D-9 champs!
The Franklin girls were down by 20 to Slippery Rock at the start of the second half in a District 10 consolation game at Farrell. But they kept whittling away at the lead and with 1:22 left, Sydney Stevens tied the game at 42 on a three-pointer. Then, she beat the buzzer on this shot, giving the Lady Knights an improbable 44-42 victory.
4 Berries named to KSAC all-stars
The KSAC all-star basketball teams were announced in miid-February by District9and10sports.com, and four Cranberry players were selected. Blake Marchinke (23) and Darien Wenner (2) were picked to the first team in voting by conference coaches and Jadyn Shumaker (22) and Cole Findlay (1) were named to the third team. Next up for both Cranberry teams: the District 9 3A playoffs, which begin for them Friday at Clarion High School. (Marchinke and Fiindlay photos by Christy Fackler; Shumaker and Wenner by Kelly Malek)
Dalton Wenner wins third state mat medal
As it turns out, Cranberry's Dalton Wenner faced a tough draw: he got the eventual state champion at his weight, 127, in the quarterfinals of the PIAA 3A wrestling tournament.Keanu Dillard comes from the most prolific program in the state right now -- the Bethlehem Catholic Golden Hawks, 3A dual meet champions who also claimed the team title at states.Dillard won the match, 7-0, sending Wenner to the losers' bracket, which he fought through to earn the seventh-place medal -- the third straight of his career. The first two came in 2A before the Cranberry/Oil City co-op was moved up to 3A this season.Wenner was matched against Noah Fenner of Easton, and beat him by tech fall in the blood round to clinch the medal. Now it was a matter of which one -- third through eighth. He dropped a 3-2 decision to Trinity's Dominick Canale -- a surprise and, pardon the cliche, probably a tough pill to swallow since Wenner majored Canale, 10-2, at the West regional last week.But Wenner rebounded again -- this time to blank Abington Heights sophomore Mason Whitney, 4-0, for seventh.Meanwhile, Canale would go on to finish fifth and Butler's Santino Sloboda, who beat Wenner for the West regional title last week, wound up with the third place medal. Before taking on Wenner, Whitney was beaten by Sloboda, 7-1. Wenner lost to him in the West finals, 10-0. Dillard's title came over another northeastern Pa. wrestler, Gabriel Ballard of Northampton, 8-2. The state crown was the third for Dillard, a junior who previously won at 107 and 121. His career record now stand at 100-7.Districts 9 and 10 (virtually all of northwestern Pa.) had only three state medalists (no champs) -- Wenner and two others from DuBois. District 10 had 14 medalists in 2A, but zero state champs. Grove City's Hudson Hohman, a junior 152-pounder, reached the finals where he faced the No. 1 ranked wrestler in the country -- Bo Bassett of Johnstown Bishop McCort, an Iowa commit. Hohman was pinned in the first period.Wenner, also a junior, finished the season with a 42-8 record. The Clarion commit, according to PA-wrestling.com, is 115-20 for his career. Franklin's Gary Kiselka, junior 215-pounder, made his state tournament debut. He didn't place but he posted a 2-2 record in 2A. He was 35-12 this season, 79-16 for his career.
Dalton Wenner and his father and coach Dustin pose outside the Giant Center in Hershey.
Junior Dalton Wenner and family pose with a banner for his 100 career wrestling victories. The milestone came in the Fred Bell tournament semifinals. Wenner won his weight for the third straight year.
Junior Gary Kiselka posted a 2-2 record at 215 pounds in the 2A state tournament. He finished the season with a 37-14 record and is 79-36 in his career. (Photo by Richard Sayer)
Brosius, Dane Wenner
1-2 on Berry wins list
Their seasons ended sooner than they hoped or expected, but Cranberry's Elijah Brosius and Dane Wenner will graduate on top of the school's wins list in wrestling.
Brosius (right) was 139-41 in his career, while Wenner went 137-44. They also currently stand second and fourth on District 9's all-time list. (Clearfield's Brady Collins is No. 1 at 159-16.)
Dalton Wenner, the Berries' lone entry in the 3A state tournament, is No. 9 in D-9 at 112-18 (before states). And he's only a junior.
Wenner is a three-time state place-winner, the first two in 2A. He is a Clarion recruit.
A District 9 champion as a freshman, Brosius is a three-time regional third-place finisher and a two-time state place-winner.
Dane Wenner won regionals last season and was seeking his third straight trip to states. He lost by injury default at regionals last week, and was forced to forfeit his next match.
​​
Franklin swimmers medal at states
Franklin swimmers Jordan Stumpf (left) and Kye Winslow medaled in the 2A state swim meet that is being held this weekend at Bucknell. Winslow took sixth in the 50 free at 21.90, posting his second 21-second time of the season. Stumpf not only placed seventh in the 200 free, but broke Camden Smith's school record with a 1:45.32. Smith, a senior who has been sidelined practically all season with an Injury, was on hand to put the medal around Stumpf's neck.
Winslow claims D-10 title
Stumpf breaks Frederick's Franklin record in 500 free
(Christy Fackler)
Franklin's Kye Winslow won the 50 free in the District 10 2A meet Feb. 28 at the Spire Center in Geneva, Ohio, and also qualified for the state meet after posting a personal best 55.32 for fifth place in the backstroke the next day. That time is the fourth best on Franklin's all-time list.
But the big name March 1 was Jordan Stumpf, who broke Shawn Frederick's school record with a 4:49.47 for third in the 500 free. That met the qualifying time for states, which are Thursday through Saturday at Bucknell.
Winslow was seeded second in the 50 free, and won in 21.72, which has him seeded third for the state meet. He's also No. 3 on Franklin's all-time list.
Another state qualifier for Franklin after events on Day 2 was Dani Erdley in the 500 (5:29.07). She qualified Friday in the 200.
Two Franklin relays are headed to states: the 400 of Winslow, Stumpf, Jacksen Clark and Quintin Boozell (fifth in 3:27.72) and the same four in the 200, which took fourth on Friday. Also on the first day, Stumpf was runnerup and Erdley fourth in the open 200.
For Oil City on Day 2, Gabi Schiffer was fourth in the back and seventh in the 100 free. She is at least an alternate for the state meet in the freestyle. Madyson Kissell was fifth in the 500 at 5:30.49, taking almost 14 seconds off her previous best time.
Freshman Ayla Hall turned in the best showing for Oil City on Day 1, placing seventh in the IM.​