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On The Road To Omaha

Stack, UMBC Qualify For NCAA Tournament; Feldman Is Two-Time All-American

Jamestown native Collin Stack takes an at-bat during the America East Conference tournament in Lowell, Mass. Submitted photo

A Jamestown native is going to be playing for a chance to reach the College World Series.

Maple Grove graduate Collin Stack and the University of Maryland-Baltimore County baseball team will find out which regional they will play in during today’s selection show, which will air at noon today on ESPN2.

The Retrievers claimed an automatic bid by winning the America East Conference tournament Saturday with a walk-off 2-1 10th-inning win over the University of Maine. Stack went just 1 for 4 in the title game, but has been a crucial part of the UMBC lineup all season, hitting .326 with five doubles, a triple, 21 RBIs and 25 runs scored. Playing mostly right field, Stack has committed just three errors on 79 chances in the field.

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GENEVA, Ohio — Fredonia junior sprinter Brittany Feldman (Jamestown/Southwestern) finished seventh Saturday in the women’s 400-meter final at the NCAA Division III Track & Field championship meet.

Southwestern graduate Brittany Feldman reacts after finishing seventh in the NCAA Division III 400 meters Saturday in Geneva, Ohio. Photo courtesy of SUNY Fredonia Athletics | D3Photography.com

The seventh-place finish earned Feldman her second All-America award. Wadeline Jonathas, a freshman from UMass-Boston, won the event in 52.81 seconds, a new NCAA Division III record.

“It feels amazing,” Feldman said. “I worked really hard during the season to get where I am today. I came in very confident and that helped me a lot the past two days.”

She set a school record during preliminaries Friday with a time of 55.29 seconds. Her finals time Saturday was 55.39 seconds.

“She ran really well on Friday,” Fredonia assistant coach Ryan Pericozzi said. “This is the first nationals she actually had a chance to train for (and) not make it at the last minute. … Her goal yesterday was to qualify for today and she ran really, really fast. Today was to see how high she could finish.”

“I wanted to be top two in the heat yesterday to qualify for today,” Feldman said. “The (school-record) time just came with it. I felt great in the first 200 and just finished strong. It felt great.”

Her previous national honor came in the 400 at the 2014 indoor championship meet. She looks forward to one more season of collegiate competition.

“Sub-55 (seconds) and top-five nationally,” she said when asked what her goal next season would be.

“Two-time All-America is not easy to do,” Pericozzi said. “Very few people in the country have the opportunity to witness an NCAA meet. Being in the top eight twice is definitely a huge accomplishment. We’re not done yet.”

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BLOOMFIELD, N.J. — Early this month, junior Lauren Nickerson (Bemus Point/Maple Grove) wrapped up her first season as Division II Bloomfield College.

Nickerson hit .260 with four home runs, one triple and nine doubles to go along with 20 RBIs and 22 runs scored for the Bears, who finished 21-22 overall, including 11-15 in the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference.

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NEW ORLEANS, La. — The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association has announced the All-Region honorees for the 2016-17 NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field season. The list includes four Edinboro men’s athletes. Gene Baritot and Corey Wefing were recognized in two events, while Liam Cragg and Trae Smith received All-Region honors one event. The top five individuals in each event from each region earned All-Region accolades.

Baritot, a sophomore from East Aurora, has qualified for the NCAA Division II Outdoor National Championships in the 3,000-meter steeplechase and won the event at the PSAC Championships. He was also recognized by the USTFCCCA for the 5,000-meter run.

Wefing, a junior from Maple Springs, only competed early in the outdoor season but still earned All-Atlantic Region honors in the 800-meter and 1,500-meter runs.

Craig and Smith are freshmen from Corry, Pennsylvania and Emporium, Pennsylvania, respectively. Craig was an All-Region choice in the decathlon, while Smith earned the honor in the javelin.

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