Campus Roundup: Lytle sets school record at Notre Dame
Friday, February 27, 2009
By Josh Mlot Sports Writer
A number of former local athletes continue to contribute as winter sports wind down the regular season and head towards the pressure of postseason play. Here's a glance at what some of those individuals are doing on the mat, on the court and in the pool. Wrestling
Brad Pataky, Penn State: The No. 24 Nittany Lions fell to No. 25 Penn in their final dual meet of the season on Feb. 20, with the former Bison, ranked No. 13, dropping his 125-pound matchup with No. 11 Rollie Peterkin.
Peterkin took the major decision, 12-4. Pataky and his teammates now gear up for the Big Ten Championships, which will be held in State College, on March 7-8.
Matt Kyler, Army: Kyler edged out Navy's seventh-ranked Bryce Saddoris at 149 when the two military branches met on Feb. 21. The former Clearfield grappler used an escape 12 seconds into the second tiebreaker to clamp down on a 2-1 victory. Despite the win from Kyler, who entered the match ranked 10th, the Black Knights came out on the short end of a 26-9 score. Kyler moved his record 36-4 (18-0 in dual meets) and will wrestle next at the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Championships on March 7-8.
Kyle Keane, Pitt-Johnstown: Keane has not wrestled since Jan. 23. The Mountain Cats are currently in action at NCAA Division II Regional Championships at Mercyhurst, wrapping up Saturday.
Tommy Barger, Lycoming: Wrestling at 141, Barger lost a 4-1 decision to Cortland State's Stephen Perez, who finished fourth, in the first round of the Empire Collegiate Conference Championships on Feb. 21. He then took out Messiah's Alex DeHart in the conseys with a pin at 4:13, before John Paxos of Ithaca College defeated him by fall in 2:49. The Warriors finished fourth in the team standings. Barger finished the season with a record of 15-8.
Derek Caldwell, Lock Haven: Caldwell did not wrestle as the Eagles sent rivals Clarion packing with a 27-13 victory to wrap up the regular season. Lock Haven will hit the mats again on March 7 for the EWL Championships. Caldwell finished his junior season with a 1-2 record.
Swimming and Diving
John Lytle, Notre Dame: The former Bison pushed the Fighting Irish to a Big East championship as he posted a come-from-behind effort in the first leg of the 400 free relay to send his team to victory in dramatic style on Feb. 21. The relay time of 2:54.08 was a school record.
Lytle also set a school record in the 100 free, where he finished second. Notre Dame will be back in action at the Boilermaker Invitational on March 7. The NCAA Championships are March 26-28.
John Bodle, Westminster: Bodle swam in the prelims of the 100 and 200 fly at the Presidents' Athletic Conference Championships from Feb. 12-14 at Grove City. Westminster finished second in the team standings with 805.5 points.
Chris Bodle, Westminster: Bodle finished 10th in the 400 IM with a time of 4:34.49 at the PAC Championships. He also finished 16th in the 1,650 free in 18:12.11 and eighth in the final of the 200 fly (2:11.93).
His 400 free relay squad was disqualified in the prelims.
Brandon Boyer, Clarion: The former Bison swam for Clarion this season. The Golden Eagles finished third at the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Championships on Feb. 20-22.
Ryan Sayers, Washington & Jefferson: Sayers finished sixth in the 1-meter diving competition at the PAC Championships, posting a score of 315.75 in the finals. A score of 304.35 was good enough for fourth in the 3-meter dive. Sayers earned Second Team All-PAC honors for his performance this year, his final for the Presidents.
Men's Basketball
Todd Hryn, Pitt-Greensburg: The Bobcats rounded out their schedule with an 83-74 victory over Franciscan on Feb. 21, during which Hryn notched four points, four steals and four rebounds in 11 minutes of play.
The former Clearfield forward appeared in 22 games for 8-17 Pitt-Greensburg, averaging 4.3 points and 2.6 rebounds per game.
Women's Basketball
Michelle Peoples, Mount Aloysius: The former Glendale basketball player appeared in three games as a sophomore.
The Lady Mounties finished their season with a 7-18 record.
Brittany Barrett, Penn State-Dubois: Barrett played for the Lady Lions this season. PSU-DuBois wrapped up the regular season with a 79-51 win over Penn State-Fayette before bowing out in the playoffs to Penn State-Beaver. The Lady Lions finished the season with an 8-13 record.
All former area athletes who play a sanctioned college sport are eligible to be recognized by The Progress for their athletic endeavors in the College Roundup. Athletes are encouraged to have their school's sports information director fax, mail or email updates on their progress to the sports department. Updates can be faxed to 814-765-5165 or mailed to College Roundup, c/o The Progress Sports Department, Post Office Box 291, Clearfield, PA 16830-0291. Emails are also accepted at sports@theprogressnews.com.