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Wednesday, May 14, 2003

By Phil Axelrod, Post-Gazette Sports Writer

IUP's Becky Bullard, who won the heptathlon, high jump and 1,500-meter run, was named the women's Most Outstanding Athlete and Field Athlete of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference outdoor track and field championships at Lock Haven.

Slippery Rock won the women's team title and Shippensburg the men's team title.

Slippery Rock's Linsey Westerman was a double winner for the second consecutive year, finishing first in the 100 hurdles in a championship-meet record time of 14.21 seconds and in the 400 hurdles.

IUP's Mindy Sawtelle won the 3,000- and 5,000-meter titles.

In the men's competition, Edinboro's Aaron Rowe defended his 5,000-meter title in a record time of 14:25.92, Slippery Rock's Ben Steingrabe won the 110 high hurdles, and IUP's Jermaine Clayton won the 100-meter dash.

The Division II men's and women's track and field national championships will begin May 22 at Southern Illinois University in Edwardsville, Ill.

Division II baseball

Slippery Rock (44-10), which set a school record for victories in a season, will play host to the double-elimination NCAA North Atlantic Region tomorrow through Saturday at Jack Critchfield Park.

Top-seeded Slippery Rock will meet No. 4 Kutztown (24-13) and No. 2 West Chester (32-11) will play No. 3 Shippensburg (29-20) in the opening round. Kutztown is the two-time defending regional champion.

Slippery Rock's top hitters are infielder Billy Wolfe (.468), outfielder Joe Neidrick (.407) and catcher-second baseman Alan Reichal (.356, team highs eight home runs, 54 RBIs). Neidrick has scored 62 runs to tie a season school record. The pitching staff features Steve Norris (9-0, 2.01 ERA) and Mike Sikorski (8-2, 1.45 ERA).

The winner will advance to the NCAA championships May 24-31 in Montgomery, Ala.

Division III baseball

Top-seed Penn State Behrend (33-10) defeated Misericordia, 11-9, and Waynesburg, 7-5, to win the ECAC Southern Region tournament and extend its winning streak to 10.

Teed off

Sophomore Matt Guydon won the East regional championship to become the first Clarion golfer to advance to the NCAA Division II championship tournament since Greg Spinetti tied for 17th in 1988. The nationals begin Tuesday and continue through May 23 at Sunriver, Ore. Guydon, who defeated Glenville State's Tim Fisher with a birdie 4 on the first playoff hole at Drumlins Golf Course in Syracuse, N.Y., had rounds of 72, 69 and 73 for a 214.

NAIA softball

Top seed and host Geneva (42-12) lost to Tiffin, 3-2, and Walsh, 4-2, in the double-elimination District 9 tournament. Pitcher Jen Picard, a sophomore from Bethel Park, saw a 15-game winning streak ended with the loss to Tiffin. She set a school record for victories this season with a 21-4 record.

Division II softball

Shippensburg (36-12) advanced to the NCAA championship that begins tomorrow in Salem, Ore., with a 10-3 victory against California (28-8) in the final game of the Mid-Atlantic Region. Shippensburg pitcher Kelley Tiesi was named tournament MVP and California's Amber Riegel, Jennifer Doty and Gabrielle Rendon made the all-tournament team.

Division III softball

Bethany's school-record 21-game winning streak ended with a 7-0 loss to Alma (Mich.) College in the opening game, and the Bison (31-8) were eliminated with a 3-2 loss to Cabrini (Pa.) College in the double-elimination NCAA Central Region tournament at Muskingum.

This 'n' that

St. Vincent's baseball team was 27-17 this spring to set a school record for victories in a season and post the team's first winning season in 20 years.. ... Gannon (8-7) is 10th in the final Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Association Division II poll. ... Seventh-ranked Mercyhurst (11-2) will play No. 4 Limestone College in the NCAA Division II men's lacrosse semifinals Saturday in Gaffney, S.C. Limestone, the defending national champion, lost to Mercyhurst earlier this season, 13-12.