Kutztown University of Pennsylvania

Sophomore Luke Hoffman was crowned a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) champion in the discus at PSACs back on May 10, and that helped him earn the 2019 Field Athlete of the Year by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA). 10 members of the Kutztown University track and field programs, including Hoffman, also earned All-Atlantic Region status. To earn All-Region honors, an athlete must be one of the top-five individuals in their event in their respective region. In addition, each member of a region's top-three relay teams was also selected for the distinction. The eight regions used in NCAA DII are the Atlantic, Central, East, Midwest, South, South Central, Southeast and West. Hoffman threw a personal-best 56.80m (186-4) at the championship event, which is a new meet record, and improved upon the KU and PSAC record that he already held. He is ranked fourth nationally in the discus. Fellow PSAC champion Brandon Leacraft also was recognized as All-Region in the javelin. It is the second regional honor for Hoffman and the third for Leacraft. Fellow Golden Bear men that received All-Region status include Zach Austen and Xavier Feliciano in the pole vault, Xavier Gutierrez in the steeplechase and Tommy Oliver in the decathlon. Feliciano and Oliver are now two-time all-region, while it is the first recognition for Austen and Gutierrez. On the women's side, all four All-Atlantic Golden Bears competed in field events. Becca Hemingway in the high jump, Megan Kirn in the javelin, Ashley Petre in the hammer and Ally Tama in the pole vault. Kirn, Petre and Tama all finished second in their respective events at PSAC Outdoor Championships. Petre has now earned all-region three times in the hammer, while Hemingway and Tama are two-time All-Atlantic Region in the high jump and pole vault respectively, and Kirn received her first all-region recognition. Hoffman, Leacraft and Kirn will all be competing on the national stage at the 2019 NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Kingsville, Texas, beginning on Friday, May 24, and concluding the following day.

Kutztown University softball outfielders Tamara Jennings and Sara Keeny have been named to the Google Cloud Academic All-District 2 Team, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).

Kutztown University women's soccer and head coach Erik Burstein have announced rising seniors Kristina Miller and Emily Zwiercan as team captains for the upcoming 2019 season. Miller was also voted as a captain last season, while Zwiercan will be a first-year skipper this fall. Over the last three years, the duo has helped lead the Golden Bears to a ton of success, including earning a berth in the NCAA Tournament and Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Tournament all three seasons. KU has played in NCAAs in eight of the last 10 years and has qualified for PSACs in each of the last 11 seasons. "I am very excited to announce that Emily will join Tina as our team captains for the upcoming season," said Burstein. "Both of these players have shown a strong commitment to our program, and they wholeheartedly believe in our culture and the standards and expectations we have set. They are also both fully aware that we have a fantastic group of upperclassmen who fully buy into our culture and who can also help provide leadership and insight to the entire squad, especially the incoming freshman; Tina and Emily are not threatened by that; they embrace it, which is important. "Next year will be a very challenging year for us, especially with PSAC women's soccer moving to a divisional format. It is absolutely critical that we begin the season with the proper leadership and there is no question we will have that with Tina and Emily." Miller started all 20 games last season and has 62 games played under her belt, starting 57 of them. She scored a career-high three goals as a junior and played in the center of a defense that allowed a program-low nine goals all season and recorded 12 shutouts, third-most in KU history. On the field, the Lansdale native received a number of different accolades including All-Atlantic Region First Team and All-PSAC First Team. Miller is also a standout in the classroom, earning a spot on the CoSIDA Academic All-District Team and Dean's List Honors. Zwiercan has had a knack for finding the back of the net during her first three years in Maroon and Gold. She started every game last season and has appeared in 66 career games, making 44 starts. As a junior, Zwiercan finished fourth in the PSAC with 11 goals and sixth with 25 points. She ranks fourth all-time in KU history with 30 goals, fourth with 18 assists and tied for second with 78 points. The Reinholds native earned All-Atlantic Region and All-PSAC First Team honors last year and was also a member of the CoSIDA Academic All-District Team and Dean's List. Kutztown opens its 2019 campaign with back-to-back road games. The season-opener is Thursday, Sept. 5, at Charleston (W.Va.), followed by a trip to PSAC foe Millersville on Wednesday, Sept. 11. The home-opener is slated for Saturday, Sept. 14, at the newly renovated Keystone Field against East Stroudsburg.

