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Sophomore Rebecca Rutkowski had the biggest game of her career to lead her East Stroudsburg women&#8217;s basketball team to a 96-60 victory over Cheyney on Dec. 19.The Crestwood graduate got her first start of the season and had a game-high 24 points in 30 minutes of action. The 6-foot center/forward hit 10 of 15 shots from the field and was 4 for 6 from the free throw line. She also had five blocked shots.&#8220;Rebecca got the start because of an injury to our starting center,&#8221; coach Diane Decker said. &#8220;She had a great game. She is very athletic and took advantage of that, positioning herself under the basket and demanding the ball.&#8221;Rutkowski also started against California last Sunday but was in foul trouble all night long and fouled out after scoring just two points in 13 minutes of action. The 5-7 Warriors went on to defeat No. 13 California 74-73 on a buzzer-beater 3-pointer.On the season, Rutkowski is averaging 4.0 points and 1.7 rebounds and is second on the team in blocked shots with 16.Alexis an Iron ManSenior Peter Alexis is not only the top scorer, rebounder and shot-blocker on the Philadelphia University men&#8217;s basketball team, but the former Holy Redeemer standout has only missed one minute of play in the team&#8217;s first 14 games.The 7-foot, 250-pound center, played 39 minutes against Holy Family but has played all 40 minutes in 11 other games and 45 minutes in two overtime games, including a 77-73 loss to St. Anselm on New Year&#8217;s Eve.Alexis is averaging 19.4 points and 8.5 rebounds and he has 37 blocked shots &#8211; all team highs. He&#8217;s had seven double-doubles for the Rams who are 10-4 overall and 4-2 in Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference play.Alexis was named CACC Co-Player of the Week on Monday. He earned Player of the Week honors three previous times this season.Good start for ColleyJunior Josh Colley has had a solid start to the indoor season for the Widener men&#8217;s track team. The Tunkhannock grad opened the season Dec. 5 at Wagner&#8217;s Metro Holiday Opener in Staten Island and finished fifth in the long jump (22-5) and sixth in the triple jump (46-1 &#189;). In both events, he finished behind Division I and club athletes. Then, on Dec. 10, he finished second in the 60-meter dash (7.46) in a dual meet against Haverford.&#8220;Josh has changed a few things regarding his training in order to be better prepared for the NCAAs,&#8221; coach Vince Touey said. &#8220;He was disappointed by not becoming an All-American last year even though he was close especially indoors.&#8221;Colley is getting extra help as a jumper from new coach Fallon Heddings, who is finishing up her doctorate degree at Widener after a standout career at Lock Haven.&#8220;Josh is benefiting from Fallon&#8217;s science-based training coupled with her real world experience,&#8221; Touey said.The Pride returns to action Saturday, Jan. 16 once again at Staten Island.&#8220;I believe Josh will be more advanced by then and hopefully can break is own school record in the long jump and also get a good enough jump to qualify (Middle Atlantic Conference) for the triple jump,&#8221; Touey said.Sanko, coach looking aheadFreshman Shelby Sanko is scoring points in the distance freestyle events for the St. Francis women&#8217;s swim team, but coach Rory Coleman is looking for bigger things from her during the second half of the campaign. The Hazleton Area graduate is currently in Florida on a training trip.&#8220;Shelby looks ready for a great training trip and can put herself in a great position for the second half of the season,&#8221; Coleman said. &#8220;As the case with most freshmen, the transition can be quite tough, but Shelby has transitioned well and I think she has a lot of potential.The Red Flash returns to action Saturday, Jan. 16 at Lock Haven.Sutliff helps pride The Widener women&#8217;s basketball team captured the Cabrini Classic last week in Radnor and the Pride got a solid effort from senior captain Nikki Sutliff. Sutliff, a Lake-Lehman graduate, had a season-high 13 points in a 71-60 victory over the host team in the first round and then had five points and eight rebounds in a 79-60 victory over Eastern in the title game.&#8220;Nikki is a great person and player,&#8221; coach Alisa Kintner said. &#8220;She is a true inspirational leader and it&#8217;s not because she&#8217;s a captain. She never takes a day off whether it&#8217;s in practice or a game. She always sacrifices her body for the good of the team.&#8221;The 5-foot-6 guard has helped Widener sport a 9-3 record with a 2-1 mark in MAC Commonwealth play. She&#8217;s averaging 4.4 points and 4.6 rebounds coming off the bench.&#8220;Nikki is no doubt the heart and soul of this team,&#8221; Kintner said. &#8220;She makes the team go and they feed off her heart and energy. We will truly miss her next season but we are going to take full advantage of having her as part of this team.&#8221;A mention for Campenni Connecticut defensive tackle Julian Campenni was named to the honorable mention list on the ECAC Division I Football Bowl Subdivision team.The Wyoming Area graduate earned the honor, which was announced on Dec. 18, after a solid season with the Huskies. The 6-foot, 300-pounder had 31 tackles, including 15 solos, with 4.5 for losses of nine yards. He also had two quarterback hits and a forced fumble.Connecticut finished its season 6-7 after a 16-10 loss to Marshall in the St. Petersburg Bowl on Saturday, Dec. 26. Campenni had four tackles, including three solos, in the game.Krasavage back on the matHofstra&#8217;s redshirt sophomore Kyle Krasavage made his debut in the Lock Haven Classic Wrestling Tournament last weekend and finished fourth at 149 pounds. Krasavage, a Wyoming Valley West grad, who was injured during preseason, posted a 5-2 record with two major decisions and a fall. He was beaten in the third-place match.Krasavage followed up that performance by posting a pin (6:02) to help the Pride defeat Bloomsburg 27-16 at the Hofstra Alumni Duals in Hempstead, N.Y.&#8220;It was nice to have Kyle back and healthy,&#8221; coach Dennis Papadatos said. &#8220;His is up a few weight classes and is wrestling to his potential. He has competed really hard since he has returned and scored bonus points in a few matches.&#8221;Hofstra is at the Pittsburgh Duals Saturday.&#8220;We expect Kyle to continue to progress as the season goes on and he gets fully back into the swing of things,&#8221; Papodatos said.<style>
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<div class="neCaption">Crestwood graduate, Rebecca Rutkowski, scored a game-high 24 points in 30 minutes of action against Cheyney. On the season, Rutkowski is averaging 4.0 points and 1.7 rebounds and is second on the team in blocked shots with 16. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/web1_Rebecca-Rutkowski-Cheyney-14.jpg</photo0><caption0>Crestwood graduate, Rebecca Rutkowski, scored a game-high 24 points in 30 minutes of action against Cheyney. On the season, Rutkowski is averaging 4.0 points and 1.7 rebounds and is second on the team in blocked shots with 16. </caption0><photoCredit0>Submitted photo </photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta>By Bill ArsenaultFor Times Leader</bylineMeta></div>

College Corner: Rebecca Rutkowski makes big impact in East Stroudsburg’s win