Three 6-0 teams. One tri-meet. One Region 4 boys track and field title on the line.
It was quite a showdown Tuesday at North East’s track, where Fairview, North East and Fort LeBoeuf each entered the final tri-meet of the Region 4 season with a 6-0 region dual-meet record.
In the end, it was Fairview that walked away with the region championship. The Tigers beat North East 91-59 and defeated Fort LeBoeuf 89-61.
Perhaps the most impressive thing about Fairview’s win was that the Tigers pulled off the sweep without one their best athletes. Tyler Sargent, a top sprinter and jumper, missed the tri-meet because of a sore hamstring.
Sam Havko led Fairview by winning the 800 meters and 1,600 meters. He also ran on the winning 1,600 relay, along with Michael Taylor, Mike Banda and Ryan Hearst. Taylor won the 200 as well, while Kevin McAleer added a win in the 100.
The victory is reminiscent of Fairview’s boys and girls region swimming titles this past winter when the Tigers overwhelmed opponents with quality depth.
Fairview is scheduled to compete in the Baldwin Invitational on Friday, the North East Invitational on Saturday, the County Classic on May 8-9 and the District 10 meet on May 17. The Tigers are hoping to have Sargent back for the D-10 meet, if not sooner.
-- Jeff Kirik

When the McDowell baseball team traveled to Harmony on Thursday, they expected to play a game against Seneca Valley.
It didn’t happen.
There were no umpires and the Seneca Valley coaches had their team practicing. The coaches said they didn’t know a game was scheduled.
“I confirmed the game with their AD on Tuesday,” McDowell associated athletic director Brian Fuller said. “He said everything was OK.”
The Trojans would like to reschedule the game, but Seneca Valley already has 20 games on its schedule, the maximum allowed by the PIAA.
“We will try to get another game,” Fuller said about filling the opening on McDowell’s schedule.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

INDIANAPOLIS -- Rebounders on free-throw attempts will be positioned along the foul lane 3 feet farther from the basket during high school basketball games next season.
The National Federation of State High School Associations, the umbrella organization for more than 18,500 U.S. high schools, approved a rule change vacating the two marked lane spaces closest to the basket to reduce rough play and fouls while rebounding missed free throws.
Starting this fall, players will move back one lane space during a free-throw attempt. A new mark also will be applied to the lane line nearest the free-throw line to designate the last lane space. There is no change in the distance from the basket for the shooter.
The change was recommended by the federation's basketball rules committee after it was tested last season by the Georgia High School Association.
"According to data from the experiment, the number of fouls during free-throw rebounding action was reduced," NFHS assistant director Mary Struckhoff said Thursday. "At the same time, defensive rebounding percentages fell within an acceptable range. This data was the most compelling the committee had seen to date."
Another proposal to use instant replay to review certain situations in state tournaments was defeated. Struckhoff said the issue arose after three states had last-second shots in championship games.
"The committee discussed the issue extensively, but there was very little support for implementing video review," Struckhoff said. "Some felt the use of video to review officials' decisions is against the philosophy of high school sports. Others said that video review doesn't always provide a conclusive decision, and the equipment would not be consistently available in facilities throughout the country," she said.
The federation also approved a proposal to assess a technical foul to the head coach, rather than the player, if the player's uniform does not comply with NFHS design specifications. It also clarified an existing rule on headbands and added black and beige to the list of approved colors.

It's been a week of comebacks in District 10. Several teams made impressive rallies to earn victories in several sports. Here are a few of them:
-- On Thursday, the Strong Vincent softball team trailed McDowell 5-2 going to the seventh inning. The Colonels then tied game with three runs in the seventh and won it with four runs in the eighth to take over sole possession of first place in Region 6. Amy Greene had four hits and two RBIs and Tera Deniziak hit a two-run single in the eighth for Vincent (12-3, 2-0). Cathy Smrekar had three hits, including a triple, for McDowell (10-6, 1-1).
-- Also Thursday, the McDowell boys volleyball team lost the first two games to Cochranton by 26-24 scores. However, the Trojans regrouped and won the final three games 25-22, 25-21 and 15-13. McDowell (2-8) got double-digit kills from Aaron Kopay (15), Brenton Mineo (13) and Dan Ryan (10).
-- On Tuesday, the Conneaut Valley softball team overcame a 2-0 deficit to claim a 4-2 win over Cambridge Springs and its ace, Stephanie Baer. Amanda Mahoney's two-run single gave the Indians the lead for good and tagged the Blue Devils with their first loss of the Region 2 season.
-- Also Tuesday, Colin Bailey's two-run double in the bottom of the seventh inning capped the Corry baseball team's five-run rally as the Beavers stunned Mercyhurst Prep 6-5 in a non-region game. Jeremy Cressley also had a two-run double in the big inning.
-- Again on Tuesday, Iroquois' Chris Gindy stole third and scored on an error in the bottom of the seventh inning to force extra innings against Girard in Region 3 baseball. Five innings later, Andy Wallen's two-run homer gave Iroquois a 7-5, 12-inning victory.
-- Jeff Kirik

