Reveling in diversity

The Highwaymen

First Posted: 2/20/2013 West Chester senior Nicole Smith finished second in the 800 meters at last weekend&#8217;s PSAC Indoor Track Championships in Edinboro.
Smith, from Clarks Summit (Abington Heights) covered the distance in 2:15.48 which is an NCAA Division II provisional time. She also ran a pair of relays helping the 4x400 finish ninth (4:03.79) and the 4x800 finish eighth (9:52.68). The Golden Rams finished eighth in the team standings with 35.25 points.
Smith had prepped for the meet by recording an NCAA Division II provisional time of 2:17.13 to capture the 800 at the Susquehanna Open. She beat a field of 61 runners.
&#8220;My main goal is to score points for my team in as many events as possible and overall improve my times from last year and hopefully get closer in hitting the national qualifiers,&#8221; Smith said.
Smith isn&#8217;t a late bloomer for the Golden Rams. A transfer from Division I Towson State, she holds indoor records in the 400 (56.90) and the 600 (1:39.23) and is third on the list in the 500 (1:20.47).
&#8220;My training this season has differed only slightly by setting faster times to hit during practice,&#8221; she said. &#8220;Having the advanced equipment available has helped me improve my performance on the college level.&#8221;
ZICK EYEING OUTDOOR SEASON &#8211; Freshman Kaylea Zick (Lackawanna Trail) is a member of the Ashland women&#8217;s indoor track team. She&#8217;s a thrower but hasn&#8217;t competed in the shot put or weight throw for the Eagles this winter.
&#8220;Kaylea had surgery to repair her shoulder and is nearing 100 percent recovery,&#8221; coach Jud Logan said. &#8220;We have been excited about her development in the hammer throw and especially the discus for the outdoor season.&#8221;
Ashland has one of the top track teams in Division II and are favored to capture the title in both men&#8217;s and women&#8217;s track at the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championships this weekend in Allendale, MI.
&#8220;Kaylea has been a pleasure to coach and we look for her to be an integral part of one of the top women&#8217;s throws programs in the country,&#8221; Logan said.
CLARKE COMING CLOSE &#8211; Keystone sophomore Justin Clarke (Lackawanna Trail) has a goal this winter &#8211; break the 16 minute mark in the 5,000 meter race. At the Susquehanna Open, he broke his own school record when he won the event with a time of 16:01.46. That time was down from his previous effort this season &#8211; 16:08.25 while finishing second at the DeShriver Invitational at East Stroudsburg.
&#8220;Justin is coming off a tremendous cross country season,&#8221; coach Michael Badway said. &#8220;At the NCAA Mideast Regionals he dropped from 130th as a freshman to 74th this year as a sophomore.&#8221;
Clarke will have one more chance to reach his goal &#8211; the NCAA Final Qualifier Friday in Collegeville.
Clarke will move up his game when the outdoor season begins.
&#8220;Justin&#8217;s main focus will be bumped up to the 10,000 in the spring,&#8221; Badway said. &#8220;His goal for the 10k this year is to break 32:30.&#8221;
PETERSON SWITCHES SPORTS &#8211; Junior Luke Peterson (Abington Heights) just wrapped up another outstanding season playing with the Baptist Bible men&#8217;s basketball team and the 6-foot-3, 200-pounder is waiting for the snow to clear so he can compete with the Defenders men&#8217;s golf team.
Peterson, named to the Colonial States Athletic Conference second team, was second on the basketball team in scoring (12.9) and averaged 4.7 rebounds a game. He led the squad in assists (89) and steals (34). He also hit 99 of 210 shots from the field (.471), including 50 of 105 from 3-point range and 62 of 71 from the free throw line.
&#8220;Luke had a very good year,&#8221; coach Mike Show said. &#8220;He was among the league leaders in many statistical categories.&#8221;
The Defenders finished 7-18 overall and 5-13 in league play.
&#8220;Luke was one of our team leaders and was a big factor in our team finishing the season with energy (winning three of its last five games),&#8221; Show said. &#8220;He played a good part of the second semester with a bad back and a bruised knee. It showed his toughness both physically and mentally.&#8221;
Peterson finished first for the Defenders in four of six golf matches last fall and captured his first-ever individual title when he beat two others with a birdie on the first playoff hole to capture the Elmira Invitational.
The team will open its spring season Wednesday, April 3 against Scranton.
ELLSWORTH BOUNCES BACK &#8211; Shippensburg sophomore Lauren Ellsworth (Lackawanna Trail) finished fifth in the 60 meter dash and 8th in the 200 meter dash at last weekend&#8217;s PSAC Indoor Track Championships. She was clocked in 7.85 in the 60 and 26.01 in the 200. She was seventh in the 200 prelims with the identical 26.01 time.
&#8220;Lauren had a great freshman campaign indoors,&#8221; coach Dave Osanitsch said. &#8220;She was part of an NCAA All-American DMR relay and was All-Conference in the 60 at the league championships.&#8221;
But Ellsworth suffered an injury outdoors last spring and it hampered her performance.
&#8220;But Lauren has looked great this season and we expected her to be a big factor in the success of our team in the league meet,&#8221; Osanitsch said.
Shippensburg won the women&#8217;s team title with 125.25 points.

<p>Local student-athletes excelling at colleges</p>