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Fehlman headed back to NCAA’s; Loutzenhiser, Gannon win PSAC title

WAHS grad and Lock Haven senior D.J. Fehlman shares a hug with his dad after qualifying for the NCAA championships.

DEKALB, Ill. – Jared Siegrist (Manheim, Pa./Manheim Central) turned in a historic performance and became the Lock Haven University wrestling team’s first ever individual Mid-American Conference (MAC) champion. He went 4-0 on the way to the 174-pound title and was one of seven Bald Eagle placewinners as LHU wrapped up the two-day MAC Tournament in style.

Siegrist, a senior and four-year starter, was one of four LHU wrestlers who also qualified for a spot in the NCAA Championships by way of their strong finishes at the two-day conference tournament. It marked Lock Haven’s debut at the MAC Championships.

Luke Werner (Bethlehem, Pa./Liberty) finished third at 125, DJ Fehlman (Warren, Pa./Warren) and Kyle Shoop (Boiling Springs, Pa./Boiling Springs) both placed fifth at 133 and 141, respectively. By way of their finishes, the trio punched their ticket to the 2020 NCAA Division I Championships, to be held later this month.

Siegrist qualified for the NCAA Tournament by way of earning a spot in today’s finals.

For Werner and Siegrist, it marks the first time in their careers where they’ve earned NCAA bids. Fehlman is now a three-time NCAA qualifier and Shoop will make his fourth trip the Division I national tournament.

Gannon University freshman and former WAHS standout Margo Lotuzenhiser cuts down a piece of the net after Gannon knocked off IUP in the PSAC tournament championship game on Sunday at Indiana.

Brock Port (Bellefonte, Pa./Bellefonte), Austin Bell (Belle Vernon, Pa./Belle Vernon) and Corey Hazel (Spring Mills, Pa./Penns Valley) rounded out Lock Haven’s 2020 MAC placewinners.

Hazel was sixth at 184, Bell placed seventh at 165 and Port finished eighth at 149.

Behind Siegrist’s title, and thanks to seven of 10 wrestlers placing, Lock Haven finished fifth of 15 in the team standings. Missouri racked up 142 points on the way to the Tigers eighth straight MAC title. Central Michigan was second (121 pts.), host Northern Illinois third (90.5 pts.) and Rider placed fourth with 84.5 points, just ahead of LHU (82 pts.).

This marked Lock Haven’s MAC Tournament debut, as this season marks the first for LHU in the MAC – as an affiliate member – for the sport of wrestling. Last spring, a historic expansion was announced, one that saw all the former Eastern Wrestling League (EWL) teams move over to the MAC. The addition of Lock Haven, along with the other six new affiliate members from the EWL increased MAC wrestling membership to 15 total members, making the MAC the second largest NCAA Division I Wrestling conference.

The 2020 NCAA Division I Championships are set for March 19-21 (Thurs. – Sat.) at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Following this weekend’s conference tournaments the NCAA will select 47 at-large qualifiers, which will be announced on March 10. The 2020 NCAA Championship brackets and seeds will be announced on NCAA.com at 6 p.m. on March 11.

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133: #27 R-Sr. DJ Fehlman (Warren, Pa./Warren) 3-2 / 25-9 / 113-44 (#4 seed)

First Round vs. Shannon Hanna (Old Dominion) – W, dec. 6-5 SV1

Quarterfinals vs. Josh Mason (Bloomsburg) – W, major dec. 11-3

Semifinals vs. Tim Rooney (Kent State) – L, dec. 4-2 SV2

Consolation Semifinals vs. Andrew Martin (Central Michigan) – L, dec. 5-0

5th – Place Match vs. Josh Mason (Bloomsburg) – W, dec. 9-8

5th Place, NCAA Qualifier, 3-2

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Warren grad Loutzenhiser, Gannon win PSAC title

INDIANA, PA. – Gannon went into IUP and knocked off the Crimson Hawks in their home gym to win the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference tournament championship on Sunday.

The Knights knocked down the first basket of the game just 40 seconds into the first quarter. Tori Obenrader (North Clarion) battled in the paint to give Gannon an early 2-0 lead. That would be the easiest basket for the Knights in the first half as they struggled from the field.

Lexi Griggs tied the game 2-2 more than three minutes into the first. She quickly made it a five point lead for the Crimson Hawks with a three-pointer a couple possessions later. Gannon’s next field goal of the first came when Emily Poling (Defiance, Ohio/Defiance) drove in for a layup with 2:57 on the clock. Sydney Mitchell (Baltimore, Md./Seton Keough) and Justina Mascaro both scored from the foul line in the final minutes, and IUP took a 13-6 lead into the second.

The second quarter was just as defensive as the first with both teams scoring single-digits. Boston McKinney (Bolivar, Ohio/Tuscarawas Valley) got on the board first with a layup at the 8:50 mark. The next three minutes were scoreless until Rajah Fink hit a free throw for IUP.

Griggs struck next for the Hawks with a pair of free throws at the 4:14 mark, while Mascaro extended the IUP run to -5-0 with 2:30 left in the half. Chelsea Rourke (Gibsonia, Pa./Pine-Richland) closed the half with two free throws, but the Knights trailed 18-10 at the break.