Some of this week’s top performances:
Monday
4-3-3-1, 2B, HR, Saegertown's Jake Carter in 13-9 win over Linesville
3-2-2-6, two HRs, Saegertown's Nick Sullivan in 13-9 win over Linesville
5-2-4-3, 2B, HR, Saegertown's Drew Perry in 13-9 win over Linesville
4-1-2-4, 2B, HR, Linesville's Cody Norwood in 13-9 loss to Saegertown
Tuesday
4-2-3-4, 2B, HR, Girard's Ethan Waddell in 7-5 loss to Iroquois
Wednesday
4-3-3-1, two 2Bs, Mercyhurst Prep's Jarrad Brown in 15-0 win over Youngsville
4-3-3-1, 2B, Mercyhurst Prep's Billy D'Andrea in 15-0 win over Youngsville
Thursday
3-3-3-4, two 2Bs, HR, Corry’s Colin Bailey in 14-5 win over General McLane
3-1-2-5, HR, Corry’s Mike Anderson in 14-5 win over General McLane

Pitching
Tuesday
5-4-0-0-0-4. Cathedral Prep's Mark Pompeani in 11-0 win over Central Tech
Wednesday
7-3-0-0-0-10, Villa Maria's Kevin Gnacinski in 5-0 win over Seneca
7-3-0-0-2-8, Northwestern's Mike Dunn in 4-0 win over Girard
5-2-0-0-2-11, Harbor Creek's Josh McAnulty in 11-0 win over Strong Vincent

Hitting line of the week: Colin Bailey had three extra base hits, scored three times and drove in three runs against McLane. That’s a heck of a game.
Pitching line of the week: Gnacinski made sure that Villa didn’t need much offense to beat Seneca.
-- Jeff Kirik

Some of this week’s top performances:
Tuesday
4-1-3-4, HR, Union City's Brooke Reynolds in 12-0 win over Commodore Perry
3-3-2-5, 2B, 3B, Corry's Meghan Carney in 20-0 win over East
4-3-3-2, 2B, 3B, Corry's Tiffany Danks in 20-0 win over East
Wednesday
4-2-3-2, two 3Bs, Mercyhurst Prep's Kristen Sebunia in 15-1 win over General McLane
3-2-2-3, 3B, Mercyhurst Prep's Autumn Anderson in 15-1 win over General McLane
4-4-3-2, Corry's Meghan Carney in 14-0 win over Central Tech
4-2-3-5, 3B, Corry's Megan Frisina in 14-0 win over Central Tech
Thursday
4-2-2-5, 2B, HR, Cambridge Springs’ Kristen Humes in 10-0 win over Linesville
3-2-3-3, Mercyhurst Prep’s Autumn Anderson in 15-0 win over East

Pitching
Tuesday
6-1-0-0-0-10 Union City's Carrie Williams in 12-0 win over Commodore Perry
6-0-0-0-3-10, Titusville's Cassie Savitz in 10-0 win over Oil City
Wednesday
7-3-0-0-0-9, McDowell's Angela Siegel in 4-0 win over Warren
Thursday
6-3-0-0-0-15, Cambridge Springs’ Stephanie Baer in 10-0 win over Linesville
Friday
7-3-1-1-1-7, Villa Maria’s Ali Grab in 2-1 win over Iroquois

Hitting line of the week: Kristen Humes drove in half of the Blue Devils’ runs against Linesville.
Pitching line of the week: Another week, another no-hitter for Savitz.
-- Jeff Kirik

Fairview's Thomas Shuttleworth, the top-ranked Class AA player in the District 10 boys singles tennis tournament, was one of four seeds who lost in the early rounds Saturday.

Hickory senior Ryan Zippie, bound for the Penn State Behrend tennis team next spring, eliminated Shuttleworth 8-6 in the second round. Other seeded players who were upset prior to the quarterfinals were No. 3 T.J. McGary of Greenville, No. 6 Sam Birgel of Warren and No. 7 Dennis Russell of Girard.

The AA quarterfinals began around 4:45 p.m. Among the Erie County players still alive for the title were Jake Batchelor and eighth-seeded Jonathan Knoll, Shuttleworth's teammates at Fairview, and fourth seed Dan Mulligan of General McLane.

McDowell was assured the Class AAA champion when Landon Williams and Chris Galvin advanced to Monday's final. The Trojans' duo were the top two seeds in that bracket.

The AA and AAA finals will start Monday at 3:30 p.m. at Pennbriar.

-- Mike Copper

Grove City's Matt Kiser was the first seeded Class AA player who advanced to the semifinals of Saturday's District 10 boys singles tennis tournament. The fifth-seeded Kiser beat Ryan Zippie of Hickory 8-1 in the quarterfinals at the Pennbriar Athletic Club.

Ryan Zippie gained notice early in the day when he upset top-seeded Thomas Shuttleworth of Fairview 8-5 in the second round.

Kiser was scheduled to play one of Shuttleworth's teammates in the best-of-three semifinals. Fairview's Jake Batchelor advanced with an 8-5 victory over Grove City's Josiah Welker.

-- Mike Copper

Fairview's Jonathan Knoll avenged the second-round loss of Class AA teammate Thomas Shuttleworth at Saturday's District 10 boys tennis tournament. Knoll, seeded eighth, upset second seed Corey Runyan of Hickory 8-3 in the quarterfinals.

Knoll's victory meant the tournament's top three seeds were eliminated before the best-of-three semifinals. He advanced to play either General McLane's Dan Mulligan or Brian Goda of Greenville.

-- Mike Copper

Greenville's Brian Goda rounded out an unlikely list of Class AA semifinalists at Saturday's District 10 boys singles tennis tournament. The unseeded Trojan knocked out the sixth seed of the day when he survived a 9-7 final over fourth seed Dan Mulligan of General McLane.

