SPARTAN SHORTS

The Women’s Basketball program reached two major milestones in a 57–54 comeback win at Albright on February 15. Graduate student

Kayla Ferris became the 17th Spartan in program history to score 1,000 career points and Head Coach Betsy Witman earned her 400th career victory.

JASON BADY ’20 INKED PROFESSIONAL CONTRACT IN PORTUGAL

York College Men’s Basketball alumnus

Jason Bady ‘20 signed a professional contract to play basketball for Beira-Mar in Division I of the Portuguese League located in Aveiro, Portugal.

Jason has been working toward his goal of professional basketball since his gradu ation from York College in August 2020.

Spartan athletes compiled 18 AllMiddle Atlantic Conference honors throughout the winter season. Kayla Ferris (Women’s Basketball), Jared Kuhns ’22 (Wrestling), Julia Pena ’23 (Track & Field), Dalton Rohrbaugh ’22 (Wrestling) all earned first-team honors.

Three members of the Wrestling team qualified for the NCAA National Championships in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Seniors Dalton Rohrbaugh (133 lbs.) and Camden Farrow (197 lbs.) each placed first at the NCAA Southeast Regionals, while graduate student Eric Hutchinson (157 lbs.) placed third.

Men’s Basketball senior David Giuliani was named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District 4 squad. Giuliani is a Business Administration major while also pursuing a minor in Biology. He is a five-time member of the York College Dean’s List and owns a cumulative GPA of 3.91. He also earned All-MAC Commonwealth honors this past season for his performance on the court.

Jason collected a slew of honors as he was the Capital Athletic Conference Player of the Year, an NABC First Team All-Regional honoree, and an NABC Third-Team All-American. He was the third player to earn the award at the time.

Spartan Men’s Basketball Head Coach Matt Hunter is thrilled to see Jason get the opportunity to take his skills to the next level.

“We are extremely proud of and excited for Jason,” says Hunter. “He put an incredible amount of ‘unseen hours’ into his game

YORK COLLEGE TO ADD WOMEN’S WRESTLING TO VARSITY LINEUP

York College is proud to announce the addition of Women’s Wrestling as the school’s 24th varsity sport. Work will begin immediately on the first recruiting class as the Spartans prepare to compete in the fall of 2023. Wrestling will be the 13th varsity sport offered for women at the College.

Women’s Wrestling has been identified by the NCAA as an emerging sport for women—intended to help schools provide athletic opportunities for women and sport-sponsorship opportunities for institutions, with the ultimate goal of achieving NCAA Championship status.

Assistant Dean for Athletics and Recreation Paul Saikia is happy to see Women’s Wrestling joining the stable of Spartan sports offerings.

“We are excited to be among those sponsoring Women’s Wrestling at the NCAA level,” says Saikia. “We look forward to being active in growing Women’s Wrestling, providing additional intercollegiate that hard work pay off. He bought into the program and did what we asked him to do to the best of his abilities. He did it all with dignity and class, representing our Spartan program to the highest standard possible.” athletic opportunities for women on our campus, and competing at a high level.”

“I am hopeful that I will be able to have a good season that allows me to continue to work my way up the ladder of professional basketball. My goal is to reach the highest level that I am capable of,” says Jason.

The women’s program joins a men’s program that is one of the most decorated in school history. The Spartan men have had 29 wrestlers earn All-American honors, including Head Coach Duane Bastress who won back-to-back national championships from 2005–2006.

Bastress believes the Spartans will be competitive immediately.

“The emergence of this program is something that I am passionate about and believe that we have the resources to become very successful in a short period of time,” says Bastress. “As a father of two young daughters, it excites me that they will have role models showing them that women can accomplish amazing things. Interest in women’s wrestling is growing across the country and I am eager to see our program open up new doors for female student-athletes.”

The Spartan Athletic Department will begin an immediate search for a full-time Wrestling Assistant who will support the women’s and men’s team. Bastress will serve as the Head Coach for both programs.

Three York College faculty members applied for and have been trained to participate in this original research program: Associate Professor of Biology

Wendy Boehmler, Instructor of Biology

Anthony Botyrius, and Associate Professor of Biology Meda Higa.

Starting this semester, Professor Boehmler and her colleagues are participating in the research program with first-year students in Biology, Environmental Science, and Environmental Horticulture. Because most antibiotics come from soil microbes, students begin their hunt for novel antibiotic-producing soil bacteria by heading outdoors to collect a soil sample.

Then, they isolate the diverse array of bacteria in the lab and test them for antibiotic activity against known human pathogens. Those displaying antimicrobial properties will be analyzed further by a series of genetic and biochemical tests to identify species of bacteria. The ultimate goal is to chemically extract the antibiotic and further test it.

“We pride ourselves in including all students in our research endeavors—it is part and parcel to our program,” Professor Boehmler says. “However, this opportunity is usually reserved for third- and fourth-year students. The Small World Initiative project allows first-semester students to be a part of scientific discovery from the very start of their academic careers at YCP. It is my hope that it reinforces their passion for STEM, which in turn can lead to better retention of our future scientists.”

Kendra Winkleblech ’25 was excited to jump on this initiative within the first week of classes at York College. She collected her sample near a water source, where there is often more diversity in microbes.

“I’m just interested to see if we could find a new antibiotic and if our class could really do something that makes a difference,” she says. “It’s already taught me to be more open to things, to learn how to work together with a team, and to know that failure is part of the process.”

Faculty in the Biology program have a long history of engaging students in scientific research.

Paul Vigna

Lecturer, School of the Arts, Communication and Global Studies

Lecturer of Rhetorical Communications Paul Vigna joined the York College community and brought The Spartan student newspaper back to life. He has a long history of working in the field as a sports and news writer and editor for various publications. He remains active in the field, currently working for PennLive

Through The Spartan newspaper class, students have the opportunity to explore areas of the College and topics that interest them and strengthen their writing and interviewing skills. They hold regular editorial board meetings to discuss possible leads and angles of stories. “We have profiled departments, students, and alumni, featured ‘best of’ lists of restaurants, coffee shops, and unique spots around York, and also covered games and focused on aspects of the College’s Athletic Department,” says Vigna.

He believes no matter their chosen field or career, strong writing, editing, and interviewing skills will serve students well. “They are asked to come up with ideas, interview both sides of an issue, and accurately incorporate quotes and other facts into something readable,” Vigna says. He also asks them to take photos, write headlines, and later transform that story for another platform, such as a podcast.

Passion for this work is something he instills in his students. “It’s the process that I hope students can use down the road,” says Vigna. “The curiosity to look for story ideas, the assertiveness to create and ask questions and follow up, and the organizational skills to take that information and turn it into a story.”  — C.H.