Through games of 1.17
Scoring Leaders
From yonder
Sophomore Alex Umbenhaur has 25 3-pointers for Franklin this season. (Photo by Richard Sayer)
(Photos by Richard Sayer)
Eight Oilers scored and six of seven netted at least six points as Oil City turned back Franklin, 61-42, on Jan. 17 at the House of Hustle.
It was the Oilers' first victory over Franklin since Dec. 8, 2018, (64-54) in the Dick Russell Tipoff tourney, and their first home court triumph since Jan. 9, 2016 (65-55) when Mo Hadley went berserk at the end. (No break through for the Oilers during the Easton Fulmer/Damon Curry/Jalen Wood/Cole Buckley regime.)
Will McMahon (11) and Chase Melat (1) netted 11 apiece and Nevin Stinson (3) added 10 as Oil City kept pace with the front runners in Region 5. The Oilers led 35-19 at halftime; their biggest lead was 24 midway through the fourth quarter. Oil City, LeBoeuf and Warren are 5-1 in Region 5; Conneaut fell to 4-2 after feeling the heat of the Dragons' fire.
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Both Cranberry teams (20-8) won again and the Rocky Grove boys (11-2) continued to tear through Region 2.
ANOTHER MONSTER GAME -- Franklin's Katie Boal had 27 points, 20 boards and eight blocks, but the Franklin girls dropped a heartbreaker to Conneaut, 50-49, on Jan. 16 at The Castle. CASH took over sole possession of first place in Region 5 with a 3-0 record. She had 22 points, 14 rebounds and 12 blocks In. a 41-27 win. over Greenville on Jan. 18.
Toeing the Line
Players listed in order of attempts. Minimum 30 attempts with at least a 50 percent shooting percentage.
READY TO KEEP THE BOOK, BUT I'D REALLY PREFER A TREAT -- Athletic director Becky Barnes' dog Nellie is a fixture at Franklin games. (Photo by Richard Sayer)
Senior slide show
A lot of underclassmen are seeing playing time on Venango County basketball teams this season.
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This slide show features 13 seniors who have seen a decent amount of playing time over their varsity careers -- some more than others; in fact, some have not scored a ton of points but have seen the floor -- enough that action photos are available.​
The 13 pictured here are Schiffer Anderson, Niko Blauser, Katie Boal, Kaitlyn Clark, Faith Copley, Joe Findlan, Will Findlan, Haylie Gregory, Will McMahon, Chase Melat, John Nixson, Grascen Reyburn and Sarah Schoch.
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Other seniors who dot rosters are Mackenzie Snyder, Cassie Scarborough and Noah Sanchez (injured) of Cranberry, WIill Lesseveld and Emily McGill of Franklin, Aiden Sloane and Natalie Shevock of Oil City and Jacob Barton and Jamison Hughes of Rocky Grove.
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Photos were taken by Richard Sayer, Kelly Malek and Christy Fackler.
Cranberry's medalists from the Mid-Winter Mayhem at IUP are included in the post-tournament team photo. Dane Wenner (left with medal) and Elijah Brosius (center) medaled for the fourth straight year, and Dalton Wenner (right) made it three straight. (Facebook photo)
Update on the mats
Elijah Brosius (139) and Dalton Wenner (127) took thirds in the Mid-Winter Mayhem Jan. 11 at IUP. Dane Wenner was eighth at 145. The Berries were 20th among 57 teams.
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Cranberry and Franklin both participated in tournaments Jan. 3-4.
The Berries were third behind host St. Marys and DuBois in the 12-team D-9 League event at St. Marys.
Franklin finished a respectable ninth out of 19 teams, some from the WPIAL and even out of state, in the Bo Wood tourney at Indiana H.S.
Dalton Wenner (127), and Brosius (139) and Dane Wenner (145) won titles, while Aiden Thompson (114) reached the finals for Cranberry.
The Berriers also received a third from junior Alex McLaughlin (152). Danny DeLong (145), fXander Piercy (160) and Noah Lucarelli (215) placed fourth.
For the Knights, Gary Kiselka (215) won his weight, while Drew Kockler (189) placed third and Kaden Kiselka (285) took a fourth.
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Local wrestlers who have reached double figures in wins this season:
FRANKLIN
Gary Kiselka -- 16-1
Kockler -- 16-2
Ethan Hart -- 11-6
Trenton Rice -- 10-6
Gary Kiselka has 10 pins, Rice nine.
CRANBERRY
Brosius --- 19-3
Dane Wenner -- 16-7
Dalton Wenner -- 17-4
The Wenners each have nine pins. Brosius and Aiden Thompson have seven apiece and Noah Lucarelli has six.
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The Knights lost to Cochranton Jan. 15 and will participate in the Howland Invitational on Jan. 18. The Bison Duals at Clearfield are next for the Berries. That's also on the 18th.
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(Kelly Malek)
Poolside update
(Richard Sayer)
Franklin's Dani Erdley won the 200 free and was runner-up in the 500 in the annual North East Invitational Jan. 11.
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Meanwhile, Oil City opted out of that meet and took both teams to the Falcon Invitational at Spire Academy in Geneva, Ohio, so they could cheer each other on. Madyson Kissell came away with a first in the 500 and a pair of seconds in relays. She teamed Gabi Schiffer, Abbey McCain and Ayla Hall on the medley and then with Hall, Abby Nuhfer and Schiffer on the 400.
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Hall was second in the IM and fourth in the fly and Schiffer was second in the back. All told, both teams posted PRs "99.9 percent" of the time, according to a Facebook post. The girls finished third among 18 teams. For the boys, Clae Thompson was fifth in the 100 free.
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The two teams split their dual meet Jan. 13. Kye Winslow and Jordan Stumpf (right) were four-event winners in the Franklin boys' 92-70 victory, while Gabi Schiffer and Ayla Hall (left) were four-event winners in the Oil City girls' 90-80 decision.​
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Then on Jan. 16, the Franklin girls rallied for an 88-82 decision over Grove City behind Dani Erdley's triple. The boys lost to the Eagles, and the Oilers were scheduled to swim Slippery Rock, but there was no report.
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Deans of hoops coaches
Believe it or not, but two girls coaches
are the deans of basketball mentors in Venango County.
Ryan Justice is in his 13th season at Franklin, while Carrie Mason-Melat (shadowed by the Berry mascot) is in her 12th campaign running the Cranberry varsity.
Both have taken their lumps. Justice is 97-152 and Melat is 89-127. Both have endured 0-22 seasons.
There are two new coaches this season: Dylin Chapin, Oil City boys, and Torin Smith, Franklin boys.
Ed McIntyre (Cranberry boys) and Jen Newell (Oil City girls) are in their second year.
Rocky Grove's coaches, Ben Anderson (boys) and Brad Clayton (girls), are in their third year.
McIntyre replaced Patrick Irwin, who was at the Cranberry helm for 13 years.
Ryan Umbenhaur coached the Grove boys for nine seasons.
The brothers Fulmer were fixtures at Franklin and Oil City. Jason not only coached the Knights the past seven years, but spent three other seasons at Franklin and two at Oil City. Bundy coached the Oilers the last six seasons.
Longest running coaching tenures in county history are:
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Hud Wells (28 years, 1931-58, Oil City boys)
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Bill Mook (23 years, 1980-02, Franklin girls)
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Roy Sanner (22 years, 1985-06, Rocky Grove boys, plus 3 more seasons with Grove girls)
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Byron Johnston (17 years, 1947-63, Cranberry boys)
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Vince Curran (17 years, 1944-60, Rocky Grove boys)
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Photos by Kelly Malek (Melat) and Richard Sayer (Justice)