The AA semifinals at the Pennbriar Athletic Club didn't start until after 6:30 p.m. Goda played eighth seed Jonathan Knoll of Fairview, while the Tigers' Jake Batchelor took on fifth seed Matt Kiser of Grove City.

-- Mike Copper

Fairview's Jake Batchelor, unseeded for Saturday's District 10 Class AA boys singles tennis tournament, advanced to Monday's championship match.

Batchelor helped offset the second-round loss of top-ranked teammate Thomas Shuttleworth with a 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 victory over fifth-seeded Matt Kiser of Grove City.

It could be an all-Fairview final if teammate Johnathan Knoll prevails in the other semifinal. Knoll won the first set over Greenville's Brian Goda.

The AA and Class AAA finals will take place Monday at 3:30 p.m.

-- Mike Copper

No doubt Fairview fans will neutrally root during Monday's District 10 Class AA singles final between Jake Batchelor and Johnathan Knoll. The Tigers duo will play for the title at 3:30 p.m. at the Pennbriar Athletic Club.

But privately, expect most to pull for Batchelor. The senior is the younger brother of Chris Batchelor, whose name has adorned Fairview's tennis courts since 2003.

Chris Batchelor, a freshman tennis player at the school, died in his sleep April 18, 2001. The official cause of death was heart failure.

His parents, Tammy and Mike Batchelor, were members of the Fairview School Foundation, which initiated construction of the courts through private donations and fund raisers. An estimated $295,000 was needed to make the facility a reality.

Also scheduled today is the Class AAA final between McDowell's Landon Williams and Chris Galvin. The Trojans' teammates won the district's doubles title in 2007, but won't repeat because PIAA rules prohibit players from competing in both the state singles and doubles tournaments.

-- Mike Copper

Fairview's Johnathan Knoll beat teammate Jake Batchelor 6-2, 6-7 (7-1), 6-2 for the District 10 Class AA singles title Monday at the Pennbriar Athletic Center.
Afterwards, coach Rick Sertz had the remaining Tigers ready to practice for Wednesday's AA doubles tournament and Thursday's AA team tournament.
Yet there was Knoll.
The sophomore is now ineligible to compete in doubles, but less than 30 minutes after the biggest win of his life he still sought fellow Tigers to trade ground strokes.
Sertz only offered mild resistance to Knoll's presence.
"Most people would say, 'I'm tired, I'm fatigued. I'm going to get out of here,'" Sertz said, "but these guys love to play. We have a lot of so-called gym rats. If people want to know the secret to us winning over the last 10 years, it's that we love to play. I think the only person who loves to play more than these guys -- is me."

Wednesday's district doubles tournament will start at 11 a.m. at Pennbriar.

-- Mike Copper

The first and second-seeded teams will meet in the finals for each class of Wednesday's District 10 boys doubles tennis tournament. Matches were held at the Pennbriar Athletic Club.

In Class AA, Fairview's Thomas Shuttleworth and Jake Batchelor will play Grove City's Matt Kiser and Josiah Welker for the title.

Shuttleworth and Batchelor shut out third-seeded Ryan McCann and Corey Runyan 10-0 in the semifinals. Kiser and Welker survived a dramatic 11-10 final over Greenville's T.J. McGary and Brian Goda.

Kiser and Welker saved a match point during the tiebreaker, then rallied for a 9-7 score.

Prep and McDowell teams will play for the Class AAA championship. Those schools won their semis by identical 10-4 scores.

Prep's James Ward and John Walbridge, seeded second, advanced to the championship over Meadville brothers Seth and Pat Groover. The top-ranked McDowell tandem of Chris Galvin and Kevin Ricart eliminated the Ramblers' Jeff Demjanenko and Stephen Prichard.

The finals are scheduled to start around 3:20 p.m. The winning teams will advance to the PIAA tournament May 23 and 24 at Hershey.

-- Mike Copper

It was one of those days on District 10 diamonds Wednesday. A ton of runs and a few dramatic endings made the day one to remember.
Here are some examples:
-- Keven McQueeney belted three home runs and drove in eight runs in Harbor Creek’s 17-5 Region 5 win over General McLane. However, McQueeney wasn’t the only one going deep. The game featured nine – yes, nine – homers. Jared Murosky and Ryan Sheridan also homered for the Huskies. Scott Snyder hit two homers for the Lancers, while Dan Hafner and Luke Kozaczki each hit one.
Six of those homers came in one inning as the Lancers and Huskies combined for 13 runs in the third. McLane hit three homers and scored four times, and Harbor Creek hit three more blasts and scored nine times in the inning.
Coach Tim McQueeney -- Keven McQueeney's father -- said a few of the homers were "what we call Harbor Creek homers" over Harbor Creek's short fence in left field. But he also said that a couple of the homers were "hit really well," a couple were hit to right field and at least one was hit to center.
-- The McDowell and Corry baseball teams were tied at 5 going into extra innings when the unthinkable happened. The Trojans scored 10 runs in the top of the eighth to claim a 15-5 victory. J.P. Frey and Jeff Robson each hit two-run doubles in the inning.
Ryan Skellie finished the game with four hits, including a homer, and four RBIs.
-- Region 3-leading North East is 14-2 overall, but the Grapepickers had plenty of trouble with 0-13 Youngsville. North East needed an RBI single from Dominic Kownacki with two outs in the bottom of the seventh to pull out a 4-3 victory.
-- In softball, Strong Vincent had the most dramatic victory of the day, thanks to Jessica Marsden. She hit a two-run double with two outs in the seventh inning to give the Colonels a 10-9 non-region win over Franklin.
-- The Corry-McDowell softball game appeared to be a showdown between two well-matched teams. Then the Beavers struck for five runs in the first inning and eight more in the second on the way to a surprisingly easy 17-0, four-inning victory.
Meghan Carney went 4-for-4 with four runs and three RBIs, and Tiffani Danks drove in five runs.
-- Girard earned its first win of the season, 5-0 over Seneca, as Amy Erickson pitched a five-hitter and struck out eight. Heather Stearns had three hits and two RBIs, and Hannah Johnson added four hits for Girard (1-13).
-- Jeff Kirik

