Brandon Stewart, Lion’s Eye Staff Writer, bis5306@psu.edu
Penn State Brandywine has added track and field to its men’s and women’s sports lineup this season. This comes on the heels of the success of the recently added soccer program that went to championships in its inaugural season and the announcement of residence life—expansion is a theme.
With the addition of track & field as a club for Spring ’17 and positioned for future varsity status, Brandywine has officially added four programs in the last four years to bring the total sports programs to thirteen.
Each of Brandywine’s current varsity programs: baseball, softball, soccer, volleyball, cross country, cross country, tennis, tennis, and basketball compete as members of the United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) as well as the Penn State University Athletic Conference (PSUAC).
Two new coaches have been added to lead the runners.
Angela Fitch will lead the track and field program and assist as cross country coach. Having coached and mentored at the college and high school levels in schools such as Kell High School in Marietta, GA and Bowie State, Fitch brings a wealth of experience to the team. While at Kell, Fitch led the girl’s team to a third-place showing in the state.
Joe Frassenei will lead cross country and assist with track and field. He comes to Brandywine from Woodstown High School in New Jersey where he spent many years as girls’ track coach and as girls’ cross country coach. Fitch has mentored many student athletes and has run programs to benefit athletics.
Assistant Athletic Director Bobbi Caprice is excited to add another sport to Brandywine’s growing list. She said,
“It is an exciting time for Penn State Brandywine athletics as we have expanded to include 13 varsity sports. We identified track & field as having a large amount of interest among high school students in the area as well as those students already on campus. I look forward to watching our new programs and the athletic department as a whole continue to grow.”
The school hopes that more sports will bring more success and more students over to Brandywine in athletics.