All-Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference honors were bestowed upon three members of the Kutztown University men's tennis team, Wednesday, as Nolan Perugini and Renatos Santos were named First Team Doubles and Josh Carl earned a Second Team Singles nod. The top of the Golden Bears' lineup was a strong point all season, especially so against conference opponents. Perugini, a senior from Reading, and Santos, a junior from Portugal, compiled a 7-3 overall record at first doubles, including a 4-1 mark in the PSAC. The duo earned a 6-0 victory over West Chester on March 30 and knocked off the top doubles team from regionally-ranked Edinboro on April 13. Additionally, Perugini and Santos won matches over regionally-ranked non-conference opponents Salem and West Liberty. Their only setback in conference play came against nationally-ranked No. 40 Mercyhurst. Carl, a junior, held down third singles for KU and sported a winning 3-2 record in league play. The Hummelstown, Pennsylvania native played .500 tennis upon the team's return from Spring Break in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. He opened league play with a straight set victory at West Chester and later rallied for a three-set victory against Sebastian Pardo of nationally-ranked Mercyhurst in mid-April. Carl finished the year with a 5-10 overall singles record and went 5-9 at No. 3. Perugini and Carl are both repeat all-conference selections, while Santos was recognized for the first time. Perugini was an All-PSAC Second Team pick in singles and doubles last spring. He was joined by Carl on Second Team Doubles.

Matt Cella, Ahkee Cox-Cowan, Abdul-Hassan Neblett and Luke Snyder have been named captains of the 2019 Kutztown University football team. Head coach Jim Clements introduced the captains during a team meeting following the conclusion of spring practice. Cella is a two-time All-Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division selection. The rising senior was voted to the First Team at center in 2018, where he started all 11 games for a Golden Bear team that went 9-2 and reached the NCAA Division II Championship tournament for the third time in program history. With Cella leading the way up front, Kutztown ranked first in the PSAC and 12th in NCAA DII in yards per game (471.1). The Golden Bears were also the second-highest scoring offense in the conference at 38.0 points per game and second in total yards (5,182). A native of Secane, Pennsylvania, Cella was named to the Don Hansen Gazette Super Region 1 Third Team offense this past season and earned All-PSAC East Second Team honors at guard in 2017 as a sophomore. Cox-Cowan is coming off a season in which he produced a career-high 62 tackles (43 solo), 1.5 tackles for loss and three interceptions. The cornerback from Harrisburg is a two-time All-PSAC East First Team honoree, two-time Don Hansen Gazette Super Region 1 pick and 2017 D2CCA all-region choice. Cox-Cowan set program single-season records with 17 pass breakups and 20 passes defended in 2017, and his 2018 totals of 14 breakups and 17 passes defended ranked in the top five all-time. He enters the 2019 season five passes defended and nine breakups away from tying program career records. Neblett, a Newark, New Jersey native, averaged 4.4 yards per carry and caught two touchdowns out of the backfield for the Maroon and Gold in 2018. The redshirt senior has played in all 11 games each of the last three seasons, contributing 557 rushing yards, 264 receiving yards and six touchdowns in his KU career. Snyder earned All-PSAC East Second Team honors at linebacker for the second consecutive season in 2018. The Levittown, Pennsylvania product made a career-high 53 tackles, including 1.5 sacks, forced a pair of fumbles and deflected a pair of passes. Snyder had a huge afternoon against Bloomsburg last Sept. 29 with nine tackles, 1.5 sacks and a forced fumble in KU's 44-10 victory. The senior has recorded 111 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks over the course of his career. Kutztown, which went 9-2 and reached the NCAA Division II Championship tournament for the third time in program history last season, opens its 2019 schedule at home against Assumption on Sept. 7.