It was the game of a lifetime for Harbor Creek baseball player Keven McQueeney.
The senior first baseman/third baseman entered Wednesday’s game against General McLane with no homers and three RBIs in the Huskies’ first 16 games this season. He had never hit a homer as a varsity player.
In three amazing innings, that all changed.
McQueeney homered in each of the next three innings on the way to finishing with three homers and eight RBIs in the Huskies’ 17-5 victory.
He started the onslaught with a three-run homer in the Huskies’ nine-run third inning. He then hit a solo homer in the fourth before blasting a fifth-inning walkoff grand slam that ended the game by virtue of the 10-run rule.
Coach Tim McQueeney, Keven’s father, said the first two homers were hit “pretty darn well” over the short left-field fence at Harbor Creek. The grand slam was hit “almost to straightaway center,” he said.
The game was one of the most satisfying of Tim McQueeney's 31-year coaching career, 16 of which have been with the Harbor Creek varsity.
“It’s a great feeling as a father and a great feeling as a coach. To combine the two is probably as good a feeling as I’ve had in all my years of coaching,” he said. “Most of all I was happy for him, He’s a hard worker and a good kid.”
-- Jeff Kirik

Some of this week’s top performances throughout District 10:
Hitting
ab-r-h-rbi
Monday
4-2-3-3, HR, Eisenhower’s Cody Crosby in 9-4 victory over Northwestern
4-1-3-4, HR, Eisenhower’s Zach Cathcart in 9-4 victory over Northwestern
Tuesday
5-1-2-3, HR, Union City’s Buddy Arnold in 11-3 win over Conneaut Valley
Wednesday
4-1-3-4, HR, Girard’s Bobby Morrow in15-2 win over Seneca
3-3-3-8, three HRs, Harbor Creek’s Keven McQueeney in 17-5 win over General McLane
4-2-3-3, HR, Harbor Creek’s Jared Murosky in 17-5 win over General McLane
4-2-2-2, two HRs, General McLane’s Scott Snyder in 17-5 loss to Harbor Creek
5-1-4-4, HR, McDowell’s Ryan Skellie in 15-5 win over Corry
4-2-2-3, HR, Villa Maria’s Terry Carson in 10-1 win over East
Friday
3-1-1-3, HR, Fairview’s Nick Lohrer in 3-2 win over Youngsville
3-0-3-3, North East’s Christian Perez in 9-0 win over Seneca

Pitching
IP-H-R-ER-BB-SO
Monday
5-3-0-0-1-11, Meadville’s Dillon Tabar in 10-0 win over Titusville
3-1-0-0-0-5, Corry’s Jeremy Cressley in relief in 6-0 win over Harbor Creek
Wednesday
6-1-0-0-2-4, Cathedral Prep’s Bryan Colish in 6-0 win over Mercyhurst Prep
Thursday
6-2-1-1-4-10, Maplewood’s Donald Bowes in 4-3 win over Conneaut Valley
Friday
7-1-0-0-4-11, Villa Maria’s Chris Wright in 1-0 win over Mercyhurst Prep
7-3-0-0-1-1, Northwestern’s Mike Dunn in 3-0 win over Fort LeBoeuf
4-0-0-0-3-8, Warren’s Addison Dunn in relief in Warren’s 4-1 win over Harbor Creek

Hitting line of the week: This one’s a no-doubter. Keven McQueeney hit the first three homers of his varsity career and drove in eight runs — he had three RBIs entering the game — against McLane.
Pitching line of the week: Villa’s Wright takes that honor for his clutch performance against rival Mercyhurst Prep.
— Jeff Kirik

Some of this week’s top performances throughout District 10:
Hitting
ab-r-h-rbi
Monday
4-3-3-2, Villa Maria’s Maura Natale in 7-4 win over Youngsville
4-2-3-3, 3B, Warren’s Danielle Dorunda in 11-1 win over Mercyhurst Prep
Wednesday
4-1-2-3, HR, Northwestern’s Danelle Soltis in 6-4 win over Fort LeBoeuf
3-1-3-2, 2B, Harbor Creek’s Lauren Stoczynski in 11-1 win over Harbor Creek
4-1-3-2, game-winning 2B, Strong Vincent’s Jessica Marsden in 10-9 win over Franklin
4-4-4-3, two 2Bs, Corry’s Meghan Carney in 17-0 win over McDowell
3-3-3-2, Corry’s Rachel Maybray in 17-0 win over McDowell
Friday
4-2-3-2, 2B, Fairview’s Martha Hunter in 6-5 win over Iroquois
3-2-2-3, 2B, North East’s Jordan Artise in 12-1 win over Seneca
4-3-3-7, 2B, Harbor Creek’s Jaime Rzepecki in 21-0 win over East

