College notebook: W&J’s Hartner takes on many events
Jaydn Hartner’s various athletic abilities were well known at Fort Cherry High School, where she was a multi-sport standout for the Rangers.
Now a sophomore at Washington & Jefferson, Hartner is showing her athletic ability as a member of the Presidents’ track and field team.
Hartner competed during the indoor season in the five-event pentathlon and logged a school-record 2,559 points to lead all competitors at the All-Ohio Indoor Combined Events Championship.
She opened the day with a personal-best time of 10.63 seconds in the 60-meter hurdles to place second. Hartner then cleared 4-9 in the high jump, which tied for the best mark in the event. She placed third in the shot put with a toss 24-5 and second in the long jump with a leap of 15-7. Hartner concluded her day by finishing second in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:43.95.
That performance qualified her for the All-Atlantic Regional Championships last month in Rochester, N.Y., where she finished in 11th place in the pentathlon with 2,575 points. She placed third in the long jump portion with a leap of 16-7¾.
At the President’s Athletic Conference Indoor Championships, Hartner placed second in the triple jump, fourth in the high jump and fourth in the long jump.
She was named the PAC Newcomer of the Year.
In softball
Robert Morris senior Dana Vatakis was named the Horizon League Pitcher of the Week for March 21-27.
In helping the Colonials open conference play 5-0 for the first time since 2017, Vatakis, a Monessen graduate, appeared in a pair of games, allowing just five hits and no earned runs in eight innings while striking out 10.
In the opener of doubleheader sweep Illinois-Chicago, Vatakis got the start and went the distance, notching her third complete game of the season. She struck out seven and scattered three hits while not issuing a walk in an 8-1 victory. Vatakis also pitched a scoreless inning of relief in the second game of a doubleheader against Akron, striking out the side.
Vatakis has a 5-4 record and 3.34 ERA. She has struck out 58 in 60 2/3 innings. She picked up her first career save this season.in a 3-1 win over Seattle.
Sophomore infielder Marlaina Bozek is off to another big season at George Mason.
A Washington native and Trinity graduate, Bozek is the second-leading hitter for the Patriots with a .388 batting average. Her 18 RBI and seven stolen bases both rank second on the team. She has had three-hit games against Iona and St. Bonaventure.
In basketball
Former Trinity standout Riley DeRubbo helped American win the Patriot League championship and earn its third trip to the NCAA tournament.
DeRubbo, a former Observer-Reporter Girls Basketball Player of the Year, was in her first season at American after transferring from Fordham. She played in all 32 games (two starts) for the Eagles and averaged 4.0 points and 2.0 rebounds per game. She shot 40 percent from the field and 36 percent (24-for-67) from three-point range.
DeRubbo’s best offensive outputs were a pair of 12-point games, against Vermont and Virginia.
American finished the season with a 23-9 record. The Eagles lost at third-seeded Michigan in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
Alexa Williamson, a Chartiers-Houston graduate, finished her senior season as Temple’s second-leading scorer and was third in rebounding.
Also a former Observer-Reporter Girls Basketball Player of the Year, Williamson played in 27 games (17 starts) and averaged 8.2 points per contest. She grabbed 5.0 rebounds per game and had a team-high 37 blocked shots. Williamson shot 44 percent from the field.
Williamson had three double-doubles. She tossed in a season-high 23 points against Florida Gulf Coast and also had 12 rebounds. Against St. John’s, she had 19 points and 14 rebounds, and against Central Florida finished with 12 points and 14 rebounds.
Jersey Wise had a stellar freshman season at Garrett, a junior college in McHenry, Md.
Wise, a West Greene graduate, averaged 15.6 points, 5.0 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game. She scored in double figures in all but one of Garrett’s 28 games.
A guard, Wise has a career high of 27 points, accomplished twice, in an 86-80 win over Montgomery (Md.) and a 99-59 season-ending loss to CCBC Essex in the NJCAA Region 20 final.
In a game against Community College of Allegheny County, which Garrett won 117-25, Wise outscored the entire opposing team as she tallied 26 points.
Garrett finished the season with a 23-5 record.
Michael Dunn’s first season at Shippensburg was a productive one as he played in all 30 games for the Raiders, who finished with a 21-9 record and a 16-6 mark in the rugged PSAC.
Dunn, a Trinity graduate, averaged 3.0 points and 11.8 minutes per game. He shot 82 percent from the free-throw line.
Dunn scored a season-high 10 points twice, against Mercyhurst and Lock Haven.
In tennis
Westminster freshman Ellian Ascencio, a Venetia native and Peters Township graduate, was named Monday as the Presidents’ Athletic Conference Rookie of the Week.
Ascencio earned four wins last week to help Westminster begin its league schedule 2-0. In win over Thiel, he was a 6-1, 6-1 winner at No. 1 singles after partnering with Sam Scotford for an 8-1 win at No. 1 doubles. In a win at W&J, Ascencio and Scotford won 8-1 in doubles. Ascenio was a 6-1, 6-1 victory at No. 1 singles.