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The Cup is ours
(Photo by Kelly Malek)
Rocky Grove golfers claimed the Venango Cup for the second straight year. The Orioles totaled 23.5 points, compared to 17.5 for Cranberry, 16 for Franklin and 14 for Oil City. The all and annual Venango County event was held Sept. 8 at Lucky Hills. Pictured from left are: Danny McCullough, Dillon Hamilton, Haydon Bevier, Aiden Focht, Axel Myers and Jayden McMillen.
A different scoring format was used this year. Instead of individual scores, a format was used similar to the Ryder Cup -- 24 matches each of scrambles, alternate shots and best ball, rotating opponents throughout play.
"It made it more competitive for the kids and gave them a taste of pressure they might feel at districts," Grove coach Geoff Sanner told The Derrick/The News-Herald.
Bevier and Dalton Wenner of Cranberry were co-MVPs.
Rocky Grove repeats
as Region 4 champion
Haydon Bevier shot 79 at Wanango on Sept. 22, leading Rocky Grove to a mega match victory and the Orioles' second straight Region 4 crown.
The Orioles finished with 349, four strokes ahead of second-place Corry. Aiden Focht tied for seventh with 87. Danny Briggs-McCullough was at 91 and Dillon Hamilton shot 93.
Conneaut was third and Oil City fourth followed by Franklin and Titusville.
Low scorers for the Oilers were Bryce Davis (84) and Bryce Stewart (88).
Alex Johnson led Franklin with an 84.
Johnson was medalist with 80 at Lucky Hills in the final mega match of the season, and led Franklin to a second-place finish behind Corry. Oil City was third and the Grove settled for fifth.
Final standings: Rocky Grove 31 points, Corry 26, Conneaut 22, Titusville 20, Oil City 15, Franklin 14.
The Orioles qualified for the District 10 tournament as a team.
Those advancing to the individual D-10 tourney were Bevier, Hamilton, McCullough, Johnson, Stewart and Davis.
Rocky Grove's Haydon Bevier (left) was runnerup for medalist honors and Dillon Hamilton fired a hole-in-one in the Bill Mook Invitational Sept. 18 at Wanango. The Grove was second to Sagertown in the 11-team event. The Panthers' Mason Gjovik was medalist with 75, three strokes better than Bevier.
District 10 tourney
Rocky Grove's Haydon Bevier missed the cut for the final round by three strokes after shooting 82 at Meadville Country Club. The Orioles were ninth in the ream standings.
Also competing for individual honors were Oil City's Bryce Davis (84) and Bryce Stewart (89) and Franklin's Alex Johnson (94). Dillon Hamilton posted 90 for the Grove.
ACES
Oil City's Ryan Jackson and Rocky Grove's Axel Myers and Dillon Hamilton made holes-in-one this season. Jackson used an 8 iron to ace the No. 8 hole at Wanango on Aug. 29. Myers' ace was on the No.3 hole at Lucky Hills on Sept. 15. Hamilton aced the 168-yard No. 17 hole at Wanango on Sept. 18
Wenner D-9 gold; Berry
girls KSAC, district champs
Pictured with the District 9 championship plaque are Racquel Knight, Kallie Mong, Mackenzie Kennedy and Darien Wenner.
Darien Wenner was medalist in the District 9 2A golf tournament Oct. 6 and led Cranberry to the team title and a berth in the state tournament.
Wenner was 33rd out of 36 golfers at states, shooting 95 each day. The event was Oct. 20-21 at Penn State.
Led by Wenner's 40 at Hi-Level, the Berries earlier won the final mega match of the season and wrapped up the KSAC title.
The Berries won the event by seven strokes over Brookville, coming home at 140. Brookville's Sami Neil was medalist with 137.
Backing Wenner were Racquel Knight with a 49 and Brooke Scrivens with 50. Also on the team: Mackenzie Kennedy, Kallie Mong, Addison Karns, Abigail McCain and Bethany Novicki.
Dalton Wenner qualifies for states
Cranberry's Dalton Wenner finished fourth in the District 9 2A golf tournament Oct. 4 at Punxsutawney Country Club. Wenner qualified for states tat Penn State and shot 84-88 to finish 69th.
