Shippensburg men’s swimmers finish fifth at F & M Invitational
LANCASTER — The Shippensburg University men’s swimming team wrapped up a successful weekend at the Franklin & Marshall Invitational on Sunday with a fifth-place team finish out of nine teams at the Kunkel Aquatic Center.
Shippensburg had all but three of its individual performances satisfy the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) qualifying standard and advanced 10 men into evening finals. In the 1,650-yard freestyle, the day’s lone event without a final, freshman David Johnson (Chesterfield, Va./L.C. Bird) finished fourth after swimming 16:40.99.
SU’s three seniors that took to the pool for the 200-yard breaststroke once again impressed. Senior Andrew Hale (Springfield, Va./West Springfield), who sits second in school history for the event behind record holder senior Matt Bochanski (Havertown, Pa./Haverford), improved his personal best with an excellent evening swim of 2:03.71 that resulted in a second-place finish. Hale swam more than three seconds faster in the final from his morning prelim. Bochanski was right behind, taking third in 2:03.96, while senior Vin Salvatore (Howell, N.J./Howell) finished 10th with a new personal best of 2:10.33 that also featured a three-second improvement from the morning prelims.
Shippensburg women’s swimmers take sixth in F & M Invitational
LANCASTER —The Shippensburg University women’s swimming team completed three days of competition at the Franklin & Marshall Invitational on Sunday with a sixth-place team finish at the Kunkel Aquatic Center.
Shippensburg advanced 12 individuals into finals on Sunday and had 10 performances that satisfied the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) qualifying standard. Its most successful event of the day was the 200-yard breaststroke, which featured six Raiders advancing to finals and posting conference cuts.
Leading the Raiders in said event was sophomore Alyssa Tomb (Harrison City, Pa./Penn-Trafford), won the “B” group consolation final with a time of 2:29.13. Tomb trimmed four seconds off her morning prelim time in the final. Freshman Lauren Croll (Honolulu, Hi./President Theodore Roosevelt) and senior Natalie Wiley (Bensalem, Pa./Bensalem) also made the “B” final, with Croll placing 11th in 2:32.79 and Wiley just one place and .04 seconds behind.
Shippensburg women’s basketball team loses to Holy Family
PHILADELPHIA — The Shippensburg University women’s basketball team shot just 33 percent from the field in the second half on Sunday as it fell at Holy Family, 71-64, in a non-conference matchup at Campus Center Gym.
Shippensburg (2-2) opened the game on an 8-0 run before Holy Family (4-1) rallied to lead at the end of the first quarter. The Raiders led by a point at halftime, but the Tigers scored 23 points in the final quarter to take control.
SU posted a 42-36 rebound advantage but could not overcome 28 turnovers. The Tigers had 13 steals and had 31 points from their bench.
Junior Lauren Pettis (Harrisburg, Pa./Susquehanna Township) led the Raiders in scoring with a career high of 21 points, making 5-of-6 at the free-throw line. Pettis added seven rebounds and one block.
Shippensburg was playing its second straight game without injured star Aerial Jones.
Shippensburg is back in action at 6 p.m. Tuesday when it hosts Goldey-Beacom for a non-conference matchup at Heiges Field House.
Shippensburg men conclude cross country season
ST. LEO, Fla. — Chayce Macknair (Lewistown, Pa./Mifflin County) and Hayden Hunt (Shippensburg, Pa./Shippensburg Area) represented the Shippensburg University men’s cross country team Saturday morning at the 2021 NCAA Division II Men’s Cross Country National Championships
Hunt crossed the finish line in 210th place with a time of 34:39.6. Macknair was just two spots behind, running 34:45.4.
The two men were the first individual national qualifiers for the Raiders since Matt Gillette in 2012.
The morning race marked Macknair’s third collegiate 10K cross country race and Hunt’s second in their respective careers.
Saturday’s performance concludes a 2021 season for the two men that includes All-Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) and USTFCCCA All-Region honors – including the 2021 PSAC individual championship for Macknair.
Two Shippensburg U. volleyball players earn all-PSAC honors
Shippensburg University freshman outside hitter Emily Gardner (Avon, Ohio/Avon) and junior middle blocker Rachel Verhoef (Greencastle, Pa./Greencastle-Antrim) were named to the 2021 All-Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division Volleyball Teams through voting conducted by the league’s coaches.
Gardner and Verhoef were both selected to the All-PSAC Eastern Division Second Team. It is the first career All-PSAC classification for both players.
Gardner led the Raiders with 270 kills and 31 aces this season. She hit .150 or better in 10-of-28 matches while producing double-digit kills 12 times. Gardner totaled eight double-doubles with kills and digs. She recorded double-digit digs in 11 matches and 15 or more kills on four occasions.
Verhoef led the Raiders with 73 blocks, ranked second in kills with 265, and served 17 aces. She hit .200 or better in 16 matches while producing double-digit kills 13 times.
