By: Jacob Walsh

Men’s Basketball

Thiel’s men’s basketball team finished out their season in heartbreaking fashion, falling to Westminster in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference (PAC) tournament quarterfinals. Thiel dominated most of the first half and led at halftime 39-25. In the second half, Thiel held their ground while Westminster chipped away at the lead. However, with 25 seconds remaining Westminster tied the game at 66 and sunk the game-winning bucket within the final seconds. Westminster was victorious 68-66, eliminating Thiel. Marlon Ellerbee led Thiel with 16 points and the team wraps up the season with a final 8-16 record.

Women’s Basketball

Women’s Basketball met the same fate as the men’s team in the PAC tournament. The Tomcats were defeated by Waynesburg in the opening round by a score of 63-53. The teams traded blows throughout the game, but the Yellow Jackets edged out Thiel by outscoring them in each quarter. Destiny Johnson registered a triple-double and led Thiel’s scoring with 23 points. The women’s team finished with a record 5-17, gaining three of those victories within the PAC.

Men’s Lacrosse

The men’s lacrosse team began their season on February 19th with a 19-8 loss versus Mount Union. Thiel led the loss up with another against Hilbert College by a score of 14-17. The Tomcats broke through beating Meadville 19-4 on the 26th. The team sits at a 1-2 record and has not played a conference opponent yet. Chase Lawler leads Thiel in scoring with 11 goals throughout the first three games. The team’s next game is at Heidelburg University on March 5th.

Men’s Wrestling

Nine Tomcats competed at the NCAA Southeast Regionals. Hunter E. Thompson led the team by placing sixth with a record of 3-3. Thompson was victorious up until the quarter-finals. He then made his way through the consolation bracket until falling in the semi-finals by major decision.

Seth Phillips earned two wins in the tournament and was defeated in the first round.

Five Tomcats all earned a win in the tournament (Evan Whiteside, Hunter Martz, Peyton Hearn, Frank Gill, and Bryce McCloskey). Logan Long and Braydon Herbster also competed in the tournament as well, each being defeated twice.

The wrestling team concluded their championship season with the NCAA regionals and finished the season undefeated in PAC competition.

Track and Field

Both the Men’s and Women’s track teams finished in sixth place at the PAC Indoor Championships. Their placings were the highest for each team since 2014.

Individual Champions: Soron Hottensmith won the men’s 400-meter dash with a personal-best time of 50.73 seconds. Kaylee Suarez was victorious in the women’s high jump with a personal-best height of 1.51 meters.

School Record: The men’s distance medley relay broke the previous record which also was set by them earlier this season (11:01.86, 11-second difference to the previous record). The members of the medley relay are Chad Pakozdi, Issac Evans, Quintin Weaver, and Brock Newsome.

Thirteen Track and Field members from men’s and women’s also placed individually in the Championships.

Men’s Volleyball

The men’s volleyball team began their season on January 23rd with a 3-1 victory over Trine University. Since that game, the team has accumulated a record of 3-13 and a .400-win percentage within the conference (2-3). Thiel has won one game at home, away, and neutral respectively. They also compiled 13 losses through all three locations. The team has had four of

their matchups canceled, however. In the most recent game, the men’s team fell to Penn State Altoona 3-0. JC Govannucci leads the team in points (157.0) and also leads with kills (136). The next men’s volleyball game is against Hiram College on Wednesday, March 2nd.

Cover photos and information provided by various sources within Thiel College Athletics: https://thielathletics.com/