KSAC boys all-stars announced
Dalton Wenner was one of six first team selections on the KSAC golf all-stars, announced Sept. 22. Wenner was the lone Berry honored on the all-stars, which ran three teams deep. AC Valley/Union's Joe Rapp was named MVP. Keystone wrapped up the KSAC title after winning the championship Sept. 22 at Punxsutawney Country Club. The Berries were fourth, led by Wenner's third-place 83. Keystone was 26 strokes better than runnerup AC Valley/Union. Conner Zerbe (94) and Landon Melat (95) were under 100 for the Berries.
Introducing the Oil City Middle School golfers who finished undefeated and won the inaugural Junior High Venango Cup. Jackson Kasunic was medalist over Cranberry's Jarrett Lerhnortt, 47-48. Landon Cook of Franklin was third for 49. Oil City totaled 205. Runnerup Franklin posted 212, followed by Cranberry (213) and Rocky Grove (234).
Cross country (regular season)
All-stars...so far
Darien Wenner and Dalton Wenner of Cranberry are two-sport fall athlete at Cranberry.
Both qualified for states in golf and both run cross country and were named to the KSAC all-stars.
KSAC
Girls
MVP -- Beatrice Kolesar, Cranberry
First team -- Elena Ishman, Cranberry
Second team -- Darien Wenner, Cranberry
Boys
First team -- Dalton Wenner, Cranberry
Second team -- Daniel McCain, Cranberry
Dual meets
Region champions
Oil City and Rocky Grove claimed region championships. Both Oil City teams won Region 7 titles, while the Grove swept the Region 3 crowns. The region title was at least the fourth straight for the Oil City boys and the second straight for the girls, who last reigned in 2018 before that. The Grove boys have also won at least four in a row and were D-10 champs in 2023, 2021and 2020. The girls are also at least repeat region winners.
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Course mark for Kolesar
Beatrice Kolesar toured her home course in a record time of 19:42 on Sept. 24 in Cranberry's 17-39 decision over Brookville.
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KSAC meet
Kolesar wins again
Cranberry's Beatrice Kolesar won the KSAC meet championship Oct. 14, running a 19:07 on the host North Clarion course.
The Berries were runners-up to Central Clarion for the team title, 22-41.
Kolesar's time was 19 seconds better than the runner-up. Elena Ishman was sixth for Cranberry, followed by Darien Wenner 11th, Ava Earp 14th and Marian Mourichan 20th.
The Cranberry boys tied North Clarion for third. Brookville was team champion and Central Clarion was second.
Dalton Wenner was Cranberry's top runner, finishing 12th. Daniel McCain was 14th and James Kolesar was 17th.
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Corabel Shiley (19:37) and Keegan Kirkwood (16:33) set Oil City course records in a meet with Conneaut on Oct. 7. Shiley broke her own record by 11 seconds. Kirkwood broke Jack Mumford's school record and Matt Woolcock's course mark. Woolcock ran for Cranberry in 2020. (Photo by Connor Malek)
Cranberry's Beatrice Kolesar is pictured with her first-place place award after winning the varsity girls race Oct. 11 at the 51st annual Rocky Grove Invitational. Oil City's Corabel Shiley was second and Rocky Grove's Isabel Griffin was third.
Oil City won the girls title at the Rocky Grove Invitational.
Keegan Kirkwood of Oil City poses with his third place award at the Rocky Grove invite. Teammate Rilee Matalino was seventh.
The Grove's Gauge Gierlach was fourth and Franklin's Alayna Gahr placed fifth among the girls. (Photos by Connor Malek, except the Gahr picture was snapped by Christy Fackler.)
Cranberry girls took second in the junior high race at the Rocky Grove Invitational. They also won the KSAC crown.
Volleyball
Region co-champs
(Photos by Christy Fackler)
Grove's season ends with loss to Erie Christian
Fourth-seeded Erie First Christian blanked Rocky Grove, 3-0, Oct. 21 in the first round of the District 10 1A playoffs. Senior Olivia Faust did reach 500 career kills in the loss.
The Orioles, who shared the Region 1 title with Lakerview and Wilmington, finished the season with a 13-6 record.