Pitching
IP-H-R-ER-BB-SO
Monday
7-2-0-0-1-15, Cambridge Springs’ Stephanie Baer in 6-0 win over Lakeview
7-2-0-0-1-6, Fairview’s Taylor Rozantz in 5-0 win over Girard
7-2-0-0-1-10, Hickory’s Logan Rock in a 2-0 win over Titusville
Tuesday
7-4-1-0-1-9, Fort LeBoeuf’s Amanda Shields in 8-1 win over Youngsville
Wednesday
7-2-0-0-5-15, Villa Maria’s Ali Grab in 4-0 win over Eisenhower
7-7-1-0-2-12, Fairview’s Megan Rog in 4-1 win over North East
Thursday
7-4-1-0-0-10, Cambridge Springs’ Stephanie Baer in 6-1 win over Conneaut Lake
Friday
5-3-1-0-2-7, McDowell’s Alyssa Ogrodowczyk in 12-1 win over Central Tech

Hitting line of the week: Rzepecki had seven RBIs for Harbor Creek, but let’s go with Meghan Carney’s four-hit, four-run, three-RBI game.
Pitching line of the week: Fairview’s Rog allowed seven hits but had 12 K’s in nice win over North East.

— Jeff Kirik

On April 23, the Fairview softball team appeared to be little more than an also-ran in Region 3.
On that day, the Tigers pushed region-leading Villa Maria to the limit. The Ali Grab-led Victors needed a run in the bottom of the seventh to pull out a 3-2 victory over Fairview.
At the time, the Tigers dropped to 5-6 overall and 4-5 in the region, and a middle-of-the-pack finish seemed inevitable.
Seven games later, Fairview is arguably the hottest team in District 10, next to unbeaten Villa, of course.
The Tigers began their seven-game winning streak with a doubleheader sweep of Youngsville on April 25 and followed with a 4-2 victory over Eisenhower.
Last week, the Tigers turned up their level of play a couple more notches. Led by pitchers Megan Rog and Taylor Rozantz, Fairview went 4-0 to raise its record to 12-6 and 11-5 and move into a third-place tie with Northwestern and Fort LeBoeuf.
One day after a 5-0 win over Girard on May 5, the Tigers rallied for three runs in the bottom of the seventh to beat Northwestern 7-6. On May 7, they recorded their third win in as many days, 4-1 over North East.
Finally, on Friday, Fairview turned in its biggest win of the season when it beat second-place Iroquois 6-5. Amazingly, the Tigers racked up 15 hits against Lindsey Phillips, one of District 10’s top pitchers.
They are scheduled to play Seneca on Tuesday before closing the region season Thursday against LeBoeuf.

-- The softball players aren’t the only athletes at Fairview who are excelling these days. The boys tennis team last week swept the District 10 Class AA singles, doubles and team titles. The boys track and field team won the Erie County Classic one week after completing an unbeaten Region 4 dual season. The girls track team placed second in the region and at the Erie County Classic.
Good times at Fairview, to be sure.
-- Jeff Kirik

Don’t weep for the loser of today’s 4 p.m. softball game between Union City and Cambridge Springs. Yes, the winner will clinch the Region 2 championship, but any consoling pats on the back should be for the teams immediately below the Bears and Blue Devils.

While Union City and Cambridge Springs are each 16-1 in region play, Cochranton and Conneaut Valley are each 12-5. The District 10 Class A tournament will start with four teams, but that’s not the problem for the Cardinals and Indians.

No, their problem is that one team must come from Region 1 (Kennedy Catholic) and one from Region 3 (Eisenhower or Youngsville). Kennedy Catholic begins the week 8-6 overall, while Eisenhower and Youngsville have losing records.

The district's decision to go with region representation should not only make Union City and Cambridge Springs strong favorites in the A semifinals, but assure today’s loser a strong chance at payback in the Memorial Day title game.

— Mike Copper

When Iroquois’ April Kaminski looked at Friday morning’s edition of the Erie Times-News, she might have been surprised to see that she had finished fourth in the javelin on the opening day of the Erie County Classic at Harborcreek.
After all, she was listed with a distance of 93 feet, 9 inches, while Fort LeBoeuf’s Lindsay Alexander had been declared the winner with a 102-7. However, Kaminski’s best throw actually had traveled more than 10 feet longer than the 93-9 with which she was credited.
Later that day – the second day of the County Classic – meet officials corrected their scoring error, and Kaminski’s top throw of 104-8 was counted.
As a result, Kaminski appeared in Saturday’s edition of the Times-News as the official winner, while Alexander placed second.
-- Jeff Kirik

Monday’s Region 2 softball game between Union City and Cambridge Springs was postponed because of poor weather conditions. The Bears and Blue Devils, tied for the region lead at 16-1, will try again today at 4 p.m. at Cambridge Springs.

— Mike Copper

Union City pitcher Carrie Williams and Cambridge Springs counterpart Stephanie Baer were familiar with each other long before Tuesday’s Region 2 softball game. The junior Williams and the senior Baer have traded strikeouts in previous matchups between the Bears and Blue Devils.

Their softball camaraderie only grew in the offseason.

“We did a camp together over the winter,” Williams said. “I definitely have great respect for Stephanie, but when it comes down to it I want to beat her more than anybody.”

Williams accomplished that Tuesday. She pitched a three-hitter in the Bears’ 1-0 victory over the Blue Devils before more than 100 fans at Cambridge Springs.

Union City won the Region 2 title with a 17-1 record, the Bears’ first since District 10 went to the format four years ago.

Williams didn’t walk a batter and struck out three. Baer was equally effective, allowing four hits with no walks and nine strikeouts.

