PA – Central Athletic League | Archive | May, 2021

CONCORD — Garnet Valley was three runs behind with six outs left in its District 1 Class 6A softball playoff Monday with underdog Perkiomen Valley.

It was awful. The 12th-seeded Jaguars were being no-hit and shut out. The errors that handed the 21st-seeded Patriots two runs were going to leave a mark.

Just when the Jaguars’ fate seemed inevitable, coach Alie Alkins called them together and ordered them to forget the first five innings.

In the time it takes to say, “are you kidding me?”, the Jaguars rallied to tie in the sixth and walk off with a 4-3 victory.

Garnet Valley advances to the second round of districts, where it will take on fifth-seeded Downingtown West Wednesday at 5 p.m.

“They were due for some hits,” Alkins said. “I was so excited for the bottom of the lineup. I told them everything that’s happened to this point doesn’t matter. It just takes one to get us going.”

The Jaguars (16-5) couldn’t have done it without Kayleigh Saboja, who kick-started the three-run rally in the sixth inning with a leadoff walk and finished the game with a walk-off single. That plated Emily Orsini, who opened the seventh inning with a single.

One of just two Jaguars that Ava Macalios failed to strike out, Saboja banged the first pitch to centerfield to touch off the celebration.

“I was being very selective the whole game and honestly, that was the first pitch where I thought, ‘that’s mine,’” Saboja said. “I was waiting for that pitch all game. So I was glad I was able to take advantage of it.”

Saboja kickstarted the fireworks by drawing a walk in the sixth inning. Catcher Annie Bechtold, who’d hit the ball hard all day, ripped a triple to right, scoring Saboja and warming up the crowd.

Pitcher Anna Sidlowski, working on a three-hitter much of the game, then sent a laser to deep center field that Brianna Reim got a glove on but couldn’t stop from going over the fence. Bang! It was 3-3.

“If she was an inch taller, she would have caught it,” Perkiomen Valley coach John Pascucci said. “That one inning things didn’t go our way.”

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Kayleigh Saboja, left, supplied a walk-off hit Monday, and Anna Sidlowski, right, hit the

game-tying two-run homer in Garnet Valley’s 4-3 win over Perkiomen Valley in the District

1 Class 6A softball tournament Monday. (Medianews Group Photo)

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NEWTOWN SQUARE — Jimmy Wigo admitted that the first inning of Marple Newtown’s District 1 Class 5A tournament opener wasn’t pretty.

The junior lefthander’s first pitch of the game was rocketed by Interboro’s Jake Finley for a double. Two pitches later, Wigo fielded a bunt and unloaded an errant throw to first base, allowing Eddie Boyer to reach safely and Finley to trot home from second. Another two Marple Newtown errors enabled the Bucs, who were heavy underdogs, to take a 2-0 lead before Wigo could catch his breath.

Wigo could have faltered at that point, but he bounced back from a not so ideal first inning to throw a complete game with eight strikeouts. The fifth-seeded Tigers lit up at the plate and pounded No. 12 Interboro, 14-2, in five innings.

Marple Newtown will travel to No. 4 Phoenixville for a quarterfinal round game Wednesday.

“The first inning was a struggle, so I knew I needed to make an adjustment. I needed to throw some more strikes,” Wigo said. “I trust my infield, I trust my outfield, I trust my whole team. So I relied on them to make plays and I wasn’t worried about myself.”

First-year head coach Rick Zimmerman has seen a familiar script with this team. Three years ago, when the 2021 seniors were freshmen, the Tigers were a veteran-laden squad that peaked in the playoffs and went all way to Penn State University, where the club won the first PIAA baseball championship in Delco history.

Of course, 2018 is a lifetime ago in high school athletics. It’s all about the here-and-now for a youthful Tigers team, which is hoping to make its own history this spring.

“They’re young … and it shows at times,” Zimmerman said. “There’s a lot we’re still trying to work out.”

It helps to have Owen Mathes’ bat in the middle of the lineup. The senior third baseman and staff ace ripped an RBI single to get the Tigers on the board in the first inning. Mathes’ two-run bomb to left-center field in the bottom of the second gave MN a 5-2 advantage. Marple sent 11 batters to the plate in the frame, scoring five runs on just one hit (a cavalcade of Interboro pitchers had trouble locating the strike zone).

“I feel like we’re just getting started,” said Mathes, who finished 2-for-3 with three RBIs and a walk.

Mathes is the only Marple Newtown player who started as a sophomore in 2019.

