Paws up, hands down: Wildcats celebrate remarkable season

Pennsylvania College of Technology teams had multiple highlights during their 10th season as members of the United East Conference and seventh season as full-fledged members of the NCAA. The Wildcats are on the map!

Included were:

Golf — United East Champion, UE Golfer of the Year, UE Coach of the Year, two UE all-conference first team, three UE all-conference second team, 29th in NCAA Division III, individual national 17th in NCAA Division III (the highest ever for a UE golfer), one D-III All-Region golfer.

Softball — United East Champion, two UEVD first team, five UEVD second team, two All-Region second team, one all-region third team, one all-region tournament team.

Men’s cross-country — United East men’s champion, three UE first team, one UE third team, UE Coach of the Year.

Wrestling — Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference runner-up. One all-conference first team, two all-conference second team, three all-region.

Men’s lacrosse — United East runner-up, three UE first team, three UE second team, UE Rookie of the Year.

Women’s soccer — Two UEVD first team, three UEVD second team, one All-Region second team, one all-region third team.

Baseball — One United East Volt Division all-conference first team, two UEVD second team, UEVD Rookie of the Year, two all-region selections.

Women’s cross-country — One UE second team, one UE third team.

Men’s basketball — Two UEVD first team, one all-region third team.

Women’s basketball — One UEVD second team.

Men’s soccer — One UEVD first team.

Men’s tennis — One UE second team.

Archery — One all-region.

Academics — Twenty-three Chi Alpha Sigma National College Athlete Honor Society inductees.

“This was a proud year for the Wildcats. The 2023-24 year is hands-down the most successful year in school history in the NCAA era. Ten programs advanced to the postseason, while three were crowned conference champions and two were runners-up. The success we experienced was remarkable,” director of athletics Scott Kennell said.

He added, “It’s a reflection of the hard work and investment of our student-athletes, coaches and staff members, as well as the unwavering support of our campus leadership, colleagues, alumni, families and fans. It’s a great time to be part of Wildcat Nation!”

Penn College finished fourth of 17 teams in the United East President’s Cup, which annually recognizes the athletic achievements of its members. The winner is determined by a scoring system that rewards success during both regular-season and postseason competition. St. Mary’s (Md.) took the top spot, followed by Penn State Harrisburg and Keystone College. The Wildcats’ fourth was their highest after two sixth-place finishes.

Also, the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics released its final standings for the 2024 Learfield Directors’ Cup, which is presented to the athletic department that garners the most success during the academic year, and seven United East athletic departments were represented in this year’s standings including St. Mary’s (Md.) College (207 points/98th ranked of 323 Division III teams with at least one point), Penn State Harrisburg (162.5/121), Gallaudet University (145.6/134), Penn College (70/213), Keystone College (62.5/226), Lancaster Bible College (25/285) and Penn State Berks (25/285).

A sport-by-sport review of the 2023-24 year (alphabetically):

ARCHERY
Coach: Dustin Bartron, fourth season.

Season honors:
All-East Team: Matthew Byrnes (Manahawkin, New Jersey).

Coach’s reflections: 
“We are looking forward to next year, only graduating one, and with two of the top five under-21 men in the nation coming in, we will have the tournament and competitive experience needed to win,” Bartron said.

BASEBALL
Coach: Chris Howard, 18th season. Career record: 359-265.
Final overall: 17-21.
Final UE Volt Division: 5-10.

Postseason honors:
UEVD first team: Dallas Griess (Williamsport).
UEVD second team: Sam Staib (Bloomsburg), Quinn Hanafin (Sayre).
UEVD Rookie of the Year: Dallas Griess (Williamsport).
UE All-Sportsmanship Team: Jaiden Augustine (Dillsburg).
D3baseball.com All-Region IV third team: Dallas Griess (Williamsport).
American Baseball Coaches Association/Rawlings Division III All-Region Mid-Atlantic third team: Dallas Griess (Williamsport).

Coach’s reflections: “… We are such a young team. We were literally rolling out sometimes with eight freshmen, and the ninth was somebody playing for their first time. … It was a year of experience that all of the freshmen needed,” Howard said.

“They know how to play and they instinctively did the right things. I was very pleased with how they play the game and go about the game,” Howard said. “Now, it’s just a matter of getting our physicality matching our mentality.

“I’m very excited about the years ahead. It’s a good group and we have a really nice freshman class coming in that will fit in perfectly. The program will be pretty strong for the next four to five years.”

BASKETBALL (men)
Coach: Geoff Hensley, fifth season. Career record: 35-90.
Final overall record: 10-16.
Final UE record: 7-7 (6-6 regular season).

