Advertisement

Reece Leone hits basketball milestone, Paige South earns swim honor, Malena Cybak track PR

bill arsenault
·5 min read
Reece Leone
Reece Leone

Reece Leone needed seven points to reach a milestone with the Westminster College men’s basketball team Wednesday night when the Titans hosted Franciscan. The West Branch High School graduate hit that number right on the nose in a 68-56 loss.

Leone, a senior, became the 41st player in the program to score 1,000 points in his career in a program that dates back to 1898 and first had players reach the milestone back in 1945. Leone has played in 82 games (81 starts) in his career at Westminster. Along with his 1,000 points, he has 330 assists in his career.

The 5-foot-10 guard has started all 22 games for the Titans (10-12, 8-10 PAC) this season. He is averaging 12.0 points per game and leads the team in assists (86).

Reece Leone
Reece Leone

Paige South (Hoover)

The Niagara junior appears ready to make a big showing in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Women’s Swim Championship in Geneva this coming week after a big performance in a 168-119 victory over Gannon on Jan. 27. She earned a second MAAC Swimmer of the Week honor. South won the 200 freestyle (conference-best 1:52.74), 100 backstroke (56.60, third-best conference time) and 100 butterfly (56.96), and took second in the 60 freestyle (23.81). South was also a member of the winning 200 medley and 400 free relays.

Sam Thayer (Jackson)

The sophomore will be a key performer when Grove City (Pa.) hosts the Presidents’ Athletic Conference Swim Championship starting Wednesday. Thayer was named first-team All-PAC last year as a freshman. He finished third in the 1,650 freestyle (17:01.46), fourth in the 500 free (4:50.05) and seventh in the 200 free (1:50.16). He also swam a leg on the winning 800 free relay team. Grove City has won five straight team titles.

Malena Cybak (Tuslaw)

The sophomore had a solid meet for the Youngstown State women’s track team at its own YSU Indoor Mid Major meet last weekend. Cybak finished second in the 500 meters (personal-best 1:17.77), finished fifth in the mile (5:10.37) and ran a leg on the winning 4x400 relay (4:00.57). She opened the indoor season by winning the 800 (2:15.47) at Penn State's Nittany Lion Challenge on Jan. 13.

Ted Kinney (Jackson)

The senior for the Edinboro men’s swim team will be competing in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Championship starting Wednesday. Kinney is looking to score points in the 50 freestyle and the 100 and 200 butterfly. He is also a key member of the Fighting Scots’ 200 medley and 200 freestyle relays.

Sidnee Bowden (McKinley)

The 6-1 freshman scored a season-high 20 points for the Hartford (Conn.) women’s basketball team in a 72-62 loss to Suffolk on Tuesday. Coming off the bench, she played 30 minutes and shot 8-for-17 from the field. She also had seven rebounds and two blocked shots. Bowden has played in all 21 games (13 starts) and is averaging 6.1 points and 5.5 rebounds with 39 assists, 26 steals and a team-high 34 blocked shots. The Hawks are 9-12.

Claire Eberhardt (Central Catholic)

The John Carroll senior finished second in the 1,000 meters at the YSU Indoor Mid Major meet last weekend in Youngstown. She posted a personal-best 2:69.67. Eberhardt finished third behind an unattached runner and a Division II athlete in the 800 (2:16.01) at the Doug Raymond National Qualifier on Jan. 26-27 in Kent. She opened the indoor season by finishing fourth in the 600 (1:40.13) at the SPIRE Midwest Invitational on Jan. 20 in Geneva.

Connor McClure (Green)

The junior had the top performance of his career with the Virginia Tech men’s track team when he finished tied for third in the pole vault at the Penn State National Open, Jan. 26-27. Competing in the invitational division, he posted a career-best 17 feet, 8.5 inch effort. That broke his previous record of 17-7.75 which he recorded when he won at the Atlantic Coast Conference Indoor Championship last season.

Janine Murphy (Jackson)

The sophomore is scoring points for the Towson women’s swim team. In the Tigers’ final dual meet of the season, a 162-138 loss to Delaware on Jan. 27, she finished second in the 100 backstroke (56.76), third in the 200 backstroke (2:05.70) and swam the anchor leg on the second-place 400 free relay (3:31.13). The team is hosting the Tiger Winter Open this weekend and are prepping for the Coastal Athletic Conference Championship, Feb. 29-March 2, in Hampton, Va.

Meghan Frazier (Alliance)

The Wittenburg junior won the 400 at the Cedarville Collegiate Indoor Invite last Friday with a time of 58.03. She also finished third in the 60 (6.92). Frazier won the 60 at the Wooster Invitational, Jan. 13, also in 6.92. She won the Mount Union Toy Drive meet on Dec. 9 in 7.83. Frazier finished second in the 400 (personal-best 57.69) at the Tiger Open on Dec. 2 in Springfield.

Brendan Hamilton (Marlington)

The junior is sharing duties at 133 pounds for the Lake Erie wrestling team, which finished third in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference championship on Jan. 27. Hamilton has a 6-5 overall record and is 3-1 in dual meets. He leads the team with six falls, the fastest coming in 1:04. Lake Erie has three dual matches remaining, including two G-MAC contests.

This article originally appeared on The Repository: College updates on Reece Leone, Paige South, Connor McClure, others