CLARION’S WELLS NAMED FIRST-TEAM PSAC-WEST

            Clarion University junior forward Ryan Wells (6-2, 210 pounds, Library/South Park HS) was named first-team PSAC-West in voting by the league’s coaches.

“We are all very happy for Ryan,” Clarion head coach Ron Righter said. “He had a very solid season for us, and it really started in the off-season with a lot of hard work. All that hard work he put in has been rewarded.”

            Wells averaged 11.4 ppg, 8.6 rpg, 2.1 spg and 1.7 apg while adding five blocks. He shot 48.1 percent (124-258) from the field and 70.2 percent (59 of 84) from the free-throw line, while helping Clarion to a 16-12 overall record and a 6-6 and fourth-place finish in the PSAC-West. The Golden Eagles qualified for the PSAC Playoffs for the eighth straight season, the longest active streak in the PSAC-West.

            “What makes Ryan’s numbers even more impressive is that he is built like a guard but played forward for us,” Righter said. “He was always going up against players who were four or five inches taller than him.”

            Wells ranks fourth in the PSAC in rebounding and steals and 30^th in scoring, but in conference play he raised his scoring numbers to 14.2 ppg, which ranked ninth in the PSAC.

            Wells, who is in his first year at Clarion, scored a season-high 15 points vs. Lock Haven while adding 20 against Edinboro and 19 against California. He had a season-high 14 rebounds vs. Penn-State McKeesport while adding 13 rebounds three times the last time against Edinboro. Wells recorded six double-doubles on the season including four in PSAC-West action.

            GOLDEN EAGLE NOTES: Wells comes from a true blue-and-gold bloodline … His father, Reggie Sr., who played at Clarion from 1975-79, is second in school history in both scoring (2,011) and rebounding (1,120), while his brother, Reggie Jr., was an All-American tackle of the Golden Eagles from 1999-2002 and was drafted in the sixth round of last April’s draft by the Arizona Cardinals, who he now plays for. Wells’ mom, Diane, is a 1979 Clarion graduate who received the 2003 Distinguished Volunteer Award from the Clarion University Alumni Association … Wells was a three-time PSAC-West “Player of the Week” this season.