Senior Sara Keeny of Warminster, Pa., was recognized as the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) East Athlete of the Year and freshman Bridget Bailey of Norwood, Pa., was named Freshman of the Year, and the Kutztown University softball team was well-represented on the postseason accolades list with six student-athletes earning All-PSAC East honors, as voted on by league coaches Monday. Keeny is Kutztown's first Athlete of the Year since the 2013 season, and Bailey brings home KU's first Freshman of the Year since Keeny won the award in 2016. Joining Keeny and Bailey, seniors Tamara Jennings of Philadelphia, and Cheyenne Jones of Levittown, Pa., along with sophomore Jenna Lipowski of Nanticoke, Pa., and freshman Katelyn Ostaszewski of Philadelphia, made the distinctive list. The six members are the most for the program since the 2013 season when seven made it. Keeny left her mark on the program, etching her name in several record books and top-10 marks. She is KU's all-time career hits leader with 289, tied for the most triples with 14, second in career batting average at .440 and ranks second in both program and PSAC history with 134 stolen bases. The 289 hits is third-most in PSAC lore and the most since Bloomsburg's Erica Miller finished with 310 from 1998-2001. Keeny played in 190 career games, starting every one. It is her fourth All-PSAC recognition in as many years. The Warminster native finished the season ranked atop the PSAC in batting average (.518), on-base percentage (.561), hits (100), runs scored (62) and triples (7). Her 100 hits was the most by a KU player in a single season and ranks third in the PSAC all-time. Keeny was also second in the conference in stolen bases (45), third in doubles (15) and sixth in both slugging percentage (.684) and walks (23). She also posted a career-high 29 RBI and ended the season on a 12-game hit streak. In her first season on the collegiate level, Bailey stepped in admirably and became Kutztown's ace of the pitching staff. She went 18-8 with a 2.60 ERA and 181 strikeouts in 178.0 innings. The 181 Ks is sixth-most by a KU pitcher in a season. Bailey also had three saves, tied for the most in a season in program history, and made 41 appearances this year. Bailey ranked second in the PSAC in wins, strikeouts and innings pitched, and was 10th in ERA. She also has a hit to her name, going 1-for-5 at the plate. Bailey was a two-time PSAC Pitcher of the Week this season. Jennings received her first postseason honor after having a career year. She finished second behind Keeny in the PSAC in hits (72) and runs scored (50) and was also second with 51 RBI. Jennings had a .416 batting average and a .647 slugging percentage, both ninth-best in the conference, while her 14 stolen bases was eighth. She also set a new program record with eight sacrifice flies. The Philadelphia native concluded her career with 179 hits, 109 runs, 92 RBI and 37 doubles. She started in 169-of-178 games played in her four years. Jones is now a two-time All-PSAC performer. She posted career-high numbers in hits (61), RBI (47), runs (22), batting average (.353) and slugging percentage (.561), starting 54-of-55 games this season. Her 47 RBI ranks fifth in the PSAC. The Levittown native finished her career in Maroon and Gold with 125 hits, 87 RBI, 51 runs and 15 home runs, batting .320. Lipowski enjoyed a breakout sophomore campaign starting all 56 games, primarily at first base. She finished in the top-five in the PSAC in hits (65), RBI (50) and doubles (15). Lipowski also batted a career-high .369 and hit five home runs, while also posting a .551 slugging percentage. In the field, Lipowski ranked second with a .996 fielding percentage at first. The Nanticoke native will return for her junior season next year approaching a couple of milestones. Lipowski is 11 hits shy of 100 with 89 and also has 60 RBI. She is batting .340 for her career. Ostaszewski broke out in her first season in Maroon and Gold. She started in 48-of-55 games her freshman season at shortstop and finished with 60 hits, 42 runs and 25 RBI, while batting .370. Her 42 runs ranked fifth in the PSAC and the 60 hits is 10th. Ostaszewski recorded a .438 slugging percentage and stole 12 bases. At short, she boasted a .918 fielding percentage. The Philadelphia native surged in the last half of the season. She also earned PSAC Athlete of the Week honors following the last week of the regular season. The Golden Bears finished their season with a 36-20 overall record, the ninth-most wins in program history. They went 3-2 in the PSAC Tournament, defeating Edinboro, Bloomsburg and West Chester, and finished third.

Sophomore Rylee Derr (Lititz, Pa./Warwick) and junior Karen Lapkiewicz(Southampton, Pa./Saint Basil Academy) of the Kutztown University women's basketball team garnered league recognition Thursday as the duo were voted to the All-Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) teams, announced by the league office. Derr earned First Team honors while Lapkiewicz was named to the Second Team. It was the second straight season Derr made All-PSAC after being on the Second Team last year. It is the first postseason recognition for Lapkiewicz. It has been an historic season for the Golden Bears (18-11) thus far. They won a share of the PSAC East title, the first time since 1996. In defeating Lock Haven University in the PSAC Quarterfinals Wednesday, March 6, the Maroon and Gold qualified for their first Final Four since the 2009-10 season. They also set a new program-record for made three-pointers in a season with 224. They currently have 240. Derr, who holds the school-record for three-pointers in a game (nine), ranks 11th in the PSAC in scoring at 17.1 points per game. She's also second in three-pointers made (85), sixth in free-throw percentage (80.4) and 15th in rebounding (6.8). She has started all 29 games this season and all 30 last year, never missing a game. Derr is KU's first, First Team honoree since the 2014-15 season when assistant coach Advia Campbell received the recognition. As a freshman last season, Derr tallied 409 points, the most by a freshman in program history. She has been named a PSAC Athlete of the Week twice this season and is a two-time Lehigh Valley Small College Basketball Media Organization Team of the Year member. Lapkiewicz has had a breakout junior campaign. She is second on the team, averaging 11.3 ppg, a 3.8 ppg boost from last season. Lapkiewicz is a team captain and has started all 29 games this season and has played in all 88 KU games through her first three seasons. The Southampton native is also second on the team in three-pointers (38), free-throws (70) and minutest (29.3).

