PA – Central Athletic League | Archive | December, 2019

First Team

Duncan Riegler, Haverford: The junior defender was the anchor to a Fords defense that returned the program to the District 1 Class 4A playoffs for a second straight year. Reigler, an All-Central pick, was the biggest part of that, literally and figuratively, thanks to his aerial prowess. The Fords kept four clean sheets on the season, including a draw with PIAA Class 3A finalist Strath Haven in the regular season. Haverford also upset Conestoga, 3-2, and battled but couldn’t quite break through in a 1-0 loss to Abington in the first round of districts.

Jake Lee, Radnor: The Raiders faced wholesale changes at the back this season after making the PIAA Class 4A final last fall, but Lee’s leadership made it a seamless transition. The All-Central selection was the team’s MVP, leading the Raiders to 11 clean sheets in a 12-win season and a home game as the seventh seed in the district tournament. Lee, a converted midfielder who’s played all over the pitch in his high school career, added four goals, including game-winners against Penncrest and Downingtown East.

Ethan Hensinger, Garnet Valley: The senior helped control the middle of the pitch for the Jaguars, becoming one of the most solid two-way midfielders in the Central League. As the Jags’ pivot, he contributed five goals and nine assists for the season. That included an epic five-assist game in a victory over Marple Newtown as Garnet Valley finished 9-7 on the season, just outside of the playoff spots in District 1 Class 4A. Hensinger was an All-Central first team pick.

Andrew Lowman, Strath Haven: The junior was part of a stellar midfield for the Panthers, which guided them to a district title and state final for the second straight year. Lowman, who played significant minutes as a sophomore, stepped up his role this year, tallying six goals and five assists, all from a deeper-lying position than his running mate, Emmet Young. Lowman starred in the state semifinal against Archbishop Wood, setting up both goals off picturesque corner kicks. Lowman also scored the opener in the first-round states win over Susquehannock. He added a goal and an assist in an overtime win over Marple Newtown and scored twice in the regular-season loss to Bishop Shanahan, which the Panthers avenged in the District 1 tournament.

Emmet Young, Strath Haven: The senior midfielder was the beating heart of the Panthers’ run to a second straight District 1 Class 3A title and PIAA runner-up finish. Young led the Panthers’ attack with 10 goals and 12 assists. His penalty kick in extra time decided the District 1 final, a 2-1 victory over Holy Ghost Prep, after he had set up Quinn Vandellos’ opening goal. Young assisted on both goals in the district semifinal win over Bishop Shanahan, a come-from-behind effort also in OT, and his free kick was touched home by Jake Hooper for the Panthers’ only goal in the state final, a 2-1 loss to Lower Dauphin. The All-Central pick excelled on the soccer field while serving as the kicker on Strath Haven’s district-qualifying football team.

Bobby Hydrisko, Sr. F, Radnor: One of the few returning attackers from last year’s state-final run, Hydrisko had a huge responsibility on his shoulders for the Raiders. But the All-Central forward responded splendidly, tallying five goals and nine assists as Radnor tallied a 12-win season and earned a home game in the District 1 tournament. He scored the only goal in a draw with Conestoga, had a goal and two assists in hammering Springfield and two helpers in a win over Downingtown East.

Aidan Tripler, Haverford: The senior forward produced wherever on the field he was placed, resulting in 15 goals, seven assists and the most votes in All-Central balloting among Delco players (third-most overall). He scored 11 of his goals in Central League play, including a hat trick against Garnet Valley and the game-tying goal as the Fords upended perennial power Conestoga, 3-2, in overtime. After leading the Central League in assists last season, Tripler led in goals this year, shifting to a more advanced role. He also scored two goals in a win over Penn Wood, helping the Fords make the District 1 Class 4A playoff field for the second consecutive year.

