PA – Central Athletic League | Archive | March, 2014

CONCORD — The season opener for Garnet Valley and Haverford High Thursday was predictably sloppy at times.

It was freezing.

One team, however, came out smelling like a rose.

Fords All-Delco pitcher Bridget Newman had trouble gripping her pitches and threw more to contact. Good thing Newman had junior Sammi Donato behind her at third base, picking everything that came her way.

Offensively, the Fords were able to pounce on the Jaguars early on the way to an impressive victory. Haverford, the defending co-champion of the Central League, defeated Garnet Valley in six innings, 10-0.

Donato, who collected two hits, two walks, two runs scored, two diving stops, two awesome throws to first, a couple of “great jobs’ by her coaches and one RBI, didn’t worry about fielding so much as the other part of the equation.

“I just have to work on my throw,” Donato said.

The 6-1 Newman, probably the most feared player in Delaware County, gave Donato a friendly shove.

“No you don’t,” Newman said to her.

Including Donato, the Fords have a strong defense behind their dominant pitcher. Newman will improve on her season debut, which is a scary thought for the rest of the Central League.

“I felt pretty good, actually, considering I haven’t thrown the ball outside in a while,” said Newman, who is bound for Kutztown in the fall. “I felt pretty confident. My hands get dry a lot. I’ll pick up dirt when I’m out there and wear gloves in between innings. I just see what I can throw, what comes off my hand right (when it’s cold). I do what I can.”

to read the remainder of the article click here. http://www.gametimepa.com/delaware/ci_25436351/softball-donato-helps-haverford-cruise-past-garnet-valley

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It seems hard to fathom, but Friday is the official opening day for spring sports in Delaware County.

The treacherous winter weather has forced immediate changes to the regular-season schedule. For instance, the Central League has moved its openers, for both baseball and softball, from next Monday to Thursday.

Indoor facilities such as MapleZone in Concord are experiencing a boom in business as schools try to compensate for the lack of outdoor practice. Haverford High baseball rented out the tunnels in Citizens Bank Park for batting practice.

Overall, the relentless winter has impacted just about every local athlete playing a spring sport that requires a leather glove and aluminum bat. And we might not be out of the woods yet.

“We’ve been outside twice. We scrimmaged (Tuesday) at Shipley and we did very well,” Haverford High baseball coach Paul Bogosian said. “We threw 81 pitches in seven innings, and I was totally impressed with the way our guys looked. The defense was great, the offense was great. The pitching was exceptional. They have a turf, which was beautiful …

“It’s a real challenge. You try to be upbeat every day, and our guys have done everything I could ever ask of them considering the circumstances. They’re hanging in there. They’re frustrated and we’re frustrated as coaches, but the kids haven’t gotten too down or negative. I love our attitude and the kids realize that there won’t be much of a change to the weather until next Thursday, I think, at the earliest. I think we’ll start warming up a little finally.”

While the Fords do have a scrimmage under their belt, the majority of baseball and softball teams in the area cannot say the same. Tyler Kight and his Penncrest baseball teammates are doing their best to prepare for the upcoming season, but the poor conditions have made that a near impossible and frustrating task.

To read the remainder of the article click here. http://www.gametimepa.com/delaware-archives-baseball/ci_25387533/wicked-winter-throwing-curveball-baseball-softball-teams

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LEWISBURG — Wednesday night’s session at the PIAA Class AAA Championships didn’t go well for Ryan Freedman and his Radnor teammates.

For Freedman, Thursday morning could scarcely have gone better.

The Radnor senior recorded a time of 50.97 seconds in the 100 backstroke at Bucknell University’s Kinney Natatorium, dropping almost a second and a half from his seed time and vaulting into the A final of the event.

Freedman, who entered seeded 18th, jumped all the way up to seventh. His swim obliterated his seed time of 52.45 seconds.

Thursday stood in stark contrast to Wednesday night, when the Raiders clocked in the fourth-fastest time in the medley relay. But that time, which would’ve been a Delaware County record by eight tenths of a second at 1:33.33, was wiped out by a disqualification.

