PSU Sports Wrap Up

PSU Sports Wrap Up

Justin Siewierski
Editor-in-Chief
js2010@plymouth.edu

The winter season has come to and end for the Plymouth State Women’s Swimming and Diving team, as they solidified a 14th place finish in the New England (NEISDA) Championships last weekend at the University of Rhode Island. Julia West (Wiscasset, ME) and Julia Mazza (Belchertown, Mass) were the story of the weekend, as the freshmen posted top finishes for the team in all three days. In the opening day, West finished 9th in the 50-yard freestyle final, the highest place amongst PSU swimmers. Mazza and teammate Deanne DeGrazia (Westport, Mass) qualified for the ‘B’ finals in day one as well; Mazza placing 16th in the 100-yard butterfly finals, and DeGrazia placed 16th in the 500-yard freestyle. Days two and three looked almost the same, with West and Mazza topping the young PSU swim team in scoring. Amongst them were Addie Schumaker (Haymarket, VA) and Meaghan Doherty (Charleston, Mass) who also made a splash. The team finished their regular season 7-3, their best finish in five years under legendary coach Al Switzer.

Although both teams struggled in the giant slalom meets last Friday, the Men’s and Women’s Ski Teams posted great finishes in the slalom competition last Saturday at the Dartmouth Carnival. Freydis Halla Einarsdottir (Gardabaer, Iceland) continues to strive this season, posting yet another top 10 finish to secure 6th place out of 13 for the women. Einarsdottir moved up to 2nd in the NCAA Slalom Ranking with her 7th place finish. The women also saw strong performances by Katie Burton (Jackson, NH) in 41st, Eklutna Kenney (Weybridge, VT) in 51st, and Eliza Whatley (Carrabassett, ME) in 52nd. On the men’s side, Jonny Kellock (Cedar Valley, Ontario) and Max Martin (Salt Lake City, Utah) both posted top 20 finishes and helped their team into 9th place on the day. Kellock had a career day, with a personal best 12th finish, while Martin followed close behind at 17th. The men also saw strong performances from Hunter Stuercke (Cottonwood Heights, Utah) and Takehiro Watanabe (Sapporo, japan) who posted 40th and 45th, respectively. The teams travel to Jiminy Peak for the Williams Carnival today, with scores unavailable for press time.

Two weeks ago tomorrow will mark the last time the Plymouth State wrestling team took the mat at home, as they dropped both matches in the tri-meet against powerhouse Johnson & Wales and Springfield College in Foley Gymnasium. After losing every bout against JWU, the team picked up a four wins against Springfield. All four wins were accredited to the freshmen on the team; Joey Aumann (Hopatcong, NJ) at the 125 weight class, Zack Cassidy (Griswold, Conn) at the 141 weight class, Matt Froio (Cohasset, Mass) at the 174 weight class, and Bruce McLee at the 197 weight class. PSU then traveled to Western New England on Valentine’s Day, where they dropped to 3-10 on the year with a 16-30 loss. Aumann, Froio, McLee, and junior Clay Callahan (Milford, Conn) picked up wins in the loss, and look to get back on track in the NCAA championships next weekend at Springfield College.

For the first time in school history, the George Davis Track held the Little East Conference Championships last weekend, where the PSU men’s and women’s track and field teams posted strong finishes. The meet also held the MASCAC championships, and held over 40 events. Selena Baillargeon (Saranac Lake, NY) and Rileigh Goulette (St. Albans, VT) posted the best finishes amongst the women’s team, as they struggled but held their own Saturday afternoon. The men’s team finished 5th in the LEC championships, and was led by Warren Bartlett (Loudon, NH) and Sam Brunnette (Newport, VT), who both won individual championships in the 1,000 and 3,000 meter run. Bartlett’s time of 2:34:28 bested 16 competitors, whole Brunnette’s time of 8:53:84 won him the 3,000. Although both teams are in their first season as a qualified varsity sport, they managed to push through over six athletes in the New England Division III Indoor Championships, which will be held this weekend at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

CLOCK PHOTO/ALEX CROSSLEY