Williams pitched the shutout despite an uncharacteristic three errors by the Bears. She praised her teammates, anyway.

“Every game, I get a little panicked at the start,” Williams said. “But once I look around and see that I have the best defense in the region on my side, I get confident that they’re going to get that out for me.”

Tuesday’s victory automatically qualified Union City for the District 10 Class A semifinals, scheduled May 22 at Allegheny College. Despite the loss, the Blue Devils (16-2, 16-3) are expected to receive an at-large berth.

— Mike Copper

In an April 22 Varsity blog entry, we talked about how no team had emerged as a clear front-runner in the Region 3 baseball race during the first three weeks. The race appeared to be anyone’s for the taking.
At the time, North East was tied with Iroquois for first place in the region with a 5-2 record.
After that blog entry, the Grapepickers took charge. They won their next seven games, clinched a Class AA playoff berth and inched closer to the Region 3 title.
North East’s streak finally ended with a 9-6 loss to Northwestern on Monday, but the ’Pickers are 15-3 overall and 12-3 in the region and in prime position for the postseason.
North East could clinch a Region 3 title with a home-field victory today against Girard.
The ’Pickers have won with clutch hitting and solid pitching. Senior pitcher/shortstop Bryan Kirsch and senior pitcher/center fielder Eric Meehl have led the team’s second-half run.
Meehl has a 4-1 record with a 0.62 earned-run average and was hitting .400 coming into the week. Kirsch was 6-0 with an ERA of 1.11. He also was leading the ’Pickers with three home runs and 19 RBIs.
Other top hitters heading into the week were Dominic Kownacki (.448), Aaron Meehl (.423), Nick Grow (.350) and Kyle Meehl (.309).

-- Fans should remember that Class AA teams and Class A teams in Region 3 play unbalanced schedules. Each AA team plays each of the six other AA teams twice and each of the four A teams once. That equates to 16 games. Each A team plays each of the other three A teams twice and each of the seven AA teams once for a total of 13 games.
As a result, Villa Maria still could overtake North East for the region title today if the Victors beat Youngsville and the ’Pickers lose to Girard. That would leave Villa at 10-3 overall and North East at 12-4. The Victors would have a higher winning percentage and would take the region crown.
Otherwise, a North East win or a Villa loss would give the ’Pickers the title.
-- Jeff Kirik

Tonight's Region 6 baseball game between McDowell and Cathedral Prep has been postponed because of rain.
The game had been scheduled to be played at 7 p.m. at Jerry Uht Park.
Instead, the game has been rescheduled for Thursday at 7 p.m. at Uht Park.
McDowell (15-2 overall, 4-1 Region 6) and Prep (15-3, 4-1) enter the game tied atop the region standings, so the winner will be the region champion. The Trojans and Ramblers have split two previous games this season.

Today's District 10 Class AAA track and field championships have been postponed because of rain.

The meet has been rescheduled for Thursday at 3 p.m. at Harbor Creek's Paul J. Weitz Stadium.

McDowell’s Dan Kwiatkowski set a District 10 Class AAA record in the shot put Thursday, launching a throw of 64 feet, 8 inches in the D-10 championships at Harbor Creek’s Paul Weitz Stadium.
That broke the record of 59-1 set by Fort LeBoeuf’s Greg Deemer in 1985.
The mark also broke Kwiatkowski’s own school record of 63-½. He won the state indoor title in the shot put earlier this year.
Kwiatkowski won the event Thursday by more than 10 feet.
Interestingly, Kwiatkowski topped the D-10 AAA record on five of his six throws Thursday. His first effort traveled 60-11 and his second measured 60-9½ before he turned in the record throw on his third attempt. None of his final three throws topped 60 feet.

McDowell senior Becky Innes repeated as the District 10 Class AAA champion in the discus Thursday at Harbor Creek's Weitz Stadium.
Innes turned in a winning throw of 106 feet, 9 1/2 inches.
She won the 2007 discus title with a distance of 108-11.

McDowell's Dan Kwiatkowski, who earlier won the shot put in record-setting fashion, added a discus title Thursday at the District 10 Class AAA championships at Harbor Creek's Weitz Stadium.
Kwiatkowski won the discus with throw of 170 feet, 5 inches.

John Trucilla turned in the first title for Cathedral Prep on Thursday when he won the javelin at the District 10 Class AAA track and field championships at Harbor Creek's Weitz Stadium.
Trucilla, who was seeded third entering the event, won with a season-high effort of 172 feet, 2 inches.

Meadville's Andrew Geist repeated as the champion of the 1,600-meter run Thursday in the District 10 Class AAA track and field championships at Harbor Creek's Weitz Stadium.
Geist finished in a time of 4 minutes, 26.64 seconds, about 3 seconds off the D-10 AAA record. He won last year in a time of 4:34.83.

McDowell's Robert Ward won the long jump and the 100-meter dash Thursday in the District 10 Class AAA track and field championships at Harbor Creek's Weitz Stadium.
Ward took first in the long jump with a leap of 22 feet, 3 inches. He won the 100 in 11.12 seconds.

Jaimie Wienczkowski won a pair of titles Thursday to lead Strong Vincent at the District 10 Class AAA track and field championships at Harbor Creek's Weitz Stadium.
Wienczkowski won the 200-meter dash in a time of 26.43 seconds and won the 400 in 1:00.18.

CLASS AAAA
Thursday
Championship
At Penn State Behrend
Strong Vincent (Region 6 champ) vs. McDowell (at-large), 1 p.m.
May 26
Interdistrict
At Penn State Behrend
D-10 Champ vs. DuBois, 1 p.m.

