PSAC Athletes of the Week - 1/30 Monday, January 30, 2017 2:30 PM Women's Indoor Track Athlete of the Week Julie Friend California (Jr. / Distance) Markleysburg, Pa. / Uniontown Friend won a pair of events, both with NCAA provisional marks, and broke her own school record over the weekend while competing at the SPIRE Midwest Open. Friend reset her own school record in the 3,000-meter run by crossing the finish line in 9 minutes, 47.66 seconds, which was nearly 25 seconds faster than her previous record set in 2014. Her time is the fastest time in the PSAC this winter and ranks No. 14 in the country. Friend also was the leadoff leg on the distance medley relay that won the event by almost 13 seconds with a time of 11:59.48, which is the sixth-best time in NCAA Division II. Women's Indoor Field Athlete of the Week Aspen Gaita East Stroudsburg (So. / Multi) Stroudsburg, Pa. / Stroudsburg Gaita set her fourth ESU record of the season in the pentathlon at Bucknell on Friday night ... totaled 3,701 points, well ahead of both Leslie Martin's school record of 3,594 points, set back in 2007, and the NCAA DII provisional standard of 3,285 points ... had already eclipsed the NCAA mark with her 3,534 points total at Lehigh on Dec. 9 ... reached NCAA provisional standards in the 60-meter hurdles (8.62) and the high jump (5-6 1/2), and she also topped the field of 17 competitors in the long jump (17-11 1/2) and placed second in the 800m (2:27.55) ... her high jump time was a new season-best, and it ranks tied for eighth all-time in program history ... has set or matched school records this year in the pentathlon, 55m hurdles (8.08), 60m hurdles (8.59) and long jump (18-1) ... leads PSAC performers this season in the 60m hurdles and high jump and ranks fourth in the long jump ... ranks third in DII in the 60m hurdles. Men's Indoor Track Athlete of the Week Brian Zimmerman Lock Haven (Fr. / Sprints) Mifflinburg, Pa. / Mifflinburg Zimmerman competed at the Bucknell Bison Open over the weekend where he went into the 200 finals ranked No. 1 and in the finals showed why he was the No. 1 seed by winning the event. Zimmerman crossed the finish line in 21.93 seconds which was a new school record and NCAA Provisional time. That time currently ranks Zimmerman No. 1 in the PSAC and No. 8 in the NCAA. He also placed second in the 400 running a time of 51.0. Men's Indoor Field Co-Athlete of the Week Colin Vannicolo West Chester (Sr. / Multis) Newtown Square, Pa. / Marple Newtown Vannicolo captured the top spot in the heptathlon at the 19th Annual Bucknell Bison Open & Multi's inside Gerhard Fieldhouse Saturday.The senior generated 4,822 points to hit an NCAA provisional. Vannicolo gathered the first in the 60-meter hurdles with a time 8.58 and tied for the top spot in the pole vault at 4.50m. The Marple Newtown product came away second in the 1,000-meter dash at 2:52.32, while also being tied for second in the long jump with a score of 6.28m. He raced his way for third in the 60-meter dash by finishing with 7.39. Vannicolo finished fifth in the high jump at 1.75m and tenth in terms of the shot put with 10.20m. Men's Indoor Field Co-Athlete of the Week DJ Horton IUP (So. / Pole Vault) Kane, Pa. / Kane Area Horton posted an NCAA provisional qualifying mark in the pole vault at the Penn State National Open on Friday ... Cleared a height of 4.91 meters, the best performance in the PSAC and 14th best in Division II in the event this season. Men's Swimmer of the Week Michael Oliver West Chester (Sr. / Breaststroke/Individual Medley) Howell, N.J. / Freehold Township 100-yard Breaststroke: 55.94, 1st 200-yard Breaststroke: 2:01.56, 1st 400-yard IM: 4:03.17, 1st 200-yard Medley Relay: 1:32.69, 2nd West Chester's Michael Oliver captured first place in three events for the Golden Rams against the University of Pennsylvania on Friday inside Graham Natatorium. The senior took home the top spot in the 100 and 200-yard breaststroke. In the 100-yard breaststroke, he captured a time of 55.94. Afterwards, he received a 2:01.56 in the 200-yard breaststroke. The New Jersey native also registered first in the 400-yard IM at 4:03.17. Lastly, Oliver helped the squad earn runner-up in the 200-yard medley relay with a time of 1:32.69. Women's Swimmer of the Week Georgia Wright West Chester (Fr. / Distance/Freestyle) Doncaster, Pa. 1,000-yard freestyle: 