Sara Keeny, who set Kutztown University softball single-season records with 100 hits and a .518 batting average, has been selected as the 2019 Division II Conference Commissioner's Association (CCA) Atlantic Region Player of the Year. Four Golden Bears were honored on the all-region teams in total, with Tamara Jennings joining Keeny on the First Team, and Cheyenne Jones and Jenna Lipowski being named to the Second Team. Keeny's name is littered throughout KU's record book for both single-season and career success. The senior outfielder from Warminster, Pennsylvania shattered former career-highs in most offensive categories this season on her way to one of the best hitting seasons in the program's 44-year history. Prior to the start of the NCAA Division II Championship tournament, Keeny led the nation in hits (100), while ranking fifth in batting average (.518), seventh in total bases (132), ninth in on base percentage (.561), 10th in triples (seven) and 11th in stolen bases (45). Keeny is a four-time All-PSAC East selection and a three-time NFCA All-Atlantic Region honoree. She was recently named 2019 PSAC East Athlete of the Year, supplementing her record-breaking batting average, hit and stolen base totals with 62 runs scored, 15 doubles, 29 RBIs, 23 walks, .684 slugging percentage and .955 fielding percentage in 56 games. Keeny is Kutztown's career hits leader with 289 and holds a share of the program's triples record with 14. She also ranks second in batting average (.440) and stolen bases (134), third in runs scored (172), fifth in total bases (348), seventh in walks (62) and eighth in at-bats (657). Keeny is the fourth player in program history to earn D2CCA Atlantic Region Player of the Year honors, following Steph Denlinger (2007, 2009) and Ashley Fitzgerald (2008). She is the only Golden Bear among this year's all-region selections that is a repeat selection after earning Second Team accolades in 2018. Jennings enjoyed a breakout spring in her final season wearing Maroon and Gold. The Philadelphian established new career-highs in batting average (.416), hits (72), runs scored (50), doubles (13), triples (three), home runs (seven), RBIs (51), slugging percentage (.647), on base percentage (.458) and stolen bases (14). Jennings, who shared the outfield with Keeny, was an All-PSAC East for the first time in her career. She ranked second in the PSAC in hits, RBIs and runs scored at the conclusion of the conference tournament, and was top 10 in batting average, slugging percentage, at-bats and stolen bases. Jones, a redshirt senior from Levittown, Pennsylvania, hit a career-best .353 with 61 hits, 12 doubles, three triples, six homers and 47 RBIs. In 55 games, the Golden Bears' primary designated player also set new career marks in slugging percentage (.561), on base percentage (.367) and runs scored (22). Jones was a repeat All-PSAC East selection after ranking fifth in the league in RBIs and ninth in hits. Lipowski increased her batting average by 90 points over freshman year, finishing the 2019 season with a .369 average, 65 hits, 15 doubles, five home runs and 50 RBIs. The Nanticoke, Pennsylvania native matched Keeny for third in the PSAC in doubles, while ranking fourth in RBIs and tied for fifth in hits. Lipowski was one of four KU players to start and play in all 56 games. She made 48 of those starts at first base, where she also had a supurb season defensively with 215 putouts, 15 assists and a .996 fielding percentage to be named All-PSAC East for the first time.

Redshirt-senior Anthony Lee (Willow Grove, Pa./Abington) of the Kutztown University men's basketball team has had arguably the most decorated career in program history. Lee continued to add on to his long list of accolades as he was voted the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) East Athlete of the Year, as announced by the league office Thursday. Lee was also named to the All-PSAC First Team for the second straight season. He has been a member of the All-PSAC teams each of his four seasons at KU, having received Second Team his first two years. The Willow Grove native becomes the sixth player in program history to earn the honor of Athlete of the Year in the conference. Lee, who was a two-year captain, will go down as one of the best men's players in program history. He had a decorated career, and did it in several statistical categories, showing the epitome of a 'team-player.' Lee finished his time in Maroon and Gold second all-time and fourth in PSAC history in career points (2,292), first in three-pointers made (275), second in field goals made (773), third in steals (200) and free-throws (471), eighth in rebounds (656) and blocks (102) and ninth in assists (324). Lee holds school records for points in a game (50), three-pointers made in a game (8), season (83) and career (230), and three-point percentage in a season (.516) and career (.467). His average of 19.4 points per game (ppg) through his four years ranks fourth all-time at KU. He was a 2018 All-Atlantic Region Second Teamer and the 2019 Lehigh Valley Small College Basketball Media Organization Pete Nevins Player of the Year. Lee was also a seven-time PSAC East Athlete of the Week honoree throughout his career. The Golden Bears (16-14 overall) 2018-19 campaign ended in the PSAC Quarterfinals Wednesday, March 6, in a loss at top seed East Stroudsburg. In that game, Lee recorded his first career triple-double and the first one for Kutztown since Stephen Dennis back on Dec. 2, 2009. He finished with 21 points, 11 rebounds and a career-high 10 assists, and also added two blocks and one steal and never left the court, playing in 40 minutes. Lee ended the 2018-19 season scoring 822 points, the most by a player in a single season in program history. Wednesday also marked his 59th straight game reaching double-figures in points. Kutztown had its fifth straight season of at least 16 wins and sixth consecutive season it made the postseason. KU has advanced to at least the quarterfinals each of the last five years.

