Kalgren leads Oberlin; Sipes, Kelly earn awards
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
By Josh Mlot and Jon Christoff Sports Writers
Somehow it's already nearing Thanksgiving, and that means the winter sports season is fully underway for former Progressland athletes now performing at the college level. There are even a few locals still running around the gridiron, while the winter group takes to the pool, court and mat to begin a new, hopeful campaign. Here's a look at who's doing what: Football
Andrew Janocko, Pitt: Janocko and the Panthers continued to roll with a 27-22 win over visiting Notre Dame on Saturday. Pitt jumped out to a 27-9 fourth-quarter lead and then held on for the victory.
Janocko held for three extra points and a pair of field goals, as the Panthers improved to 9-1 on the season.
Pitt is off until Nov. 27 when it tries to keep its BCS Bowl hopes alive at West Virginia in the Backyard Brawl.
David Kalgren, Oberlin: Kalgren led the Yeomen to a dramatic 34-29 victory over Hiram College on Saturday, tossing three touchdown passes and rushing for another.
The former Golden Tide signal caller finished the day with 335 yards of offense, as he threw for 219 and ran for 116 on 23 carries.
Kalgren ended the season with seven starts to his credit, as he completed 95-of-187 attempts for 964 yards and six touchdowns. The freshman quarterback toted 120 carries for a team-high 638 yards and three scores.
Oberlin ended its season at 2-8.
Tanner Kelly, Albright: Kelly and the Lions have earned a bid in the Division III NCAA tournament after rallying from a 23-point deficit against Lebanon Valley College in the game's final 20 minutes. The game went to double overtime, where Albright earned a 44-43 win.
Kelly was tabbed the Middle Atlantic Conference's Offensive Player of the Year as well, after racking up 2,361 yards through the air with 18 touchdowns to just two interceptions. The former Clearfield quarterback ranks in the Top 10 nationally with a rating of 167.97.
Albright returns to action Saturday at Alfred College (N.Y.) in its first-round NCAA tournament game. Kickoff is set for noon.
Nick Sipes, Clarion: Sipes and the Golden Eagles had a memorable end to their season with a 32-12 win over Cheyney. Sipes finished the season with 112 tackles, which was tops in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference. For his efforts, Sipes earned an all-conference second-team selection, as he ranked 25th nationally in tackles per game.
Sipes finished the season with 52 solo tackles, six sacks, 12 tackles for losses, one forced fumble, and one pass break up. Clarion finished at 8-3, including six-straight wins to close the season. The last Eagle winning streak of that length came back in 1992.
Gary Walstrom Jr., Geneva: Walstrom Jr. and the Golden Tornadoes will tangle with Greenville College in the National Christian College Athletic Association's Victory Bowl.
Geneva finished the regular season with a 7-3 mark, and became the first school to appear in six Victory Bowls, where it is 4-1 in previous appearances. Greenville College is making its first appearance and finished the regular season with a 7-2 mark.
Walstrom made four stops and broke up a pass in last weekend's 31-28 setback at Westminster.
Wrestling
Mike Horton, Edinboro: Horton followed up a fourth-place finish at the Buffalo Open by going 2-2 at the Eastern Michigan Open on Nov. 7.
The former P-O heavyweight decisioned EMU's Matt Pettigrew, 2-0, and pinned Olivet's Tim Ahfeld in 3:53.
Horton dropped a pair of decisions to Michigan's Ed Phillips (4-3) and Michigan State's Steve Andrus (3-2).
The following weekend, Horton and Edinboro traveled to SUNY Brockport for the Oklahoma Gold Classic and returned with a fourth place finish. Horton ended the tournament at 3-2.
The Scots are back in action at the Sprawl & Brawl Classic on Sunday.
Kyle Keane, Pitt-Johnstown: Keane opened his season with a second-place finish at the Washington & Jefferson Open.
The former Clearfield standout outscored his opponents 25-0 on his way to the finals, where he was pinned by West Virginia's Donnie Jones in 2:35.
A 2008 All-American, Keane will look to build on his runner-up finish Friday as Pitt-Johnstown hosts West Liberty (WV) University.
Matt Kyler, Army: Kyler, a senior captain for the Black Knights, led his team to a sixth-place finish at the Oklahoma Gold Classic at SUNY Brockport on Saturday.
The former Bisons standout finished third in the tournament, after dropping a 6-2 decision to Oklahoma's Kyle Terry.
Kyler bounced back with 13-1 and 18-6 major decisions for the bronze.