“We’re a young team and a lot of guys are new (to the varsity). I think we had me and maybe one or two guys get at bats (as sophomores),” Mathes said. “We’re definitely still learning and trying to get better.”

After Wigo wiggled out of a bases-loaded jam in the second inning, he was in cruise control the rest of the way. He allowed singles in the third and fifth, but the Bucs never threatened off him again.

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Marple Newtown pitcher Jimmy Wigo in a game earlier this season. (SUBMITTED PHOTO)

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Harriton High School senior Nick Masterman finished first in the boys’ javelin throw at the District 1 3A boys track & field championships May 22 at Coatesville High School. Masterman’s throw of 169-11 was well ahead of the runnerup, Coatesville junior Rhyel Miles-Eubanks (165-10). Masterman has qualified for the PIAA 3A state championship.

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CALN TWP. — Eric Albright had a very simple strategy in the boys Class 3A 800-meter run at the District 1 Track & Field Championships at Coatesville Area High School Saturday afternoon.

The Maryland-bound senior from Garnet Valley decided he was going to stay with Pottstown’s Darrius Smallwood and take his chances. It was a sound strategy since Smallwood came into the event ranked first in the state, according to pa.milesplit.com.

Albright also wanted to keep an eye on Holden Emery of Central Bucks East, who came in ranked fifth in the state.

The only problem was the race did not start the way Albright expected.

“I thought it was going to come out really fast,” said Albright, who entered the race ranked sixth in the state in the event. “I knew Darius was really ******* these times in dual meets and stuff. I thought he was going to come out in a 54- or a 55-(second pace). He came around at 57-58, which was kind of slow.”

At that point, Albright decided to take control of the race and quickly moved ahead of Smallwood on the final lap and held off Emery down the stretch to claim the gold medal and earn a trip to the PIAA Championships in Shippensburg with a personal best time of 1:53.57, which was just a few tenths off the school record.

“I knew if I wanted a good time I would have to kick it so I started running down the backstretch,” Albright said. “Holden was with me. I ended up getting on the inside of the turn, which was nice, and just brought it home.”

Albright had his choice of races. He was ranked third in District 1 Class 3A in the 400 and fourth in the 1,600 as well as third in the 800.

“I did the 800 because it’s my favorite race and I felt like it was the event I had the best shot in,” Albright said.

Shortly before Albright’s run to gold, Penncrest’s Daniel Munro capped a three-medal day with a fourth-place finish in the 300 hurdles (41.08 seconds). Earlier in the day Munro took fourth in the pole vault (13-6) and fifth in the 110 hurdles (15.44). He qualified for the state meet in all three events and will compete in all of them.

“The 300 hurdles, I qualified, but it wasn’t my best time ever,” Munro said. “In the 110s, I PR’d in the prelims (15.21) and was the No. 1 seed. The pole vault was unfortunate timing. They started 15 minutes earlier than I thought they would so I had less time to warm up and less time in between so I was a little more tired than expected.”

Strath Haven’s Enrico Faccio qualified for the state meet in both hurdles. He was second in the 110 (15.34) and fifth in the 300 (41.88). Munro, Faccio and Ridley’s Kristian Praizner, who was sixth in the 300 hurdles, but did not meet the state-qualifying time, have developed a friendship and a healthy rivalry over the season.

Radnor’s Max Dooley is headed to states in two events. Dooley needed a push in the last 50 meters to secure fourth place and an automatic berth in the 1,600 with a personal best time of 4:20.47.

“I just gave it everything I had,” said Dooley, who will attend North Carolina and is looking to walk on to the track team. “I began to pick it up because that’s when the race starts to narrow down. I had something left so I put it all on the track.”

Dooley capped his day when he ran the third leg of Radnor’s 4 x 400-meter relay team that finished second in 3:22.64. He ran with Colin Cheshire, Gavin Williams and Chris Belz, who brought the baton home just ahead of Penn Wood anchor Kouto Anyika. For Belz, the silver medal was a bit of redemption after a disappointing eighth-place finish in the 800. Radnor came within a second of breaking the school record.

“It makes the day so much better for me,” Belz said. “I have the prom tonight and I was going to be all sad going into that, but now I’m going to be super excited.”

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Garnet Valley’s Eric Albright dominated the field in the 800 to win gold at the District

1 Class 3A championships Saturday at Coatesville Area High. (Austin Hertzog – MNG)

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CONCORD — Two district playoff games down and it’s clear that Garnet Valley’s defense is playing at another level.

“We’re just really clicking now,” senior defender Lauren Bendo said Saturday. “We all have the mindset that every game we’re going to give it our all. And I think just the way we work as a unit has gotten so much better as the season’s going on and here in the playoffs. We had that extra motivation that we want to take every possession.”