Second Team

Simon Bolinger, Jr. D, Strath Haven
Luigi Malo, Sr. D, Strath Haven
Kevin Fernandes, Sr. D, Penncrest
Ethan Emery, Sr. M, Penncrest
Keah Tobey, Sr. F, Ridley
Ben Engstrom, Sr. F, Radnor
Sheikh Sirleaf, Sr. F, Upper Darby

Honorable Mention

Garnet Valley: Matt Bowes, Keith Cressman, Lucas Cofone, Matt Neeson
Haverford: Evan Carfrey, Trey Emeno, Phil Udo-Inyang
Marple Newtown: Ciaran Corr, Ryan Gault, Fidel Inglis, Tommy Wenger
Penncrest: Brandon Cairy, Brian MacCurtin, Justin Potts, Cody Woolery
Radnor: Nick Lucchesi, Matt Miller
Ridley: Robbie Geddes, Adam Louriki, Pat Rudy
Springfield: Monsif Atify, Steven East
Strath Haven: Peter Boerth, Harris Hardy, J.T. Holstein, Jake Hooper, Charlie Shankweiler
Upper Darby: Alex Cueva, Majid Kawa, Max Peters, David Rodriguez

Haverford’s Aidan Tripler, scoring from the penalty spot as part of a hat trick against Garnet Valley, led the Central League in goals with 15. (Pete Bannan/MediaNews Group)

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CONCORD — Garnet Valley’s 2018-19 girls basketball team is immortalized all around campus.

There are District 1 Class 6A championship and PIAA runner-up trophies encased outside the gym doors. Once you’re on the hardwood, there are banners reminding everyone of the team’s accomplishments. The name Emily McAteer, the 2019 Daily Times Player of the Year, sits atop the list of all-time leading scorers in school history. Brianne Borcky’s name is among the 1,000-point scorers, too.

McAteer and Borcky are now playing at Loyola (Md.) and Drexel, respectively. The rest of last year’s starting five —Morgan Falcone (Immaculata), Madi McKee (Drexel) and Jillian Nagy (Elizabethtown) — are playing college sports, too.

GV finished 30-2 last season. The Jags captured their fourth Central League title in five years, won the program’s first District 1 championship and made it all the way to Hershey to play for a PIAA title. The Jags lost to undefeated Peters Township in the finale.

The greatest era of Garnet Valley basketball is in the past. Now it’s time for 2019-20 co-captains Abbey Anderson (senior guard), Liesl Dentinger (senior forward) and Courtney MacDonald (senior guard) to move the program in a new direction. Anderson and Dentinger were valuable contributors off the bench in the state final, along with junior guard and defensive specialist Kendall DiCamillio.

“What we said in the beginning was, it’s OK to remember what happened last season. You don’t ever want to forget it,” Anderson said. “But we have to remember to focus on this season … and we have to find our goals for this season.”

“It’s exciting and so different,” said MacDonald, who missed all of last season due to health issues. “We want to start each day with the idea of trying to get better.”

Dentinger learned so much from practicing against McAteer and Borcky. The 6-3 center/forward could become one of the most dominant bigs in the county.

“I’ve been focusing on taking control of my game inside the paint,” Dentinger said. “I’ve been focusing a lot on not only scoring, but getting more rebounds and overall being a bigger presence.”

DiCamillo’s clutch defense in the postseason saved the Jags a time or two. She has worked to improve her offensive games.

“I think a lot of us have the experience. Everyone contributed something last year, even if it was just at practice and our job was to defend our starting five,” she said. “It’s definitely going to be a big change from last year … but I feel everyone brings something to the team. It may take some time, but I feel the pieces are going to fit perfectly and we will be ready.”

Joe Woods enters his 17th season as head coach at Garnet Valley.

“This is teaching to me,” Woods said. “I love the challenge of a new group. … We’re going to work like crazy, but we’re going to have fun.”

Woods has high hopes for other varsity returnees, including junior guards Mikayla Anderson (Abbey’s sister) and Mary Rose Berry, as well as senior guard Gianna Preising.

“We are going to share the ball,” Woods said, “and a lot of players will have the opportunity to contribute.”

Click HERE to read the full article.