Kutztown University wrestlers Andrew Dunn Jr., Jeff Reimel and T.C. Warner became All-Americans this past weekend at the NCAA Division II National Championships in Cleveland, Ohio. Redshirt sophomore Andrew Dunn Jr. (Bethlehem, Pa./Bethlehem Catholic (Virginia Tech)) wrote a new chapter in Golden Bear wrestling history Saturday night, edging Nebraska-Kearney's Jarrod Hinrichs, 2-1, to claim the 2019 NCAA Division II 285-pound National Championship at the Wolstein Center. Dunn Jr. is the fifth KU grappler to win a national championship all-time and first since Ziad Haddad in 2015. Haddad won back-to-back championships at 285 lbs. in 2014 and 2015, making Dunn the program's third national champion from the weight class. The former Bethlehem Catholic standout joined Kutztown this season after going 20-11 and qualifying for the NCAA Division I Championships last season as a freshman at Virginia Tech. Dunn Jr.'s immense talent showed right away as he opened the season with seven consecutive victories, many against DI competitors. Dunn Jr. would only drop two matches on the entire season (26-2), both to DI opponents, and finished the year with 18 straight wins to claim Super Region I and NCAA DII championships. After advancing to the semifinals Friday, Dunn Jr., ranked fourth by the NWCA, met up with top-ranked Kameron Teacher of Notre Dame (Ohio) in the semifinals Saturday morning. Dunn Jr. quickly jumped to a 6-3 lead with three takedowns and increased his advantage over last year's national-runner up to 7-3 with an escape 19 seconds into the second. Two penalty points in the final 1:26 of the third allowed Teacher to get within a point, but Dunn Jr. earned his spot in the national final with a 7-6 decision. The national championship match between Dunn Jr. and fifth-ranked Hinrichs was much more defensive, though Kutztown's entry tried to be the aggressor early on. Hinrichs was called for stalling twice with the latter resulting in a penalty point that put Dunn Jr. in front. Hinrich's started from the bottom in the second and escaped nine seconds into the period to tie the score at one. Dunn Jr. countered with an escape from bottom nine seconds into the third to restore his one-point lead. Though he was hit with a stall warning in the final 10 seconds, the clock ran out and Dunn Jr. had his national title with a 2-1 decision. Senior Jeff Reimel (Lansdale, Pa./North Penn), ranked No. 1 at 184, also entered Saturday with national championship aspirations, but he ran into a determined Michael Pixley of McKendree in the semifinals. Pixley scored a takedown and four-point nearfall in the first minute and led 10-3 after a period. A frustrated Reimel was called for his second and third misconducts in the second period and disqualified from the match after ceding four penalty points. Pixley would go on to win the national title. Reimel, who finished as an All-American in 2018 with a fifth-place finish at 184, dropped his consolation semifinal to Pitt-Johnstown's Brock Biddle, 15-13, in overtime. Reimel used a four-point nearfall early in the third to take an 11-9 lead, but Biddle answered with a reversal to tie it. The two grapplers traded reversals in the final 51 seconds of regulation, with Biddle tying the match at 13 with 17 seconds left. Biddle won the match 21 seconds into the extra session with a takedown. Reimel took sixth in the weight class after a medical forfeit of the fifth-place match, but still earned his second straight All-America honor. Reimel ended the season 18-2. T.C. Warner (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley (Bloomsburg)) also became a two-time All-American on Friday during wrestle backs at 174 lbs. He scored an 11-2 major decision over Seton Hill's Damon Greenwald in the consolation quarterfinals, before falling to third-ranked Kolton Eischens of St. Cloud State in the consolation semis by pin (2:30). Warner, from Mechanicsburg, capped his career with a win in the fifth-place match -an impressive one at that. The senior knocked off No. 1 Brandon Supernaw of Western Colorado, 6-2, behind two takedowns, an escape and a riding time point. Warner, who was 15-0 entering nationals, went 4-2 to finish 19-2. Head coach Robert Fisher's Golden Bears brought home the first top 10 national team finish in program history, placing 10th with 41 points. After advancing all the way to seventh in the NWCA Poll and tying a record for the highest national ranking in program history during the regular season, Kutztown surpassed its former best national showing of 14th, set in 2015.

