McNulty
Avery McNulty alternated sports in a busy three-day stretch at Muhlenberg College to end January.
Competing between basketball games the day before and after, McNulty produced a high jump win in her collegiate indoor track and field debut Jan. 27.
It all made for a hectic 48-hour stretch for the freshman, two-sport athlete, a Scranton Prep graduate from Pittston.
McNulty had two points and two rebounds while playing 14 minutes for the women’s basketball team during a 58-43 loss at Swarthmore the night of Jan. 26.
With a morning quiz, then weight-lifting and basketball practice in the afternoon, McNulty wasn’t sure what to expect as she headed to the indoor track and field meet hosted by Muhlenberg.
“Qualifying for conference is only 4-4, but I’ve jumped 5-4 before, so I was pretty confident,” McNulty said.
McNulty did more than qualify to compete in the Centennial Conference championships. Her jump of 5-1¾ won the meet by six inches over three other competitors, was the seventh-best in school history and qualified her to compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division III regionals.
During the spring, McNulty said she will still work on her basketball game as much as she can, but he main attention will be on competing full-time with the track and field team.
The early chance to compete in track is something that McNulty said basketball coach Ron Rohn made easier for her.
“It has always been an option for me,” McNulty said during an interview on the halftime show of the men’s basketball game after completing the combination of three sporting events in three days. “Coach Rohn has mentioned in the past that if I ever wanted to do an indoor meet, he would let me.”
With the Muhlenberg Indoor Invitational, the only home meet at Deitrich Field House coming up, McNulty checked with Rohn again to be sure and fit in two practices with the track and field team before her first event in that sport.
McNulty was back on the basketball court the next day, hitting her only shot from the floor and both her free throws while scoring four points in three minutes during a 59-57, Centennial victory over Gettysburg College.
Muhlenberg is 8-7 in the Centennial and 9-11 overall.
McNulty is third on the team with 11 blocked shots while appearing in every game for the Mules.
The 6-foot forward scored in double figures three times earlier in the season and has had as many as eight rebounds in a game.
McNulty is averaging 3.3 points and 1.7 rebounds in 11.4 minutes per game. She is shooting 29.9 percent from the floor, 23.7 percent on 3-pointers and 44.0 percent from the line.