That disappointment, though, was the farthest thing from Freedman’s mind Thursday.

“Not really. That’s the past,’ Freedman said with a shrug of his shoulders. “We have to put it behind us and focus on the present.’

Two of his relay mates also atoned Thursday. Mitchell Gartland finished 14th in the 100 breaststroke in 58.49 to book passage to the B final. Eli Avart put together an excellent swim in the 100 back, shaving a half second off his seed to 52.49, but it was only good for 18th and the second-alternate position.

•••

All five of the girls finals Friday night will feature at least one Delco swimmer.

Fabulous freshman Summer Martin continued her forceful postseason by earning the 14th seed to the 100 freestyle finals. Her time of 52.66 was an improvement by almost a half second on her seed.

Teammate Frances Resweber also banished the demons of finishing 17th in the 200 free Wednesday to take the top seed in the B final (ninth overall) in the 500 in 5:02.36 thanks to a supremely composed and strong swim.

Those two joined Camille Jablonski and Katie Willis to finish 14th in the 400 free relay in 3:34.63.

Haverford sophomore Maddie Hart made it four A finals in four career PIAA individual events. She’ll be the sixth seed Thursday night in a stunningly deep 100 backstroke field. Hart clocked in a 56.58 Thursday morning. Joining her in finals will be Tatyana Smolyansky, who powered her way to the 12th seed from lane 8 of the final heat in a time of 57.72.

Smolyansky’s younger sister Sasha got the honor of winning her heat, the first of four in the 100 back. The time of 58.70 placed her 20th.

In the 100 ******, Delco will be represented by Ridley’s Gab Rudy, who went 1:05.76. She’s one of four freshmen in the B final.

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LEWISBURG — Frances Resweber was spent when she climbed out of the water.

It was the good kind of complete exhaustion, though, the kind that only comes with an accomplishment like what the Strath Haven sophomore had just done at Bucknell University’s Kinney Natatorium.

Resweber finished second in the B final of the 500 freestyle at the PIAA Class AAA Championships, good for 10th overall. But the clock was the true masterpiece of the performance, with Resweber powering her way under the hallowed five-minute barrier to clock in at 4:58.37, a personal best.

Not bad for someone who 12 days ago entered the District One championships with a seed time of 5:09.

“Even after Districts, (coach) Dina (Dormer) kept telling me I could go under five minutes, and I didn’t know if I could,” Resweber said. “Swimming twice in one day like this is really hard. But I just tried to keep composed. I know I can get in front of girls on my last 100, so I just tried to keep my pace.”

Resweber was able to methodically tick off 50 after 50 around her objective pace, hovering in the high 29s and 30-low.

The only damper was that she was touched out by three hundredths by Parkland’s Erin Jordan, who surged late and just nipped her to the wall after Resweber had paced the field for the first 450 yards. That was but an afterthought to Dormer, jumping up and down on the pool deck, gesticulating far more expressively than the usual hand signals she uses to communicate pace information to Resweber.

Resweber’s time was the fifth-fastest of the final, beating more than half of the A final. Her time was also faster than all but two of the morning prelims swim. She clocked a 5:02.36 to get the middle lane in the B final, which turned out to be a blessing in disguise in allowing her clean water to focus on her race.

It’s been a roller coaster week for Resweber, who finished in the first alternate position in the 200 free Wednesday, 17th overall. She definitively banished thoughts of that Thursday.

“I guess I got all the jitters out Wednesday,” she said. “The B final was actually better for me. I was disappointed that I couldn’t get a medal, but overall I think it was better for my swim.”

Click here to read the remainder of the article. http://www.gametimepa.com/delaware/ci_25341226/piaa-swimming-resweber-feels-fine-under-5-500

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Lower Merion’s JaQuan Johnson and Roman Catholic’s Shep Garner, longtime buddies and Chester natives, texted back and forth in the days leading to Wednesday night’s high-stakes basketball matchup.

