EDINBORO, Pa. – The Clarion University track & field team wrapped up competition at the 2017 PSAC Indoor Championships Sunday, finishing 15th overall with five points in the two-day event.
The Blue and Gold return to action on March 17th when they head to the Trojan Challenge in North Carolina to open up the outdoor season.
Tatiana Cloud snagged a fifth overall finish in the 400-meter dash finals with a final time of 58.43. Danielle Tarr followed it up with a 17th-place mark in the 800-meter run, with a final mark of 2:21.69, while Kaycee Bobnar and Danielle Vensel took 17th and 21st overall in the 5000-meter run.
Clarion’s relay teams also got in on the action, with the 4X400 team of Courtney Corban, Tarr, Nicole Young, and Cloud taking 18th overall with a final time of 4:04.94. Shortly thereafter, the 4X800 team of Tarr, Murray, Rikki Brumbaugh, and Maria Snyder took eighth overall, running a final time of 9:54.79. Finally, the distance medley relay team of Young, Snyder, Letizia Collini, and Murray took 12th overall with a time of 14:24.99.
In the field events, Jessica Shomo finished 19th in the long jump, while Kari Steuer and Katie Brest finished 9th and 25, respectively, in the shot put. Summer Murray took 11th overall in the weight throw with a final distance of 14.23 meters.
See Day One Recap at www.clariongoldeneagles.com
WOMEN’S HOOPS CLINCHES FIRST WINNING SEASON IN SEVEN YEARS
EDINBORO, Pa. – The Clarion women’s basketball team locked up its first winning season since 2010 with an impressive road victory, defeating Edinboro 67-59 at McComb Fieldhouse on Saturday. The Golden Eagles (15-13, 12-10 PSAC) will face Mercyhurst in the first round of the PSAC Tournament on Monday night. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
Three Golden Eagles scored in double-digits against the Fighting Scots, with Tyra Polite scoring a game-high 17 points in a full 40 minutes of action. Delrika Jones-Carey finished with 13 points and five rebounds, and Jen Straw added 12 points and six boards in just 24 minutes.
The Golden Eagles are guaranteed to have a winning record at the end of the season, the first time that’s happened since the 2009-10 season. Their 12-10 conference record represents their first winning season in conference play since the 2007-08 campaign. Clarion has already improved on last year’s record by six games, and have improved by 13 games since a 2-25 record in Jana Ashley’s first season as head coach.
Clarion held the Fighting Scots to just a 37.1 field goal percentage and outrebounded them 41-32. There was a big difference at the free throw line as well, with the Golden Eagles going 18-of-23 and the Fighting Scots just 8-of-15. The Golden Eagles withstood a rough second quarter and rebounded with a strong third to retake control of the lead and the game.
Edinboro led by as many as eight points in the second quarter as they outscored Clarion 21-12 and took a 32-27 lead into halftime. The advantage reached seven points early in the third quarter, but Straw knocked down jumpers on back-to-back possessions to cut the advantage to 39-37. Amesha Harden-Pullium gave Clarion the lead with a three-pointer at the 1:52 mark of the third, making it 45-43, and then made it a two-possession game with a pair of free throws less than a minute later. Straw made a midrange jumper with 20 seconds left in the third to give the Golden Eagles a 50-44 lead at the end of the third quarter.
That lead reached three possessions early in the fourth when Ashley Deleonibus made a jumper in the paint to make it 52-44. Edinboro pulled to within two points with 6:16 left but got no closer. Jordan Bekelja made it a nine-point edge with 18 seconds left thanks to a pair of free throws.
MEN’S HOOPS CLOSES OUT DISAPPOINTING YEAR WITH LOSS AT EDINBORO
EDINBORO, Pa. – The Clarion men’s basketball team found themselves in a wild finish on the road, finishing their season with an 85-82 loss at Edinboro on Saturday. The Golden Eagles (7-21, 4-18) made up a nine-point deficit down the stretch but couldn’t complete the comeback win.
Five players scored in double-digits, with Jamani Pierce leading the pack with 18 points and seven rebounds. BJ Andrews closed out his impressive Clarion career with 17 points and five boards, and Manny Powell came off the bench to produce 16 points on 5-of-11 shooting.
Clarion built up a 14-point lead early in the first half as they shot 46.2 percent from the floor in the first 20 minutes of play. That advantage was eight points at the halftime break, but the Fighting Scots rallied and built a nine-point lead for themselves with less than six minutes to go. The Golden Eagles went cold in the second half, shooting just 33.3 percent.
The Golden Eagles led 16-13 with 14:40 left in the first half before embarking on an 8-0 run, eventually going up by 11 thanks to a midrange jumper from Pierce. The lead stayed in double-digits as Pierce fired a jumper from the paint to make it 26-14, and Cameron Grumley buried a three-pointer to make it a 29-15.
Edinboro cut the lead to five points a few minutes later, but Powell scored a transition bucket with 2:19 left to play in the half to make it 45-33. The lead stayed at three possessions at the end of the half, with Clarion owning a 45-37 lead at the halftime break.
The Fighting Scots erased that deficit early in the second half, tying the game at 47 less than five minutes into the period and taking the lead with 14:14 left to play. The lead increased to nine points with 5:06 left to go on a Jaymon Mason three-pointer that made it 72-63. The Golden Eagles countered with a 12-2 run that was jumpstarted by a bucket from Powell, and was punctuated with an old-fashioned three-point play from Pierce that put Clarion up 75-74.
The teams traded buckets down the stretch, with Clarion holding an 80-79 lead with 1:15 left. The Fighting Scots scored on the next possession and got a stop, and though the Golden Eagles pulled to within one point with 19 seconds left, they missed several three-point attempts down the stretch.
BASEBALL GIVES WILLIAMS FIRST WIN AS CLARION MANAGER
BUFFALO, W. Va. – The Clarion University baseball team earned its first victory of the season Saturday afternoon in West Virginia, defeating West Virginia State University by a final score of 9-5. The win moves the Golden Eagles to 1-2 on the season. The Golden Eagles return to action on March 11th when they take on the Kutztown Golden Bears.
The morning began with the conclusion of game two from Friday night, which was postponed 24 hours due to a lack of sunlight. Starting off in the top of the eighth inning, WVSU managed to string together a few hits to steal a second victory on Saturday morning.
Clarion would have their revenge in the rubber match, enjoying an offensive explosion to earn a 9-5 victory.
Tyler Falk and Matt Kamenicky each drew walks in the top of the first to put Eagles on in scoring position before an Austin Mike sacrifice eventually drove Falk home to give CU an early 1-0 lead.
WVSU would grab a run back in the bottom of the first, but Clarion was just getting started at the plate. The beginning of a four-run fourth inning blew the game wide open when a Kamenicky pop fly scored Cole Schaffer from third. One at-bat later, Joey Lopez reached on an error and Ty Bittner scored. A John Finke single drove in Lopez to cap off the four-run inning for the Eagles.
Jay Moog would come on in the bottom of the ninth to earn the save and secure the first victory of head coach Anthony Williams career at Clarion.
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