The Grove swept West Middlesex, 3-0, on Oct.14 to gain a share of the region title for the second straight year. All three were 7-1 in the region.
Last year, the Grove shared the championship with Reynolds.
The win over West Middlesex came on the heels of a 3-1 road victory over Lakeview on Oct. 10.
The Orioles won the Silver Bracket championship in the Franklin tournament on Sept. 6. They topped Mercer in the finals. Pool play dropped them into the Silver bracket.
Final Grove stat leaders: Olivia Faust 238 kills, Jillian Cratty 428 assists, 305 points; Kaidlynn Burger 37 aces; and Anna Rodgers 221 digs. Faust finished her career with 504 kills.
Local 'showdowns'
Noah Young had three goals in Franklin's 7-0 victory over Oil City on Aug. 27, and Miah Shingledecker was one of three players with two goals as the Franklin girls blanked West Middlesex on Sept. 28 for their fourth win of the season. The others were Kendall Doty and Mazy Shingledecker. (Photos by Christy Fackler)
Everybody had something to cheer about at the Franklin "Spiketacular" Sept. 6. The Lady Knights and Cranberry are battling it out here.
Titusville won the tournament. (Photos by Kelly Malek)
Cranberry's Avery Coe received a poster Oct 13 after registering her 600th career dig. She's flanked here by coaches Jennifer Stover and Melissa Stewart.
(Photo by Tammy Curry)
Leaha Rial appears to be Franklin's best player.
TENNIS
Franklin 4, Oil City 1 (Aug. 19)
Franklin -- Leaha Rial, Abby Wolfe, Ruth Riddle/Jasmine Stewart, Dani Erdley/Sadie Criado
Oil City -- Sloane DeShong
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Franklin also beat Sharon, 4-1, on Aug. 26 and again on Sept 18 by the same score.
Rial and Wolfe were singles winners. Jasmine Stewart/Ruth Riddle and Dani Erdley/Sadie Criado won in doubles in the latest match.
BOYS SOCCER
Franklin 5, Oil City 1 (Oct. 1)
Knights goals -- Dreyden Hughes 2, Alex Umbenhaur, Noah Young, Rook Lee; (assists) Connor Ritchey 2, Young 2; saves Grayson Beck 6
Oiler goal -- Morris Woodhouse Jr., (assists) Derrick Jones, (saves) Drew Hummel 16
Franklin 7, Oil City 0 (Aug. 27)
Knights goals -- Noah Young 3, Alex Umbenhaur 2, Dreyden Hughes, Carter Manning; Grayson Beck six saves
Oilers -- Drew Hummel 26 saves
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More -- Morris Woodhouse drilled home the game winner as Oil City tripped Corry, 2-1, Sept. 13 for its first victory. Landon Riley also scored for the Oilers off an assist from Will Swartz. Hummel stopped 11 of the 12 shots he faced...Franklin blanked Corry, 4-0, behind Noah Young's two goals on Sept. 20.
GIRLS SOCCER
Franklin 1, Oil City 0 (Sept. 11)
​Franklin goal -- Zarria Cullins
Franklin 1, Oil City 0 (Sept. 29)
Franklin goal -- Miah Shingledecker
Saves -- (Franklin) Sophie Makoby 5, (Oil City) Gabby Boocks 12
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More -- Oil City avoided a winless season by blanking West Middlesex, 2-0, in its finale on Oct. 15. Gabby Boocks pitched the shutout and Emme Emanuele and Alizabeth Young-Johnson scored goals.
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Records (through Oct. 16)
Boys soccer -- Franklin 4-13, Oil City 1-13
Girls soccer -- Franklin 5-13, Oil City 1-14-3
Tennis -- Franklin 4-9, Oil City 0-13 ​​
Volleyball -- Franklin 6-12, Oil City 2-15, Cranberry 6-12 (Franklin and Cranberry swept Oil City and Franklin defeated Cranberry.
(Photo by Kelly Malek)
Oil City's senior soccer players are (from left) Alizabeth Young-Johnson, Gabby Boocks and Lillyanna Scalise.
All-Stars
Volleyball
KSAC
Third team -- Avery Coe, Cranberry
The Oil City Middle School girls basketball team was undefeated.