Who is the Centre Daily Times’ high school athlete of the winter sports season? Vote here
Editor’s note: The Centre Daily Times will publish a weekly poll on Monday mornings for readers to choose the Athlete of the Week for the previous week of competition. Please go to CentreDaily.com and click on this story to cast your vote.
Here are the nominees for the Centre Daily Times’ high school athlete of the winter sports season, presented in alphabetical order. They were selected by editor Lauren Muthler and sports reporter Jon Sauber via stats compiled by the CDT or sent to cdtscores@centredaily.com, and by readers’ votes in the weekly polls. Vote for your favorite.
If you’d like to nominate a player’s performance for future weeks, or believe a deserving nominee is missing from this week’s poll, please contact the CDT via email at cdtscores@centredaily.com.
The poll closes at noon Friday, and a short profile of the winner will appear in Sunday’s paper.
Coen Bainey, Bald Eagle Area
Bainey was one of only two Centre County wrestlers to win his super regional championship. He won the 113-pound title at the PIAA Class 2A Western Super Regional and earned himself a place in the PIAA Class 2A State Wrestling Championships in Hershey. Bainey then went on to finish fourth in the state tournament for his first medal and finished the season with 25 wins.
Jade Castro, State College
Castro broke several individual records this season and earned multiple podium finishes at the PIAA Class 3A State Swimming and Diving Championships to close out the year. She was a part of the 200-yard medley relay team that set the pool record at State High, then re-broke that record and set the school record later in the year, before breaking both records and finishing second at the state meet. Castro also broke the home pool record in the 100 fly, the Mid Penn Championships record and school record in the 100 backstroke and the school record in the 100 fly. She also earned a second-place finish at states in the 100 backstroke and a seventh-place finish in the 100 fly to go with her second in the 200 medley relay.
Malachi DuVall, Penns Valley
DuVall was the only Centre County wrestler to reach the finals of the PIAA Wrestling Championships this season. The senior — who is committed to wrestle at Navy — advanced to the 172-pound finals with a 4-2 win over Southern Columbia’s Gavin Garcia in sudden victory. He fell in the finals by a narrow 9-7 decision. It appeared DuVall may have secured a pin — and therefore a state title — during the match, but it went uncalled. Second place was the highest PIAA finish for the senior in his four-year career. He also finished second in the PIAA Class 2A West Super Regional and Southwest Regional.
Amonn Ohl, Saint Joseph’s Catholic Academy
After dealing with injuries the past two years, Ohl again found himself on the podium at the PIAA Class 2A Wrestling Championships, finishing third at 138 pounds after medaling as a freshman. His bronze medal was his highest placement at PIAAs, and his second time finishing as a medalist in his four-year high school career. The third-place finish was the same place Ohl finished in at the PIAA Class 2A West Super Regional.
Brendan Scanlon, Saint Joseph’s Catholic Academy
Scanlon scored his 1,000th career point for the SJCA boys’ basketball team in January and continued lighting up the scoreboard for the Wolfpack. He finished the year averaging 20.9 points per game, according to MaxPreps, and leading the program to a 50-39 victory in the first round of the PIAA Class 1A District 6 basketball playoffs.
State College girls’ 200-yard medley relay team
The State High 200-yard medley relay team set several records this season and earned a silver medal at the PIAA Class 3A State Swimming and Diving Championships, where the Lady Little Lions finished third. The relay team — made up of Castro, Mackenzie Pagett, Maddy Koehle and Colleen Adams — set the pool record at State High in the 200 medley relay, then re-broke that record and set the school record later in the year, before breaking both records again and then finishing second at the state meet.
Grace Stem, Bald Eagle Area
Stem brought home a gold medal for the Bald Eagle wrestling team this season. She won the MyHouse PA Girls’ State Championship in wrestling at 140 pounds to take home her first state title. As the top seed, she earned a bye in the first round, then earned a fall in 37 seconds in the semifinals and another in 53 seconds in the finals for gold. Earlier in the year, Stem earned a big victory on the junior card at the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club event held Feb. 23. The Eagles’ junior defeated Elleni Johnson, 7-4, in the freestyle wrestling event. Johnson, who wrestles for Wyoming Seminary, entered the match as the No. 6-ranked wrestler nationally at 132 pounds.
Jude Swisher, Bellefonte
Swisher was one of three county wrestlers to earn third place at the PIAA Wrestling Championships. He was the lone wrestler of the three to do it in Class 3A, earning the highest finish of his young career. Swisher defeated Coatesville’s Nathan Lucier 5-0 in the third place match to finish his season and earn his second state medal. The 132-pounder also finished third at the PIAA Class 3A West Super Regional.
Ryan Whitehead, Philipsburg-Osceola
Whitehead became the first P-O boys’ basketball player to score 1,000 career points since 1999, while leading the team to several of its own accomplishments. The program — led by Whitehead on both ends of the court — hosted its first District 6 playoff game and advanced to the semifinals of the PIAA Class 1A District 6 basketball playoffs. He also made the Mountain League All-Star first team after averaging 16.3 points, 8.1 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game to lead the team while shooting 38-percent from 3-point range as the team’s starting center.
Zack Witmer, Saint Joseph’s Catholic Academy
Witmer earned third place at the PIAA Class 2A Wrestling Championships, becoming the second four-time state medalist in school history. The bronze medal marked the highest PIAA placement of Witmer’s career. He also finished third in the PIAA Class 2A West Super Regional.
This story was originally published March 28, 2021 at 11:14 AM.
