PSAC Athletes of the Week - 1/28 Monday, January 28, 2019 2:30 PM WOMEN'S INDOOR TRACK ATHLETE OF THE WEEK Kelly Groth Kutztown (Jr. / Sprints) Audubon, Pa. / Methacton Groth of the Kutztown University women's track and field team posted a new school-record time of 25.42, winning the 200-meter dash at the Bison Open (1/25). It was a PSAC-Qualifying mark and the third program-record that Groth has broken this season, including the 55m (7.23) and the 60m (7.73). Groth also finished second in the 60m Finals out of 41 competitors in a time of 7.86 and was a member of the KU 'A' 4x4 relay team that was runner-up out of 20 teams. WOMEN'S INDOOR FIELD ATHLETE OF THE WEEK Aliyah Striver Millersville (So. / Throws) Lancaster, Pa. / McCaskey Striver finished second only to teammate Sunflower Greene in the Bison Open shot put, but her career-best 45-1 was second-best mark in the PSAC this year and it was a NCAA provisional qualifier. MEN'S INDOOR TRACK ATHLETE OF THE WEEK Jae'Len Means California (Sr. / Sprints) Monroeville, Pa. / Gateway Means won a pair of events and reached two NCAA provisional standards on Saturday at the SPIRE Midwest Open. He posted a time of 6.85 seconds in the finals of the 60-meter dash to win the event by nearly three-hundredths of a second. Means reached the NCAA provisional standard in the 200-meter dash after crossing the finish line in 21.55 seconds, which was five-hundredths of a second faster than the field. The Gateway product boasts the fastest time in the PSAC this winter in the 200 meters by over five-tenths of a second and ranks second on the league’s performance list in the 60 meters. MEN'S INDOOR FIELD ATHLETE OF THE WEEK Caleb Smithco Slippery Rock (Sr. / Jumps) Hampton, Pa. / Hampton Smithco returned to the triple jump after more than a year away from the event and picked up where he left off. The former PSAC champion won the competition at the Al Hall Freedom Games at Edinboro with an NCAA provisional mark of 14.61 meters (47-11.25), which is the best mark in the PSAC this year. MEN'S SWIMMER OF THE WEEK Joao Pedro Barreto West Chester (Jr. / Sprints/Freestyle/Butterfly) Niteroi, Brazil Pedro Barreto swam well for the Golden Rams on Saturday afternoon as he was a member of the 200-yard freestyle relay team that captured a victory in 1:26.52. The junior finished second in the 200-fly with a time of 1:54.89 before capturing the 100-fly with a time of 50.55 seconds. WOMEN'S SWIMMER OF THE WEEK Ann Carozza West Chester (Fr. / Sprint/Fly/Free) West Chester, Pa. / West Chester East Carozza swam well on Saturday afternoon opposite Division I foe Penn as she captured two individual victories while also swimming on a pair of winning relay teams. Carozza captured individual victories in the 100-freestyle in 51.71 seconds and the 100-fly in 56.08. The frehsman swam a leg of the winning 200-medley relay team in 46.66 and 200-freestyle relay team with a time of 1:36.47. WOMEN'S BASKETBALL EASTERN DIVISION ATHLETE OF THE WEEK Rylee Derr Kutztown (So. / G) Lititz, Pa. / Warwick Derr scored a career-high 32 points and connected on a program single-game record nine 3-pointers in leading KU to an 81-68 victory over East Stroudsburg on Saturday. The sophomore finished 9-of-12 from beyond the arc and added a team-high seven rebounds. She surpassed her own former school record of seven 3-pointers in a game (1/17/18 vs. Cheyney and 11/14/18 at Georgian Court). Nine 3-pointers made are tied for the fourth most in a game in PSAC history. The nine three-pointers marks the most in a PSAC contest since the 2008-09 season. WOMEN'S BASKETBALL EASTERN DIVISION FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK Aunbrielle Green Shippensburg (Fr. / F) Harrisburg, Pa. / Central Dauphin East In a 2-0 week for the Raiders, Green averaged 18.0 PPG, 5.5 RPG while blocking two shots. Green shot 41 percent from the field. Just a 60-percent free-throw shooter for the season, Green was 8-of-9 (88.9%) at the free-throw line this week. Against Mansfield, Green finished just two points shy of her career high, scoring 19 points on the night. Green scored 15 of her 19 points in the first half. She added three rebounds and was 5-of-5 at the free-throw line. It was her 11th game in double figures. Against West Chester, Freshman Aunbrielle Green was strong in the post with 17 points and eight rebounds, including 3-of-4 at the free-throw line. She scored 11 of her 16 points in the first half. it was her 12th game in double figures. WOMEN'S BASKETBALL WESTERN DIVISION ATHLETE OF THE WEEK Seairra Barrett California (Sr. / F) Center Twp., Pa. / Central Valley Barrett recorded a pair of double-doubles while averaging 24.5 points and 10.0 rebounds per game, as the Vulcans earned