HS roundup: Here’s what happened in Centre County high school sports from Sept. 21-27

Here’s what happened in Centre County high school sports from Sept. 21-27:

Girls’ volleyball

Penns Valley: Penns Valley swept Central (25-20, 28-26, 25-14) on Monday. Stat leaders: Cammie Upcraft lead the team with 11 kills, followed by Ella Hadley with seven. Jadyn Butler had 12 digs and three aces, while Anna Butler also had three aces. Hailey Coursen had 20 assists.

BEA: Bald Eagle Area started its week out on the right foot with a 3-1 win (15-25, 25-17, 25-17, and 25-23) over West Branch on Monday. Stat leaders were: Claire Andrews with 12 kills, while hitting .400, Maddie Perry added nine kills and Brynne Bisel had eight. Perry also contributed five aces. Madison Eckley handed out 32 assists while Lexi Skripek had 15 digs, Perry had 14, and Kristen Onder had 10.

Penns Valley: Penns Valley swept Clearfield (25-9, 25-12, 25-20) on Tuesday. Stat leaders: Jadyn Butler led the team with 17 digs, while Hailey Coursen and Jullia Emel each had 10 assists. Cammie Upcraft had 10 kills and Ella Hadley had six.

P-O: Philipsburg-Osceola swept Huntingdon (25-15, 25-10, 25-10) on Tuesday to improve to 3-0. State leaders: Kalista Butler had 18 assists, 13 service points and six aces; Reese Hazelton had 10 kills and 13 digs; and London Cutler had 10 digs.

BEA: Bald Eagle Area topped Tyrone 3-2 in dramatic fashion Tuesday. State leaders were: Maddie Perry with 16 kills, Brynne Bisel with nine kills, and Claire Andrews with eight. Madison Eckley controlled the offense with 42 assists. Lexi Skripek led the defensive effort with 20 digs. Bisel added 16 digs, Eckley had 11, and Kristen Onder 10. Skripek also contributed three aces, and Bisel had two.

St. Joe’s: St. Joseph’s Catholic Academy fell in three sets (18-25, 14-25, 18-25) to Moshannon Valley on Wednesday. Freshman middle hitter Lizzie Weller and senior outside hitter Morgan Wolf each had 3 aces. Wolf lead the offensive effort with 4 kills. “The young Wolfpack team brought a strong service game to the Damsels, but struggled to pass consistently, which ultimately took its toll,” St. Joe’s coach Cori Donaghy said.

Penns Valley: Penns Valley beat Tyrone in four sets (25-12, 25-20,17-25, 25-11) on Wednesday. Stat leaders: Jadyn Butler had 25 digs, while Hailey Coursen had 14 digs and Anna Butler had 11. Coursen also had 25 assists. Cameron Upcraft had 10 kills and Kailen Winkelblech had 8 kills. Upcraft added 7.5 blocks.

BEA: Bald Eagle Area had a record day Thursday when the Eagles topped Bellefonte in three sets (25-23, 25-20, 25-23) for their record 80th consecutive Mountain League win. The Eagles have not lost a league match since October 2014. Stat leaders were: Maddie Perry with 10 kills and two aces; Claire Andrews with nine kills, and Brynne Bisel with seven kills. Madison Eckley had 34 assists. Defensively, Lexi Skripek dominated with 28 digs, Bisel had 12, while Perry and Kristen Onder had 10 digs each.

St. Joe’s: St. Joseph’s Catholic Academy fell 3-0 to Central Mountain on Thursday, falling to 1-2 on the season. “We definitely learned from this one,” coach Cori Donaghy said of her young team. “In the middle of rallies, I saw players have several ‘a-ha’ moments — like they were finally getting why we work on the things we do in practice; how it all applies to match play. Regardless of the final score, that was good to see.”

P-O: P-O swept Clearfield in three sets (25-14, 25-8, 25-14) to improve to 4-0. Stat leaders: Kalista Butler with 32 assists and two aces; Janey Johnson with 10 service points, two aces and nine digs; Reese Hazelton with 19 kills and eight digs; and Jayden Perks with eight kills.

BEA: Bald Eagle Area topped off a 4-0 week with a 3-0 sweep (25-17, 25-16, 25-20) of Central Mountain on Saturday. Stat leaders: Madison Eckley had a team-high 30 assists and two aces; Kristen Onder and Maddie Perry each had three aces; Perry added 10 kills, while Brynne Bisel and Claire Andrews had nine apiece. Andrews also had a season-high five blocks.