Postseason honors:
UEVD first team: Gavin Barrett (Roselle, New Jersey); Livingston Cross (Union, New Jersey).
D3Hoops.com District 4 All-Region third team: Gavin Barrett (Roselle, New Jersey).
UE All-Sportsmanship Team: David Brown (Bridgeport, Connecticut).

Coach’s reflections: “It was a year to remember with back-to-back 10-win seasons along with hosting and winning the first-ever United East playoff game in men’s basketball history. We have a great group of young men, and I’m very proud of them for sticking together and continuously improving every practice and game. We were playing our best basketball of the season these last few weeks and competed with every team we played,” Hensley said.

“As when every season ends, a new one begins. It’s a bittersweet feeling, with the sad feeling of the season being over, yet excited and optimistic for the future,” Hensley said. “… With the addition of another great recruiting class, we hope to continue the upward trend of this basketball program and take it to even higher heights. There has been such growth over the last three years that it’s remarkable to think of what next year could become.”

BASKETBALL (women)
Coach: Britney Mohney, fourth season. Career record: 30-69.
Final overall record: 6-20
Final UE record: 2-11 (2-10 regular season)

Postseason honors:
UEVD second team: Rachel Teats (Middleburg).
UE All-Sportsmanship Team: Shelby Piatt (Frenchtown, New Jersey).

Coach’s reflections: Commenting on her team’s season that ended in the first round of the UE Volt Division playoffs for the second year in a row, Mohney said, “There is a lot for us to build off of from this season of challenges and learning. … Through this season, we learned that we have to start being proactive instead of reactive in our play and make the opponents play our game and not be taken out of our system.  

“Our future looks strong and promising with our returning cast. We look forward to building with stronger recruits and players who are embracing the system and culture that we have built here. We are going to rely heavily on our leadership council to hold each other accountable during the offseason. The only thing we can do now is look forward and learn from our past and make better habits to change the outcome of our next season.”

CROSS-COUNTRY (men/women)
Coach: Tom Leeser, second season.

Postseason honors:
UE first team men: Mitchell Campbell (Riegelsville), Matthew Woolcock (Oil City), Alec Rees (Centerport, New York).
UE third team men: Holden Furey (Williamsport), Jacob Parker (Weatherly).
UE second team women: Elaina Brady (Big Cove Tannery).
UE third team women: Skyelar Splain (Liverpool).
UE Coach of Year: Tom Leeser.
UE All-Sportsmanship Team men: Matthew Woolcock (Oil City).
UE All-Sportsmanship Team women: Skyelar Splain (Liverpool).

In a brilliant team effort, the Wildcat men overcame the loss of a key runner in midrace during the United East Championship meet and pulled together to win their first crown in the NCAA era that began in 2014 and the first overall since 2012.

At the season-ending NCAA Division III Mid-Atlantic Championships, Penn College was 20th in a 31-team field, its best regional finish ever, and Campbell was 90th in a field of 211 over an 8K course.

Coach’s reflections: “I am pleased with our progress from both the men and the women. The goal is to keep putting in good work and to build on our recent successes. I’m very proud of each member of our team,” Leeser said.

ESPORTS
Coach: Joshua Young, fourth season.

Coach’s reflections: “It was another great season for the Wildcats esports team, with Rocket League, Overwatch 2 and Valorant making the playoffs. Overwatch 2 gave the program its best finish of second in the NACE Starleague Varsity + division, we finished third in Rocket League and Valorant lost a close match in the round of eight,” Young said.

“We were so close to a championship that I feel one is coming in the fifth season of the program. The level of talent in all our games keeps growing, and we look forward to the growth,” the coach added.

FALL
Rocket League
Overall record: 4-4

Overwatch 2
Overall record: 2-6

Valorant
Overall final record: 3-5

League of Legends
Final record: 3-4

CS:GO
Final record: 2-6

SPRING
Overwatch 2
Final overall record: 7-2 (playoffs 1-1)

Rocket League Varsity
Final overall record: 6-3 (playoffs 1-1)

NACE Valorant
Final overall record: 5-3 (playoffs 0-1)

Counter Strike 2
Final overall record: 1-5

GOLF
Coach Rob Lytle, second season.

Postseason honors:
UE first team: Peyton Mussina (Montoursville), Trevor Keaton (Lansdale).
UE second team: Gavin Baer (Bainbridge), Will Orwig (Mifflintown), Gunner Redmond (Lock Haven).
UE Golfer of the Year: Peyton Mussina (Montoursville).
UE Coach of the Year: Rob Lytle.
PING Division III All-Region 3 Team: Peyton Mussina (Montoursville).
UE All-Sportsmanship Team: Peyton Mussina (Montoursville).