No. 3 Garnet Valley clinched a PIAA tournament berth with an 11-7 win over 11th-seeded Great Valley. Up next is a date with Central League rival and second-seeded Radnor in the district semifinals Tuesday.

With Bendo, Erin Barnes, MaryRose Berry and Morgan McClintock leading the way, the Jags consistently applied pressure on the Patriots and caused 10 turnovers. GV’s ability to get takeaways opened things up for the team’s potent offense.

Maddie Kalish netted a team-high four goals and Sophie Kingsborough recorded a hat trick for the Jags.

“We love to come up with a big turnover and transition into a nice possession on offense, whether that’s just taking time off the block or coming up with a goal, ” Bendo said. “With the chemistry we have, our defense is working hard to get a big stop and our offense is working hard to get the ball in the net. We just love when we can come up with a big play and get them the ball back so they can get us another goal on the board.”

While the Patriots kept the game interesting, there was never any doubt the Jags were the better team. In the first half, Kalish had a goal sandwiched between two apiece by Kaitlyn Henning and Kingsborough.

Kalish did most of her damage after halftime, scoring three straight goals, including two off free positions, to extend the Jaguars lead to 10-5 midway through.

“We work together so well because we’re such good friends,” said Kalish, who added an assist and a caused turnover to her stat line. “It just all comes together and we trust each other so much that it makes everything else so much easier and it just makes everything fall into place.”

GV won the battle to the ball all game. Kate Stankavage dominated with six draw controls and seven ground balls. Sydney Pyon contributed three draw controls and five ground balls. Kendall DiCamillo chipped in two ground balls and two caused turnovers. Maya Langin racked up five ground balls.

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Garnet Valley’s Mary Rose Berry, left, moves the ball as Radnor’s Karis Mameniskis defends in

the first half of their Central League match-up earlier this season. (Pete Bannan/MediaNews Group)

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The Lower Merion High School boys’ tennis team won the PIAA 3A state championship for the first time since 2017, with a 5-0 win against Hershey in the state championship final at Hershey Racquet Club May 22.

The Aces (24-0) did not lose a single court during the state championship, only dropping one set throughout the four tournament matches. During the 2021 season, the Aces won the Central League title, the PIAA District 1 title and the PIAA 3A state title.

In the state championship final, at first singles, Vik Miller defeated Andreas Wingert, 6-4, 1-6, 10-7. At second singles, Justin Minerva defeated Andy Chen, 6-4, 6-4; and at third singles, Justin Yi defeated Anthony Eichman, 6-1, 6-1.

At first doubles, Brian Yi and Ethan Blum clinched the win by defeating Andrew Schrek and Jesse Mullins, 7-5, 6-2; and at second doubles, Mark Lancaster and Stoyan Angelov defeated Charles Horner and Markus Wingert, 6-1, 6-1.

A few hours before the state championship final, Lower Merion defeated Harriton 4-0, to advance to the finals. At first singles, Vik Miller was leading Ethan Carr, 6-3, 5-2 (did not finish); at second singles, Justin Minerva defeated Jacob Kerstein, 6-1, 6-1; and at third singles, Justin Yi defeated Nathanael Ghez, 6-0, 6-0.

At first doubles, Brian Yi and Ethan Blum defeated Deven Parikh, 6-1, 6-2; and at second doubles, Mark Lancaster and Stoyan Angelov defeated Matthew Yoon and Newman Yielding, 6-0, 6-2.

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GRATERFORD >> Losing the 2020 season — and a year off their high school careers — taught the Springfield-Delco Cougars several valuable lessons.

That’s why Saturday’s 11-3 victory in a District 1 3A quarterfinal over third-seeded Perkiomen Valley brought a little added exuberance from a team and a program that’s no stranger to postseason success.

“The past year has been really challenging for everybody and I think for us, it’s really brought our team closer,” said coach Tom Lemieux. “Plus after losing a season, a lot of these guys haven’t really been in this position before. They’re still learning what May lacrosse is all about.”

On Saturday, it was about the little things — winning the game by small margins on offense, defense, extra-man opportunities, faceoffs, loose balls — qualities that, added together, equalled a decisive victory.

“There are six major goals we like to accomplish on each game, and they’re our keys to success,” added Lemieux. “We don’t really discuss them publicly, but it’s our focus as a team.”

It’s safe to say the Cougars accomplished those goals Saturday, led by hat tricks from Robbie O’Brien and Jack Clark, getting eight saves from Ethan Johnson in net, and controlling possession thanks in large part to Colin Hannigan going 13-for-18 on faceoffs.