a pair of divisional victories to move into a tie for first place in the PSAC West standings. She made a combined 58.3 percent (21-of-36) from the floor while playing 76 of 80 minutes last week. On Wednesday, Barrett posted 18 points, 10 rebounds and two steals in a 61-56 victory at No. 1 IUP, as the Crimson Hawks were held to a season low in points in their first loss of the season. The 6-foot-0 senior then scored 31 points on 13-of-22 shooting and added 10 rebounds, three assists and five steals in a 62-56 win against Mercyhurst on Saturday. WOMEN'S BASKETBALL WESTERN DIVISION FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK Boston McKinney Gannon (Fr. / G) Bolivar, Ohio / Tuscarawas Valley McKinney scored nine points in each of the final two games this week against Mercyhurst and Millersville. She shot a combined 7-of-13 (.538) this week from the floor, including a trio of three's against Millersville. The freshman added a combined three rebounds and played 19 and 21 minutes, respectively. McKinney handed out two assists against Millersville while notching a steal in each game. MEN'S BASKETBALL EASTERN DIVISION ATHLETE OF THE WEEK Jackson Hyland West Chester (Sr. / G) Avondale, Pa. / Kennett Hyland was instrumental in two crucial victories that pushed West Chester to the top of the PSAC East. The senior dropped season-high 30 points of East Stroudsburg and led all players with five assists in WCU's 88-87 victory on the road. Fueled by Hyland's 30, West Chester snapped a six-game losing streak against East Stroudsburg inside the Koehler Fieldhouse. He scored 19 points, grabbed six rebounds and dished out five assists in a win over Shippenbsurg that gave the Golden Rams sole possession of the top spot in the division. MEN'S BASKETBALL EASTERN DIVISION FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK Ryan Smith East Stroudsburg (Fr. / F) Willow Street, Pa. / Lampeter-Strasburg Smith averaged 17.0 points and 8.5 rebounds per game last week, including a 22-point, 12-rebound performance vs. PSAC East-leading West Chester on Wednesday. Six of those points came through a pair of 3-point plays late in regulation, with the second giving ESU an 83-82 lead with 1:22 left. The double-double was his fifth of the season, and the 22 points were a new season-high. The freshman added 12 points and five rebounds in Saturday's 93-83 victory at Kutztown, reaching double figures for an 11th consecutive game. MEN'S BASKETBALL WESTERN DIVISION ATHLETE OF THE WEEK Micah Till Slippery Rock (Sr. / F) Upper Marlboro, Md. / Wise Till led the Slippery Rock men’s basketball team to two victories last week, extending The Rock’s winning streak to 12 games in the process. In wins against Pitt-Johnstown and Edinboro, Till averaged a double-double of 22.5 points and 12 rebounds per game to go with 2.5 assists, 2.0 blocks and 2.0 steals while shooting 60 percent (15-for-25) from the field overall. After beginning the week with a 20-point, 16-rebound, three-block effort in an 87-70 victory over UPJ, Till went for 25 points, seven rebounds, three assists and two steals in an 88-71 win against Edinboro. Till was at his best when The Rock needed him the most at Edinboro. After the Fighting Scots cut a 16-point SRU advantage down to just four points with eight minutes to play, Till made sure there would be no upset by scoring 10 points over the following five minutes to help push Slippery Rock’s lead back out to a comfortable 20 points. Till went 4-for-4 from the field and 2-for-3 at the foul line over the game-deciding run. MEN'S BASKETBALL WESTERN DIVISION FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK John Paul Kromka Pitt-Johnstown (Fr. / F) Monroeville, Pa. / Gateway Kromka scored a career-high 27 points to go with five rebounds, three blocks and a pair of steals in an 87-70 PSAC loss at Slippery Rock on Wednesday. The freshman tied for a game-high with 20 points while grabbing three boards, dishing out two assists and a steal in an 85-70 win over Seton Hill on Saturday. WRESTLER OF THE WEEK Andrew Dunn Jr. Kutztown (So.) Bethlehem, Pa. / Bethlehem Catholic Dunn Jr., ranked No. 7 in the nation at 285 by the NWCA, went 2-0 this past weekend as 16th-ranked Kutztown completed the Erie sweep with a 23-14 win at No. 22 Mercyhurst on Friday and an 18-17 comeback victory at Gannon on Saturday. The sophomore won his match against Gannon's Keith Swartley for the Golden Bears with a 46-second pin after KU had trailed by as many as 11 points. In a meeting of top 10 nationally-ranked grapplers, Dunn Jr. controlled the match against No. 8 Jacob Robb of Mercyhurst on Friday, winning by major decision, 17-6. Dunn Jr. registered 10 back points, two takedowns and a reversal in the victory