PSAC Athletes of the Week - 22
Indoor Track & Field
Women’s Track Athlete of the Week
California (Pa.)
Divonne Franklin
Sprints
Senior
Philadelphia, Pa. / Archbishop John Carroll
Franklin captured a pair of individual victories over the weekend while in Virginia at the D-II Pre-National Invitational. She won the finals of the 60-meter dash by two-hundredths of a second with a time of 7.42 seconds after placing second in the preliminaries with a time of 7.39 seconds, which is the second-fastest of her career and second-best in PSAC history. Franklin also earned the victory in the 200-meter dash with a time of 24.10 seconds, topping several NCAA Division I entries from East Carolina.
Women’s Field Athlete of the Week
Millersville
Hannah Woelfling
Throws
Senior
Lebanon, Pa. / Cedar Crest
Hannah Woelfling set new season bests in both the weight throw and shot put while competing against Division I opponents at the Big Apple Invitational. In the weight throw, Woelfling took second place with a distance of 58-2, improving on her existing NCAA qualifying mark. She remains the top ranked weight thrower in the PSAC. Woelfling also took fourth in the shot put at 44-06 ¼, improving on her season best mark by nearly a full foot. She fell just shy of the NCAA qualifying standard of 44-08 ¾.
Men’s Track Athlete of the Week
Lock Haven
Ryan Miller
Sprints/Mid-Distance
Junior
Bradford, Pa. / Bradford
Competing among an elite field at the prestigious David Hemery Valentine Invitational, hosted by Boston University, Lock Haven standout Ryan Miller continued to impress and make history for the Bald Eagles. He bolted to an indoor school record in the 400-meter dash with a historic performance. Miller was ninth (*top D2 finisher) of 246 total runners, but most impressive was his time of 47.85. Already the conference leader in the event, the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) championship qualifying mark broke the LHU school record and stands as an NCAA Division II championship qualifying standard. Miller broke a 13-year-old school record and became the first LHU runner to ever break 48 seconds indoors at 400 meters.
Men’s Field Athlete of the Week
Slippery Rock
Bryan Dworek
Jumps
Senior
Brookville, Pa. / Brookville
Dworek won the long jump at the SPIRE Collegiate Indoor Games with an SRU record and NCAA provisional mark of 7.44 meters (24’5”), breaking the second-oldest men’s indoor record at SRU. The former record of 7.38 meters had stood since 1989. Dworek’s jump is the No. 1 mark in the PSAC and moved him up to No. 12 in Division II. He won the event in a field of 35 total jumpers that included seven Division I jumpers and the No. 25 jumper in Division II.
Men's Basketball
Western Division Athlete of the Week
IUP
Tomiwa Sulaiman
Forward
Sophomore
London, England / West Nottingham Academy
Sulaiman averaged a double-double with 19.7 points and 12.0 rebounds in three games for top-ranked IUP men's basketball. He shot 57.5 percent from the floor, adding six blocks and four steals for the Hawks and played an average of 36.5 minutes in three games, helping IUP go 2-1 in that stretch. Sulaiman also grabbed 19 offensive rebounds in three games, logging a double-double in two of three games. He opened week with 12 points and nine rebounds at Mercyhurst on Feb. 6 and was sensational with 24 points, 15 rebounds (11 offensive), two blocks and a steal in a bounceback win against Pitt-Johnstown on Feb. 8. The sophomore closed the busy week by playing all 40 minutes, posting 23 points (8-13 FG), 12 rebounds, four blocks and two steals at Clarion on Feb. 11.
Western Division Defensive Athlete of the Week
Pitt-Johnstown
John Paul Kromka
Forward
Senior
Monroeville, Pa. / Gateway
Kromka averaged 15 points (17-30 FG, 12-17 FT), 4.7 rebounds, 3.0 blocks, 2.0 assists, 1.7 steals in three games for the Mountain Cats. Kromka had 16 points (5-11 FG, 6-8 FT), a team-high eight rebounds, game-high four blocks, an assist and two steals in a 73-66 win at Gannon on Monday He then recorded a team-high 21 points (9-12 FG, 3-5 FT), three rebounds, an assist, a block, and two steals in a 70-60 loss at No. 1/2 IUP on Wednesday. Kromka closed out the week with nine points (3-7 FG, 3-4 FT), three rebounds, five assists, game-high four blocks, and a steal in 78-75 win over Seton Hill on Saturday.