Garnet Valley senior Abbey Anderson dribbles at a practice this week. Anderson is one of three captains trying to rebuild the Jaguars after they lost all five starters from last year’s district championship squad. (Pete Bannan/MediaNews Group)

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Congratulations to the players in the Central League who were named Mini Max Award winners.

Liam Kirk- Conestoga

Jake Morin- Garnet Valley

Dylan Staley- Ridley

The 2019 Mini Max High School Award winners for the state of Pennsylvania were announced Wednesday by the Maxwell Football Club and President Mark Dianno. The 63 players selected are from schools located in Districts 1, 3, 11 and 12 in the eastern half of the state. Players were nominated by their coaches throughout the 2019 season and were evaluated based on a criteria that includes football performance, academics and community service.

The Mini Max Award recipients will be honored at a dinner to be held on Thursday January 9, 2020 at the Drexelbrook Catering Ballroom in Drexel Hill. The awards dinner is open to the public and tickets are available on the Club’s website www.maxwellfootballclub.org.

The Maxwell Football Club will select one player from the group of Mini Max winners as the winner of the Pennsylvania High School Player of the Year, which will be announced at the awards diner.

The winner of the Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware Player of the Year awards will be the candidates for the Club’s 34th Jim Henry Award as the Outstanding Player in the region. The winner of the Jim Henry Award will be announced as part of the Maxwell Football Club’s National Awards Gala which will be held on March 6, 2020 at the Tropicana Casino Resort in Atlantic City, NJ. The MFC will also present its collegiate and professional awards at this event.

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In addition to Runners of the Year Ava Crawford (Strath Haven) and Sean Garrett (Garnet Valley), congratulations to the following members of the All Delco Cross Country teams from the Central League.

First Team

Rowe Crawford, Strath Haven: A sophomore, she placed fourth at the Briarwood Invitational and was 15th at the PIAA Foundation Invitational meet before taking second place behind her sister, Ava, in the Delaware County Championships. She was runner-up at the Central League Championships, took 18th at the District 1 Championships, and was the county’s top finisher in the PIAA Class 3A meet, crossing the finish line in 29th place.

Liz Egan, Penncrest: A senior who earned All-Delco honorable mention in 2018, she placed fourth at the Penncrest Invitational, was her team’s third finisher at the PIAA Foundations, then took seventh place at Delcos. She was the 25th finisher at the Central League Championships

Maura Timoney, Haverford: A junior, she finished 20th at the Abington Invitational before taking fifth place in helping Haverford win the team title at the Delaware County Championships. She placed fourth in the Central Leagues and was 56th at the District 1 Championships.

Frank Brown, Radnor: A senior who earned All-Delco honorable mention in 2018, he took 28th at the Briarwood Invitational then finished fifth at Delcos. He placed 11th in the Central League Championships and qualified for the state meet by finishing 27th at districts.

Jalen Chin, Penncrest: A senior who earned All-Delco honorable mention as a junior, he was the individual champion at the Penncrest Invitational and placed 27th at the PIAA Foundations before finishing fourth for the team champion Lions at Delcos. He was third at the Central League Championships and took 12th place as Penncrest placed third in the team standings at the District 1 Class 3A competition. Chin was the county’s second-best finisher at states, finishing 33rd overall in boys Class 3A.

Mike Donnelly, Haverford: A three-time All-Delco first team selection and 2018 Runner of the Year, he won the individual title at the Abington Invitational as the Fords earned the team title, was eighth at Briarwood, and repeated as the individual winner at Delcos. He was sixth in the Central League Championships and took 33rd at the District 1 championship meet to qualify for states.

Josh Fingerhut, Haverford: A senior who also was named to the All-Delco first team as a junior, he took seventh place at the Abington Invitational for the team champion Fords, was ninth at Briarwood then placed eighth at Delcos and came in seventh at the Central League Championships.

