As we take a deep dive into the college ranks to uncover former Chambersburg players competing at the next level, it’s becoming more and more apparent that we could field an entire team, perhaps an entire army, with the number of ex-Trojans we’ve been able to find.
In College Corner this week, we’ll take a close look at how Chambersburg’s former standouts are performing at the collegiate level. As we mentioned before, there are quite a few former Trojans in the college ranks, so we’ll dedicate this column space to wrapping up the winter sports season for swimming, basketball, and gymnastics, while also taking a quick glance over to the outdoor track season.
If we had to pick an MVP for the winter sports season, our vote would go to swimmer Avery Barley at Messiah, who wrapped up his junior season with a pair of wins and a meet record at the season-ending MAC Championships.
In the months to come, College Corner will make stops to Waynesboro and Greencastle, before making its return to Chambersburg to wrap the spring sports season.
Do you know of any athletes competing at the college level? Please send additions for College Corner to Andy Sandrik via email at [email protected].
SWIMMING
Avery Barley, Junior, Messiah (PHOTOGRAPHED)
Barley ended his season with a monster performance — complete with a pair of wins, a meet record, and all-conference honors in four events — at the MAC Championships, held at the Graham Aquatics Center in York on Feb. 9-12.
Barley won the 100 backstroke in record-breaking fashion, posting a time of 49.75 to shatter the MAC meet record. He added a second win while serving as the opening leg for the championship 200 medley relay squad, which posted a championship-winning time of 1:33.73.
Barley added second-place finishes in the 200 backstroke (1:50.45) and 400 medley relay (3:26.41), while also finishing third in the 200 freestyle relay (1:25.77), fourth in the 400 freestyle relay (3:09.80), and sixth in the 200 IM (1:56.61).
Messiah posted a record of 10-2 this season.
Breanna Kratz, Senior, Immaculata
Kratz was inactive for the season-ending AEC Conference Championships.
Audrey Kough, Freshman, Washington & Jefferson
Kough wrapped up an active first season of college swimming with competition at the PAC Championships on Feb. 15-18 at Grove City College.
Kough was a member of four relay teams, which recorded two sixth- and two seventh-place finishes. Kough assisted the 200 freestyle relay (1:51.01) and 200 medley relay (2:06.02) to sixth-place finishes, while leading the 400 medley relay (4:42.58) and 400 freestyle relay (4:05.40) squads to seventh-place finishes.
Washington & Jefferson was 2-9 in the pool this season, including 1-5 in the PAC.
OUTDOOR TRACK
Emilea Alleman, Freshman, Shippensburg
Alleman is getting her first taste of collegiate outdoor season and is more than holding her own.
She’s been active in four invitationals this spring, starting with the Millersville Metrics on March 31-April 1, where she claimed third place in the 5,000 with a PR time of 19:33.34.
Alleman ran the 1,500 at the York College Twilight Meet on April 5, posting a time of 5:19.43 for 19th place. A few weeks later on April 19 at the Shippensburg Mid-Week Meet, she recorded a time of 20:07.82 in the 5,000 to claim fourth place.
Finally, Alleman nailed down another PR at the Paul Kaiser Classic on April 29, when she clocked a time of 11:17.28 in the 3,000 to take sixth place.
Shippensburg returns to action on May 11-13 for the PSAC Championships, set to be held at Slippery Rock.
Livi Rieck, Freshman, Shippensburg
Rieck has appeared in one invitational this spring: The Millersville Metrics on March 31-April 1.
At that invite, Rieck finished 11th in the 1,500 (5:04.52) and 21st in the 800 (2:37.99).
Brooke Richards, Freshman, Ursinus
It was an active April month for Richards, a distance specialist who competed in three invitationals last month.
She made her collegiate outdoor debut on April 13-15 at the Messiah Invitational, where she clocked a time of 5:56.77 in the 1,500 to take 50th place.
Richards shaved a couple seconds off that time the following week, when she took 39th in the 1,500 at the Widener Invite on April 21-22 with a time of 5:54.07. She bumped up to compete in the 5,000 at the Lions Invitational on April 28-29, and earned an eighth-place finish in 21:30.44.
