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Clarion&#8217;s Ben Spencer had a solid freshman year competing in the PSAC Men&#8217;s Swimming Championships. He missed last year with an injury. But the Tunkhannock grad is back and ready to make a big showing as a junior in this year&#8217;s meet, which began Thursday in York.&#8220;Ben has been putting in work for this championship meet far before the season even began back in September,&#8221; coach Bree Kelley said. &#8220;He is hungry for success and I am excited to see what he can do.&#8221;Kelley feels that Spencer motivates the whole team with his actions.&#8220;Ben is someone that constantly shows his dedication and commitment to being the best he can be,&#8221; Kelley said.The coach said that Spencer will compete in four individual races this weekend. He&#8217;s seeded first in the 200 backstroke (1:49.23), second in the 100 backstroke (50.07), third in the 100 IM (1:49.53) and fourth in the 200 IM (4:00.01).As a freshman, he finished ninth in both the 100 back and 200 back. He also was a member of the 400 medley relay which finished third, the 200 medley relay which finished fourth and the 200 free relay which finished seventh. He figures to swim legs on all three of them again this weekend.Solid debut for RomeWilliam &amp; Mary junior All-American Regan Rome made her season debut with the women&#8217;s track team at the Marshall Invitational last Saturday in Huntington, W.Va.The Dallas grad not only won the 3,000-meter run, but won it in record fashion. Rome, who has earned All-America honors indoors, outdoors and in cross country, covered the course in 9:37.12. That broke the meet and the facility record but is still well off her school record of 9:09.74 set last winter in the Bucknell Last Chance meet in Lewisburg.Pasone keys victoryThe Appalachian State wrestling team turned back VIM 38-6 on Feb. 8 in Boone, N.C., to wrap up its regular season with a 13-2 dual meet record and finish 7-0 to capture its second straight Southern Conference title.Senior Vito Pasone got the Mountaineers off on the right step with a tough 9-7 victory in the opening 125-pound bout. The Meyers grad, ranked 20th in Division I, has a 14-6 record with a 10-2 mark in dual matches. He&#8217;s 88-48 for his career.Paisley, Grzech contendBloomsburg juniors Ryan Paisley and Josh Grzech will be battling for a place or two on the pedestal in this weekend&#8217;s PSAC Swimming Championships in York.Paisley, a Hazleton Area grad, is seeded fourth in the 100 free (46.26) and the 100 back (51.43). He&#8217;s also seeded sixth in the 50 free (20.96).Grzech, a Crestwood grad, is seeded sixth in the 100 free (46.39), eighth in the 100 back (51.84) and ninth in the 200 IM (1:59.51).Hicks helps WidenerThe Widener men&#8217;s swim team finished second in the Middle Atlantic Conference Championships last weekend in York and senior Jeff Hicks helped the Pride.The Hazleton Area grad swam the anchor leg on the winning 800 free relay, which set a meet record with a time of 6:33.29. He also scored points in his individual events &#8212; seventh in the 200 free (1:45.64), ninth in the 100 free (47.6) and 12th in the 50 free (22.06).Freshman Porter Luksic, a Dallas grad, finished seventh in the 200 breaststroke (2:12.92) and 10th in the 100 breaststroke (1:00.91) for Widener.Grose earns a spotLock Haven senior Allison Grose qualified last week for the PSAC Indoor Track Championships. The Dallas grad and Penn State transfer posted a time of 18:32.44 in the 5,000-meter run at the Valentine Invitational in Boston. That places her 13th on the PSAC performance list.Grose&#8217;s best effort this winter came in the Spartan Regional Invite on Jan. 13 in Staten Island, N.Y., where she finished eighth in the 3,000-meter run with a time of 11:00.46.Big meet for KeatingThe East Stroudsburg women&#8217;s swim team honored its seniors at the East Stroudsburg Invitational last Saturday, and senior Kayla Keating made the most of her final meet in the home pool.The Hanover Area grad captured the 100 freestyle in 57.11 and swan the leadoff leg on the 200 free relay which finished first with a time of 1:51.87. Keating also finished eighth in the 50 freestyle with a time of 26.23.Sitch&#8217;s tough competitionShippensburg junior Alyssa Sitch finished third in the long jump and fifth in the triple jump at the Bucknell Tune Up last Friday in Lewisburg.The Hazleton Area grad hit a mark of 16-5.75 in the long jump and finished behind two Division I jumpers. She posted a 33-6.75 effort in the triple jump, finishing behind three Division I athletes and a teammate.Her 16-10.75 season-best effort has her 18th on the PSAC long jump list heading into this weekend&#8217;s championship in Edinboro.<style>
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<div class="neCaption">Ben Spencer is set to compete in four events this weekend at the PSAC Swimming Championships and is seeded first in the 200 backstroke. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/web1_spencer.jpg</photo0><caption0>Ben Spencer is set to compete in four events this weekend at the PSAC Swimming Championships and is seeded first in the 200 backstroke. </caption0><photoCredit0>Submitted photo </photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta>By Bill ArsenaultFor Times Leader</bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta>Reach Times Leader sports at 570-829-7143 or on Twitter @TLsports</shirttailMeta></div>

College Corner: Tunkhannock grad Ben Spencer eyes PSAC swimming success