CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL

KUTZTOWN, Pa. -- Fifteen Kutztown University student-athletes will compete in the 2010 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Championships at Cumberland Valley High School in Mechanicsburg. The four-day meet begins Thursday evening and concludes Sunday night. East Stroudsburg will serve as meet host.

Kutztown is looking to cap a season to remember when Kerry Choplin (Thorofare, N.J./West Deptford), Alexandra Crigler (Sinking Spring, Pa./Wilson), Lauren Galetto (Vineland, N.J./Sacred Heart), Helena Hewitt (West Chester, Pa./West Chester East), Nikki Hinsdale (Glen Mills, Pa./Bayard Rustin), Steph Jeppesen (Bethlehem, Pa./Liberty), Stephanie Kearns (West Chester, Pa./West Chester East), Katie Kelly (Downingtown, Pa./Downingtown West), Lauren Malloy (Lancaster, PA/Lancaster Catholic), Lauren Piorkowski (Trumbull, CT/Trumbull), Krista Schlupp (Quakertown, PA/Quakertown), Jordan Shapiro (Yardville, N.J./Princeton), Allison Sheely (Enola, Pa./Trinity), Zoe Sianis (Wyomissing, PA/Wyomissing) and Heather Wolkom (Rumson, N.J./Rumson Fair-Haven Regional ) represent the Maroon and Gold this weekend.
 
The Golden Bears finished seventh at last year's championship meet with 267.5 points. This season, thanks to the strength of a 15-1 record in dual meets, Kutztown is aiming higher.
 
"My expectations are to continue climbing the PSAC ladder," Kutztown head coach Tim Flannery said. "We've been running in the seventh spot for quite a while. Last year, 20 points separated us from fifth so there is a good chance we can improve. Everyone has to show up for this meet. If we have one swimmer not swimming well that could be the difference in our placement. That is how close third to eight is."
 
If last year is any indication, the Golden Bears could do some special things and break a few more school records. At last year's meet, five school records fell.
 
Jeppesen is ranked 2nd in the 100 breaststroke (1:05.01), 200 individual medley (2:08.61) and 400 individual medley (4:37.72) and first in the 200 breaststroke (2:20.94). Jeppesen has already automatically qualified for the 2010 NCAA Division II Championships, which will be held in Canton (Ohio) the weekend of March 10-12.
 
Wolkom, Crigler, and Choplin are all ranked among the top 10 in their respective distance events.  Crigler is fifth in the 1,000 freestyle (10:43.86) and Wolkom is sixth (10:44.54) in the same event. In the 500 freestyle, Wolkom is seventh (5:13.12) and Crigler is eighth (5:15.68). In the 1,650 freestyle, Crigler is sixth (18:01.38), Wolkom is seventh (18:02.21) and Choplin is ninth (18:05.18). Choplin is also ninth in the 1,000 freestyle (10:52.29).
 
Malloy and Shapiro are also has achieved one of the top 10 swimming times in their respective events. Malloy is ninth in the 200 butterfly (2:12.38) and Shapiro is eighth in the 200 backstroke (2:09.65). The Golden Bear relay teams should also provide plenty of excitement this weekend as well.
 
"We need big efforts from the freshman (Galetto, Schlupp, Sianis, Piorkowski) and we also need Hewitt, Kearns, Kelly and Sheely, to get into scoring position," Flannery said. "If we can do that we might be able to push fifth or fourth. If we have a monster meet third might be a possibility, but you never know."
 
The top schools are expected to be West Chester led by Jackie Borkowski and Erin Fischer, and Clarion powered by Kaitlyn Johnson. 
 
A third-place finish would be the cherry on top of the sundae for the Golden Bears, who enjoyed an outstanding season. In addition to finishing with 14 consecutive dual meet victories, Kutztown won the Golden Bear Invitational and finished second at the loaded Franklin & Marshall Invitational. Kutztown also traveled to Alaska earlier in October.
 
"The 15-1 season was great," Flannery said. "We competed well in all the meets. The women never got flustered if the meet got close. They just went out and did their jobs and that's what really made us get to 15 wins. This was the greatest amount of depth of any team that I've had at Kutztown. We never, at any point before this year, had three or four women below 2:20 in a 200 fly or three women at 2:01 or better in the 200 free, so depth was the big key in getting to 15. But, we're judged only by this Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday if our season has been a success or not."