BOYS BASKETBALL
Unbeaten United routed Penns Manor 91-51. Ryan Felix scored 22 points, all on two-point field goals. Brody Burkett had 20, Dmitri Worthington 15, and Carter Payne 10 for the Lions, who had 10 three-pointers. Vinny Myers led the Comets with 17.
Cambria Heights got their fourth win of the season, downing Homer-Center 67-54. Noah Clawson scored 19 points, Brayden Farabaugh 18, and Brayden Dearmitt 12 for the Highlanders. For the Wildcats, Nash Budner had 23 and Ethan Palmer 11.
River Valley beat Portage, 70-54. Max Persichetti led the Panthers with 18 points, Nick Mortimer and Jeremy Reed each scored 16, and Bryson McDowell had 11. The Mustangs were led by Llehson Walker’s 20, with Darnell Caldwell scoring 13.
Purchase Line has struggled all season, but the Red Dragons were tied with Northern Cambria, 24-24 at the half. Then the Colts turned it up, outscoring PL 29-1 in the third quarter, 41-6 overall in the second half, in a 64-30 Northern Cambria win. Dylan Bodek poured in 19 points, Parker Shutty 17, and Luke Blickebnderfer 13 for NC. No Red Dragons players hit double figures.
Conemaugh Valley turned up the defensive pressure and beat West Shamokin, 69-31. Lance Masser led the Blue Jays with 31. Only four Wolves made it onto the score sheet, with Alex Talmadge getting 18.
WRESTLING
It was a good Senior Salute Night for Indiana, which beat Fox Chapel in a section match, 44-25. Winners for the Indians were Lucas Armstrong, Lewis Sears, Charles Spells, Bo Blystone, Sean Parks, Dominic Fanella, Jacob Snyder, Braylon Winslow, Ben Stephens, and Evan Kelly.
Marion Center fell behind Phillipsburg-Osceola, 26-0 at the outset and couldn’t catch up, falling 50-22 to the Mountaineers. Winners for the Stingers included Griffin Tinsman by decision and Josh Schleicher, Noah Filipovich, and Carter Knox by fall.
United won three of the four matches that were actually wrestled, but Conemaugh Township scored a 36-27 win over the Lions in a forfeit-filled night. United’s victories came from Josef Garshnick and Aiden Overly by fall, and Connor Riffer by decision. Conemaugh Township’s win was by Landon Huffman, by fall.
SWIMMING
Homer-Center swept Valley in the pool at IUP, winning all but two of the races, with the girls winning 64-45 and the boys taking a 90-75 victory.
STORY PROVIDED BY HOMER-CENTER SWIM:
Under the bright lights and echoing cheers of the swim fans at IUP’s John A. Pidgeon Natatorium, the Homer-Center Wildcats turned Wednesday night into a full-team surge, sweeping the Valley Vikings as the Wildcat girls powered to a 64–45 win and the boys sealed the night with a 90–75 victory.
Homer-Center built its night around depth, relay strength, and, most noticeably, time drops across the lineup. Andrea Kravetsky picked up her first varsity win in the girls’ 100 freestyle. She also turned in one of the biggest improvements of the meet, dropping 10.52 seconds in the 100 breaststroke. On the boys’ side, Carter Henry took on a major milestone by swimming his first-ever 500 freestyle. He also delivered one of Homer-Center’s largest time drops, cutting 14.19 seconds in his 200 freestyle.
Homer-Center piled up the first-place finishes all meet long, winning all but two events. The girls’ 200 medley relay with swimmers Maria Frazer, Morgan Nagy, Tilly Thomas, and Kravetsky started the meet with a win. The boys’ 200 medley relay team of Trevor Cameron, Brady Frazer, Landon Shoup, and Blake Lucas followed. The Wildcats piled on multiple individual victories from Morgan Nagy (200 free; 100 back), Natalia Thomas (200 IM; 100 fly), Landon Shoup ( 200 IM), Maria Frazer (50 free; 500 free), Blake Lucas (50 free; 100 free), Trevor Cameron (100 fly;100 back), Andrea Kravetsky (100 free; 100 breast), and Brady Frazer (100 breast). Homer-Center also swept the relays later with wins in the girls’ 200 free relay (Nagy, Thomas, Kravetsky, Frazer), the boys 200 free relay (Nate Bilo, Lincoln Schaldenbrand, Chase Shoup, Henry), and the boys 400 free relay (Lucas, Landon Shoup, Frazer, Cameron). Valley’s first-place finishes came from Damien Mauro in the boys 200 freestyle and boys 500 freestyle.
The Wildcats also piled on several additional time drops on the night. Maria Frazer cut 1.95 seconds off her 50 freestyle, while Trevor Cameron delivered a standout swim in the 100 butterfly, dropping 2.51 seconds to set a new team record. Chase Shoup followed with his own strong improvement in the 100 butterfly, shaving 1.90 seconds. In the sprints, Nathaniel Bilo dropped 1.51 seconds in the 100 freestyle, and Lincoln Schaldenbrand posted a pair of big cuts, which included going 2.93 seconds faster in the 50 freestyle and 3.23 seconds in the 100 backstroke.
With the sweep over Valley and a wave of season-best time drops, the Wildcats will look to keep the momentum rolling when they return to the pool next week on Wednesday, January 22, for a dual meet with Altoona. Homer-Center will be aiming to build on the progress shown tonight, turning hard training into faster swims and another strong team performance against a tough opponent.
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