Varsity Eight Wins Gold at Knecht Cup; Wins Second Place at MARC Championships

Stockton University continued its strong start to the spring season by winning gold in the varsity eight at the Knecht Cup for the first time since 1999. The Ospreys posted a time of 7:30.85 on the Cooper River and crossed the finish line first in the Women's Varsity Eight-DIII by a dominant 21 seconds in the field of six teams.

"Today was a great challenge for both the varsity eight and second varsity eight," said head coach Chris O'Brien. "I'm proud of our crews for executing solid race plans. They are starting to believe in their speed and potential. We know we have to be at top speed for the conference championships and we are excited for that opportunity."

Coming off the win, the Ospreys were ranked second in the Mid-Atlantic Region by the NCAA in rankings released on April 19. The second varsity eight was named MARC Crew of the Week by the Mid-Atlantic Rowing Conference for its performance at the Knecht Cup.

Bolstered by the program's first-ever gold medal in the varsity eight at the MARC regatta, Stockton finished as the runner-up in the Mid-Atlantic Rowing Conference Championships. The performance equaled Stockton's best ever at the MARC Championships, which came in 2021.

The Ospreys narrowly missed out on their first MARC title and NCAA Championship berth as they registered a team score of 35, which was just a single point behind conference champion Washington College (Md.), who earned an automatic bid to the NCAA regatta.

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Abraham Caps Outstanding Indoor Season by Competing at NCAA Championships

Stockton University senior Shahyan Abraham competed in the weight throw at the NCAA Division III Indoor Track & Field Championships, March 10-11 at the Birmingham CrossPlex in Alabama.

Abraham, who competed in the NCAA Championships for the first time in her career, finished 19th with a best throw of 15.35 meters. The distance came off the first of Abraham's three throws. Her second and third attempts landed at 14.42 meters and 15.33 meters respectively.

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Stockton Wins 14 Events in Osprey Open Home Meet

Stockton University hosted the two-day Osprey Open at G. Larry James Stadium on April 8 and won 14 events. The Ospreys took first place in nine women's events and five men's events at the meet.

Kayla Kass and Emma Petrolia won the 800m (2:19.58) and 400m hurdles (1:06.63), respectively. Kass and Petrolia joined fellow rookie Emma Conroy  and Lauren Maldonado to win the 4x400 relay (4:12.73).

Ashanae Morrison won the 100m (12.55 seconds) and teamed with Conroy, Khristina Washington and Kaylee Apple for a victory in the 4x100 relay (50.31 seconds).

Shahyan Abraham led the way in the field events as she broke her own school record and won the shot put (13.57m) to go with second place in the hammer throw (47.28m).

The Ospreys had the top two finishers in the 1500m as Cooper Knorr won (3:59.49) and Erik Ackerman finished second (4:03.73).

Brandon Shymanski crossed the finish line first in the 5000m (15:45.15) and an Osprey foursome also won the 4x400 relay (3:32.75). The winning squad was Ryan Fisher, Ian Adjangba, Joseph deBeaumont and Davis Wittenburg.

 

Stockton Falls to Nichols in NCAA Sectionals

Stockton University (24-6) saw its 2022-23 season come to an end with an 86-68 defeat to Nichols College (26-5) in the sectional round (Sweet 16) of the NCAA Tournament.

DJ Campbell led Stockton with a team-high 25 points, followed by Kyion Flanders with 20 markers plus eight rebounds in his final game as an Osprey. Flanders hit five three-pointers.

Kadian Dawkins ended his career with eight points, six rebounds, four assists and two steals. Rynell Lawrence grabbed a team-high nine rebounds and scored seven points.

Despite the outcome, the season was an outstanding one for a Stockton team that played to honor the memory of long-time assistant coach Bob Hutchings, who suffered a heart attack in November and passed away in January.

The Ospreys won 24 games, fifth most in school history, reached the NJAC championship game for the fourth straight year and advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament for the second straight season.

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Stockton Hosts Rowan in Strikeout Cancer Games

After sweeping three straight NJAC doubleheaders, Stockton University (15-13, 7-3 NJAC) fell twice to 15th-ranked Rowan University (29-3, 12-0), which is unbeaten in conference play on April 18.

The Ospreys rallied from a four-run deficit to tie the first game before falling 5-4 in an extra inning. The defeat snapped Stockton's six-game winning streak. The second game ended 5-1 in favor of the Profs.

The doubleheader was played in memory of Stephanie Allocco as part of the National Fastpitch Coaches Association's Strikeout Cancer initiative. Allocco was an All-American player at Rowan and assistant coach at Stockton before passing away from cancer in 2021.

Lilly James went 2-3 and notched an RBI in the first game. With an infield single in the fifth inning, James became the fourth player in Stockton history to reach 150 career hits.

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Swedlund Named CLC Scholar-Athlete; Five Ospreys All Conference

Five Stockton University men's lacrosse players received postseason honors from the Coastal Lacrosse Conference (CLC) in the inaugural season for the league. Graduate student Luc Swedlund garnered CLC First Team honors and was named CLC Scholar-Athlete of the Year.

Seniors Dante Poli and Ryan Anderson, along with juniors Reegan Capozzoli and Brenden McSorley, were selected as CLC Second Team.

The five players led the Ospreys to a 12-6 record for the program's 10th straight season with a winning record and eighth straight full season, not counting the COVID years, with a double-digit win total.

Starting all 18 games this season, Swedlund scored 75 goals with 13 assists for 88 points. He leads the CLC and ranks fifth in NCAA Division III in goals per game (4.17 gpg). Swedlund also stands fifth in the CLC in points per game (4.89 ppg). He was the CLC Offensive Player of the Week once this season.