10:19.11, (B cut) 1st 200-yard backstroke: 2:09.88, 2nd 500-yard freestyle: 5:03.65 (B cut), 1st 200-yard Freestyle Relay: 1:41.91, 2nd Georgia Wright continues to excel as a freshman, taking home the top spot in a pair of events including the 500 and 1,000-yard freestyle against the University of Pennsylvania on Friday. Wright finished with a time of 5:03.65 in the 500-yard freestyle, while obtaining a 10:19.11 time in the 1,000-yard freestyle. The freshman also claimed second in the 200-yard backstroke, achieving a time of 2:09.88. Lastly, she helped the 200-yard freestyle relay finish in second at 1:41.91. Men's Basketball: Eastern Division Co-Athlete of the Week Christian Mortellite Bloomsburg (Jr. / G/F) Hammonton, N.J. / Hammonton Mortellite led the Huskies to a pair of road victories this week by averaging 28.0 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 3.0 assists in the two games. The redshirt junior scored a season-high 33 points, grabbed five rebounds, and dished out four assists in the Huskies' 93-76 win at Lock Haven on Wednesday. Bloomsburg trailed 43-35 at halftime, but Mortellite was perfect in the second half (6-of-6 from the field, 3-of-3 from three-point range, and 7-of-7 from the foul line) and scored 22 of his 33 points in the final 20 minutes. He added 23 points, six rebounds, and two assists in the 73-63 win at Cheyney on Saturday. For the week, Mortellite shot 20-of-34 (58.8%) from the field, hit 9-of-16 from long range (56.3%), and was 7-of-7 at the line. Men's Basketball: Eastern Division Co-Athlete of the Week Cornell Yarde II Millersville (Sr. / F) Reading, Pa. / Schuylkill Valley Yarde II led Millersville to a 17-point win over No. 5 and previously unbeaten Shippensburg on Saturday, scoring a career-high 27 points on 10-of-19 shooting while hitting 7-of-10 3-pointers. Yarde also recorded three assists, two steals and four rebounds in the upset win. Earlier in the week, he scored 15 points on 6-of-12 shooting, gabbed seven rebounds and totaled two steals and three assists in a 30-point rout of Cheyney. Men's Basketball: Eastern Division Freshman of the Week Amir Hinton Lock Haven (Fr. / G) Philadelphia, Pa. / Abington Hinton did again and had another big week for Lock Haven. The Bald Eagles went 1-1, which included a narrow-loss to Bloomsburg and a huge upset-win over East Stroudsburg. Over the two-game span, Hinton averaged 26.5 points per game. On the season he averages 23.4 points per game. He also averaged 6.5 rebounds per game last week. In the tight loss to Bloomsburg, Hinton had 27 points, two rebounds, two steals and a block. In the season's signature win over ESU, Hinton had 26 points, 11 rebounds (all defensive) and two assists. Men's Basketball: Western Division Athlete of the Week Dante Lombardi IUP (So. / G) Indiana, Pa. / Kiski Prep Lombardi averaged 15.0 points and 9.0 assists in helping No. 6 IUP to a pair of road wins last week ... Lombardi secured his first career double-double with 11 points and a career-high 11 assists in an 88-73 win at Seton Hill ... He then scored a game-high 19 points and dished out seven assists in a 72-62 win at Gannon, which entered the weekend two games back of IUP in the standings ... The win at Gannon put an end to the Golden Knights eight-game win streak and gave IUP a three-game lead in the division with seven left to play ... Lombardi went 7-14 from the field at Gannon, including 4-9 from three-point range, extending his streak to 26 straight games with a three-pointer. Men's Basketball: Western Division Freshman of the Week Jimmy Berger Gannon (Fr. / G) Medina, Ohio / Saint Ignatius Berger averaged six points, 4.5 assists, three rebounds and 1.5 steals during two games last week against Slippery Rock and No. 6 Indiana (Pa.) ... began the week with five assists and four rebounds during a 57-54 victory against Slippery Rock ... ended the week with 10 points, four assists, three steals and two rebounds against No. 6 IUP ... reached double digits in scoring for the fifth time this season ... ranks second among conference players in assists per game (6.6) and assist-to-turnover ratio (2.7) ... is eighth among all NCAA Division II players in assists per game and 26th in assist-to-turnover ratio. Women's Basketball: Eastern Division Athlete of the Week Imani Brown East Stroudsburg (Jr. / G) Lake Hopatcong, N.J. / Jefferson