Ursinus returns to competition this weekend when it hosts the Centennial Conference Championships.
Jillian Cook, Freshman, Stockton
Cook, a 400 hurdles standout, has also shown herself to be an invaluable relay member, teaming up with her Ospreys mates for three Top 5 finishes at invitationals this spring.
She kicked off her season on March 25 at the Stockton Invite, where she ran to a fifth-place finish in the 400 hurdles in 1:17.0.
Less than a week later, Cook was back to work at the Ramapo Invitational on March 31-April 1, where she led her 4×100 relay squad to a third-place finish in 51.26.
Cook then expanded her workload at the Osprey Open on April 7-8, guiding her 4×400 squad to a runner-up finish in 4:32.12, while also posting a 1:19.79 in the 400 hurdles for 10th place.
After a long break, Cook returned to action with a PR effort in the 400 hurdles at the Lions Invitational on April 28-29. She completed the hurdles race with a career-best time of 1:15.44, for 11th place. Cook also served as a member of the 4×100 relay team, which finished fifth in 55.55.
Stockton returns to competition this weekend at the NJAC Outdoor Championships.
Ben Colli, Freshman, Duquesne
With conference championship weekend quickly approaching, Colli should be ready for the big dance after getting live opportunities at invitationals nearly every week this season.
We’ll begin at the Carnegie Mellon Invitational on March 24-25, where Colli began to settle into his main two events, the 800 and 1,500. He finished the 1,500 in 4:10.13 for 13th place, and clocked a 2:00.03 in the 800 for 16th place.
Colli had a chance to run a unique relay event at the Colonial Relays on March 30-April 1, when he served as a member of the Dukes’ 4×1,500 relay team, which posted a time of 16:26.40 for 14th place. He also ran a 4:05.29 in the 1,500 for 65th place.
Colli had his highest placement of the spring season at the Robert Morris Mid Week PR Bonanza on April 5, when he ran to a runner-up finish in the 1,500 with a time of 4:08.04. He kept the momentum going in the 1,500 at the Bison Outdoor Classic on April 14-16, blasting his way to a PR time of 4:03.44 for 50th.
Another run in the 1,500, this time in 4:05.74 for sixth place at the Benson/Hodge Memorial Invitational on April 21-22, was followed by a return to the 800 at the Saint Francis Red Flash Open on April 29. There, he zipped to a collegiate-best time of 1:58.34 to earn fifth place.
Colli and Duquesne return to action this weekend at the Atlantic 10 Championship.
Karter Reath, Freshman, Geneva
The 3,000 steeplechase is an event that combines the length of a distance race with the technical challenge of the hurdles, and leaves the competitors soaking wet in the process.
It’s nothing that Reath couldn’t handle.
Reath had a fine season learning the event, running it three times at the Myrtle Beach Collegiate Challenge (10:23.59) on March 10-11, the Carnegie Mellon Invitational (10:14.30) on March 24-25, and the Westminster Invitaitonal (10:07.83) on April 8, to set himself up for a big weekend at the PAC Championships on April 27-28.
Running under the bright lights of the conference championships, Reath shaved even more time off his steeplechase PR, crossing the finish line in 9:55.18 to take third place. Reath also ran the 5,000 and finished 20th in 16:56.07.
Bre’Ya Clopper, Junior, Wheeling Jesuit
Clopper’s season of constant improvement in the 100 hurdles came to a heartbreaking conclusion at the season-ending Mountain East Conference Championships on April 30-May 2.
Clopper’s outdoor journey began in March, when she came out of the gates in the 100 hurdles with times of 17.29 and 17.30 at the Stan Romanoski Open and Vertklasse, respectively.
In April, she got those times down to the 16-second range at the Flames Invitational (16.82) on April 7-8, the Bison Outdoor Classic (16.31) on April 14-16, and the Otterbein Twilight (16.12) on April 21. At the conference championships, Clopper seemed poised to pursue her collegiate PR of 15.09 from 2021, but a disqualification in the race put her season to a disappointing end.
Clopper also ran the 400 hurdles this season and finished the conference meet with a time of 1:15.68 for 11th place.
