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Ray Yagloski is making a name for himself on the mat at Johns Hopkins.
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Yagloski
This will be a big weekend for the Johns Hopkins wrestling team and freshman Ray Yagloski (Tunkhannock).
The Hopkins wrestlers can capture the Centennial Conference dual meet title with victories over Stevens Tech and the Merchant Marine Academy Saturday in Hoboken, NJ.
Yagloski, competing at 125 pounds, is 19-11 on the season and has a 5-1 record in CC dual meets. He has three pins and finished second in the Red Dragon Invitational at SUNY-Oneonta, a third place finish at the Waynesburg Invitational and a fifth place at the Petrofes Tournament at Messiah. His 19 victories are third-best on the team.
“Ray is one of the hardest workers on the team,” coach Keith Morris said. “He is always looking for ways to improve. He’s a big key to the team’s success and he gets them started in every match. They feed off his energy.”
Dailey adjusting at UConn
Freshman Chris Dailey is a member of a strong Connecticut men’s indoor track team which is ranked No. 1 in the Eastern Region.
Dailey (Dallas) is a middle distance runner and recently helped the Huskies 4×800 relay team finish third in the prestigious Saturday Night at the Armory meet in New York City. The unit was clocked in 7:50.83. He’s already qualified for the 500 meter dash for the Big East Championships (Feb. 19-20 in Akron, Oh).
“Chris has done a good job of adjusting to our training,” coach Greg Roy said. “He is competing in his first-ever indoor track season and running between the 400 and 800 meters.”
Roy feels that Dailey could end up competing in the mile for the Huskies down the road.
“I thought he handled the volume training this fall very well,” the coach said. “He’s also done a great job adjusting academically and socially. It’s just a matter of him finding his niche event-wise.”
Records for Drumheller
Sophomore Rebecca Drumheller (Hazleton Area) helped the Keystone women’s indoor track team set a pair of relay records at last weekend’s DeSchriver Invitational at East Stroudsburg.
Drumheller ran a leg on the 4×200 relay team, which broke a Keystone record by three seconds. The unit finished 16th with a time of 1:56.44. She also ran a leg on the 4×400 relay team which finished 11th in a school record time of 4:30.26. She wrapped up day by finishing 16th out of 32 runners in the 400-meter dash (1:07.00).
“Rebecca has really come into her own this past year as a track athlete,” coach Michael Badway said. “She’s a key on both relay teams. Her big individual goal for this year is to get the school record for the 400 both indoors and outdoors.”
Granteed back on track
Sophomore Julie Granteed (Berwick) is competing with the women’s indoor track team at East Stroudsburg this winter.
“Julie suffered through an injury-plagued freshman year,” coach Chris Merli said. “She has competed in a number of 800 meter races this winter, something that is very new to her.”
Granteed’s main event is the 400 intermediate hurdles in the spring.
“She’s been training for that and has adjusting well to the mid-distance training it will take to be a PSAC scorer in the 400 hurdles,” Merli said.
Boyle learning the ropes
Freshman Devon Boyle is competing in the weight events for the Utica College women’s indoor track team.
Boyle (Lake-Lehman) competes mainly in the shot put but has also competed in the weight throw this winter for the Pioneers. At the recent Empire 8 Championships she finished tied for seventh in the shot put (32-9) and was 14th in the weight throw (30-6 1/3). Last weekend, she posted a personal record toss of 33-1/2 to finish sixth in the shot put at the Hamilton Invitational.
“Devon is still learning and adapting to college throwing,” coach Jacob Basher said. “She had very limited experience in high school since she was a basketball player in the winter and the outdoor season sometimes is very short.”
The biggest challenge is for Boyle to get rid of those bad habits she’s picked up along the way.
“Almost all incoming freshmen have those bad habits and Devon is working and trying her best to make the changes to become a better thrower,” Basher said. “She has a lot of raw talent and potential to compete at this level. It’s up to her to take the next step and fully commit to becoming a better thrower.”
Kuhl helps Panthers
Sophomore Amanda Kuhl (Hanover Area) is competing with the Pittsburgh women’s indoor track team. She posted a personal best time of 1:18.52 in the 400-meter dash at last weekend’s New Balance Invitational in New York City.
“Amanda has had two knee injuries and just recently had a second surgery,” coach Alonzo Webb said. “She’s training and competing but not quite at 100 percent.”
Kuhl was a sprinter in high school, but Webb and his staff are thinking of moving her to the middle distance races.
“We’re going to explore more of the middle distance with the likelihood of her competing the 400 during the outdoor season,” the coach said.
Local duo at Monmouth
Senior Kenslie Kerestes (Dallas) and freshman Mercedes Yanora (Holy Redeemer) are members of the Monmouth women’s indoor tack team. Kerestes is a distance runner while Yanora is a sprinter. She finished third in the 60-meter dash (8.00) at last weekend’s Blue-White Invitational in West Long Branch, NJ.
“It’s amazing that Kenslie is a senior already,” coach Joe Compagni said. “She has stayed positive while battling through some injuries and has earned the respect of her teammates with her determination and dedication.”
Kerestes is training well, according to the coach, and he feels she should be able to make it back to the Northeast Conference finals in the 1,500 this spring.
Yanora has a bright future at Monmouth, according to Compagni.
“Mercedes is having an excellent freshman year despite the fact that indoor track is new to her,” he said. “She’s a quick learner and is improving every week. She has already shown she can run with the best sprinters in the league.”
Messinger receives honor
University of the Sciences men’s basketball player Myer Messinger was recently named as the Sam Cozen Small College Player of the Week by the Philadelphia Area Small College Coaches Association. The Dallas High School product is 6-foot-7, 210-pound swing man.
Messinger is averaging 11.8 points and 7.8 rebounds per game. He also has 29 assists. He had 18 points and 11 rebounds in a 66-59 loss to Chestnut Hill and 19 points and 10 rebounds in a 58-54 victory over Goldey-Beacom last week. That gave him seven double-doubles for the season.
“Myer has been a key performer this season,” coach David Pauley said. “His ability to play on the perimeter and in the post has been an added weapon for us this season. His overall play at both ends of the floor will be a key factor as we finish our regular season and enter the playoffs.”
Barnes swimming at PSU
Freshman Lauren Barnes (Holy Redeemer) is competing in the 50 and 100 freestyle and with the 200 free relay for the Penn State women’s swim team.
Barnes recently finished fourth in the 100 free (54.26) in a meet against St. Bonaventure.
“Lauren has really adapted very well to college swimming and college life as a whole,” coach John Hargis said. “She has shown steady improvement throughout the season and we certainly look forward to her continued development and contributions in the future.”
Geffert earns preseason honor
The college baseball season is almost a month away but Ryan Geffert is already receiving preseason honors.
Geffert (Wyoming Valley West) is heading into his junior season at Southern Connecticut College and the hard-hitting first baseman was recently named to the Collegiate Baseball magazine Division II preseason All-American team. He’s also a candidate for the Tino Martinez Award, given to the top player in Division II.
The 6-foot-2, 225-pound right-hander batted .323 last season as a sophomore with 14 home runs and 60 RBI. It was the third best single-season home run and third best single-season RBI totals in the team’s history. He led the Northeast-10 Conference in homers, RBI, runs scored (57), total bases (130) and walks (35) and earned All-Region, All-ECAC and All-Conference honors.
“We’re looking for Ryan to have another big year,” Owls coach Tim Shea said. “We’ll obviously need him to be our power guy in the middle of the lineup if we are going to contend for another league title and make another run in the NCAA tournament.”