Kutztown University redshirt sophomore Andrew Dunn Jr. wrote a new chapter in Golden Bear wrestling history Saturday night, edging Nebraska-Kearney's Jarrod Hinrichs, 2-1, to claim the 2019 NCAA Division II 285-pound National Championship at the Wolstein Center. Dunn Jr. is the fifth KU grappler to win a national championship all-time and first since 2015. The former Bethlehem Catholic standout joined Kutztown this season after going 20-11 and qualifying for the NCAA Division I Championships last season as a freshman at Virginia Tech. Dunn Jr.'s immense talent showed right away as he opened the season with seven consecutive victories, many against DI competitors. Dunn Jr. would only drop two matches on the entire season (26-2), both to DI opponents, and finished the year with 18 straight wins to claim Super Region I and NCAA DII championships. After advancing to the semifinals Friday, Dunn Jr., ranked fourth by the NWCA, met up with top-ranked Kameron Teacher of Notre Dame (Ohio) in the semifinals Saturday morning. Dunn Jr. quickly jumped to a 6-3 lead with three takedowns and increased his advantage over last year's national-runner up to 7-3 with an escape 19 seconds into the second. Two penalty points in the final 1:26 of the third allowed Teacher to get within a point, but Dunn Jr. earned his spot in the national final with a 7-6 decision. The national championship match between Dunn Jr. and fifth-ranked Hinrichs was much more defensive, though Kutztown's entry tried to be the aggressor early on. Hinrichs was called for stalling twice with the latter resulting in a penalty point that put Dunn Jr. in front. Hinrich's started from the bottom in the second and escaped nine seconds into the period to tie the score at one. Dunn Jr. countered with an escape from bottom nine seconds into the third to restore his one-point lead. Though he was hit with a stall warning in the final 10 seconds, the clock ran out and Dunn Jr. had his national title with a 2-1 decision.

10 members of the Kutztown University track & field teams earned All-Region status across 11 events, announced on Tuesday, Feb. 26, from the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA), KU's most in a season since 2013. Last year KU sported eight All-Region honorees. These honors cap off a successful week for head coach Ray Hoffman and both men's and women's programs. The Golden Bear women won the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Championship last weekend, the program's fourth title and first since 2006. The KU men finished third overall, its best finish since 2012. To earn All-Region honors, an athlete must be one of the top-five individuals in their event in their respective region. In addition, each member of a region's top-three relay teams was also selected for the distinction. The eight regions used in NCAA DII are the Atlantic, Central, East, Midwest, South, South Central, Southeast and West. The 10 student-athletes are KU's most since it also reached that number during 2013. Kelly Groth (Audubon, Pa./Methacton) received the nod for two events, both the 60m and 200m. She was the lone representative on the track. In the field, Taye Dairo (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin), Becca Hemingway (Perkiomenville, Pa./Boyertown Area) and Caleb Baukman (Wallingford, Pa./Strath Haven) earned All-Region honors in the high jump, while another trio of Ally Tama (Towanda, Pa./Towanda Area), Katie Seegert (Old Saybrook, Conn./Old Saybrook) and Xavier Feliciano (Kennett Square, Pa./Kennett (Immaculata)) received recognition in the pole vault. The duo of Ashley Petre (Macungie, Pa./Emmaus) and EJ Umoh (Bear, Del./Appoquinimink (Lock Haven)) were named in the weight throw. Tommy Oliver (Bensalem, Pa./Bensalem) rounded out the group by earning All-Region in the heptathlon. Petre is the only Golden Bear to earn the distinction before. At PSACs last Saturday, Feb. 23, Groth's new school-record of 7.70 in winning the 60m, and then placing second in the 200m brought her into All-Region status for the first time in her career. Dairo won the high jump in a PR of 1.69m (5-6.50), third all-time at KU, while Hemingway finished third at 1.63m (5-4.25). Petre was second in the weight throw with a career-best throw of 16.76 (55-0), fourth all-time in KU history. Both Tama and Seegert each had personal-best and NCAA-Provisional marks of 3.65m (11-11.75) in the pole vault at KU's Last Chance Invite on Feb. 15. For the men, Umoh posted an NCAA-Provisional in the weight throw of 18.16m (59-07.00), second all-time, at the Last Chance Invite. Feliciano also had a Provisional mark at the event, clearing 4.85m (15-11.00), eighth at KU, in the pole vault. Baukman finished third in the high jump at PSACs with a PR of 1.99m (6-6.25), seventh all-time in program lore. Oliver had a career-best finish of second in the heptathlon at the PSAC Championships. The outdoor season for the Golden Bears begins on Thursday, March 14, at the 49er Classic in Charlotte, N.C.