“Shep asked me if I was ready for the game,” Johnson said. “And he said that Roman was hungry to bring home a state title. I told him, ‘You’re going to have to get past the defending champs first.’ ”

Thanks to Johnson’s terrific second-half performance, a deliberate offensive attack, and stellar defense, the Aces ousted the Cahillites, 64-52, in a PIAA Class AAAA second-round game at Archbishop Ryan.

The 5-foot-11, 180-pound Johnson netted 18 of his game-high 20 points after intermission. He was solely responsible for an 11-2 run that put Lower Merion in front by 10 (43-33) with six minutes remaining.

“It was me being a senior, and not wanting it to be my last game,” Johnson said. “My teammates kept finding me in the right spots.”

Johnson shot 7 for 10 from the field (6 for 7 in the second half) and 6 for 8 from the line. The floor general added four rebounds, an assist, and a steal.

“He was fired up, really dynamic,” said Lower Merion coach Gregg Downer, whose squad moved to within three wins of its second consecutive state crown and eighth overall. “He really rose to the occasion.”

Saturday, at a neutral site and time to be determined, the Aces (23-7) will play La Salle (21-6) in the quarterfinals. The Explorers advanced with a 49-43 overtime triumph against District 3’s Cedar Crest.

Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/high_school/20140313_Lower_Merion_rocks_Roman.html#He7VqEUWbfA8x6ze.99

Lower Merion's JaQuan Johnson (center) turns towards the student section as the buzzer sounds. (Charles Fox/Staff Photographer)

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If the road to the PIAA Class AAAA boys’ basketball state title really does run through Lower Merion, then powerful Roman Catholic found quite a roadblock in the Aces’ defense Wednesday night.

Shutting down District 12 champion Roman Catholic almost from the start and grabbing a 14-4 lead late in the first quarter, Lower Merion defeated the Cahillites, 64-52, Wednesday in the second round of the PIAA Class AAAA boys’ basketball state tournament at Archbishop Ryan High School.

Roman Catholic featured a Division I-bound backcourt in 6-foot-1 Shep Garner (headed to Penn State) and 6-foot-2 Rashaan London (bound for Drexel). Roman, ranked as one of the top teams in Southeast Pennsylvania, had some designs on winning the state title this season.

But against the defending PIAA Class AAAA state champions, Roman looked nervous in the early going, missing numerous inside shots (they shot 19-for-55 from the field for the game) and committing turnover after turnover.

Lower Merion senior guard JaQuan Johnson, who scored 20 points (18 in the second half), said, “The coaches really had us prepared, we looked a lot of film [of Roman] and knew the game of every guy on that team. We knew they liked to run, but we came into the game feeling like they were going to play at our speed.’

LM head coach Gregg Downer, whose squad since Sunday had looked at film of eight Roman games, said, “We didn’t want to play too fast, and for most of the first half we kept up a good pace [for us].’

Aces’ 6-foot-6 junior forward Jule Brown, who grabbed five rebounds in the first half (eight in all), scored the game’s first points off a rebound, then Steve Pendleton hit a trey to give Lower Merion a 5-2 lead. The Aces slowly built momentum, as Justin McFadden followed a Cahillite turnover with a basket to give Lower Merion a 12-4 lead with 1:35 left in the first quarter. Roman called a timeout but to no avail, as the Cahillites missed their next shot and Jule Brown scored to give the Aces a 14-4 lead near the end of the first quarter.

To read the remainder of the article click here. http://www.gametimepa.com/delaware/ci_25333312/boys-basketball-lower-merion-knocks-off-roman-catholic

The Lower Merion High School boys' basketball squad knocked off powerful Roman Catholic, 64-52, Wednesday evening in the second round of the PIAA Class AAAA state tournament at Archbishop Ryan High School. Aces, JaQuan Johnson had 20 points (18 of them in the second half). Photo Pete Bannan (Pete Bannan)

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LEWISBURG — Just 11 days ago, Joe Vannucci sat on deck at La Salle University wondering if his time in the 200 individual medley was good enough to qualify for states.

