftime.

“Navy doubled down on Mike and it opened up opportunities for the guards to penetrate lanes and open shots on the perimeter,” Cohen said. “I was fortunate to knock down shots early in the game and that got me into a good rhythm.”

Navy began the second half with two quick baskets that trimmed the lead to 11, but it would not be able to cut the deficit to single digits, as the Bison continued their balanced shooting and tough defense. 

Field goal percentage would end up being the difference as the Bison shot 51.0% to Navy’s 36.4%. Forward Joe Willman ’13 crashed the boards throughout the game with a team-high nine rebounds, four of those on the offensive end. The Orange and Blue finished with 13 second-chance points. The Bison were also a perfect 10 for 10 from the free throw line.

With seven games left in the regular season, the Bison remain focused to acquire a second straight Patriot League championship. Their next game is a home contest against Army on Saturday, Feb. 4 at 7 p.m.The Orange and Blue defeated the Black Knights 75-59 Jan. 7 at West Point.

“I think we have done a good job all year just going out and playing game by game,” Johnson said. “This win was big for us because now we have a little lead going into the second half of league play and we have a full week of practice to refocus and prepare for our next set of games.”