Coughlin graduate Sedon swinging a hot bat for Pitt BILL ARSENAULT On campus

Chris Sedon continues to wield a hefty bat for the University of Pittsburgh baseball team.

Sedon leads the Panthers in hitting with a .393 average. The 5-foot-10, 170-pound junior from Plains, a former standout at Coughlin and Lackawanna Community College, has 53 hits in 135 at-bats including six doubles, a triple and a team-high 11 home runs.

The infielder also leads the team in runs scored (44), RBI (36) and stolen bases (17). He hit his 11th homer in a 5-4 victory over Seton Hall on Sunday to lift the Panthers to 20-13 overall and 7-8 in the Big East. The homer puts Sedon in 12th place on the college’s single-season list.

“Chris had as good a start as I have seen,” coach Joe Jordano said. “He carried us at the start. He cooled off a bit, but I anticipate him finishing strong.”

Sedon was batting leadoff, but Jordano has moved him into the No. 3 spot of late.

Sedon has also been solid at second base. He’s made just four errors in 168 chances (.976).

“I would anticipate that he may get picked in this June’s major league draft,” Jordano said. “Where and what round, I don’t know. I hope he returns because I believe another year would be great for him. But whatever he decides, I will be fully supportive.”

Senior Chris Tonte (Pittston Area and Lackawanna CC) has seen limited action for the Panthers and is hitting .292 (7-for-24) in 12 games with three doubles, four RBI and seven runs scored.

“Chris is a talented player,” Jordano said. “We just have not had enough opportunities to get him into the lineup. It has been a bit frustrating for both of us.”

The Panthers have three league home games scheduled for this weekend against Rutgers.

BURKHARDT QUALIFIES – Rutgers University senior Brandon Burkhardt (Lake-Lehman) has already qualified for the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track Championships in the javelin.

Burkhardt has three firsts and a second in his four meets to date with an automatic NCAA qualifying effort of 206-feet, 11�-inches (63.08 meters) in his victory in the Sam Howell Invitational recently in Princeton, N.J.

“Brandon is off to a great start,” coach Mike Mulqueen said. “He is healthy and if he keeps improving like he has, he has the ability to get to the championships and possibly become an All-American. He is working very hard toward those goals.”

Burkhardt and the Scarlet Knights will compete in the Penn Relays this weekend in Philadelphia and then take up the tournament trail – the Big East Championships May 2-3 at Villanova and the IC4A Championships May 15-17 in Princeton. The East Regionals will be held May 29-30 in Chapel Hill, N.C.

ZACK WEATHERS START – Despite battling early spring weather conditions, freshman Gary Zack (Crestwood) is ready to reach new heights competing in the javelin for the Moravian College men’s track team.

Zack had a career-best toss of 180-6� in last weekend’s Greyhound Invitational in Bethlehem. That effort qualified him for the ECAC Tournament. He also competes in the hammer throw.

“Gary has been working very hard on the technical components of his throws, especially the javelin,” coach Walt Wandall said. “He’s only had one good opportunity to throw on a fast surface with no gales or rain, so as the weather breaks a bit, I expect him to do very well.”

Zack is coming off a serious elbow injury sustained in his senior year at Crestwood. His early training this year has been focused around the technical part of things.

“Physically, Gary is the most impressive freshman javelin thrower we’ve ever had,” Wandall said. “Once all the work he’s doing now becomes an unconscious movement, he’ll challenge our javelin record (212 feet).”

Zack and the Greyhounds will be competing in the Landmark Conference Championships this weekend in Towson, Md.

CHAMBERLAIN’S SEASON ENDS – Sophomore Molly Chamberlain and her Siena College women’s water polo team saw their season come to an end after losing 9-2 to Marist and 9-6 to Wagner last Sunday. The Saints finished 10-17 overall and 3-7 in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference.

Chamberlain (Wyoming Valley West), also a standout member of the Siena women’s swim team, is an attacker in water polo and finished with four goals and seven assists for 11 points. She was also second on the team in steals with 39.

“Molly has been a great leader both in and out of the water for our program,” coach Ellen Howe said. “She did all of the little things that made her teammates better. Her defense led us to some great wins this season. She is much improved from last year and is really starting to understand the depths of the college game.”

