HS roundup: Here’s what happened from Oct. 25-30 in Centre County high school sports

Editor’s note: Don’t see your team’s results? Be sure to send your results to cdtscores@centredaily.com for future inclusion.

This week in Centre County high school sports started out with a bang, as State College boys golf won the PIAA Class 3A team championships for the first time in program history, and State College field hockey defeated Mifflin County for the District 6 championship.

The week continued to heat up as Bald Eagle Area girls soccer and Penns Valley volleyball both had upset wins in district playoffs, and State College tennis ended its season after reaching the state quarterfinals. The week ended strong with District 6 cross country titles for State College’s boys and girls teams, State College’s Charles Endres and Marlee Kwasnica and Penns Valley’s Anna Stitzer, as well as a whole pile of tickets to Hershey for next week’s PIAA championships.

Here are some of the highlights of Week 10 of Centre County high school sports:

Cross country

District 6 Class 1A boys championships: After beginning the season without enough runners to register team scores at meets, Penns Valley’s boys cross country team put together a second-place finish at the District 6 meet on Saturday in Reedsville to punch its ticket to Hershey next week. Leading the Rams were McClain Reamer and Simon Smith, who finished 6th in 18:20.3 and eighth in 18:39.9, respectively. Dilon Reilly was 20th in 20:07.6; Vince Smith was 25th in 20:18.1; Matthew Wheeland was 37th in 21:39.1; and Matthew Ruoff was 56th in 22:57.6. Also punching their tickets to the PIAA championships were: Philipsburg-Osceola’s Chad Muckey (second in 17:32.0); Saint Joseph’s Catholic Academy’s Colin Simander (fifth in 18:19.6); P-O’s Scott Frantz (ninth in 18.42.5); and Saint Joseph’s Josh Hyman (13th in 19:28.70). Marion Center won the team race with 74, Penns Valley had 82 for second, and Philipsburg-Osceola and Saint Joseph’s tied for fifth with 127. “The boys team is young and watching them grow over the past few weeks has been exciting,” Penns Valley coach Lynda Federinko said. “Qualifying for the state meet is a dream come true for many of them.”

District 6 Class 1A girls championships: Penns Valley’s Anna Stitzer added another accolade to her already-strong season on Saturday, beating out two-time defending District 6 champ, Lauren Shaffer, of Portage, to claim first place in 19:07.1 in Reedsville. Shaffer finished second in 19:45.3. Stitzer will be joined next week in Hershey by teammates Alexis Durn (fourth in 20:51.1) and Abigail Stitzer (seventh in 21:12.9). Saint Joseph’s Catholic Academy placed second as a team to advance to the PIAA championships. Leading the WolfPack was Amber Fisher, who finished fifth in 20:51.2. Kita Chappell was 13th in 22:24.4; Evelyn Reynolds was 15th in 22:45.7; Brandi Carmack was 16th in 22:47.6; Abby Ridenour was 25th in 23:31; and Brynn Wright was 43rd in 25:38.6. Marion Center won the team race with 46, Saint Joseph’s had 74, and Penns Valley was fourth with 119. “All our athletes did a remarkable job achieving many of the goals they set earlier in the season,” Penns Valley coach Lynda Federinko said. “Anna had a fantastic race in less than ideal conditions and it will be fun to see how she finishes her high school career next week at the state meet. Alexis and Abby are looking forward to returning to the state meet and improving upon their finishes from last year.”

District 6 Class 2A boys championships: The Bellefonte trio of junior Chase Ebeling, sophomore Alexander Crist and sophomore Alex Mansfield punched their tickets tickets to next week’s PIAA championships on Saturday. Ebeling finished fifth in 17:24.6, followed by Crist in sixth in 17:30.2 and Mansfield in seventh in 17:40.5. The Raiders finished second as a team with 46 points, but miss out on a trip to Hershey as only the top team — Central Cambria (33) — advances in Class 2A.

District 6 Class 2A girls championships: Philipsburg-Osceola and Bellefonte runners just missed out on trips to Hershey on Saturday. P-O’s Jaylee Cook fell one spot short, finishing 13th in 22:58.2. Bellefonte’s Ashleigh Aukerman was right behind her, finishing 14th in 23:15.1. Not far behind were P-O’s Manna Potter (17th in 23:50.5) and Bellefonte’s Kate Rarrick (23:47.4). Central Cambria won the team race with 18 points. P-O was third with 109 and Bellefonte fifth with 127.

District 6 Class 3A boys championships: State College had a dominant performance on Saturday, sweeping the top three spots and placing four in the top 10 en route to a first-place finish as a team and a ticket to Hershey. Charles Endres was crowned the district champ, with a time of 16:47. Trent Dinant was second in 16:59.1, Tony Tzolov was third in 17:02.4 and Griffin Selber was 10th in 17:30.9. Sam Viglione was 13th in 17:48.3, Samuel Endres was 17th in 18:00.2, and Ethan Morningstar was 18th in 18:05.5. The Little Lions totaled 29 points, followed by Altoona with 71 and Williamsport with 85.

