The Warriors aired it out on the passing of Jeremy Palm (Sr., West Lawn, Pa./Wilson), the receiving of John Kotarsky (Sr., Whitehall, Pa./Whitehall) and the punting of Adam Hostetter (Sr., Red Lion, Pa./Red Lion) to clinch second place in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Eastern Division with a 35-7 win over Mansfield.

The Warriors finished 5-1 in the division, their best mark since 1992. They are 6-3 overall and guaranteed their second straight winning season and 16th under 28-year coach Denny Douds.

Palm completed 16 of 26 passes for 210 yards including three straight touchdown strikes to Kotarsky or 3, 27 and 4 yards which broke a 7-7 tie. He was 13 for 120 for 174 yards in the second half.

Kotarsky had his third straight 100-yard receiving game with 122 yards on ten receptions. Hostetter punted seven times for a 48.4-yard average including a career-best 70 yard punt, all in the air.

Tailback Andre Castiglioni (Sr., Reading, Pa./Muhlenberg) tied his own school set last season with his sixth 100-yard game with 104 yards on 22 carries. He scored the team’s final touchdown on a three-yard run after linebacker Henry Breckenridge (Fr., Peabody, Ma.,/Cushing Academy) blocked a Mansfield punt to give ESU possession on the Mounties’ four.

Fullback A.J. Oliveri (Jr., Pittston, Pa./Pittston) muscled across from the one-yard line on the final play of the first half to tie the score at 7-7.

The Warriors dropped their season finale to Philadelphia, 1-0, leaving the team with a 8-9 final record.

Justina Woolf (Sr., Womelsdorf, Pa./Tulpehocken) was held scoreless, but finished the season with 18 goals and her career with 59 goals, second most in the school’s history, including 14 game-winning goals.

Ahmet Kose (Sr., North Brunswick, N.J./North Brunswick) booted in the winning goal with 7:20 remaining as the Warriors won their fifth straight Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference title and ninth in ten years by beating California, 2-1. He was named the game’s most valuable player.

Kose took a through-pass from Kamar Samuels (So., St. Elizabeth, Jamaica/Munro College) and slotted a shot into the lower right corner from 12 yards out. He also assisted on the Warriors’ first goal which was score by Tom Mustac (Jr., West Milford, N.J./Clifton).

Goalie Jason Land (Gr., Carney’s Point, N.J./St. James) gained his fourth straight PSAC championship game victory, making three saves.

In the semi-finals, the Warriors eliminated West Chester, 4-1, scoring three goals in the first 30 minutes on shots by Mustac, Joey Piscopo (Jr., Spotswood, N.J./Spotswood) and Samuels. Kose and Mike Lotocki (Jr., Langhorne, Pa./Neshaminy) had assists. Brad Konawalik (Sr., Brodheadsville, Pa./Pleasant Valley) added an insurance goal in the final minutes.

Freshman Natalie Weingardner (Fr., North Huntingdon, Pa./Norwin) set three school records in her first collegiate home meet as the Warriors downed Lock Haven, 174-85. Weingartner broke marks in the 50-yard backstroke (28.98), 100 back (1:01.05) and 200 back (2:11.83). She also won the 200-yard individual medley.

Both Weingartner and Heather Clouser (Sr., Wyomissing, Pa./Wyomissing Area) bettered the NCAA ‘B’ standard qualifying marks for the Division II championships in the 200 backstroke. Clouser was timed in 2:12.37.

Mikeala Thorne (So., Elkins Park, Pa./Cheltenham) won both the 100 and 200-yard breaststroke events while Jamie Miller (Sr., Northampton, Pa./Northampton) swept the 100 and 200 butterfly and Clouser won the 500 and 1,000-yard freestyles.

The Warriors also participated in the Bloomsburg Relays over the weekend. They won one relay, the 400-yard medley with a team of Weingartner, Thorne, Miller and Scott.

The ESU women’s volleyball team won its second straight Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Eastern Division championship with two straight victories over West Chester, 3-0, and Kutztown, 3-1, last week.

The Warriors finished 9-1 in the league, the same mark as last year. They will advance to the PSAC Final Four this weekend and will meet Edinboro, the PSAC Western Division runner-up Friday at 5 p.m. in a semi-final round match. Host and West champion Lock Haven will meet East runner-up Millersville at 7 p.m.

Setter Heidi Johnson (Jr., Mercersburg, Pa./James Buchanan) led the team against West Chester with 40 assists and five service aces in only three games. Jessica Nourse (Sr., Hanover, Pa./Williamsburg) made 14 kills, 17 digs and three aces.

Against Kutztown, April Mellott (Jr., Dover, Pa./Spring Grove) took charge with 13 kills, a .460 hitting average and 37 digs. Andrea Myers (Jr., Mount Wolf, Pa./Northeastern) added 16 kills, three aces and 22 digs.

The Warriors also beat Pace, 3-2, during the week with Mellott getting 22 kills and 22 digs. The team’s record is now 18-9, best at the school in five years.

The Warriors improved one place from last year in placing ninth of 18 teams in the NCAA Division II Regionals at Slippery Rock. Christel Hibbard (Sr.,Springville, Pa./Elk Lake) was the team’s top finisher, placing 46th of 138 runners in a 6,000-meter time of 25:45.

Other members of the team’s top five were Erin Coyne (So., Freehold, N.J./Freehold) 48th, 25:51; Heather Bjorndahl (Sr., Coram, N.Y./Longwood) 58th, 26:09; Nova Tindall (Sr., Lansdale, Pa./North Penn) 60th, 26:13, and Kelly Curry (So., Pittston, Pa./Pittston) 61^st, 26:14.

The ESU field hockey stunned defending champion and top-seeded Lock Haven, 1-0, in the semi-finals before losing to Bentley, 4-2, in the championship game at the NCAA Division II Field Hockey Final Four.

The Warriors finished with a 16-7 with runner-up finishes in both the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference and NCAA Division II tournaments.

The play of goalie Kelly Wagner (Jr., Elizabethtown, Pa./Elizabethtown) was the key in the upset win over Lock Haven. She made 12 saves, including ten in the second half, in posting the shutout, her tenth of the season.

Sara Gorman (So., Biglersville, Pa./Biglersville) scored the game’s lone goal with 10:10 left in the first half following a short pass from Kate Dideon (Sr., Lancaster, Pa./Living Word Academy). Shannon McCracken (Jr., Collegeville, Pa./Methacton) started the play as she drilled a free hit which caromed off the goalie’s pads to Dideon.

The Warriors fell behind Bentley, 2-0, in the first half and then, 3-0, before scoring twice in the championship game. Dideon and Gorman scored the goals with Michelle Butkus (Sr., Douglassville, Pa./Daniel Boone) and Meghan Furnia (Sr., Lancaster, Pa.,/Conestoga Valley) getting assists.

Wagner, McCracken and Rachel Miller (Sr,, Tunkhannock, Pa./Tunkhannock) all made the NCAA Final Four All-Tournament team.

Freshman Rob Lado (Fr., Ridgefield, N.J./Ridgefield Memorial) continued his fine late-season running as he led the Warriors in the NCAA Division II Regionals at Slippery Rock. Lado placed 38th of 137 runners in a 10,000-meter time of 36:00.

Mark Donio (Sr., Millington, N.J./Watchung Hills) was second on the team, placing 49th in 36:26, followed by Mike Loenser (So., South Plainfield, N.J./South Plainfield) 54th, 36:51; Mike Browne (So., Brodheadsville, Pa./Pleasant Valley) 67th, 37:14, and Mike Patrizi (Fr., Pittston, Pa./Pittston) 81st, 37:41.