CHAMPI LEADS KNIGHTS – Senior co-captain Anthony Champi (Pittston Area) is having a solid season for the Arcadia College baseball team.

Champi, an outfielder, is hitting .290 (20-for-69) with five doubles and a home run. He has scored 17 runs, eight RBI and stolen seven bases.

“Anthony has been great for us thus far,” coach Brian Pugh said. “He really got things going in the fall and earned the starting job in right field back then.”

Arcadia, 6-20 overall and 2-9 in the Commonwealth Conference, has a young team and Pugh is happy to have Champi around.

“Anthony has been a constant for us hitting second and has been a rock for us from a leadership standpoint,” the coach said. “But most of all, he is a great young man who has a tremendous amount of maturity which has been crucial with the abundance of youth on our roster.”

BERRY IN THE BOOK – It didn’t take long for freshman Jared Berry (Coughlin) to get his name in the record book with the Gwynedd Mercy College men’s outdoor track team.

The versatile Berry set a new standard in the triple jump with a 41-3 effort in the season-opening Danny Curran Invitational at Widener College.

Berry bettered that mark with a 42-11� last weekend in the Messiah Invitational, but is now in second place in the record book. Freshman teammate Anthony Adams won the Messiah event with a 44-� effort.

“Jared is coming along nicely and is one of the hardest working athletes on the team,” coach Mike Dager said. “He’s the type of athlete coaches want. He’s always looking to try new events while continuing to work on his primary events.”

Beside the triple jump, Berry has competed in the long jump and 400-meter dash for the Griffins.

EDWARDS VERSATILE – Freshman Brenae Edwards (Hazleton Area) is proving to be a versatile performer for the Mansfield University women’s outdoor track team.

Edwards recently finished second in the 3,000-meter run at the Western Pennsylvania Championships. Her time was 10:35.23. Last weekend in the Brockport Invitational, she captured the 1,500 in 4:56.41 and finished fourth in the 800 in 2:30.71.

“Brenae is off to a great start,” coach Mike Rohl said. “That 3,000 time easily qualified her for our conference meet. Her training has been going great and she’ll be running in the 5,000 as well. We expect her to get a pretty big PR in that event.”

The Mountaineers are pointing for the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Championships May 7-9 in Millersville.

GRIMM A VETERAN – Graduate student Ashley Grimm (Hazleton Area) is a member of the Clarion College women’s golf team, which is playing for the first time. She recently finished fourth out of 17 golfers at the Washington & Jefferson Invitational. On a cold and blustery day, she posted a 50-46-96. Only two women in the field bettered 90 on the day.

Prior to joining the golf team, Grimm was a four-year standout with the Golden Eagles women’s basketball team.

“You have to realize that this is the first women’s golf team that Clarion has ever had and Ashley joined the team that is made up of all freshmen golfers,” coach Marie Gritzer said.

Gritzer liked the way that Grimm has stepped it up. She was No. 2 during the fall season, but came up with some big efforts when it was needed most. She finished 26th in the team’s first Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Tournament, the team finishing sixth out of seven teams.

“When it came to the championship tournament, Ashley was able to focus on her game and step it up,” Gritzer said. “You expect that from veteran athletes, but it doesn’t always happen that way.”

The Golden Eagles wrap up the season in the Mercyhurst Invitational this weekend in Erie.

JOHNSON GETTING BETTER – Ryan Johnson set a Juniata men’s track record in the hammer throw last season as a sophomore. He’s bettered that mark each time he’s taken to the track this spring.

Johnson (Crestwood) set a new standard of 132-5 last season. He opened this season with a 136-8 effort at the Western Pennsylvania Championships. A week later, he hit 139-4 in the Juniata Quad Meet and last weekend fashioned a 140-8 toss to finish 13th out of 37 competitors in the Greyhound Invitational at Moravian.

“Ryan still has some technical things to improve upon and that’s what we’ve been emphasizing on,” coach Jon Cutright said. “We hope that he will continue to improve and throw his best at the conference championships.”

The Landmark Conference meet will be held this weekend in Towson, Md. Johnson also competed in the javelin and discus for the Eagles.

Bill Arsenault covers college sports for The Times Leader. He can be reached at billarsenault70@msn.com.