Coach’s reflections: “I’m super proud of the whole team and how they played, conducted themselves and represented Penn College. We’ll get started for the next journey come August. We lose Trevor to graduation, and I’ll get to evaluate the freshmen who are coming in. We’ve got some good players on the team with Brady Handy of Cassville, who helped us out this year, and Logan Gawlinski of Kittanning. I’m optimistic for the fall and we’ll start laying the groundwork for next spring,” Lytle said.

MEN’S LACROSSE
Coach: Jordan Williams, fourth season. Career record: 34-26
Final overall record: 10-9
Final overall UE record: 5-2 (4-1 regular season)

Postseason honors:
UE first team: Aidan McFalls (Gilbertsville), Harrison Schlachta (Collegeville), Mason Nester (Schwenksville).
UE second team: AJ Dotson (Wilmington, Delaware), Will Ehret (Basking Ridge, New Jersey), Austin Callahan (Beaver Dams, New York).
UE Rookie of the Year: Aidan McFalls (Gilbertsville).
UE All-Sportsmanship Team: Ryan Santora (Norwalk, Connecticut).

Coach’s reflections: “It didn’t go as planned, but I was really happy with the way our guys competed,” Williams said of the team’s season-ending loss in the United East Championship game for the second time in four seasons. “All in all, it was a bad result, but it was a big step forward for our program because not everyone gets to play in a conference championship.

“We have another really good recruiting class coming in, five to seven freshmen who can come in and make an impact. We’re raising the standard again; we’re asking more of the guys on and off the field. We’re asking them to come in prepared.

“The next step is to continue to bring in great kids that want to get better, that want to be college lacrosse players. If we want to compete with the St. Mary’s of the world and the other teams that beat us this year, we have to have the guys who want to be the best possible version of themselves on the field, and that means the extra work in the weight room, on the field, whatever it may be.”

During the college’s annual Celebrating Athletic Triumphs and Successes (CATS AWARD) ceremony, the lacrosse team received the Community Service Award for the second year in a row.

“(Community service) is a big part of what I want our program to be about. In lacrosse, a lot of guys do come from privileged backgrounds and I want them to see different perspectives and situations,” Williams said.

“We were lucky enough to be paired up with a local family, the Minnellas, whose son is 14 and goes to Montoursville High School and was an honorary teammate this year and moving forward. He has some physical disabilities that prevent him from being able to participate in different sports at that level, but he plays Challenger baseball, and we, as a team, go and cheer him on.

“That’s all the perspective shift of serving other people but also recognizing that we’re really lucky to be playing college lacrosse. We’re really lucky to be in the situation that we’re in. LJ has just been an awesome, awesome addition to our program, and his energy and enthusiasm are contagious.

“I want to get guys out of their comfort zone to where they see that other people are different. It doesn’t mean it’s better or worse; it just means it’s different. If we can help, let’s help. If we can serve, let’s serve.”

SOCCER (men)
Coach: Tyler Mensch, eighth season. Career record: 44-89-19.
Final overall: 7-7-3
Final UE: 2-4-1 (2-3-1 regular season)

Postseason honors:
UEVD second team: Tommy DeGeyter (Long Valley, New Jersey, junior defender).
UE All-Sportsmanship Team: Logan Confer (Watsontown, junior).

Coach’s reflections: Reaching the postseason for the first time since 2018, Mensch said, “Our goal every year is to make it to the UEC playoffs, and this year, we were excited to be back in the playoffs and embrace the underdog mentality as a lot of teams continue to overlook us.

“Defensively, we have been as advertised and much improved compared to years past. Our goal against per game is 1.13, and the general rule of thumb is to be at 1.00 or below as a team, and statistically, that will lead to better results.”

SOCCER (women)
Coach: Ian Scheller, second season. Career record: 20-11-8.
Final overall: 11-2-7
Final UE: 4-2-2 (3-1-2 regular season)

Postseason honors:
UEVD first team: Kaelynn Sheetz (Elizabethtown, forward); Sara Darlington (West Chester, midfielder).
UEVD second team: Nicole Lichtinger (Erie, goalkeeper); BillieGean Hennessy (Holtsville, New York, defender); Makayla Bucks (Lebanon, defender).
UE All-Sportsmanship Team: Brooke Klinger (Rough and Ready).
United Soccer Coaches Division III All-Region IV second team: Sara Darlington (West Chester).
United Soccer Coaches Division III All-Region IV third team: Kaelynn Sheetz (Elizabethtown).

