sports briefs
In college track
California University four-time All-American Divonne Franklin broke the all-time Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference record in the 60-meter dash on Saturday while competing against the top sprinters in the country at the USA Track & Field Indoor Championships held at the Albuquerque Convention Center.
Franklin placed 10th overall during the preliminaries in a field of 14 entries with a blistering time of 7.36 seconds. She eclipsed her own all-time league mark set last month at Youngstown State by one-hundredth of a second. Franklin was the lone college entry in the field, as the remainder of the sprinters were unattached or professionals.
In college swimming
Junior Gabby Miller posted one of the fastest times in school history and qualified for the championship finals in the 100 freestyle, as the Vulcans finished 10th in the team standings at the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Championships on Saturday.
The California University swimming team totaled 285 points over four days to place 10th overall at the league meet for the second-straight year. West Chester cruised to its 20th conference title with 1,498 points while leading the team standings wire-to-wire. IUP placed second in the team standings with 901 points and Bloomsburg finished third with 749 points.
Miller registered the fifth-fastest time in school history while in the championship finals of the 100 freestyle on Saturday. She finished seventh in the preliminaries of the event with a time of 52.72 seconds, cutting nearly four-tenths of a second off her seed time. Miller then placed sixth in the finals with a lifetime-best time of 52.16 seconds.
n The Washington & Jefferson swimming and diving programs concluded competition Saturday evening at the four-day Presidents’ Athletic Conference Championships, which were hosted by Grove City College at the James E. Longnecker Competition Pool.
The men’s team finished in fifth place in the team standings while the women were eighth.
In college baseball
The Washington & Jefferson Presidents opened their 2023 season with a 10-6 non-conference win over Muskingum University at Ross Memorial Park Saturday. The Presidents were powered by Jacob LaDuca’s four RBI and two hits.
W&J’s offense exploded in the bottom of the sixth, adding seven runs to put the game out of reach. John Klein opened the bottom half of the frame with a walk and advanced to second on Connor Helm’s single. Tyler Horvat then walked to load the bases. Jacob LaDuca knocked in two runs on a single to left field, putting runners on the corners. Evan Sante then walked to again load the bases with no outs. Sam Schuster walked, scoring another run to put the Presidents up 6-1.
Kevin Love picks Miami
Kevin Love says he has picked the Miami Heat.
Love said Sunday that he will sign with the Heat for the remainder of the season once he clears waivers, a major add for a Miami team that is looking to move up in the Eastern Conference before the postseason begins.
“Miami it is, yes,” Love said in a text message to The Associated Press.
Also Sunday, a person with knowledge of the matter said the Heat are finalizing plans to add another big man in free agent center Cody Zeller, with that deal expected to be completed before the team gathers in Miami to begin practice following the All-Star break. That person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because Zeller’s contract has not been signed.