This site is about the sports doings -- mainly football -- of the high schools in Venango County, Pa. Contact:
Pride of Cranberry
By Joe Henderson
The Derrick/The News-Herald
Photo by Kelly Malek
Through the years with Dalton Wenner...
State wrestling champion Dalton Wenner has been no stranger to local newspaper readers over the last 10 years or so:
2017 -- Dane (gold) , Darien and Dalton (bronze) Wenner medaled in the World Bible Quiz in Indianapolis. Parents: mat coach Dustin and Merrisa; Bible coach Esther King.
2019 -- Modest fourth at his weight in 11-12 division at Pa. Junior Wrestling tourney at Pitt... He developed into a three-time regional and four-time district champion and four-time state place-winner in high school.
2021 -- 97-pound state title (junior high division), Keystone Games.
2025-26 -- 150-plus varsity mat victories celebrated by family and friends. Career total: 161-25.
And, don't forget: Dalton also stars as a distance runner for the Berries' cross country and track teams (shown here in 2022) and in golf. He's a KSAC all-star in all three. He's also been known to make the honor roll.
state Title Games fodder
Thursday
1A boys -- Sankota Freedom 55, The Neighborhood Academy 52
2A girls -- Berlin Brothers Valley 55, Neshannock 52
3A girls -- Greensburg CC 52, Holy Redeemer 41
4A boys -- Devon Prep 58, Obama Academy 41
Friday
1A girls -- Delco Christian 39, Williamsburg 36
2A boys -- Sewickley Academy 52, Old Forge 36
6A girls -- Upper Dublin 54, Dallastown 33
5A boys -- Monsignor Bonner 62, West York 35
Saturday
4A girls -- Neumann-Goretti 53, Oakland Catholic 48
3A boys -- Trinity 52, West Catholic 49
5A girls -- South Fayette 45, Archbishop Wood 35
6A boys -- Central Dauphin 52, Imhotep 49
SO WHEN IT WAS ALL SAID AND DONE -- The 4A boys title, which was supposed to go to Prep, only it didn't, went instead to former Franklin foe Devon Prep (2024), a team that entered the playoffs with a 5-18 record (oh that Philly Catholic League) and finished the season 10-18. Devon has won state titles the last three years and four of the last five in 3A or 4A. Bet the Ramblers are kicking themselves...
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FAMILIAR FACES -- Former Oil City athletic director Tim LaVan and his wife Lisa, the former Warren girls basketball coach, were two of the officials in the 3A girls state title game...And Franklin senior Halle Curry sang the National Anthem before the Saturday afternoon games...
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MOST TITLES -- Per Bob Greenburg tweet this week: Imhotep had a chance to take the lead for most boys crowns. It has 10, same as Kennedy Catholic and Neumann-Goretti, but Imhotep lost to Central Dauphin.
Most girls titles: Archbishop Wood and Bishop Guilfoyle are tied with 9.
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Wilson honored
Also saw on X (Twitter) that Oil City swimmer Natalie Wilson won the girls Athlete of the Week award in a poll conducted by the Erie paper.
D-10 champ Wilson, a Cranberry student, medaled in the para 50 free in the state swim meet.
Franklin's Hailey Hanna won the same award earlier this season after shooting lights out from distance.
Barnes recognized
Franklin's Becky Barnes was named Region VI Athletic Director of the Year. She received the award at the just completed PSADA Conference in Hershey.
Barnes has been full-time AD at Franklin since 2017. The Slippery Rock grad was also athletic trainer at Franklin. Since becoming AD, Franklin has added two sports and has undergone renovations to several facilities.
College crowd
Guth stats updated
With Vandy already trailing 5-2 on Saturday, Luke Guth worked the final four innings, and yielded two more runs. He threw 65 pitches, giving up two hits but walking three. His ERA now stands at 3.60 over 15 innings. 15 hits, 9/13 W/K. Series with Miss State ends this afternoon.
Keep an EYE out this spring
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Franklin's Luke Guth is back for his third season at Vanderbilt where he sports a 3.14 ERA over 40 appearances. His walks/strikeouts over 48.2 IP: 22/55.
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Another Franklin grad, Drew Kockler is playing second base for Bryant and Stratton College in Ohio. Kockler, who was sixth in the state in batting last year, is hitting .286 for the 5-9 Bobcats with a .479 OBA.
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And still another FHS grad, Trinity Edge, is pitching and playing CF for Bethany softball. She's 2-0 with a 1.00 ERA in 14 IP and batting .429. Edge was Newcomer of the Year for Waynesburg in 2024, and then took a year off.
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Soph Kristen Hicks, also from Franklin, is a lettering 3B-C for Westminster softball.
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Carson Wible (5-11, 210) is in his senior season at Gannon. The Franklin grad has a career average of .293 with 25 RBI. He's appeared in 44 games. Wible is highly decorated academically, including three-time PSAC Scholar Athlete. He was a Division II ADA Academic Achievement award winner in 2023 and 2024.
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Kenny Lavrich , senior RP from Cranberry, posted his best season for Grove City last year, pitching to a 3.93 ERA in 34.1 innings. He appeared in 12 games.