Coach’s reflections: “The season has been an incredible ride. Our ability to find a second successive third-place finish in this conference is one that needs to be applauded. The team has shown an amazing amount of resilience because this season was a perfect example of why being a consistent program is so difficult. No team in our league completed the season with a perfect record in conference play. That speaks to just how competitive the Volt Division was this year,” Scheller said.

“It also shows that this season as a whole needs to be regarded as one of the best in program history, winning 11 games in a schedule that had 13 playoff qualifying teams and three contests against regionally ranked opponents. The team worked so hard from day one until the final whistle. We have been very fortunate that, in the last two seasons, we haven't lost many players to graduation, but at least the seniors from this season will have an opportunity to look back on this season with incredible pride. There are definitely bright things ahead for this program,” Scheller said.

SOFTBALL
Coach: Angela Stackhouse, fifth season. Career record: 113-40
Final overall record: 30-12
Final UE record: 20-6 (15-5 regular season)

Postseason honors:
UEVD first team: Lexi Snyder (Hegins), Maggie Mangene (Boalsburg).
UEVD second team: Mackenzie Weaver (Montoursville), Ivvy Morder (Mechanicsburg), Madison Herriman (Danville), Grace Lorson (Jersey Shore), Jesse Brumbaugh (McClure).
UE All-Sportsmanship Team: Madison Shaffer (Trout Run).
NFCA Division III All-Region VI second team: Madison Herriman (Danville), Maggie Mangene (Boalsburg).
NFCA Division III All-Region IV third team: Grace Lorson (Jersey Shore).
NCAA Division III Bethlehem Regional Team: Madison Harriman (Danville).
Tucci/NFCA Division III National Freshman of Year finalist: Grace Lorson (Jersey Shore).

Coach’s reflections:  “There were a massive number of milestones reached and definitely a record-setting year once again. It was a lot of fun to be a part of that,” Stackhouse said, noting that Mangene, Morder, Weaver and Madison Shaffer of Trout Run all reached the career 100-hit mark, and Weaver surpassed both the 300- and 400-career strikeout marks in addition to the coach collecting her 100th career win in the fewest number of games in NCAA era (since 2014) school history.

“We’re definitely playing on a different level (than in the pre-NCAA era in 2014). I think we’re playing on a different level than we were five years ago when I took this position. Every year, we compete, and it seems to get better, and our opponents get tougher,” Stackhouse said.

TENNIS (men)
Coach: David Straub, first season. Career record: 2-9
Final overall record: 2-9
Final UE record: 2-5

Postseason honors:
UE men’s second team: Logan Ogden (South Williamsport).
UE All-Sportsmanship Team (men): Kyle Shuler (Williamsport).

TENNIS (women)
Coach: David Straub, first season. Career record: 4-9
Final overall record: 4-9
Final UE record: 1-4

Postseason honor:
UE All-Sportsmanship Team (women): Ellen Buckley (Binghamton, New York).

Coach’s reflections: “I very much enjoyed our spring season, and when it came up, every player said they did as well despite the fact it was not a winning season (the men finished 2-9 overall and the women were 4-9, their most wins ever in a season),” Straub said.

Looking ahead, Straub said, “Strategy and specific strokes in specific situations need to be worked on. We are making progress and I’m confident it will continue.”

VOLLEYBALL (women)
Coach: Carolyn McKeon, third season. Career record: 7-52.
Final overall record: 4-17
Final UE record: 0-6

Postseason honor:
UE All-Sportsmanship Team: Coryn Oswald (Langhorne).

The Wildcats doubled their win total from the previous season but finished winless in the UE for the third year in a row under McKeon, who resigned at the end of the season.

In February, Kyle Hawk was named the program’s sixth head coach.

“I’m excited and humbled to join the Penn College women’s volleyball program. My family and I are thrilled to join the Wildcat family and I can’t wait to meet the team and begin our journey together,” Hawk said.

WRESTLING
Coach: Pankil Chander, second year. Career dual record: 20-22.

Conference/Region Honors
All-AMCC first team: Noah Hunt (Muncy, 141).
All-AMCC second team: Patrick Snoke (Northampton, 141); Luke Heimbach (Boyertown, 125); TJ Martin (Honesdale, 149).
NCAA Division III Mideast Region: Kaden Ware (Brooklyn, Connecticut, 133, sixth); Noah Hunt (Muncy, 141, eighth); Travis Green (Manchester, Maryland, 165, eighth).

