First Posted: 3/3/2015

Distance standout Justin Clarke is not competing with the Keystone College men’s track team this winter or spring. He’s spending the semester studying in Australia.

“What Justin has accomplished in this program during his time here has been phenomenal,” coach Michael Badway said. “From the moment he stepped foot onto the campus, he understood what it would take to be successful and he didn’t let distractions get in his way.”

Clarke (Lackawanna Trail) holds five records with the Giants – the 3,000 (8:54.46) and 5,000 (15:24.07) indoors and the 5,000 (15:28.35) and 10,000 (32:42.57) outdoors. He also holds the 8k record in cross country (25:23). He did the job in the class room as well, earning NCAA Division III All-Academic honors in cross country in 2013 with a 3.5 GPA in Wildlife Biology. He finished 20th in the regionals that year.

“When I recruited Justin out of Lackawanna (Trail) he was the shadow of the runner that he forged himself into,” Badway said. “And his accomplishments weren’t just limited to the track and the class room. He did more for the team than most people would ever imagine.”

The coached summed it up by saying, “I am truly blessed to have coached a person like Justin Clarke. An athlete like him comes along so rare in a coach’s career.”

Dickinson is versatile

Jacob Dickinson competed in the pole vault for the Albright men’s track team last year, but the sophomore from Dalton (Scranton Prep) has moved onto bigger and better things.

Dickinson will still do the pole vault, but it will be part of the heptathlon this winter and the decathlon this spring. He’ll be competing in the heptathlon in the Middle Atlantic Conference Indoor Track Championships Saturday in Bethlehem.

“This fall we started training Jacob for the heptathlon (eight events),” coach Deneen Ebling said. “He has improved his performances in the hurdles, high jump and shot put. He has not had an opportunity to do the other events since he competed in the hep back in January.”

The coach is looking for Dickinson to improve his point score in the heptathlon and then move to the heptathlon, which involves training for 10 events this spring.

Brier is valuable

Haverford’s Michael Brier is seeded ninth in the mile (4:25.15) heading into this weekend’s Centennial Conference Indoor Track Championships – and he’ll be running on his own track at Haverford. And, coach Tom Donnelly has plans for his sophomore from Clarks Summit (Scranton Prep).

“Mike is a really good competitor and he will be one of our most valuable runners going into the championship meet,” Donnelly said. “He will be racing one or two key events in the conference meet.”

Brier hit his qualifying mark when he finished sixth at the Seamus McElligot Invitational two weeks ago in Haverford.

Berardelli out to score

Hamilton junior Dylan Berardelli (Abington Heights) will be competing in the shot put and 35-pound weight throw at the New York State Collegiate Track Conference Championship this weekend in Rochester. The 6-foot, 247-pounder, who starts on the offensive line for the Continentals football team, prepped for the event by finishing second in the shot (43-8 ½) and third in the weight throw (51-5) at the Class of ’32 Invitational at Colgate University. The weight toss is a school record.

“Dylan continues to improve his technique each week in practice and what he’s been working on finally paid off at Colgate,” coach Brett Hull said. “We look for Dylan to be a potential scorer in both the weight and the shot this weekend.”

Big game for Egan

Sophomore Jamie Egan (Abington Heights) has had a steady season with the Misericordia men’s basketball team, but the 6-foot-1 guard came up with his top effort of the season in a recent 74-72 overtime victory over Delaware Valley. He had a season-high 13 points, five rebounds, four assists and two blocks in 29 minutes of action. On the season, he’s averaging 4.6 points and 2.2 rebounds with 14 assists, six steals and six blocked shots.

“Jamie continues to improve,” coach Trevor Woodruff said. “Against Delaware Valley, he hit a three that sent the game into overtime. I look forward to his continued improvement.”

Gibson helps Lions

Sophomore Maria Gibson was a member of two scoring relay teams for the PSU-Altoona women’s swim team at the Allegheny Mountain Athletic Conference swim championships. Gibson (Abington Heights) swam a leg on the 200 medley relay which finished third with a time of 1:21.87 and the 400 free relay which finished fourth with a time of 4:02.14.

On her own, Gibson was ninth in the 100 breaststroke (1:21.87), 10th in the 100 freestyle (1:01.66) and 13th in the 50 freestyle (28.50).

The Lions finished fifth with 96 points.