Sports briefs: Former Orioles minor league player to coach Wilson baseball
Wilson College announced in April that its list of nine Division III athletic teams will extend to 10 with the addition of baseball for the 2018-19 academic year.
Now, the baseball program has found its skipper.
John Poss, a former Division I infielder and player in the Baltimore Orioles organization in the late 1990s and early 2000s, will begin recruiting student-athletes immediately to build a team for its inaugural season in 2019.
Since 2012, Poss has led the St. Mary's Catholic High School program in Annapolis, Maryland, to a 123-28 record while grooming 22 student-athletes who would go on to compete at the collegiate level. Prior to taking over the program at St. Mary's Catholic, Poss served as an assistant coach at his high school alma mater, DeMatha Catholic, where he helped lead the powerhouse program to two Maryland State Private School championships.
"I'm looking forward to begin recruiting immediately," Poss said. "I will be looking for student athletes that are a good fit for Wilson College both on and off of the field. The players who I will be targeting, will love the game, are great teammates, and that believe in the team first philosophy."
Poss was removed from his position as head coach at St. Mary's in April. There was no official word from the school's athletic director as to why the decision was made mid-season.
The Wilson College baseball team will play its first game under Poss in the spring of 2019 at the historic Henninger Field.
Bartlett named to PSAC Top 10 squad: Shippensburg University senior Caleb Bartlett of Greencastle was named to the 2016-17 PSAC Spring Top 10 squad.
Bartlett, a criminal justice major and coaching minor, graduated summa cum laude on May 13, receiving his bachelor's degree with a final cumulative grade-point average of 3.809. Bartlett also received a PSAC Top 10 honor last winter.
To be a candidate for the PSAC Top 10 Awards, a student-athlete must achieve a minimum of a 3.50 cumulative GPA and be a starter or key reserve on a PSAC athletic team.
His throw of 204-2 in the 2017 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships earned him sixth place and All-American First-Team honors. His throw improved his own school record, and made him the first All-American hammer thrower in school history.
In May, Bartlett was named to the Academic All-District™ 2 NCAA Division II Track & Field Team. Bartlett is among those in the consideration for Academic All-America honors, which will be announced Thursday.
Osanitsch sweeps PSAC outdoor honors: Shippensburg University’s Dave Osanitsch was named the 2017 PSAC Men’s and Women's Outdoor Track & Field Head Coach of the Year, marking the eighth consecutive year that he has been recognized for both awards.
Osanitsch guided the men's team to its PSAC-record ninth straight conference championship, posting a 56.5-point margin of victory. And he led the women's team to its eighth consecutive conference championship in May, allowing the Raiders to capture a PSAC Women’s Cross Country/Track & Field Triple Crown (championships in all three sports) for the first time since 2012. SU is the only PSAC school to ever win a PSAC Women’s Triple Crown, and has now done so four times.