Patrick Theveny, Penncrest: A senior who earned All-Delco first team honors for the third year in a row, he was sixth at the PIAA Foundation Invitational then took second place at the Delaware County Championships for the team champion Lions. He finished fifth at the Central Leagues and was 15th at districts, earning a trip to the state meet, in which he placed 40

Second Team
Katya Eruslanova, Haverford Fr.
McKenna Loney, Haverford Jr.
Katrina Miciek, Haverford Sr.
Meredith Schrock, Marple Newtown Jr.
Will Field, Haverford Sr.
Evan Fingerhut, Haverford So.
Benjamin Klinger, Penncrest Jr.
Owen Leonard, Radnor Sr.
Viraj Thomas, Springfield Jr.

Honorable Mention

Garnet Valley: John Colavito, Olivia Descovich
Haverford: Connie Katcavage, Patrick Lawson, Ava McAnally, Ryan Murray
Marple Newtown: Josh Noble
Penncrest: Jason Abahazy, Maddie Andersen, Patrick Kelly, Hannah Puckett, Josh Senackerib, Andrew Woolery
Radnor: Naomi Gross, Jimmy Kurtz
Ridley: Matthew Beinlich
Springfield: Andrew Fox, Paul Lombrano
Strath Haven: Paul Faggioli, Anya Hooper, Gwyneth Stach
Upper Darby: Denize Cisco

Strath Haven’s Ava Crawford, right, and her sister Rowe Crawford at the front of a dual-meet pack earlier this season. The sisters ran all the way to states together this year.

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UPPER PROVIDENCE — Ava Crawford spent the summer of 2019 at Long Beach Island in New Jersey. For motivation to train for the upcoming cross country season, she had younger sister Rowe push her to work harder.

Sean Garrett always will remember the feeling he had after the 2017 District 1 cross country championship race. He failed to qualify for the state meet and made up his mind that it wasn’t going to happen again.

Crawford, a Strath Haven senior, and Garrett, a senior at Garnet Valley, started strong and kept getting better as the 2019 cross country campaign went on. By the final day of the season, they had earned the chance to take part in their respective PIAA Class 3A championship races. Crawford had a disappointing finish at states in Hershey while Garrett became the only runner from Delaware County to come back wearing a state meet medal after finishing 10th.

For their consistent performances during a long running season, Crawford and Garrett have been named runners of the year as they head up the 2019 Daily Times All-Delco Cross Country team, which was selected by the Times after consultation with area coaches.

Joining them on the first team are Rowe Crawford of Strath Haven, Liz Egan of Penncrest, Lindsey Smith of Notre Dame, Theresa Trainer and Katie Till of Cardinal O’Hara, Maura Timoney, Mike Donnelly and Josh Fingerhut of Haverford, Frank Brown of Radnor, Jalen Chin and Patrick Theveny of Penncrest and Owen Maier of Episcopal Academy.

Timoney, a junior, sophomore Rowe Crawford, and Trainer, a freshman, are the only underclassmen on the senior-dominated 2019 team.

Ava Crawford is the fifth Strath Haven female to be named Runner of the Year, joining Melissa Frick (2007), Sarah Rutkowski (2008), Hannah Grossman (2010-11) and Grace Forbes (2018).

Garrett is the first Runner of the Year from Garnet Valley since Julie Karaszkiewicz (2003) and the second Jaguars male runner to earn the honor, joining Kyle Barnum (1999).

Running has been a part of Crawford’s life for many years.

Click HERE to read the full article.

Garnet Valley’s Sean Garrett and Strath Haven’s Ava Crawford are the 2019 Delaware County Cross Country Runners of the Year.

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HAVERFORD — Justin Burgess will always remember the final touchdown of his high school career.

The Haverford High senior wide receiver/defensive back intercepted a pass in the third quarter and sprinted 35 yards to the end zone.

It was Burgess’ second score in the Fords’ eventual 42-18 victory Thursday afternoon. It was Haverford 10th consecutive win against Upper Darby on Thanksgiving. The Fords lead the all-time series, 49-43-6.

“That was actually my first pick-6 in my two years of playing,” Burgess said. “That was a great way to go out.”

Burgess and the Fords seniors gave longtime coach Joe Gallagher a Gatorade shower after the game. The Fords completed a history-making campaign with 11 victories, including the program’s first two wins in the District 1 playoffs. Haverford (11-3) advanced to the semifinal round of the Class 6A tournament.