Eastern Division Athlete of the Week
Shippensburg
Carlos Carter
Guard
Senior
Indiana, Pa. / Indiana
Carter averaged 22.7 pts, 8.7 rebs., 3 assists, and 39.3 minutes played in three Raider victories. He posted a near triple-double (23 points, 13 rebounds, 8 assists) in SU's 87-80 victory at Kutztown Feb. 8. Then, his 13 rebounds against the Golden Bears set a new career-high benchmark, while his eight assists tied his previous career best. Carter also blocked three shots, including a vital rejection late in the second half that helped seal the victory. The senior scored 23 points on 8-of-16 (50%) shooting in SU's 84-68 victory over PSAC East contenders West Chester, and then he logged 41 minutes and scored 22 points to help SU stave off a strong upset bid from the Mansfield Mountaineers Feb. 11 on the road, 80-79. During the three-game stretch, Carter shot 49 percent from the field and 92.9 percent from the foul line. Carter has scored 20 or more points in three straight, as well as 10 of his last 18 games. He ranks second in the PSAC in scoring at 18.4 points per game.
Eastern Division Defensive Athlete of the Week
Shippensburg
Dom Sleva
Forward
Graduate Student
McKees Rocks, Pa. / Montour
Sleva averaged 15.7 pts. and 14.3 rebs. in three Raider victories. He tied a career-high in defensive rebounds (17) and total rebounds (20) as SU held off a strong upset bid from the Mansfield Mountaineers Feb. 11 on the road, 80-79. Sleva logged 42 minutes in the overtime victory and forced Mansfield guard Idris Ali into a tough shot inside the paint in the final seconds of overtime, sealing the one-point win. He is one of only two Raiders in the last 25 years to pull down 20 rebounds in a game. His older brother, Dustin Sleva, pulled in 21 at Mansfield on Dec. 16, 2015. Sleva also posted three straight double-doubles to widen his NCAA Division II lead in that category. He now boasts 16 double-doubles on the season and leads NCAA Division II in total rebounds (305) and defensive boards per game (9.9).
Women's Basketball
Western Division Athlete of the Week
Slippery Rock
Isabellah Middleton
Guard
Redshirt Sophomore
Leesburg, Va. / Tuscarora
Middleton helped lead Slippery Rock to a 2-1 week with wins over Mercyhurst (67-52) and Edinboro (78-63). She paced The Rock with averages of 22.3 points per game and 7.7 rebounds per game while totaling five steals, three assists and one block in addition to shooting 37.7 percent from the floor, 45.5 percent from 3-point range and 80 percent from the foul line.
Western Division Defensive Athlete of the Week
Slippery Rock
Deleah Gibson
Guard
Redshirt Senior
Cleveland, Ohio / Shaw
Gibson helped lead Slippery Rock to a 2-1 week with wins over Mercyhurst (67-52) and Edinboro (78-63). She helped The Rock with averages of 19.0 points per game, 8.0 rebounds per game and 4.3 assists per game while totaling 10 steals and shooting 48.8 percent from the floor, 50 percent from 3-point range and 80 percent from the foul line.
Eastern Division Athlete of the Week
Millersville
Taylor Langan
Guard
Graduate Student
Lake Hopatcong, N.J. / Jefferson Township
It was another productive week for Taylor Langan who assisted Millersville in their three wins over PSAC East opponents and led the Marauders in scoring in all three match-ups. To start the week, Millersville clinched a double overtime victory over Kutztown where Langan totaled 32 points, 17 rebounds, four assists, and three steals. The guard tallied 19 of Millersville’s 22 points in overtime action. Against Lock Haven, Langan produced 19 points, seven rebounds, two assists, and two steals. On Saturday, Feb. 11, Langan accounted for 23 points which tallied fifth game this season scoring more than 20 points. She also grabbed four rebounds, four assists, and led the team in steals with five.
Eastern Division Defensive Athlete of the Week
Lock Haven
Alana Robinson
Forward
Freshman
Rockaway, N.J. / Pope John Paul II
Alana Robinson had a milestone week on the defensive side as Lock Haven posted a 2-1 record on the week, defeating Mansfield and Kutztown, while losing a close road game at Millersville. With a block in the game versus Mansfield, the defensive star broke the school's all-time single season record for blocks, and now sits at 48. The freshman finished the week with 16 defensive rebounds, five steals, and four blocks. With her presence this week, Mansfield only shot 24.1 percent on the game and 6.3 percent from the arc, and the Golden Bears shot just 34.5 percent from the field and 22.7 percent from the arc.
ABOUT THE PSAC
Headquartered in Lock Haven, Pennsylvania, the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference is an NCAA Division II Conference comprised of 18 institutions in Pennsylvania and West Virginia. The member institutions are Bloomsburg University, California University of Pennsylvania, Clarion University, East Stroudsburg University, Edinboro University, Gannon University, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Kutztown University, Lock Haven University, Mansfield University, Mercyhurst University, Millersville University, The University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown, Seton Hill University, Shepherd University, Shippensburg University, Slippery Rock University and West Chester University.