Kutztown University will have 29 student-athletes representing its baseball program for the 2019 season. KU showed it could play with the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference's best last season and is focused on taking another step on its journey back to the top in 2019. The message remains simple from 17th-year head coach Chris Blum, who enters the new season three wins shy of becoming just the fifth coach --and third fastest-- in PSAC history to reach 500 victories at a conference school: maximize strengths and improve in a few key areas. "I'm very optimistic about what's going on," said Blum. "Our pitchers are doing well in their bullpen sessions and I think we can have a top-notch defense. We just need to sure up a couple outfield spots and have the bottom of our lineup execute their games, whether that's speed, drawing walks, hit-and-run situations to get on and get guys into scoring position." The Golden Bears finished three games under .500 in 2018 at 19-22 overall, but 12 wins against PSAC East opponents (12-15) were the program's most since its most recent PSAC championship in 2014. Read the full season preview online

Junior Kelly Groth of the Kutztown University women's track and field team has had a knack for setting school-record in her track events this season. She was at it again as her 7.70 in the 60m won the event and set a new school-record joining freshman Taye Dairo as first-place winners in leading KU to the 2019 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Indoor Championship Saturday at Edinboro University. It is the fourth title for Kutztown and first since 2006. Groth won the PSAC's Most Outstanding Runner. Groth and Dairo now join their current teammate Meghan Forsythe as Indoor PSAC Champions. Forsythe won the 400m at last year's championships. Groth had a successful day, also running in the 4x4 relay team with Ashley Stewart, Forsythe and Tishun Graham that took home the gold. Groth also took home silver in the 200m. Dairo won the high jump in a career-best jump of 1.69m (5-6.50), which is third all-time at KU. A total of eight Golden Bears achieved career-bests Saturday, and five more found themselves with top-10 marks in program history. Kira Solt, who finished seventh in the pentathlon with a career-high 2914 points, also had a career-best time of 9.07 in the 60m hurdles prelims, which is tied for fourth all-time in KU lore. Joanne Mason was at the top of the leaderboard after the prelims at 9.05, and finished fifth after the final at 9.13. The 4x8 relay team of Stephanie Bresadola, Julie Stratton, Lindsay Hoffman and Julia Wiemken crossed the finish line in second at a time of 9:36.05 which sneaks into the top-10 at 10th. Ashley Petre also won silver in the weight throw with a career-high throw of 16.76m (55-0), fourth in school-history. Amanda Ferraro and Lindsay Smyth both had career-bests in the 3000m and 5000m respectively, and Kathleen Silverman posted a PR of 3.15m (10-4) in the pole vault.

Junior EJ Umoh of the Kutztown University men's track and field team had the furthest throw of the group of 18 competitors in the weight throw to win the event in highlighting KU's third-place finish at the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) 2019 Indoor Championships at Edinboro University Saturday in a shortened one-day event. Kutztown had its highest finish at PSACs since placing third in 2012. Umoh becomes Kutztown's first individual indoor PSAC champion since 2016, throwing for a winning mark of 17.34m (56-10.75) to lead a group of a team-high five Golden Bears competing in the event.

Seventh-ranked Kutztown University wrestling claimed three regional champions for the first time in program history and qualified four wrestlers for nationals in capturing a second-place team finish at the NCAA Division II Super Region I Championships on Saturday, Feb. 23, at Mercyhurst University in Erie, Pa. The nationally-ranked trio of T.C. Warner (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley (Bloomsburg)) (174 lbs.), Jeff Reimel (Lansdale, Pa./North Penn) (184 lbs.) and Andrew Dunn Jr. (Bethlehem, Pa./Bethlehem Catholic (Virginia Tech)) (285 lbs.), each of whom was the top seed in their respective weight class, brought home regional titles and redshirt-sophomore Joe Renne (Great Meadows, N.J./Hackettstown) wrestled back through the consolation bracket to secure the third and final national qualifying spot at 125 lbs. KU will be sending four wrestlers to nationals for the fifth time since 2012 and featured multiple regional champions for the first time since 2011 when Austin Williams and John Paukovits were weight class winners at the inaugural Super Region I Championships. Warner's undefeated season rolled on with three victories to take the 174-pound bracket. The senior from Mechanicsburg, ranked fourth in the nation by the NWCA, registered a 5-0 shutout of seventh-ranked Mike Raccioppi (East Stroudsburg) in the finals. It was Warner's second victory over Raccioppi in two weeks. Warner got his tournament off to a commanding start with a 41-second pin of American International's Ahmad Sharif and locked up a return to nationals for the first time since 2017 with a 6-2 decision over Pitt-Johnstown's Steven Edwards in the semifinals. Top-ranked Jeff Reimel (Lansdale, Pa./North Penn) matched his senior classmate in remaining unbeaten on the season. Reimel was also out to send a message, advancing to the semifinals with a 1:00 pin of Shippensburg's Ryan Narber. The Lansdale native downed Gannon's Joel Leise, 10-4, in the semifinals and roared past Pitt-Johnstown's Brock Biddle, 9-2, in the championship bout. Reimel will be making his third consecutive trip to nationals after an All-America fifth-place showing at 184 lbs. last spring. Redshirt sophomore Andrew Dunn Jr. (Bethlehem, Pa./Bethlehem Catholic (Virginia Tech)), ranked No. 4 nationally at 285, put together two major decisions before supplying some late match heroics in the final. The Virginia Tech transfer beat American International's Ray Sherwood, 15-7, in the quarterfinals to become the first KU wrestler with 20 wins this season. Dunn Jr. would dispose of Millersville's David Wuestner, 12-3, in the semifinals and used a late third period takedown to win the super regional title over Shippensburg's Derek Berberick, 3-2. The Bethlehem native is now 22-2 on the season and a perfect 20-0 against DII competition. Renne was the surprise of the tournament for the Golden Bears. The grappler from Great Meadows, New Jersey, brought a 7-8 record into the weekend and was unranked in the region. After taking a 3-1 defeat to Gannon's Jacob Dunlap in the quarterfinals, Renne responded with a 17-2 (5:32) technical fall over East Stroudsburg's Nick Reto and a 2:55 pin of Seton Hill's Derrick Chandler-Christie to reach the consolation final. Renne stepped up to the challenge of defeating Mercyhurst's Jacob Ruggeri in his home gym with a 10-4 decision to secure his first berth at nationals. The Golden Bears were second in the team standings with 102 points, behind only nationally-ranked No. 6 Pitt-Johnstown (141 pts.). Gannon took third (94), with Mercyhurst fourth (93.5) and Seton Hill fifth (72). Dunn Jr., Reimel, Renne and Warner will compete at the NCAA Division II Championships in Cleveland on March 8-9.