District 6 Class 3A girls championships: State College turned in one of its strongest district performances on Saturday, sweeping the top three finishes and placing six in the top 10 en route to a first-place team finish and a ticket to Hershey. Junior Marlee Kwasnica was crowned the district champ with a time of 19:11. She was followed by Amy Devan (second in 19:38); Grace Morningstar (third in 19:44.4); Chloe Poindexter (fifth in 19:50.9); Abigail Bigger (seventh in 20:29.6); Alex Antoniono (ninth in 20:47.8); and Natalie Koncoski (12th in 21:14.7). State College totaled 18 points, well ahead of second-place Altoona’s 64 and Williamspot’s 87. “Everyone stepped it up, pulling and pushing each other to turn in one of our strongest-ever district performances,” coach Rebecca Donaghue said. “The team came together and really showcased the hard work they’ve been putting in week after week. Finishing in second place for the past two years at the PIAA state meet has certainly made everyone hungry for more. Saturday will be a tough battle for another top two spot on the podium but this team has proven they can contend for it.”

Field hockey

District 6 Class 3A championship: State College shut out Mifflin County, 4-0, for the District 6 title on Monday. The Little Lions out-shot the Huskies 17-1. After a scoreless first quarter, Quinn Colburn broke open the floodgates with a goal late in the second quarter, assisted by Rachel Foster. Mckenna Burke stretched the lead to 2-0 in the third quarter, with an assist from Olivia Miller. Captains Phebe Herlocher and Leah Moyer put the game away on penalty corners in the fourth quarter, assisted by Moyer and Sydney O’Donnell, respectively. Molly Shreiner had one save in goal.

District 3 Class 3A playoffs: No. 10 State College knocked off No. 7 Manheim Township, 2-1, in an overtime shootout on Wednesday in the opening round of the District 3 Class 3A championships. State College controlled most of the play through the first two quarters of regulation. Hannah Garlin found the net first, giving the Little Lions the 1-0 lead heading into the half. Zoe Arcudi (assisted by Brenna Campagna) evened things up with a third-quarter goal for Manheim Township. Mckenna Burke and Leah Moyer both scored in shootouts, while Molly Schreiner stood tall in goal, allowing just one goal in the shootout. Schreiner had 16 saves overall, as Manheim Township out-shot State College 23-6 (18 on goal).

District 3 Class 3A playoffs: State College lost, 3-0, to Cumberland Valley in the District 3 quarterfinals on Saturday, ending its season.

golf

PIAA Class 3A team championships: State College’s boys golf team made history Monday by winning the program’s first state title. State College shot 292 (+8) to tie Fox Chapel for first out of a pool with LaSalle College (+15, 299), Central Bucks West (+16, 300), Dallastown (+19, 303) and Dallas (+45, 329) at Heritage Hills Golf Resort in York. The Little Lions beat out Fox Chapel in a playoff for the win. Senior John Olsen led the Little Lions, shooting a 70 to finish one under par. Maxwell Wager shot a 72 (+1), Luke Janac 74 (+3) and Joey Sabol 76 (+5). Thomas Hay finished outside of the team’s scoring by shooting 84 (+13). “This means a lot to us because we were the first State College team to go to the state championship, and to win it on the first try — by a pretty good score — means a lot to what everybody has put in,” Olsen said.

Soccer

District 6 Class 2A boys playoffs: No. 6 Penns Valley fell 2-0 to No. 3 Huntingdon on Wednesday in the opening round of the PIAA District 6 Class 2A championships, ending its season.

District 6 Class 2A boys playoffs: No. 7 Philipsburg-Osceola took No. 2 Richland into overtime but was unable to pull off the upset, falling 3-2 on Wednesday in the first round of the PIAA District 6 Class 2A championships, ending its season. Parker Matson and Ashton Crownover scored for the Mounties.

District 6 Class 2A girls playoffs: No. 6 Bald Eagle Area took out No. 3 Westmont Hilltop, 1-0, on Wednesday in the first round of the PIAA District 6 Class 2A championships. Falen McHenry shot the winning goal for the Eagles — a penalty kick at 62:03. The Eagles will advance to play No. 7 Juniata, which defeated No. 2 Central (1-0), in the semifinals at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at Bald Eagle’s Alumni Stadium.