“This was our biggest week of the season and we all had our energy up for this,” said Burgess, who scored the game’s first touchdown 49 seconds into the first quarter, when he caught a short pass from Trey Blair and sprinted 27 yards to pay dirt.

“We all wanted to go out as one team. If we didn’t win this game, all that preparation would have been for nothing. We wanted to … go out with a bang.”

Thursday marked Rich Gentile’s final game as head coach at Upper Darby. Last December, Upper Darby athletic director Frank Nunan announced the school district would part ways with Gentile following the 2019 season. At the time Nunan noted in an email sent to the Daily Times that Gentile does “not share the same vision of the future of the football program.”

Gentile has been at the helm of the Royals since 1994. It’s anticipated Upper Darby will announce a new head coach as early as next week.

In a classy gesture, Haverford principal Pete Donaghy presented Gentile with a lifetime achievement award plaque in a brief post-game ceremony.

Blair and Upper Darby’s James Tuayemie were selected game MVPs. The incredible Blair, who will play football at the University at Buffalo next fall, set the team record for career rushing yards (2,776). Most of that damage on the ground came during his senior year. He became the eighth player in Delaware County history to eclipse 2,000 yards in a season, as he finished with 2,154 yards.

In the early going Blair was greeted by a stingy Upper Darby defense, but the most electrifying talent in Delco eventually hit his stride and dominated. The all-purpose standout finished with 258 yards on 26 carries with three scoring runs. He went 3-for-8 with 49 yards and a pair of TDs through the air.

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The junior center back, a third-year starter, was considered the “rock in the center of our defense” by Conestoga girls’ soccer head coach Ben Wilson, who added that she was “a huge part” of the Pioneers’ defense that posted 13 shutouts this season – three of them in the PIAA 4A state tournament, including a 1-0 win against District 1 champion Pennridge in the state semifinals – and that allowed only 16 goals all season, most of which came at the end of games when the wins were already secured. Offensively, Henderson often launched attacks from the back to spur Conestoga’s potent offense (88 goals this season), and took many of the Pioneers’ corner kicks and long free kicks.

Fun facts – Reese Henderson

Favorite TV Show: Phineas and Ferb.

Favorite Movie: Spider-Man: Far From Home.

Favorite Athlete: Christen Press and Christian Pulisic.

Favorite Team: Liverpool or Chelsea.

Favorite place to visit: Outer Banks (N.C.), Maryland.

Favorite pre-game meal: Buffalo Chicken Wrap and Sour S’ghetti

Person I most admire: “My Uncle Johnny because he was mentally and physically strong.”

Family members: Cherl Henderson, Shane Henderson, Jordan Wallace.

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Blair finished his outstanding senior campaign by rushing for 258 yards and three touchdowns in 26 carries, and throwing two TD passes, during the Fords’ 42-18 win against Upper Darby Thanksgiving Day. He became the eighth player in Delaware County history to rush for 2,000 yards in a season, finishing with 2,154. Next fall, he will play football at the University of Buffalo. As a junior, Blair was a first team All-Central League selection at both wide receiver and defensive back, catching 27 passes for 526 and six TDs, rushing for 600 yards and intercepting six passes. His father, Chet Blair, is a member of the West Chester University Hall of Fame (for men’s basketball) and was the head coach of the Shipley girls’ basketball team from 2000-2003.

Fun facts – Trey Blair
Favorite TV show: Friends.
Favorite movie: Friday Night Lights.
Favorite athlete: Jamal Adams.
Favorite pre-game pump-up song: Jesus Walks by Kanye West.
Favorite team: New York Jets.
Favorite place to visit: Outer banks, North Carolina.
Favorite pre-game meal: Pasta.
Person I most admire, and why: “My parents – they are my biggest supporters and I wouldn’t be where I am now if it wasn’t for them.”
Family members: parents Chet and Dawn, older sisters Kayla and Brianna.

Click HERE to read the full interview.

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