Kutztown University will have 20 student-athletes representing its softball program for the 2019 season. KU closed the book on 2018 and is ready to write new chapters during the 2019 season with plenty of talented and experienced players returning and an exciting group of new faces. Last season did not go as planned on the field for the Golden Bears, who finished 16-21 overall, just the second season below the .500 mark in the last 34 years. But the pieces are in place to return back to the top of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) and the Atlantic Region. KU returns six field-position players, including its entire outfield, and two of its starting pitchers that started in the regular season finale last season. Those returning players, plus a talented group of newcomers gives 32-year head coach Judy Lawes plenty of options and lineup flexibility. Read the full season preview online: https://kubears.com/news/2019/2/1/season-preview-kutztown-softball-looking-forward-to-2019-season.aspx

Kutztown University will have 92 student-athletes representing its track & field program for the 2018-19 season.

The Kutztown University women's lacrosse team appointed its team leaders heading into the upcoming 2019 season. Seniors Lauren Schmidt, Emily Smith and Jordan Klebe received the honor given by head coach Jackie Stezzi and her staff.

For the second straight year, juniors Mackenzie Fuhrman and Kyra Wozniak of the ninth-ranked Kutztown University field hockey team earned All-America honors for their standout play on the field this season, as released by National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) Monday afternoon.

Kutztown University Cheerleading made program history by competing co-ed and receiving a bronze medal at the Universal Cheerleading Association (UCA) College nationals in Walt Disney World, Orlando, Fla. KU placed third in the NCAA Division II Small Co-ed Division on Saturday, Jan. 13. It was the highest finish in program history. Kutztown competed against 11 teams in the semi-final round. Of those 11, six advanced to the final round. KU hit an amazing routine making it through with zero deductions.

Both the Kutztown University women's and men's rugby clubs will participate in the Penn Mutual Collegiate Rugby Championships, June 2-4, at Talen Energy Stadium, Philadelphia.

Sierra Taylor became the fifth rookie in program history, and the first since 2011, to be named the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) East Freshman of the Year, while graduate-transfer Alex Heck capped her one season with the Kutztown University women's basketball team with an All-PSAC East Second Team selection, as the league released its major awards and All-PSAC Teams on Thursday.

Josh Johnson headlined four Kutztown University men's basketball players on the 2017 All-Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Team Thursday, as he was named this year's PSAC Eastern Division Defensive Athlete of the Year. Johnson and junior point guard Ethan Ridgeway were named All-PSAC East First Team. Redshirt-sophomore Anthony Lee and redshirt-senior Ryan Connolly repeated last year's honors with All-PSAC Second Team recognition.

The Kutztown University men's and women's cross country teams received multiple academic awards from the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) for the 2016 season.

Kutztown University has announced the student-athletes that will represent its women's lacrosse program for the 2017 season.

The Kutztown University women's lacrosse is happy to announce a trio of captains to lead the Maroon and Gold into the 2017 season. Senior Abby Cox, junior Sarah Gabriele and redshirt-junior Haley Romoser are the three recipients of the honor.

Kutztown University will have 19 student-athletes representing its softball program for the 2017 season.

Kutztown University has announced the student-athletes that will represent its men's and women's tennis programs for the 2016-17 season.

Kutztown University has announced the student-athletes that will represent its women's golf program for the 2016-17 season.