Brown ... Led ESU in scoring and rebounding in each of its two double-digit victories over PSAC East opponents last week ... tallied 11 points, 11 rebounds and a season-high five steals in the Warriors' 65-39 win over Mansfield on Wednesday, registering her third career double-double (second this season) and matching a career-high in rebounds ... added 16 more points (7-11 FG) to go along with eight boards in a 64-45 win at Lock Haven on Saturday ... made three 3-pointers last week, moving her into ninth place in ESU history with 75 3-pointers for her career ... shot 52.2 percent from the field (12-23) in the two victories ... has 10 points in five of the last six games (13 overall on the year). Women's Basketball: Eastern Division Freshman of the Week Taylor Montana Bloomsburg (Fr. / F) Berwick, Pa. / Berwick Montana led the Huskies to a pair of road victories during the week as she averaged 13.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 1.5 assists in the two wins. On Wednesday at Lock Haven, Montana scored a career-high 19 points while shooting 9-of-11 from the field in the 62-54 victory over the Bald Eagles. She added four rebounds, two assists, and a blocked shot. Her previous career-high was 14 points against both Gannon and Mansfield earlier in the year. She then scored seven points and grabbed four rebounds in the Huskies' 62-48 win at Cheyney on Saturday. For the week, Montana shot 11-of-18 (61.1%) from the field. Women's Basketball: Western Division Co-Athlete of the Week Miki Glenn California (Sr. / G) Bridgeport, W. Va. / Bridgeport Glenn helped the Vulcans claim sole possession of first place in the PSAC West standings last week by averaging 17.0 points, 5.5 assists and 6.0 steals per game. She made 47.1 percent from the floor and converted all 15 of her free-throw attempts, while also posting a 5.5 assist-to-turnover ratio. Glenn finished with 14 points, seven assists and nine steals in just over three quarters on Wednesday in a 72-38 win over Clarion. The senior guard then scored a team-high 20 points behind 13-of-13 from the free-throw line in a 74-71 victory against Edinboro on Saturday. She also posted five rebounds, four assists and three steals while playing all 40 minutes versus the Fighting Scots, who were previously tied with the Vulcans for first place in the divisional standings. Women's Basketball: Western Division Co-Athlete of the Week Carolyn Appleby IUP (So. / G) Greensburg, Pa. / Greensburg Central Catholic Appleby averaged a team-best 20.5 points in leading the Crimson Hawks to a pair of road wins over Seton Hill and Gannon last week ... Shot 50.0 percent (15-30) from the field, 50.0 percent (6-12) from three-point range, and made all five free throw attempts ... Averaged 3.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists and had three steals ... Scored career-high 24 points, going 5-8 from three-point range, at Seton Hill ... Scored 10 points in the fourth quarter, as IUP outscored Seton Hill 28-8 over the final 10 minutes after taking a one-point lead after three ... Scored a game-high 17 points on 7-13 shooting, helping IUP climb out of a 17-point second quarter deficit in a 62-57 win at Gannon on Saturday. Women's Basketball: Western Division Freshman of the Week Alexis Hartwick Pitt-Johnstown (Fr. / G) Steelton, Pa. / Central Dauphin Hartwick scored a career-high 16 points against PSAC East-leading Shippensburg while grabbing nine rebounds. The freshman scored nine points and accumulated five rebounds an assist against Clarion. Wrestler of the Week Thomas Haines Lock Haven (R-So.) Quarryville, Pa. / Ohio State R-So. Haines, the anchor is Lock Haven's lineup had another big week for the Bald Eagles as he went 2-0. In a dominating win over Cleveland State, Haines put an exclamation point on the victory with a 19-1 tech fall (4:27) over Michael Furbee. In the dual with No. 25 Edinboro, Haines, ranked 15 in the NCAA Coaches' Panel rankings grinded out a hard-fought upset-win over No. 12 Billy Miller. In the most anticipated match of the Lock Haven - Edinboro dual, Haines beat Miller 4-3 thanks to a riding time point. The two were tied 3-3 after two periods. The win was Haines' second over Miller this season as he also took down the Edinboro heavyweight in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) finals by an identical 4-3 score.