CLASS AAA
Tuesday
Semifinals
At Penn State Behrend
Corry (Region 5 champ) vs. Hickory (at-large), 2 p.m.
Harbor Creek (at-large) vs. Franklin (Region 4 champ), 4 p.m.
May 26
Championship
At Penn State Behrend
Corry-Hickory winner vs. Harbor Creek-Franklin winner, 5 p.m.

CLASS AA
Tuesday
Quarterfinals
At Allegheny College
West Middlesex (at-large) vs. Titusville (at-large), 2 p.m.
Iroquois (at-large) vs. Maplewood (Region 2 automatic), 4 p.m.
Thursday
Semifinals
At Penn State Behrend
West Middlesex-Titusville winner vs. Villa Maria (Region 3 champ), 5 p.m.
Iroquois-Maplewood winner vs. Wilmington (Region 1 winner), 3 p.m.
May 26
Championship
At Penn State Behrend
Semifinal winners, 3 p.m.

CLASS A
Thursday
Semifinals
At Allegheny College
Kennedy Catholic (Region 1 automatic) vs. Cambridge Springs (at-large), 2 p.m.
Union City (Region 2 champ) vs. Eisenhower (Region 3 automatic), 4 p.m.
May 26
Championship
At Penn State Behrend
Union City-Eisenhower winner vs. Kennedy Catholic-Cambridge Springs winner, 11 a.m.

The District 10 baseball pairings were announced Friday, and the schedule is highlighted by a showdown between rivals McDowell and Cathedral Prep in the Class AAAA title game May 23 at Jerry Uht Park.
Class AAA features a field of four teams, while Class AA features six teams, with Sharon and North East getting first-round byes. Class A also has a four-team field.

DISTRICT 10 BASEBALL PLAYOFFS
CLASS AAAA
Friday, May 23
Championship
At Jerry Uht Park
McDowell (Region 6 champ) vs. Cathedral Prep (at-large), 7 p.m.

CLASS AAA
Wednesday, May 21
Quarterfinals
At Allegheny College
Corry (at-large) vs. Slippery Rock (at-large), 2 p.m.
Meadville (at-large) vs. Harbor Creek (at-large), 4 p.m.
Saturday, May 24
Semifinals
At Slippery Rock University
Corry-Slippery Rock winner vs. Warren (Region 5 champ), 4 p.m.
Meadville-Harbor Creek winner vs. Hickory (Region 4 champ), 6 p.m.
Monday, May 26
Championship
At Slippery Rock University
Semifinal winners, 6 p.m.

CLASS AA
Wednesday, May 21
Quarterfinals
At Slippery Rock University
Saegertown (at-large) vs. Fort LeBoeuf (at-large), 4 p.m.
Conneaut Lake (Region 2 automatic) vs. Northwestern (at-large), 6:30 p.m.
Saturday, May 24
At Slippery Rock University
Saegertown–Fort LeBoeuf winner vs. Sharon (Region 1 champ), 11 a.m..
Conneaut Lake–Northwestern winner vs. North East (Region 3 champ), 1:30 p.m.
Monday, May 26
Championship
At Slippery Rock UniversitySemifinal winners, 4 p.m.

CLASS A
Thursday, May 22
Semifinals
At Slippery Rock University
Linesville (Region 2 champ) vs. Cochranton (at-large), 4 p.m.
Villa Maria (Region 3 automatic) vs. Kennedy Catholic (Region 1 automatic), 6:30 p.m.
Monday, May 26
Championship
At Slippery Rock University
Linesville–Cochranton winner vs. Villa Maria–Kennedy Catholic winner, 1 p.m.

The top two finishers in each event from today's District 10 Class AA track and field championships automatically qualify for next week's PIAA meet.
Only the winner of each event at the District 10 Class AAA meet on Thursday automatically advanced to state.
In each meet, competitors who match or beat the predetermined state-qualifying standard for an event also qualify.
D-10 Class AA gets two automatic qualifiers because there are a significant amount of AA schools in D-10. The district has fewer Class AAA schools, so AAA gets only one automatic qualifier.

The North East boys and Union City girls got the District 10 Class AA track and field championships off to a strong start today with impressive wins in the 3,200-meter relay at Hickory High School.
Dylan Klein, Zach Mix, Garrett Gray and Carter Denne teamed up to win the 3,200 in time of
8 minutes, 8.83 seconds, well under the state-qualifying time of 8:15.55. The Fairview team finished second, narrowly missing the qualifying mark by a five one-hundredths of second. The top two finishers in every D-10 AA event qualify for next week's state meet.
In the girls race, Hannah Day, Morgan Sparks, Vicky Bem and Rebecca Reichbaum won in a time of 9:48.06, beating the qualifying time of 9:50.4. Seneca placed second and qualified for the state meet.

Fairview swept the two qualifying spots in the girls 100-meter dash at the D-10 Class AA meet today.
Katherine Faller won the event with a time of 12.97 seconds. Brittany Sargent was second with a 13.14. Both advance to the state meet next week.

On Thursday, McDowell's Dan Kwiatkowski showed at the District 10 Class AAA championships that he will be a PIAA title contender in the shot put next week. He set the D-10 Class AAA record with a distance of 64 feet, 8 inches.
Today, District 10 showed that it's pretty good in the AA shot put as well. Six boys qualified today for next week's state meet by topping the qualifying standard of 50 feet, 3 inches.
Paul Yohman of Wilmington won the event with a throw of 52-11½.
Joining him at state will be Wilmington's Josh Falvo (52-5), Fort LeBoeuf's Josh Williams (51-1), Grove City's Greg Reiber (50-9¾), West Middlesex's Travis Wojtalik (50-9½) and George Junior's Josh Mitchell (50-6½).