District 6 Class 1A boys playoffs: No. 2 Saint Joseph’s Catholic Academy shut out No. 3 United, 3-0, on Thursday in the first round of the PIAA District 6 Class 1A boys soccer championships. Scoring for the WolfPack were Kyle Yangula, Spencer Gigante and Aedan Hall. Saint Joseph’s will play top-seeded West Shamokin in the district championship game on Nov. 4

District 6 Class 1A girls playoffs: No. 3 Penns Valley fell 3-1 to No. 2 Bishop Guilfoyle on Thursday in the opening round of the PIAA District 6 Class 1A girls soccer championships, ending its season.

Tennis

PIAA Class 3A Girls Team Tennis Championships: State College beat Cumberland Valley, 3-1, on Tuesday in the first round of the PIAA Class 3A team championships to improve to 17-3 on the season. Singles results were: Quiana Guo(SC) def. Nora Esach 6-0, 6-2; Kelly Steel(SC) def. Emily Leach 7-5, 7-6 (8); and Ashley Ross def. Madeline Miller(SC) 7-5, 3-6, 10-3. Doubles: Emily Zhang/Allison Norloff(SC) def. Via Odhagakumar/Mia Limida 6-1, 6-1; and Mariss Xu/Jordan Dye(SC) DNP match decided. “The team came out today and set the tone from the beginning of each match,” coach Jane Borden said. “All the girls are playing well and they are really focused. No. 1 Doubles played aggressive, solid doubles and dispatched a team that they lost to in the early part of our season. They all worked hard and they were ready to play today.”

PIAA Class 3A Girls Team Tennis Championships: State College fell 4-1 to Spring Ford in the PIAA Class 3A team tennis quarterfinals on Friday, ending its season 17-4. The lone winner for the Little Lions was the doubles team of Marissa Xu/Jordan Dye, which won 6-4, 6-4 to finish their season with a 22-1 record. Other results were: Mia Matriccino (SF) def. Quiana Guo (SC) 6-0, 6-1; Isabel Mejia (SF) def. Kelly Steel (SC) 6-0, 6-0; Caitlyn Krause (SF) def. Madeline Miller (SC) 6-1, 6-0; and Evelyn Majia/Alexis Luo (SF) def. Emily Zhang/Allison Norloff (SC) 6-3, 6-0. The season isn’t entirely over for State College as Guo will represent the Little Lions next weekend in the PIAA singles championships in Hershey. “The level of play at the PIAA tournament is significantly higher than what we see during our regular Mid Penn and District 6 competitions,” coach Jane Borden said. “It was a fantastic season for this team and the girls had many successes throughout the season. This was a tough way to end the fall season but we plan to continue to work hard and try to improve for next season.”

Volleyball

Penns Valley vs. Bellefonte: Penns Valley beat Bellefonte in straight sets on Tuesday, with scores of 25-20, 25-18 and 25-17, to wrap up its regular season. Senior outside hitter Kailen Winkelblech earned her 100th career ace for the Rams. Stat leaders for Penns Valley were: Winkelblech with 8 kills, 10 digs, and 5 aces; Cammie Upcraft with 8 kills and 4 blocks; Julia Emel with 22 assists; Maddie Butler led the defense with 16 digs; Ella Hadley earned 7 kills; and Brianna Bressler added 8 digs.

Bald Eagle Area: Bald Eagle Area hit a milestone in its final regular season game, defeating Huntingdon in straight sets (25-9, 25-23, 25-23) on Tuesday to hand coach Larry Campbell his 300th win as a girls volleyball coach. Stat leaders for the Eagles were: Ava Stere with 12 kills, Maddie Perry with 10 and Claire Andrews with 5; Andrews led the team with four terminal blocks; Olivia Boone had 18 digs; Megan Reese had 29 assists; and Maddie Guenot and Ava Stere each had 2 aces.

Philipsburg-Osceola: P-O swept Clearfield (25-11, 25-8 and 25-20) on Tuesday to wrap up an undefeated regular season (15-0 overall; 14-0 in the Mountain League). Stat leaders were: Kalista Butler with 28 assists, 11 service points, 2 aces; Reese Hazelton with 11 kills, Jayden Perks with 6 and Paige Jarrett with 5; Janey Johnson had 9 digs and 11 service points.

District 6 Class 2A playoffs: No. 11 Penns Valley upended No. 6 Marion Center in straight sets (25-15, 25-18 and 26-24) on Thursday in the opening round of the PIAA District 6 Class 2A volleyball championships. Stat leaders for the Rams were: Cammie Upcraft with 12 kills and 3 blocks; Kailen Winkelblech with 10 kills and 13 digs; Julia Emel earned 30 assists, 8 digs, and 3 kills; Maddie Butler had a team-high 18 digs; Ella Hadley had 6 kills and 6 digs; Ellie Coursen had5 kills; Laney Aston added 2 kills and 3 digs; and Brianna Bressler had 6 digs.