5 locals at Slippery Rock
Five Venango County students are competing on spring sports teams at Slippery Rock:
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Easton Adamczyk -- The soph from Rocky Grove ran cross country and participated in the NCAA Atlantic Regional. Best times: 33:09.1 for 10,000 meters and 25:26 for 8,000. Also ran indoor and now outdoor track, where his primary event is the steeplechase. Best time is 10:01.09. PSAC qualifier.
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Cade Adams -- grad student from Franklin who has been a sprinter/hurdler since 2022. Best outdoor time in 400 in 400 hurdles: 54.04. Ran leg of 1600 relay that won the John Papa invite in 3:18.59. PSAC Scholar-Athlete.
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Scott Finch -- PSAC qualifier, both indoor and outdoor. Junior from Cranberry has cleared 14-8 in the pole vault. Also own indoor team. Been on the teams since 2024.
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Landon Lynch -- Freshman thrower from Franklin who set the school record in the javelin last spring.
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Kayla Hanna -- Freshman from Cranberry whop ran on the Berries' state championship cross country team. She ran in all six meets last fall with a season's best 23:27.8 for 6,000 meters. PSAC and Atlantic Region qualifier.
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Franklin graduates Easton Fulmer and Camdon Bashor finished their senior seasons of college basketball. St. Vincent (Bashor) was 21-7 and Chatham (Fulmer) was 18-8 but neither team made the NCAA Division III playoffs. Chatham played to a share of the PAC regular season title. Bashor received an honorable mention on the Presidents Athletic Conference all-stars. Photos from their school web sites. Final stats:
Boal on powerful Gannon roster
After leading Venango County in scoring in 2025, Franklin's 6-4 Katie Boal took her talents to Gannon where she saw limited action for the powerful Golden Knights.
Boal played in 14 games, making one start, and averaged 2,3 minutes. She scored 15 points, gathered nine rebounds and blocked three shots.
Gannon finished 29-5, reaching the NCAA Division II Atlantic Region semis.
Brown solid
in backstroke
at Cleve State
Alaina Brown is a veteran backstroker for the Cleveland State swimming team.
The junior from Rocky Grove (swam in high school for Franklin) was sixth in the 200 back in the Horizon League meet. Her time (2:01.84) was fourth fastest in school history. She was also fifth in the 100 back (56.5).
Montgomery
Thrower for
Titan Track
Grove grad Rae Montgomery is listed as a junior thrower for the Westminster women's track team.
Rhoads 4-year
spiker at Thiel
Devin Rhoads played four years of volleyball at Thiel.
Another Grove grad, the 5-3 Rhoads had 252 digs and 175 points for the Tomcats.
knapp running
at Penn College
Former Rocky Grove standout Ethan Knapp is a soph harrier at Penn College in Williamsport.
He was 10th last fall in the United East championships and made first team.
Mcmahon freshman
pitcher at Behrend
Also contributing to PSU-Behrend athletics is Will McMahon, freshman right-hander from Oil City.
The 6-3, 195-pounder has seen action in three games, giving up four earned in eight innings. He's fanned 12.
Motter on Track, Golf rosters at Behrend
Still another Oil City grad, sophomore Charlie Motter, is on two Behrend rosters -- track and golf. Motter placed in the SUNYAC meet last year with a 153-8. His personal best is 170-10, good for 15th in the outdoor regional last spring.
FRanklin's
Prettyman:
Globetrotter
now at YSU
Caleb Prettyman has only been out of high school for two years, but he's already well traveled.
Prettyman, a Franklin grad, and a former state level distance runner for the Knights, was at Penn State last year.
This past fall he ran cross country for Kansas State, and made the All-Big 12 academic team. He also ran a 26:20.8 8k at the Pre-National Invite among other things.
Now he's at Youngstown State, where he hopes to have found a home. Stay tuned...
Ferringer heaves
javelin for RMU
Ayanna Ferringer, sophomore from Cranberry, throws the javelin for Robert Morris. She placed fifth (123-8) in the Horizon League as a freshman. Her best throw last year was 127-6.
Brosius takes red shirt
for UPJ wrestling
Freshman Elijah Brosius, listed at 141 pounds and a Cranberry wrestling product, was a redshirt for Pitt-Johnstown wrestling.
Brosius was a two-time state place-winner for the Berries.
He ran cross country and track for his Ala mater, Oil City. Brosius is a civil engineering major.
McFetridge at Mt. Union
Junior Brayden McFetridge (197), another Oil City grad who wrestled for Cranberry, is a junior at Mount Union.
He lost his first match in the NCAA Division III tourney, but in five discoverable duals had a 4-1 record. And one was a 5-3 decision over a W&J guy who was ranked No. 6 in the region.
Football
Franklin finds
its man
Austin Ion was introduced as the new Franklin football coach at a school board work session on Jan. 19. He officially became Franklin's 26th paid coach at the board's Jan. 26 meeting.
Ion succeeds Matt Turk, a former Knight all-star, who resigned after six years at the helm.
Ion is a 2017 Keystone High School graduate who played football, basketball and baseball for the Panthers.
He played wide receiver at Grove City College, where he majored in accounting.
He has coached at Keystone for eight years and most recently served as jayvee coach under coach Todd Smith.
The commiittee to select a new coach at Franklin consisted of athletic director Becky Barnes, high school co-principal Tom Holoman, Central Elementary principal Joe Keenan and assistant AD Chris Romanowski.
Ion was the choice among "nine good applicants," according to Barnes.​