Gannon exploded offensively out of halftime, while maintaining its defensive efforts. Tewes and Obenrader scored three straight baskets for the Knights helping make a dent in IUP’s lead. Griggs hit a jumper with 7:32 to keep IUP’s lead at six, but Mitchell drove on the next two possessions to spark a 6-0 run with back-to-back layups.

McKinney knotted the game at 22-22 with a layup at the 5:40 mark, which forced a 30-second timeout by the Hawks. Mascaro regained the lead with a pair of free throws, but Obenrader quickly tied it again on the next possession. She would give them a four point lead with a pair of free throws and a layup over the next two minutes. Mitchell capped the quarter from the foul line helping the Knights to a 30-28 lead over the Hawks.

The fourth quarter saw two lead changes right off the bat. Natalie Myers connected from the arc just over a minute into the action to take a one-point lead over the Knights, but on the other end of the court, Poling answered right back with one for the Knights.

Poling’s three was the difference maker and sparked a 12-0 Gannon run. Obenrader hit a layup on the next possession, while Poling got another three with 7:04 on the clock. Mitchell and Obenrader capped the run with baskets in the paint for the Knights.

Griggs cut Gannon’s lead to eight with a three-pointer with 5:27 remaining, while Fink hit four from the foul line to cut it to four points. Tewes, Mitchell, and Obenrader all converted on late free throws to hold on to a 50-40 win over the Hawks.

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To host CalU in

NCAA first round

ERIE, Pa. – After upsetting No. 7/8 Indiana for the PSAC Championship Sunday afternoon, the Gannon women’s basketball team learned they earned the No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament and will host a portion of the Atlantic Regional.

The matchup will feature a pair of former Warren Dragons in Loutzenhiesr and Cal senior D.J. Hahn, who won a D-10 title together in 2016.

The NCAA announced the 2019-20 tournament bracket during a selection show Sunday night.

Gannon enters the tournament with a 25-6 overall record and an 18-4 finish in conference play. The Knights beat IUP 50-40 Sunday afternoon at the Kovalchick Complex to win the PSAC Championship. It marked the first time in 2010 the team had won and is the second PSAC Title in program history. Gannon was powered by MVP Tori Obenrader (Fryburg, Pa./North Clarion) who tallied 17 points and 16 rebounds in the win.

The Knights will play on Friday vs. conference foe No. 7 California. Tipoff is set for 7:30 pm in the Hammermill.

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Lobdell, Wilson shine,

but Vulcans drops a pair

CLERMONT, Fla. – The California University of Pennsylvania softball team opened play at the PFX Spring Games with a pair of losses on Saturday evening, suffering a 4-2 loss to Dominican (N.Y.) and dropping a 7-5 contest to MSU Moorhead.

With the losses, the Vulcans fall to 1-7 overall while playing their first games since Feb. 16 in Arizona. Against Dominican (1-0), the Chargers scored three unearned runs in the bottom of the first after the game started with an error. Cal U stranded a runner at first and second in both the second and third innings. Freshman Ellie Lobdell (Warren, Pa./Warren) retired Dominican in order in three-straight innings before the Chargers started the fifth with a single and later scored on a two-out single, 4-0.

Lobdell later forced Dominican to strand a runner at second following a two-out double in the sixth. The Vulcans mounted a rally in the top of the seventh, eventually bringing the go-ahead run to the plate. Junior shortstop Alexa Pastor (Greensburg, Pa./Hempfield) reached on a double before junior catcher Brooke Wilson (Coraopolis, Pa./West Allegheny) later delivered an RBI double with two outs. Sophomore Kelsey Barron (La Salle, Mich./St. Mary Catholic Central) then reached on a hit by pitch before Wilson scored on an error that allowed redshirt junior first baseman Paige Wilson (Warren, Pa./Warren) to reach base. However, the Chargers then induced a fly-out to seal the 4-2 victory. Pastor went 2-for-2 with one run scored and one hit by pitch, while Barron reached base in all four plate appearances (two singles, hit by pitch, walk).

Lobdell (1-1) suffered the loss after allowing four runs (one earned) on six hits with no walks over 6.0 innings. Dominican freshman Kyra Wiens earned the complete-game victory after yielding two runs (one earned) on six hits in 7.0 innings with seven strikeouts.

Against MSU Moorhead (1-5), Brooke Wilson finished 2-for-3 with a solo homer, two RBI, two runs scored and one walk from the leadoff spot. Pastor also collected a pair of hits, one RBI, one run scored and one walk.

The Vulcans took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first following a leadoff homer by Brooke Wilson, her first of the year and sixth career. MSU Moorhead countered with a pair of runs in the second before Cal U reclaimed the lead at 3-2 in the fourth. Freshman designated player Izzy Farmer (West Mifflin, Pa./West Mifflin) lined a triple before freshman second baseman Kira Hillhouse (Erie, Pa./McDowell) followed with an RBI single. Pastor later collected her second single of the game to score Hillhouse.

In the fifth, the Dragons scored five runs after a two-out error allowed the last two runs to score. Brooke Wilson and Paige Wilson drew walks in the bottom of the inning before senior center fielder Sierra Besser-Paul (Montreal, Quebec/Howard S. Billings) followed with an RBI single. MSU Moorhead then made a pitching change and forced Cal U to leave runners on first and second.

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