sports briefs
College cross country
Cassie Carr (Girard, Pa./Girard) raced to a time of 22:37.39 to finish as the runner-up at the 2022 Presidents’ Athletic Conference Championships, which were hosted in Latrobe by Saint Vincent College.
The runner-up placing represents Carr’s best individual finish at the conference championships. Carr finished in third place last fall at the championships.
n The Waynesburg University women’s cross country team traveled to the 2022 Presidents’ Athletic Conference Championships on Saturday. The Yellow Jackets saw their six-year run as PAC champions come to an end as the Yellow Jackets placed sixth in the 11-team field.
Waynesburg was led by freshman Regan Pettis, who placed a team-best 23rd out of the 107-runner field with a time of 24:32.39. Fellow freshman Grace Tanksley was the next Jacket to cross the finish line, doing so with the number-25 time of 24:34.84.
n The Waynesburg University men’s cross country team traveled to the 2022 Presidents’ Athletic Conference Championships on Saturday. The Yellow Jackets placed seventh out of the 10-team field.
Waynesburg was led by junior Andrew Kasper, who placed 32 overall out of 122 competitors with a time of 27:53.96. Sophomore Nolan Curran was the next Yellow Jacket to complete the course, doing so with the number-50 time of 28:28.08. Freshman Christian Michaels crossed the finish line with the 57 place time of 29:00.90.
College swimming
The California University Vulcans completed a narrow sweep of home dual meets on Saturday afternoon with wins against East Stroudsburg and Kutztown at Hamer Hall for a consecutive day.
With the sweep, Cal improved to 8-0 in dual meets this season. The Vulcans earned a 103-101 win over the Golden Bears and a 113-90 victory against the Warriors. Cal registered a pair of wins over Kutztown this weekend by a combined six points.
The Vulcans opened the tri-meet with a victory on Saturday in the 400 medley relay. Junior Antonia Gheorghita, freshman Ella Root, sophomore Emily Guffey and senior Rachel Kennedy claimed the win by nearly 10 seconds with a time of 4 minutes, 15.68 seconds.
Individually, Guffey posted the win in the 200 butterfly at Hamer Hall with a time of 2:24.92.
n The Washington & Jefferson College men’s cross country team placed three runners inside the top 25 at the 2022 Presidents’ Athletic Conference Championship race, which was hosted in Westmoreland County by Saint Vincent College Saturday afternoon.
The Presidents finished sixth in the team standings. Franciscan University of Steubenville claimed the team title with a score of 41. Allegheny was second (56) followed by Geneva (67) and St. Vincent (80). Grove City (114) placed just in front of W&J (132). Waynesburg (211), Thiel (246), Chatham (272) and Westminster (293).
College soccer
The California Vulcans women’s soccer team held the halftime lead on Saturday night before finishing with a 1-1 tie at Edinboro in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference West action to close play in the regular season.
With the tie, California finishes the fall at 6-8-3 overall with a 6-7-3 mark in divisional contests. The Vulcans close the year ranked fifth in the PSAC West standings with 21 points after being chosen ninth in the preseason poll. Meanwhile, the Fighting Scots move to 2-9-7 this year while holding a 1-8-7 record in conference play.
n The California men’s soccer team was unable to overcome a pair of first-half goals on Saturday afternoon in the final game of the regular season, as it suffered a 2-0 loss against Seton Hill in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference West action at Phillipsburg Soccer Facility on Senior Day.
With the loss, the Vulcans finish the year at 4-11-1 overall behind a 2-8 mark in conference play. Meanwhile, the Griffins improve to 8-8-2 this season with a 6-2-2 record in league competition.
College field hockey
The Washington & Jefferson field hockey team held a halftime lead but fell by a 4-2 score to host Houghton College in an Empire 8 conference game Saturday afternoon.
The Presidents opened the scoring with an early goal in the fourth minute. W&J capitalized on a penalty corner opportunity as Lina Crowley found the back of the net after an insert pass from Camryn Cresci.
n Third-seeded Grove City scored two second half goals to break a scoreless halftime tie and defeat the sixth-seeded Washington & Jefferson by a 2-0 score in Saturday’s Presidents’ Athletic Conference women’s soccer quarterfinal round at Grove City’s Don Lyle Field.
W&J finishes its season at 5-6-6 overall. Grove City (11-6-1 overall) advances to Tuesday’s semifinals where they face second-seeded Franciscan University of Steubenville. Saturday’s win was the ninth straight for the Wolverines.