Army is back on the mat Saturday at the Body Bar Invitational at Cornell.
Brad Pataky, Penn State: Pataky, a redshirt junior, has begun the new season on a tear, as he has a pair of technical falls and a major decision to his credit for the Nittany Lions (1-1). The former Clearfield state champion earned a tech fall in the intrasquad scrimmage over Tom Reynolds and followed it up with one against Bloomsburg's Jason Guffey.
Pataky sandwiched his tech falls around a major decision in Penn State's loss to Lehigh. Pataky majored John Donald, 14-4, in the meet.
The Nittany Lions are back in action Saturday at the East Stroudsburg Open.
Andrew Spicer, Penn State-DuBois: Spicer enters Penn State-DuBois's first season of wrestling ranked No. 6 by the National Collegiate Wrestling Association. The Clearfield alum, wrestling at 125 pounds, went 4-0 at the Electric City Duals in Scranton on Oct. 31, as PSU-DuBois finished fifth in the six-team event.
The freshman grappler dropped both of his matches at the Clarion Open on Nov. 7 by major decision.
Penn State-DuBois is back on the mat this evening, as it hosts Jamestown Community College at 7.
Swimming & Diving
John Lytle, Notre Dame: The Fighting Irish put together a strong showing over Big East rival Pittsburgh, 179-121, on Nov. 13. Lytle picked up a victory in the 200 medley relay (1:32.24), and then nabbed back-to-back wins in the 50 free (20.70) and 100 free (45.12). He contributed to another relay win in the 400 free relay, helping his team to a 3:03.83 finish.
Notre Dame (4-1, 1-0) now takes a break before participating in the Ohio State Invite on Dec. 4-6.
Mark Krchnak, Duquesne: Krchnak, the former Clearfield standout, took to the pool for the Dukes in a 108-83 win over Clarion on Saturday. He helped the 200 yard medley relay team to a win, swimming the second leg of a 1:37.20 effort. Krchnak swam the fastest time in the 100 breast, but was disqualified.
Duquesne will swim again at St. Peter's on Friday.
Brandon Boyer, Clarion: Boyer swam in three races for the Golden Eagles in a 108-83 loss to Duquesne on Saturday. The former Clearfield swimmer was on the ‘B' 200 medley relay team that finished fourth with a 1:44.71, while also landing in fifth in the 100 back (56.61) and second in the 200 free relay (1:29.81).
Clarion will now host Bloomsburg on Saturday.
Chris Bodle, Westminster: The Titans (2-0, 1-0) swam to a tight 104-58 win at Bethany on Saturday, with Bodle swimming in four events, finishing third in the 100 fly (1:00.39). The former Bison also swam in the 200 free relay, 200 medley relay and 200 free, with the times being disqualified.
Westminster hosts Washington & Jefferson today.
Amber Centi, Lincoln (Ill.): Centi, a former Lady Bison diver, won both the 1-meter and 3-meter diving competitions as the Lady Lynx topped Principia, 118-41. Centi put together a score of 150.40 in the 1-meter and 154.50 in the 3-meter.
Lincoln will be back in action at the Phoenix Fall Classic in Chicago, a three-day event starting Friday.
Men's Basketball
Tyler Ferguson, Pitt-Bradford: The former West Branch standout made his college debut for the Panthers, playing 15 minutes and finishing with six points and one rebound in an 87-81 loss to Lycoming.
Pitt-Bradford is back on the court tonight hosting D'Youville College.
Women's Basketball
Michelle Peoples, Mount Aloysius: The former Glendale basketball player got six minutes of playing time in the Lady Mounties' 114-79 season-opening loss to St. Vincent.
Mount Aloysius is back in action Saturday in the Hampton Inn Coaches vs. Cancer Classic, where it will face Penn State-Beaver Falls.
Brittany Barrett, Penn State-Dubois: Barrett saw the court for 20 minutes in the Lady Lions' season opener at Alfred University.
The former Curwensville player had four points and six rebounds in an 81-42 loss.
The team will look to bounce back hosting Pitt-Titusville on Thursday.
All former area athletes who play a sanctioned college sport are eligible to be recognized by The Progress for their athletic endeavors in the College Roundup. Athletes are encouraged to have their school's sports information director fax, mail or email updates on their progress to the sports department. Updates can be faxed to 814-765-5165 or mailed to College Roundup, c/o The Progress Sports Department, Post Office Box 291, Clearfield, PA 16830-0291. Emails are also accepted at sports@theprogressnews.com.