PSAC Athletes of the Week - 2/10 Monday, February 10, 2020 2:30 PM MEN'S SWIMMER OF THE WEEK Matt Bochanski Shippensburg (So. / Breaststroke) Havertown, Pa. / Haverford Bochanski was one of several solid performers for Shippensburg at the Navy Invitational on Feb. 1 -- Shippensburg's last competition of the regular season. He tied for seventh place in the 100-yard breaststroke, posting a time of 58.84 seconds that is just 1.1 seconds off his season best. He also placed fourth in the 200-yard breaststroke with a time of 2:07.24, bested only by three swimmers from the Naval Academy. He also picked up a new PSAC qualifier in the 100-yard freestyle, posting a time of 49.74 seconds. He also swam the 100-yard butterfly in 54.56 seconds. MEN'S INDOOR TRACK ATHLETE OF THE WEEK Aaron Arp Jr. Shippensburg (So. / Sprints/Hurdles) Harrisburg, Pa. / Central Dauphin East Arp Jr. won the 400 meters on Saturday at Penn State and crushed the school record in the process at the Sykes & Sabock Challenge held inside the Horace Ashenfelter III Track. Running the open 400 meters for the first time in his collegiate career, Arp Jr. ran 47.55 seconds – defeating three teammates and 15 Division I runners to claim the victory and situate himself sixth on the national performance list. Arp broke the 2014 record of Eric Bologa by more than a half of a second – Bologa's time of 48.13 is a converted 48.89-second run on the flat Bucknell track at the 2014 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Championships. With two weeks remaining of competition remaining before the conference championships, Arp ranks sixth in the nation in the 400-meter dash, in a tie for fifth in the nation in the 60-meter hurdles with senior teammate Charles Bowman, 11th in the nation in the 200-meter dash, and eighth in the nation with Shippensburg's 4x400-meter relay. MEN'S INDOOR FIELD ATHLETE OF THE WEEK Ralph Casper West Chester (Jr. / Throws) York, Pa. / York Suburban Casper completed another record-setting weekend for West Chester as he shattered the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) record in the shot put for the second consecutive week. Casper powered past the record he set last week by nearly two feet with his 61-foot, 4 ¼ inch mark. His mark set the venue record at the Koehler Fieldhouse by six feet. He also led the way in weight throw, earning second for West Chester with a 55-11 mark. WOMEN'S INDOOR TRACK ATHLETE OF THE WEEK Stefanie Parsons Edinboro (Jr. / Mid-Distance) Acton, Ontario, Canada / Christ the King Parsons made the trip to Penn State to compete in the one mile run at the Sykes & Sabock Challenge. The meet was run at the Horace Ashenfelter III Indoor Track/Multi-Sport facility. Despite being the lone non-Division I runner in the field of 22 runners, Parsons would finish first with a time of 4:53.79. That just bested Cornell's Victoria Casarrubias who crossed the finish line with a time of 4:54.70. Parsons' time of 4:53.79 is the best time in the PSAC this season and ranks 11th in Division II this year. WOMEN'S INDOOR FIELD ATHLETE OF THE WEEK Sara McKean Shippensburg (Fr. / Jumps) Shinglehouse, Pa. / Oswayo Valley At Penn State's Sykes & Sabock Challenge, McKean landed a fourth-place triple jump of 38 feet, 10 ½ inches. McKean's triple jump is a two-foot collegiate best that is a NCAA provisional mark. She now ranks atop the PSAC performance list for the event and is 23rd on the national list. MEN'S BASKETBALL EASTERN DIVISION ATHLETE OF THE WEEK Christian Kelly Lock Haven (Sr. / G) Phoenixville, Pa. / Phoenixville Kelly put up back-to-back huge performances last week scoring 24 against Mansfield and 26 in the win over Kutztown on Saturday. Against Mansfield, he knocked down five three pointers, while grabbing seven rebounds, handing out three assists and registering three steals. In the win over