Wednesday night, the Ridley senior was jumping into Bucknell University’s Kinney Natatorium for the B final of the event at the PIAA Class AAA championships, the culmination of a wild ride to cap the Green Raider’s career.

Vannucci ended up going 1:57.62 in the finals, holding onto his 16th seed. But when Vannucci started his warmdown after the morning prelims, he sat 17th, on the outside looking in.

Not that he was all that disappointed. After all, Vannucci, who swam in the first heat of four, was only in that position because he clocked in at 1:56.81, a massive drop from his seed time of 1:57.63 from districts at a meet in which matching your seed was widely considered a success.

When Cumberland Valley’s Benjamin Johnston, who had clocked a 1:54.35 in the final heat, got disqualified, in stepped Vannucci for the chance at one more swim.

The times Wednesday represented a major improvement for Vannucci, who thought he’d plateaued in the event around the low two-minute range. In the homestretch of his high school career, though, he has, to use his word, “astronomically’ exceeded his expectations.

“It’s been fun. To think about it, since last year, I thought I was capped out with the 200 IM, but I was wrong,” Vannucci said. “The last 10 days, they’ve been fun, just spending time with all the guys coming here. And this in itself was just a whole different experience.”

To read the remainder of the article click here. http://www.gametimepa.com/delaware/ci_25332236/piaa-swimming-ridleys-vannucci-astronomically-surprises-himself

Ridley senior Joe Vannucci was satisfied to learn he dropped his time in the 200 individual medley during Wednesday's PIAA championships. (Mark C Psoras)

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HERSHEY — The greatest wrestling season in Garnet Valley’s history culminated Saturday night at the Giant Center, when All-Delcos Michael Marino and John Dambro bowed their bleached-blond heads to accept their sixth-place medals.

Marino became the Jaguars’ first two-time state medalist and Dambro’s breakthrough return to the PIAA Class AAA mats gave Garnet Valley another first — two state medals in the same year.

“This was, without a doubt, the best season we ever had,” Dambro said. “I definitely exceeded my expectations and we all had fun, did well and had a really close-knit team.”

Just how close was readily evident in their shocking hairdos — Dambro’s brainchild — which enabled the senior teammates/best friends to stand out in the crowded and chaotic arena, which hosted 840 bouts and crowned 28 champions in two classifications over three days.

“My goal was to improve on last year’s sixth-place finish here, but I went from last week (at the Southeast Regional) potentially a point away from not even getting here to medaling again,” Marino said. “So I’m pretty pleased.”

Garnet Valley coach Rocco Fantazzi was quick to spread credit for the program’s brilliant run, listing assistant coaches Keith Layman and John Conte among the many who helped bring out the best in the Jaguars.

On the list of accomplishments by the Jags were their Central League season and tournament team titles and a third-place finish at the Class AAA District One-West tourney. By finishing fourth at the District One Duals, Garnet Valley also became the first team from Delaware County to qualify for the state duals.

“Coming into the year, I thought it could be one of our greatest seasons ever or we could fall flat on our faces,” Fantazzi said. “It’s great to have both Michael and Johnny medal. I’m proud of them. Michael definitely deserves this for himself and what he’s done for the program, and he showed what he’s capable of when he doesn’t hold back and just lets it fly.

“Johnny proved that if you come up here and get a taste of this level of competition, even if you don’t medal your first time, you understand what it takes to get back here.”

To read the remainder of the article click here. http://www.gametimepa.com/delaware/ci_25305686/wrestling-dambro-marino-both-end-up-sixth-place

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HERSHEY — The drama played out for the Delaware County contingent on the cramped and chaotic floor of the Giant Center Friday, as the PIAA State Class AAA wrestling championships neared their conclusion.

Two athletes produced historic performances while the other ended his noteworthy career with numbing finality.

Michael Marino won his wrestle back to ensure that he will be the first in Garnet Valley program history to medal twice at states, while teammate John Dambro’s victory in the consolation bracket guaranteed that the Jaguars will have two state medalists in the same year for the first time.