Cross country

Bellefonte boys vs. BEA and Altoona: Bellefonte topped BEA 15-50 and lost to Altoona 26-31 in a tri-meet on Tuesday at the Red Raiders’ home course. Austin Melius paced the Red Raiders, finishing first in 17:58, followed by teammate Chase Ebeling in 18:09. The top runner for BEA was Colton Wagner, who finished in 21:33.

Bellefonte girls vs. BEA and Altoona: Bellefonte topped BEA 15-50 and Altoona 23-35 on Tuesday. The Red Raiders were led by Kate Rarrick, who placed first in 21:32. Also finishing in the top five were for Bellefonte were Mia Elmore, fourth in 22:26 and Mykayla Cole, fifth in 23:34. The top runner for BEA was Raelyn McGonigal, who finished in 28:48.

Penns Valley boys vs. P-O: Penns Valley ran to a 16-42 win over Philipsburg-Osceola on Tuesday. PV’s Thad Smith led the pack to finish in 16:43. He was followed by Colton Sands in 16:58, Simon Smith in 17:39 and Daniel Kelly in 17:40. P-O’s Chad Muckey rounded out the top 5 in 17:50.

Penns Valley girls vs. P-O: Penns Valley ran to a 15-43 win over P-O on Tuesday. Kelsey Hull led the way for the Rams running a personal best of 19:45. Rounding out the scoring for the win were Anna Stitzer (20:31), Alexis Durn (21:07), Danielle Fetterolf (22:01), and Abby Stitzer (23:05). “The girls are really coming together as a team this season,” coach Lynda Federinko said. “Their dedication to improving their performances with each race is amazing.”

St. Joe’s boys: St. Joe’s placed fifth as a team in Class 1A Saturday at the 14th Annual PIAA Foundation Invitational in Hershey. The Wolfpack was led by senior Jonah Clark, who placed 16th in 19:25. Also finishing in the top 30 were Asa Reynolds (20th), Josh Hyman (21st), Colin Simander (28th) and Anthony Woomer (38th)

St. Joe’s girls: St. Joe’s came in first place in Class 1A Saturday at the Annual PIAA Foundation Invitational in Hershey by placing five runners in the top 25. Kathleen Simander led the way, placing seventh in 22:26. Amber Fisher was ninth in 22:35, Evelyn Reynolds 11th in 22:49, Camryn Eby 13th in 22:19, and Kate Youngmark 22nd in 22:43.

Penns Valley girls: Penns Valley placed second in Class 1A, following St. Joe’s, on Saturday at the annual Foundation Invitational in Hershey. The Rams placed three runners in the top 10 in Kelsey Hull, second in 21:04, Anna Stitzer fourth in 21:30 and Alexis Durn sixth in 21:38. Danielle Fetterolf finished in 15th in 22:57. “The ladies ran with a lot of determination and grit today on a very difficult course,” coach Lynda Federinko said. “Their performances continue to improve and the conclusion of the season could be very exciting.”

State College girls: State College brought seven runners to the compete at the PIAA Foundation meet on Saturday, and placed fourth in Class 3A, finishing with 135 points to defending state champion North Allegheny’s 94. The Little Lions were paced by sophomore Marlee Kwasnica, who finished ninth in 20:00. Jordan Reed came in a few seconds behind in 20:04 to place 11th, and Karsyn Kane was 25th in 20:54.

State College vs. Bellefonte girls: State College earned its first win of the season Saturday by defeating Bellefonte 21-40. The Red Raiders’ Kate Rarrick ran to a first-place finish in 20:38. In second was State High sophomore Ava Langelaan with a 21:06, followed close behind in third by teammate Natalie Koncoski in 21:07. Rounding out the top five were State College’s Molly Solo in 21:20 and Maya Ikenberry in 21:29.

Girls’ soccer

Grace Prep: Grace Prep fell 5-1 to Juniata Mennonite on Monday.

Penns Valley vs. P-O: Penns Valley shut out Philipsburg-Osceola 3-0 on Monday, out-shooting the Mounties 24-2. The Rams improve to 3-0 on the season and 2-0 in Mountain League play. Goal scorers for the Rams were Nikki Denger (assist by Scotty Dinges) 42:38, Katie Martell (assist by Katie Romig) 44:38, and Maria Lovallo (assist by Leah Beben) 51:43. Penns Valley’s Kylie Auman had one save, while P-O’s Paige Rishell had 11. “It took us a good while to get in the game tonight,” Penns Valley coach Andrew Beverly said. “And credit where it’s due, this was in large part because of a hard-working, organized, and well-coached Philipsburg team.”