Alyssa Scalia, Junior, Seton Hill
Scalia, a thrower for the Griffins, does so much more than pick things up and put them down: She launches them.
Scalia has had a busy spring competing in the javelin, discus and hammer throw. She logged two of her season-best marks in her most recent invite, the Paul Kaiser Classic on April 29. There she uncorked a throw of 110-0 in the javelin and a heave of 84-4 in the discus.
Scalia’s best hammer throw of the season came on April 16 at the Behrend Invite, when she unleashed a throw of 95-3 to claim seventh place.
The skills of Scalia and her teammates will be put to the test on May 11-13 at the PSAC Championships.
WRESTLING
Luke Nichter, Junior, Drexel
Nichter wrapped up his wrestling season with a trip to the awards stand at the EIWA Championships on March 4-5.
Nichter, the No. 7-seed at 149 pounds, opened his tournament with a decision, topping Navy’s Kaemen Smith by a 12-7 score. Nichter was bounced from the championship bracket with an 18-1 loss to Cornell’s Yianni Diakomihalis, but he rebounded in the consolations with a 6-5 win over Binghamton’s Michael Zarif.
Nichter kept his momentum going with a 5-3 win over No. 3 seed Max Brignola of Lehigh, before he was sent to the fifth-place match with a 9-3 loss to Penn’s Doug Zapf, the No. 1 seed. Nichter concluded his tournament with a 3-1 decision over Columbia’s Danny Fongaro to finish in fifth place.
Nichter was 17-8 this season with five major decisions and two falls. He is 33-15 for his career.
With Nichter serving as a regular in Drexel’s lineup, the dragons were 10-8 this season and 6-3 in the EIWA.
Tate Nichter, R-Freshman, Drexel
The 157-pound Nichter saw 21 bouts of action for the Dragons this season.
He wrestled to a 9-12 record with one major decision and three falls.
BASKETBALL
Tyler Collier, Junior, Flagler
It was a quality season on the stat sheet for Collier, a 6-foot-8, 240-pound forward who was one of just four players to play in all 30 games for Flagler.
Collier finished his season with 190 points (6.3 points per game), including 16 three-pointers, 134 rebounds (4.5 rebounds per game), 56 assists, four steals, and five blocks.
The Saints finished their season with a 13-17 record, including a 7-11 mark in the PBC.
Ty Holsopple, Junior, Shippensburg
Holsopple, a 6-foot-3, 225-pound forward, recently wrapped his season for Shippensburg, competing in 10 of 30 games for the Raiders.
Holsopple got 45 minutes of action, totaling 11 points, 12 rebounds, one assist and four steals.
Shippensburg wenth 19-11 this season, including 16-6 in the PSAC.
Eli Shearer, Freshman, Mansfield
Shearer got to play in 10 games for Mansfield in his first season of college basketball.
In 52 minutes of action, the 6-foot-3 guard totaled 19 points, including two three-pointers, to go along with 10 rebounds, four assists, and four steals.
The Mounties finished their season with a 6-20 record, including a 5-17 mark in the PSAC.
Allie List, Freshman, St. John Fisher
List, a 5-foot-10 guard, recently wrapped up her first season learning the collegiate ropes in the powerhouse St. John Fisher program.
She made appearances in 15 games and totaled 60 minutes of playing time. List logged six points, including a three-pointer, to go along with eight rebounds, two assists, and three steals.
The Cardinals (26-3, 18-0 Empire 8) had a monster season that saw them advance all the way to the second round of the NCAA Division III Championships, where they were finally knocked out 65-64 by Smith College.
ACROBATICS & TUMBLING
Morgan Bopp, Freshman, Frostburg State
Bopp, a first-year top/tumbler for Frostburg State, helped her team to a 10-3 record this season, including a 5-0 mark in the MEC.
Bopp’s Bobcats had a historical campaign, as they won the MEC Tournament for the first time in school history, defeating both Glenville State (262.720-248.465) and Fairmont State (265.545-260,610) on April 14-15.
Frostburg State concluded its season at the NCATA Finals on April 27, falling to Oregon by a 265.060-257.200 score.