The win places sixth-seeded Springfield (15-4) into Tuesday’s District 1 semifinals against Central League rivals and No. 2 seed Radnor while clinching a berth in the PIAA state tournament, where the Cougars will look to capture their third state title since 2016 and their first since moving into Class 3A after the 2017 season.

“They (Radnor) have an incredible program,” said Lemieux, “and there’s plenty of mutual respect. We know they’re one of the best teams in the state, and we’ll have our hands full looking to compete.”

The best place to start might be following Saturday’s recipe. Springfield’s first-half domination started with Hannigan’s 8-for-10 performance on faceoffs, and a quick-strike offense that had the Cougars ahead 2-0 just two minutes into the contest. O’Brien’s first of three first-half goals broke the ice, followed 47 seconds later by Clark.

Ryan O’Connor played the whole field, working the wing on faceoffs, carrying the ball into the box after gaining possession and getting back on close defense to control the Vikings attack.

It was 5-0 Springfield before Matt Farrington got the Vikings on the board 3:40 before halftime with a heads-up play off a deflection. But O’Brien quickly responded with his third tally, followed by Clark’s 100th career goal with only six seconds to play before halftime.

“It’s a great accomplishment,” the Drexel commit said of the 100 goals, “but the main goals are team-oriented. It wouldn’t have happened without all of these guys out here.”

Hannigan was more succinct in summarizing Springfield’s motivation.

“People set low expectations for us all year,” he said, “and we’re out to shatter them.”

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Springfield’s Jack Clark (10), pictured with coach Tom Lemieux, scored

his 100th career goal as part of the Cougars’ 11-3 win Saturday in the

District One 3A quarterfinals. (Rob Senior – For MediaNews Group)

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CALN TWP. — The oppressive 91-degree heat was unkind to all but a handful of Delaware County athletes who qualified for states in the field portion of the boys District 1 track and field championships Saturday at Coatesville High.

Nicolas Ha of Garnet Valley was having one of those days you would want to start over. Hampered by an ailing heel, he finished 15th in the long jump. That was hours before he was scheduled to go in the triple jump.

Ha passed on the first three tries of the triple jump. He prepared himself to let go of the season. That burden too heavy to carry forward, Ha convinced the trainer he had more in his tank, got the go ahead and gave it the old Jaguar try. Boom!

Ha qualified for the PIAA Class 3A state meet with a personal best of 45-03.25, good for third and almost two feet more than his previous best.

In the javelin was Joe Talone, a converted baseball player in his first year of track at Penncrest. His throw of 165-04 earned him fourth place, a berth in states and instant respect. Five more inches and Talone would have finished third. Seven inches and he would have been second in an event won by Nick Masterman (Harriton) with a throw of 169-11.

“I just started javelin about two months ago and the coaches, they just kept on fixing what I had to fix and I just kept going,” Talone said. “I was a baseball player. I was an outfielder so it’s kind of like the same motion throwing it.”

In 2A action, Josiah Bronkema of Delco Christian qualified for states with a personal best of 22-4.24 on his sixth and final attempt in the long jump. That distance would have qualified in 3A.

The next closest finisher was Jason Lavoe (Church Farm), who jumped 21-0.

“After I got done with the high jump, and I finished my prelim jumps for the long jump I just kind of thought, ‘Well, I don’t really have anything for a couple hours so I might as well just kind of send it,’” Bronkema said. “I think I just got a little more speed than I usually do and I had a good takeoff.”

Bronkema also qualified on fewer misses in the high jump (5-11), although it wasn’t up to the standard of 6-2 he registered to win the Delco championships.

“I think my steps were just a little off and I was trying to go more into the mat than jumping off,” Bronkema said. “But it does feel good. I wasn’t really planning to qualify for the long jump. I just come out and do the best I can and give the glory to God.”

It’s safe to say no Delco field event competitor was more frustrated than Zaquan Bruton of Chichester, who qualified for states with a second-place finish in the high jump.

After clearing 6-3 on his first attempt, Bruton got over the bar at 6-5 almost handily on his final two attempts. Unfortunately, he tapped the crossbar loose with a heel, and a calf.

“I dropped it way too early,” Bruton said. “If it was like a tenth of a second sooner, I would have been over it with ease. I watched the clip, and I was over by like five inches. It feels good to qualify. But that’s not what I came here for. I came here to win the whole thing. But it’s still a good feeling.”

