The California University of Pennsylvania athletic programs are moving up the national charts.

The Vulcans are seventh in the standings for the U.S. Sports Academy Directors' Cup, awarded to the most successful men's and women's programs in NCAA Division II, through completion of winter sports

"This is much better than we anticipated," said Tom Pucci, the school's athletic director since 1991. "I think this is the school's best year ever."

The success started in the fall when the football team reached the semifinals in its first appearance in the playoffs in John Luckhardt's sixth season as head coach. The Vulcans finished 13-1 and fourth in the final poll.

The women's volleyball team set a school record for matches won in a season with a 35-4 record and advanced to the Elite Eight under coach Melissa Myers. The team won its first Pennsylvania State West regular-season title since 1992.

The California men's basketball team (28-6) and the women's basketball team (27-7) made it to the Elite Eight. It was the women's third trip in eight seasons under Darcie Vincent and the first since 2004. It was the first time the men reached the Elite Eight since 1996 and first in 12 seasons under Bill Brown.

"We're expecting our teams in the spring to continue the winning at California," Pucci said.

Slippery Rock graduate student Brad Mueller became the school's first indoor national champion when he won the 60-meter dash in 6.65 seconds at the NCAA Division II championships. He is the school's first national track champion since Karyn McCready won the javelin at the '04 outdoor championships.

Mueller, 5 feet 11, 183 pounds, played three seasons of football at Boston College where he earned his undergraduate degree. He was the PIAA Class AA champion in the 100 and 200 meters as a senior at Mars High School.

The Lock Haven softball team, which won the Division II national championship in 2006 and was runner-up last season, is 27-5 with a 16-game win streak to move up to fourth in the National Fastpitch Softball Association poll. Lock Haven is 8-0 and in first place in the PSAC West. Kristin Erb, a junior right-hander, is 22-5 with a 0.29 earned run average to go with a team-high .354 average and and 21 RBIs. ... The Allegheny men's golf team, led by Christian Goetz, a sophomore from Burgettstown, and Mike Wolfe, is ranked 12th in the preseason in the Golf World/NIKE Golf Coaches'poll. ... The Carnegie Mellon women's tennis team, featuring All-American Amy Staloch, is 13-5 and ranked eighth in Division III.

The Washington and Jefferson men and the Westminster women lead in the race for the Presidents' Athletic Conference All-Sports Trophies through the completion of the winter season. W&J has won league championships in football and soccer; Westminster won in volleyball and soccer.

When Youngstown State recently ended Duquesne's 11-game win streak with an 8-7 victory in 14 innings, the teams combined to set an NCAA Division I record with 13 hit batsmen. They tied a record with 43 runners left on base.

Mike Summey, an assistant at the University of North Florida the past three seasons, is the new men's basketball coach at Bethany. He also was an assistant at St. Francis, Pa. (2000-03). He replaces Aaron Huffman, who resigned last month after leading the Bison to the PAC title and the NCAA Division III tournament. ... Aaron Lujan, an assistant at Princeton the past three years, is the new men's soccer coach at Carnegie Mellon. He replaces Nick Gaudioso, who took the Tartans to six NCAA Division III playoffs in 27 seasons.