BEA: Bald Eagle Area prevailed 2-1 over Central on Monday. Falen McHenry scored both goals for the Eagles, assisted by Alex Hacker and Grace Wagner. Angelina Grieb had nine saves in goal. “Falen McHenry was a workhorse tonight and scored some really pretty goals,” coach Jared Moore said. “The back 4 were lights out and kept up outstanding pressure on some excellent Central forwards. Angie Grieb earned her first career win between the post making some very excellent saves.”

St. Joe’s: St. Joe’s fell 4-1 to Moshannon on Tuesday.

Penns Valley: Penns Valley beat Central 2-0 Wednesday to improve to 5-0, and 4-0 in Mountain League play. Goal scorers were Katie Martell (unassisted) at 6:52, and Nikki Denger (assisted by Abby Stitzer) at 22:59. Penns Valley and Central each had 16 shots. Penns Valley goalie Kylie Auman and Central goalie Katryn Longenecker had 12 saves apiece. “If we can keep getting performances like this from these girls then there is the potential for a great season ahead for us,” Penns Valley coach Andrew Beverly said. “But there is a long way to go and we have a big week coming up with four important games so we’ll keep working on improving from day to day.”

BEA: Bald Eagle Area topped Tyrone in a 3-2 double overtime victory on Thursday. The Eagles were led offensively by Falen McHenry, who had a hat trick. Maura Cingle and Grace Wagner each had an assist. Angelina Grieb had nine saves between the pipes. “What a great turnaround from the first half to the second half,” coach Jared Moore said. “The girls dug in, found another gear and finished strong.”

Bellefonte: The Red Raiders lost 1-0 to Huntingdon on Thursday. Bellefonte had 13 shots on goal, while goalie Emily Culp had 17 saves. The Red Raiders are now 1-3 on the season.

Grace Prep: Grace Prep beat Great Commission 6-1 on Thursday.

BEA: Bald Eagle Area defeated Juniata 3-0 on Saturday, behind a strong defensive effort and the work in goal by Angelina Grieb and Mackenzie Vozniak, who each had five saves to maintain the shutout. Falen McHenry scored twice for the Eagles, while Sarah Holler had the third goal. Grace Wagner and McHenry each had assists. “We had a very smooth game,” coach Jared Moore said. “We moved the ball very well. Our defense was lights out!”

Boys’ soccer

Grace Prep: Grace Prep fell 6-0 to Juniata Mennonite on Monday

St. Joe’s: St. Joseph’s Catholic Academy lost 3-2 Monday to Mount Union.



Penns Valley vs. P-O: Penns Valley topped an undefeated Philipsburg-Osceola 2-1 on Tuesday to improve to 1-2 on the season. The Mounties were first on the board with a goal in 3:34 by Gregg Paladina. Then Michael Johnson scored twice for the Rams, with a penalty kick at 13:40 and a goal at 32:28 (assist from Connor Martz). Penns Valley out-shot P-O 11-5. P-O’s Caleb Pellerite tallied eight saves, while Penns Valley’s Dristen Wolfe had two. “In the end, Penns Valley held on to preserve a much-needed win after the previous week’s close contests — both of which they lost by only one goal,” Penns Valley coach Ken Gore said.

BEA: Led offensively by a four-goal effort from Shane Eveleth, Bald Eagle Area topped Central 5-2 on Tuesday. Eveleth assisted Parker Quick on the other goal. Carter Stere added three assists, and Dillon Barnyak had one.

Bellefonte: Bellefonte topped Clearfield 7-1 on Tuesday. Bellefonte goal scorers were Colson Michael (assisted by Hayden Walker), Walker (assisted by Harry Horner), Walker (assisted by Noah Gadsby), Michael (pk), Walker (unassisted), Gadsby (unassisted) and Gabe Koller (assisted by Matt Uchneat).

Grace Prep: Grace Prep fell 6-1 to Belleville Mennonite on Wednesday.

Penns Valley: Penns Valley topped Central 2-0 on Wednesday to improve to 2-2 on the season. Scoring for the Rams were Michael Johnson at 42:42 and Jack O’Donald (assisted by Aidan Culver) at 61:07. Penns Valley outshot Central 17-3. Penns Valley goalkeeper Dristen Wolfe and Central’s Zeb Wyant each had two saves. “It wasn’t pretty, but it was another critical W for us,” Rams coach Ken Gore said. “We had a streak going the wrong way last week and we’ve totally flipped it around this week to get back to .500.”