On the flip side, Penn Wood’s Karon Lucas-Tillery bowed out of the tournament with a gut-wrenching 1-0 loss that left both the senior and his coach too emotional to speak right after the match.

Marino, already the Jags’ all-time winningest wrestler with a 146-31 career record, continued his recovery from Thursday’s stunning and controversial first-round loss by winning his second consolation match in two days.

Thanks to the vocal guidance of assistant John Conte, who successfully argued that Marino earned an additional two points in the second period and thus evened the score 6-6, Marino went on to defeat Spring Grove senior Zack Clingan, 12-6.

Marino acknowledged that Conte’s efforts following the second-period flurry enabled him to gain confidence and that becoming Garnet Valley’s first two-time medalist gave him “a good feeling.” But the senior also was emphatic that this trip end Saturday even better than last year’s sixth-place finish.

“It’s a little bit of a relief, knowing that I have at least medaled, but I’m not satisfied,” Marino said. “When I lost the chance to win the title, my main goal became to place higher than sixth.”

Marino also added to his family legacy of performing well at states, which includes brother Joseph Marino, who finished fourth at 140 in 2010.

Jaguars coach Rocco Fantazzi pointed out that Marino had been down this road before, battling back from early tournament setbacks last year at states and even last week at the Southeast Region.

“Michael is a wrestler who gets better as the day goes on,” Fantazzi said. “Wrestle backs build a lot of heart, a lot of character and a lot of determination. It’s a good trait to have, knowing that you’re physically tough and mentally strong to not give up when your back’s against the wall.”

After opening with an impressive third-period pin Thursday, Dambro had to show some of that same fortitude in bouncing back from a 6-1 loss to Big Spring senior Cody Seibert in Friday afternoon’s quarterfinals. Dambro did just that in a second-round consolation as he out-muscled Calvin O’Farrell, running out to a 9-0 lead over the senior from Chambersburg before settling for a 10-6 victory.

By advancing, Dambro became Garnet Valley’s fifth state medalist, joining the Marino brothers, Pat O’Brien (second at 125 in 2011) and Matt Idelson (fifth at 215 in 2011).

Saturday’s third-round consolations will pit Marino against Belle Vernon Area’s Brendan Hasson while Dambro will hook up with Connor Martinez of Dallas.

To read the remainder of the article click here. http://www.gametimepa.com/delaware/ci_25300494/wrestling-marino-dambro-bringing-back-medals-garnet-valley

Garnet Valley's Michael Marino grapples with Zach Clingan of Spring Grove in his 12-6 consolation win Friday at the PIAA wrestlingchampionships.

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The Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame’s Delaware County Chapter will honor six student-athletes at its winter awards luncheon Tuesday, March 18, at Barnaby’s of Ridley Township.

Basketball players Erin Burke of Haverford High, Haley Sipple of Chichester and Chester High’s Tyrell Sturdivant, track and field athletes James Belfatto of Cardinal O’Hara and Christina Holmes of Penn Wood, and wrestler Scott Pendell of Delaware County Christian School will be honored for their success in and out of the classroom.

Former Eagles linebacker Bill Bergey will be the guest speaker at the luncheon, which begins at noon and is open to the public. Tickets are $25, and reservations can be made by contacting Delaware County Chapter president Frank May at (610) 457-0028 by Friday.

Erin Burke ranks near the top of her class academically, is a member of the National Honor Society and National Business Honor Society, and has completed a number of Advanced Placement courses.

She works at the Sacred Heart Parish Center, has helped with the Aids Walk and Heart Walk fundraisers, has volunteered at a local soup kitchen and the community music festival, and has been a basketball and volleyball camp counselor.

She has been involved with the Future Business Leaders of America, S.A.D.D., and the Interact Club. A starting guard for two years for the basketball team, she has earned Haverford’s TORT (tenacious, outhustle, relentless, team player) award.

Erin Burke, Haverford, basketball

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