Bruton had fewer misses than Jack Steilen (William Tennent), who was third. Aidan Rohrbough (Owen J. Roberts) won the event with a jump of 6-5.

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No longer worried about hitting the cutoff man, converted baseball player Joe Talone of Penncrest

celebrates a PIAA Class 3A state qualifying throw of 165-4 in the javelin at the District 1 championships

Saturday at Coatesville.

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NETHER PROVIDENCE – The stat sheets in lacrosse leave room for one assist. But Strath Haven put forth an argument to add another category Tuesday afternoon.

For most of the goals the Panthers scored in a 12-3 win over Central Bucks South in the first round of the District 1 Class 3A tournament, you could just as easily trace the final pass as the defender who made it happen. So often, offense for Haven was created by its defense, by clears interrupted and turnovers caused in the 10-man ride, frustrating the Titans by depriving them of the ball.

“When teams go against us, we tiger ride a lot, and they don’t see that a lot all throughout the season,” defender Kevin Morris said. “We’re one of only a couple of teams that do that. They don’t’ come in ready for the ride. When they get the ride from us, I don’t think they’re ready for us. They’re mentally not ready for our ride.”

The turnovers had a demoralizing effect, helping 15th seeded Strath Haven run out to an 11-1 lead by early in the fourth quarter. With Morris, Charlie Dawes, Greg Belville and Jeb Finney creating turnovers at will, Haven was able to extend possession, control the clock and make sure the No. 18 Titans had to fight for every inch every time they had the ball.

Dawes showed it in the first quarter, picking off an attempted clear that led to Austin Conner’s second tally of the afternoon. Tate Gorman checked one out of a rushing defender’s hands in the third quarter, leading to a Robbie Guilday goal.

With Charlie Bogert backing the aggression with eight saves, Haven controlled the game. Even winning just 10 of 19 faceoffs (Christian Mazur was 7-for-12), they held a 32-13 edge in shots after three quarters. It was more than enough to book a date Thursday with second-seeded Radnor.

Conner and Wade Mutz divvied up the role of cashing in all that possession in the first half. Mutz had a hat trick, and Conner would finish his in the third quarter to go with a helper. Matt Faggioli, who also scored twice, dished three assists. Mazur accounted for two and one.

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Strath Haven attackman Austin Conner, right, seen in a game last week against Marple Newtown,

scored three goals in Tuesday’s District 1 Class 3A opener against Central Bucks South.

(Pete Bannan/MediaNews Group)

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SPRINGFIELD — Springfield’s victory over West Chester Rustin Tuesday wasn’t just a job, it was an adventure.

With six minutes and change left in the District 1 Class 3A playoff opener, the 15th-seeded Cougars held a two-goal lead and an 11-on-10 manpower advantage over 18th-seeded Rustin, the latter due to a sea of yellow cards. Normally girls lacrosse is a 12-on-12 game.

A few tense minutes later, Cougars coach Keith Broome gave the order that seemed inconceivable after his squad scored all seven of its goals in the first half: Hold the ball!

Alas, it worked. The Cougars escaped with a 7-5 success that was an instant learning tool for Broome and his players. Their next test is Thursday at Radnor.

The final score Tuesday in yellow cards was 5-4 in favor of Rustin. After the fourth red card, a team plays one man down. A fifth red card means two men down, and so on.

“The most we’ve had all season is two yellow cards,” Broome said. “We’ve never had a team that had that many cards. We’ve never played a man up, let alone two men up. So that was kind of a learning experience for us. It was different, but the refs were consistent. And I think our team is just really young. We’re playing a lot of freshmen and sophomores. They haven’t been in this situation at this level.”

Mia Valerio scored the first two goals to help stake Springfield (12-6-1) to a big early lead. When fellow sophomore Erin DeStefano added two more goals, and the Golden Knights began collecting yellow cards in a rugged, not crazy game, it looked like it was all over but the math. Especially the way Cougars goalie Rachel Conran and her defense were playing.

Senior Lauren Johnston put one in the net on a feed from Bella King. Sophomore Lexi Aaron tallied, then King, giving the Cougars a 7-0 cushion entering the intermission.

At that point, the Knights knew they’d be at least a man down in the second half. Yet slowly but surely, the Knights (9-7) fought back. Elizabeth McGurk ruined the shutout. Mya Pierce scored on a free position.

Then Lexi McClain scored three straight goals, including two in 30 seconds, slicikng the Rustin deficit to 7-5.

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Springfield’s Mia Valerio crosses midfield with the ball

ahead of a Rustin opponent Tuesday during a district playoff

opener between the teams. (Pete Bannan/MediaNews Group)

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