Coach’s reflections: “We had a great regular season with a young squad that consisted of more than half of our starting 10 being freshmen,” Chander pointed out.

“This was the first time in (modern) program history that we’ve had two consecutive seasons with nine or more dual wins for a total of 20 dual wins in the last two seasons,” Chander said of his squad, which also finished second during its inaugural season in the Allegany Mountain Collegiate Conference.

“We continued with hitting milestones this season by capturing our first tournament team championship in program history at the 2023 RIT Invitational, and we earned our first team-national ranking in program history. We had at least four wrestlers appear in the NCAA Mideast Regional rankings in every poll of the season,” Chander said.

When the dust settled, for the second season in a row, Penn College saw three of its wrestlers finish among the top eight in their respective weights at the NCAA Division III Mideast Regional Championships, marking the first time in program history with back-to-back seasons with at least three regional medalists.

It also marked the first time four Wildcats ended the season with 30-plus wins, as Ware, Hunt, Green, and Martin were ranked numerous times throughout the season by the National Wrestling Coaches Association in the Mideast Region.

IN THE CLASSROOM
Twenty-three junior student-athletes, representing 10 teams with an average GPA of 3.71, were inducted into the Chi Alpha Sigma National College Athlete Honor Society.

This year’s class joins 113 previously inducted student-athletes. A student-athlete must be in their junior or senior year with a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.4 to be eligible.

They include:
Alec Rees of Centerport, New York (men’s cross-country), Gavin Baer of Bainbridge (men’s golf), Walt Heiser of Milford, New Jersey (men’s lacrosse), Ryan Jeffries of Oxford, Connecticut (men’s lacrosse), Cory Johnson of Irwin (men’s lacrosse), CJ Jones of Glenolden (men’s lacrosse), Devin Page of Pine City, New York (men’s lacrosse), Kevin Ronayne of Havertown (men’s lacrosse), Guerin San Agustin of Old Bridge, New Jersey (men’s lacrosse), Logan Confer of Watsontown (men’s soccer), Tommy DeGeyter of Long Valley, New Jersey (men's soccer), Jack Lenosky of Moon Township (men’s soccer), Matt Neeson of Chadds Ford (men's soccer), Hailey DeBrody of Cogan Station (women’s softball and women’s volleyball), Maddie Herriman of Danville (women’s softball), Lauren Hergert of Brookville (women’s volleyball), Joanna Hess of Jersey Shore (women’s volleyball), Kayleigh Miller of Sayre (women’s basketball and women’s cross-country), BillieGean Hennessy of Holtsville, New York (women’s soccer), Nicole Lichtinger of Erie (women’s soccer), Shannon O'Day of Honesdale (women’s soccer), Anton Esterbrook of Wyomissing (wrestling), Zachary Miller of Lock Haven (wrestling).

Penn College is a member of the Alpha Iota Chapter of Chi Alpha Sigma, which was chartered on Jan. 8, 2019. It joins more than 220 Division I, Division II and Division III colleges and universities in recognizing elite student-athletes who succeed in their sport and in the classroom.

PENN COLLEGE CATS (Celebrating Athletic Triumphs and Successes) AWARD WINNERS
Male Athlete of the Year: Gavin Barrett (Roselle, New Jersey, men’s basketball)
Female Athlete of the Year: Kaelynn Sheetz (Elizabethtown, women’s soccer)
Male Newcomers of the Year: Dallas Griess (Williamsport, baseball); Kaden Ware (Brooklyn, Connecticut, wrestling)
Female Newcomer of the Year: Grace Lorson (Jersey Shore, softball)
Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Matthew Woolcock (Oil City, men’s cross-country)
Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Kaelynn Sheetz (Elizabethtown, women’s soccer)
Staff Member of the Year: Becca Rohrer
Community Service Award: Men’s lacrosse team

ON THE HORIZON
On July 1, Penn State Brandywine will join the United East, bringing the conference’s core members to 18.

PS Brandywine, in Media, offers 12 athletic programs, all of which are sponsored by the United East. In the fall, the Nittany Lions will compete in men’s and women’s cross-country, men’s and women’s soccer, and women’s volleyball. The newest member will compete in men’s and women’s basketball in winter, while Brandywine will compete in baseball, softball, men’s and women’s tennis, and men’s golf in the spring.

Formerly part of the Pennsylvania State University Athletic Conference (PSUAC), the Nittany Lions competed under the umbrella of the United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA).

Brandywine is a public commonwealth campus of the Penn State University system, with an enrollment of over 1,200 students.

For more about the United East, visit the conference website.
For additional information, visit the Wildcat Athletics website.