Kutztown, Kelly would become the 21st 1,000 point socrer in LHU history. On his historic afternoon, Kelly paced all scorers racking up 26 points and ten rebounds. With 4:18 to go in the game, the senior guard drew a foul and went to the line for the momentous free throws. Kelly then drained both free throws with ease Kelly was a perfect 9-9 from the free throw line and added two blocks and two steals to his performance. MEN'S BASKETBALL EASTERN DIVISION DEFENSIVE ATHLETE OF THE WEEK Lamar Talley Shippensburg (Jr. / G) Camden, N.J. / Abraham Lincoln Talley was integral in limiting West Chester (the league's No. 1 scoring offense) to 58 points (its lowest total since December 2017) and Mansfield to 55 points. He compiled seven defensive rebounds over the course of the week. His primary assignment against West Chester was league-leading scorer Robbie Heath, who finished with 13 points of 6-of-18 shooting. MEN'S BASKETBALL WESTERN DIVISION ATHLETE OF THE WEEK Josh Wise Pitt-Johnstown (Sr. / G) Washington, Pa. / Washington Wise averaged 24.9 points, 3.5 3FGs, 8.5 rebs., 2 assists and 3 steals in two Pitt-Johnstown wins. The senior produed a double-double of 26 points, (6-10 3FGs), 11 rebounds, 2 assists and a block in a 103-94 win over Cal U on Wednesday. Wise scored a game-high 23 pts (9-14 FGs, 2-5 3FGs), 6 rebounds, 2 assists and game-high 5 steals in 98-73 win over Edinboro on Saturday. MEN'S BASKETBALL WESTERN DIVISION DEFENSIVE ATHLETE OF THE WEEK John Paul Kromka Pitt-Johnstown (So. / F) Monroeville, Pa. / Gateway Kromka stuffed the stat book after accumulating 16 defensive rebounds, 12 blocked shots and 4 steals in a pair of Pitt-Johnstown victories. Kromka grabbed 7 defensive rebounds while thrwarting 5 shots in a win against Cal U. He followed with a 7-block effort while amassing 9 defensive rebounds against Edinboro. WOMEN'S BASKETBALL EASTERN DIVISION ATHLETE OF THE WEEK Ariel Jones Shippensburg (Jr. / G) Lebanon, Pa. / Cedar Crest Jones averaged 35.0 PPG and 5.0 RPG in a pair of wins for Shippensburg, who clinched a PSAC playoff berth with its Saturday win at Mansfield. Jones shot 64.7% from the field, making 10-of-19 (52.6%) from three-point range and 16-of-18 (88.9%) at the free-throw line. The nations's active career leader in scoring average totaled 70 points, three steals, two blocks and two assists this week. On Saturday at Mansfield, Jones scored 36 points to finish two points short of her career high, shooting 11-of-17 from the field including 5-of-10 from three-point range. Twenty-seven of her points came in the second half. She was 9-of-11 from the free-throw line and finished with five rebounds and two blocks. It is her second-straight 30-point game, her seventh of the season and the 21st of her career. Mansfield got within four points of the Raiders with six minutes remaining, but Jones then scored nine points in the next two minutes, with a three-pointer and a jumper bookended by four free throws. In a Wednesday home win over West Chester, Jones scored 34 points on 11-of-17 from the field (5-of-9 from three-point range) and 7-of-7 from the free-throw line. With her Wednesday performance, Jones moved into fifth on Shippensburg's all-time scoring list. Jones passed her head coach, Kristy Trn (1,765 points from 1989-93). She now has 1,817 points through 78 career games. WOMEN'S BASKETBALL EASTERN DIVISION DEFENSIVE CO-ATHLETE OF THE WEEK Mia Leonard Millersville (Jr. / C) Cheltenham, Pa. / Cheltenham Leonard recorded a season-high five blocks in game against Kutztown. She led Millersville's efforts under the net with four defensive rebounds. She totaled another four defensive rebounds in the game against East Stroudsburg on Saturday, Feb. 8 and added another three blocks. WOMEN'S BASKETBALL EASTERN DIVISION DEFENSIVE CO-ATHLETE OF THE WEEK Sydney Clayton Shepherd (Jr. / F) Frederick, Md. / St. John's Clayton had a game-high five blocked shots and a steal in SHepherd's win over Bloomsburg on Saturday. She added five defensive rebounds. WOMEN'S BASKETBALL WESTERN DIVISION ATHLETE OF THE WEEK Amber Renz Mercyhurst (Sr. / F) Danville, Pa. / Danville Renz had a dominating offensive week helping the Lakers to a 2-0 week to continue a late season push up the conference standings. She combined for 56 points, 14 rebounds, five assists, and two blocks. She tied a career-high with 29 points against Seton Hill on Wednesday and now sits just three points shy of 1000 for her Mercyhurst career. On the season she is averaging 16.6 ppg, 4.9 rpg, and has totaled 12 blocks. WOMEN'S BASKETBALL WESTERN DIVISION DEFENSIVE ATHLETE OF THE WEEK Shauna Harrison Cal U (So. / F) Sheffield, England / Myerscough Harrison registered a consecutive double-double, as Cal U posted a 76-51 victory at Pitt-Johnstown on Wednesday in their lone game of the week. She posted 11 rebounds, one block and five steals in the win, plus set a career high with 28 points. Harrison helped anchor a defensive effort that resulted in the Mountain Cats scoring only two points in the fourth quarter. UPJ was also held without a free-throw attempt in the contest. WRESTLER OF THE WEEK Josh Walls Millersville (So.) West Grove, Pa. / Avon Grove Walls won both of his matches this weekend at the Shippensburg duals, including the dual-meet clinching match vs. the host Raiders (a 3-1 sudden victory decision against Derek Berberick.) He followed that up with a 5-1 decision over Michael Siwiec of Belmont Abbey. The sophomore tied for the team lead in victories with 14 and serves as Millersville's captain. WOMEN'S TENNIS EASTERN DIVISION ATHLETE OF THE WEEK Esperanza Contador Millersville (Jr.) Badajoz, Spain / IES Ciudad Jardín Contador helped Millersville to a 6-1 start to the season and a No. 8 Atlantic Region ranking by going 10-4 as the Marauders No. 1. Contador went 6-1 in duals and also went 3-1 at the PSAC Championships, reaching the semifinals. WOMEN'S TENNIS WESTERN DIVISION ATHLETE OF THE WEEK Viola Lugmayr Slippery Rock (Sr.) Linz, Austria / Georg von Peuerbach Lugmayr had an outstanding fall for The Rock. In singles competition, she picked up seven victories with the highlight being her run at the PSAC Championships where she advanced all the way to tournament finals. Even more impressive was Lugmayr’s play in doubles competition where she teamed with Lois Page for what turned out to be a historic fall season. Lugmayr and Page not only won the PSAC individual doubles title, but the duo also won the ITA Atlantic Region championship and qualified for the prestigious ITA Cup on the way to a 13-win fall. Lugmayr enters the spring slotted seventh in the ITA Atlantic Region singles rankings and as part of the 15th-ranked team in the nation along with Page. MEN'S TENNIS ATHLETE OF THE WEEK Nils Plutat Edinboro (So.) Sauerlach, Bavaria / Gymnasium Tegernsee Plutat improved to 11-2 at No. 1 singles with straight set wins over Hillsdale and Ashland this weekend. The sophomore won the PSAC singles champion and combined with Tommy Hsu to win double titles. He defeated number No. 2 Unai Gonzalez of Mercyhurst in the semifinals. It was a rematch of the ITA Atlantic Regional semifinals, in which Gonzalez prevailed. This time Plutat emerged as the winner by a 7-5, 6-1 score. He met Mercyhurst's Ruairdh Fraser in the finals. The Laker had match point after winning the first set 6-2 and leading 5-2 in the second. Plutat rallied to win the second set 7-5, then claimed the third set 10-5. Plutat and Hsu were the number two seed in doubles. They they won a tight 9-8 (2) decision over the Mercyhurst duo of Ruairdh Fraser/Arseniy Skyarov in the semifinals, then would coast to an 8-1 win over Nagid Walle/Robin Luetzig of Bloomsburg in the finals.