Grace Prep: Grace Prep beat Great Commission 5-2 on Thursday.

St. Joe’s: The Wolfpack lost 3-0 to West Branch on Thursday.

BEA: Tyrone’s offense was too much for BEA, as the Bald Eagles fell 3-1 to the Golden Eagles on Thursday. BEA’s lone goal scorer was Shane Eveleth.

Bellefonte vs. P-O: Bellefonte topped P-O 3-1 on Thursday. Bellefonte goals were scored by Dan Persiko (unassisted), AJ Packer (assisted by Persiko) and Mintesinot Borst (assisted by Persiko).

Boys’ golf

Mountain League match: P-O’s Chad Frank was the medalist in the final regular season match of the year on Tuesday, shooting a 74. BEA’s Luke Barnhart was third with a 79. Tyrone won the team race with 325, followed by P-O with 351, and a tie for third between Bellefonte and Huntingdon with 353. BEA placed seventh with 392, and Penns Valley eighth with 426.

District 6 Class 3A Sectionals: Five golfers from State College and one from Bellefonte advanced Thursday to the District Championships. State College’s John Olsen shot 75 to place second. State College’s Luke Janac was sixth with 80 and Jack McCaughey seventh with 81. The top 10 was rounded out by Bellefonte’s Isaak Bloom, State College’s Max Wagner and State College’s Thomas Hay, each with 82.

District 6 Class 2A Sectionals: A golfer from P-O and three from St. Joseph’s advanced Thursday to the District Championship. P-O’s Chad Frank placed fifth, shooting 81. St. Joseph’s Dmitri Cornali came in 11th with 83, Timothy Peters 14th with 85 and Noah Straub 16th with 85. The District 6 championships for Classes 2A and 3A will be held Wednesday at Scotch Valley Country Club in Hollidaysburg.

Girls’ tennis

State College: State College beat Mechanicsburg 5-0 on Monday. Singles winners were Quiana Guo (6-2, 6-1), Catelyn Janac (6-0, 6-0) and Marissa Xu (6-0, 6-0). Winners in doubles were Sruthi Ramesh/Kelly Steel (6-0, 6-0) and Rachel Buterbaugh/Madeline Miller (6-0, 6-0), as the Little Lions improved to 2-0 on the season.

State College: The Little Lions kept rolling with a 5-0 win over Northern York on Tuesday. Singles winners were Quiana Guo (6-0, 6-1), Catelyn Janac (6-0, 6-1) and Marissa Xu (6-0, 6-4). Doubles winners were Sruthi Ramesh/Kelly Steel (6-0, 6-2) and Madeline Miller/Rachel Buterbaugh (6-0, 6-1), as State college improved to 3-0.

State College: State College earned coach Jane Borden her 400th victory with the Little Lions with a 5-0 win over Mifflin County on Wednesday. Borden has coached the girls’ team for 28 years, and the boys’ for 10. Singles winners were Marissa Xu (6-0, 6-0), Sruthi Ramesh (6-0, 6-2) and Madeline Miller (6-1, 6-0). Doubles winners were Rachel Buterbaugh/Kelly Steel (6-1, 6-0) and Keya Ahrestani/Emily Zhang (6-3, 6-3). State College improved to 4-0.

State College: The Little Lions improved to 5-0 on the season with a 4-1 win over Palmyra on Thursday. Singles winners were Sruthi Ramesh (7-5, 6-1) and Madeline Miller (6-1, 6-1). Winning in doubles were Rachel Buterbaugh/Kelly Steel (6-3, 6-0) and Keya Ahrestani/Emily Zhang (6-1, 6-3).

State College: State College stretched its record to 6-0 with a 4-1 win Friday over Lower Dauphin. Winning in singles were Quiana Guo (6-1, 6-3), Catelyn Janac (6-1, 6-0) and Sruthi Ramesh (6-0, 6-1). The doubles winners were Keya Ahretani/Rachel Buterbaugh (6-1, 6-2)

District 6 Class 3A singles: Quiana Guo finished as runner up at the District 6 Class 6A singles championship in Altoona on Saturday. No. 3-seed Guo fell 6-3, 6-1 to Altoona’s No. 4 Morgan Stevens in the finals. To get there, she defeated Altoona’s No. 2 seed Isabella Frank ( 6-4, 6-2), Central Mountain’s Carolina Carpenetti 6-1, 6-1, and Williamsport’s Breanna Chicas (6-0, 6-0). Catelyn Janac also competed, going 1-1.

This story was originally published September 27, 2020 at 5:10 PM.