Fairview's Tyler Sargent, one of the premier all-around athletes in District 10, will not compete in today's District 10 Class AA track and field championships because of a hamstring injury.
Sargent, who will play football next fall at New Hampshire, would have been a title contender in the long jump. He also would have anchored the 400-meter relay and 1,600-meter relay.
The injury occurred last month, and Sargent missed a couple of weeks before returning for the Erie County Classic last week.
It remains to be seen how his absence will affect Fairview's hopes for a D-10 team title. The Fairview boys went 8-0 in the Region 4 season, won the County Classic title and are considered top D-10 contenders.

Four District 10 teams qualified for next week's PIAA meet in the girls 400-meter relay today at the D-10 Class AA championships.
Fairview's team of Kristin Corbin, Bethany Corbin, Brittany Sargent and Katherine Faller won the event with a time of 50.27 seconds, just missing the record of 50.0 seconds.
Lakeview (51.03), General McLane (51.08) and Fort LeBoeuf (51.11) also qualified for states.

Reynolds' Kara Mostoller won a highly competive duel with Fort LeBoeuf's Jessica Ferrick in the D-10 Class AA long jump today.
Mostoller won the event with a jump of 17-4½, and Ferrick placed second in 17-2 ½. (The state-qualifying mark was 16-11.) It was the second straight year that Mostoller and Ferrick finished 1-2 in the event.
Meanwhile, Grove City’s Kristy Woods repeated as the champion in both the shot put (44-5) and discus (132-4). Hickory's Emily Woods placed second in both events.

Harbor Creek's Lauren Zarger continued her dominance of the distance events in the District 10 Class AA meet today.
Zarger swept the 1,600 meters and 3,200 meters for the third straight year.
She broke a 26-year-old record in District 10 Class AA in the 3,200 with a time of 10 minutes, 56.12 seconds. That topped the mark of 10:57.10 set by Northwestern's Alane Keefer in 1982. The state-qualifying mark is 11:35.00.
Zarger won the 1,600 today in 5:14.97.
She said that, for the third straight year, she will run only the 3,200 at the PIAA meet. She finished second at last year's meet.

Girard's A.J. Dohanic and Fairview's Sam Havko each were double winners at the D-10 Class AAA meet today.
Dohanic won the 110-meter hurdles in a time of 15.01 seconds, beating the state-qualifying time of 15.35. He also won the 200 meters in 23.08 seconds. Dohanic also advanced in the 300 hurdles despite finishing second to Sharon's William Altman. Altman finished in 39.35, while Dohanic ran a personal-best 39.46.
Meanwhile, Havko won the 800 (1:57.89) and 1,600 (4:23.71) with a pair of impressive times.

HERMITAGE -- The Fort LeBoeuf girls won the District 10 Class AA track and field title today at Hickory High School.
LeBoeuf, which had only one individual champion, finished with 82 points to narrowly beat second-place Fairview (78). General McLane (72) finished third.
Andrea Henneberry won the triple jump with a distance of 35 feet, 1 inch to lead the Bisons, who won with superior depth.
Wilmington won the boys title with 102 1/3 points, followed by George Junior (63½) and Titusville (58).

Some of last week’s top performances in District 10:
AB-R-H-RBI
Monday
5-0-4-3, Villa Maria’s Maura Natale in 10-0 win over Girard
4-2-3-3, Villa Maria’s Angela Gaeta in 10-0 win over Girard
Tuesday
4-1-2-2, HR, Iroquois’ Becky Zill in 9-0 win over Eisenhower
3-1-3-1, two 2Bs, Iroquois’ Brittany Tombaugh in 9-0 win over Eisenhower
3-0-3-1, Fairview’s Taylor Rozantz in 3-0 win over Seneca
2-1-2-2, two 2Bs, Fort LeBoeuf’s Randi Pace in 8-3 win over North East
4-2-3-2, 2B, Titusville’s Shalyn Kemp in 16-5 win over Meadville
4-2-2-3, Titusville’s Chloe Ruot in 16-5 win over Meadville
4-2-3-2, 2B, Titusville’s Lara Johnson in 16-5 win over Meadville
3-2-2-1, 3B, Harbor Creek’s Valerie Mattson in 7-1 win over Mercyhurst Prep
5-3-3-3, Corry’s Caitie Weber in 10-4 win over General McLane
3-1-2-2, HR, General McLane’s Kayle Fox in 10-4 loss to Corry
4-3-2-3, HR, Strong Vincent’s Tera Deniziak in 11-0 win over Central Tech
Thursday
3-1-2-3, Fairview’s Jenna Pollard in 11-1 win over Fort LeBoeuf
3-1-2-2, 2B, 3B, Fairview’s Jenna Pollard in 11-1 win over Fort LeBoeuf
3-2-3-3 two 2Bs, Iroquois Becky Zill in 11-0 win over Seneca
3-1-2-3 two 2Bs, Iroquois Brittany Tombaugh in 11-0 win over Seneca
2-2-1-2, HR,Villa Maria’s Michelle Murphy in 10-0 win over North East
3-2-3-1, 2B,Villa Maria’s Abby Sorensen in 10-0 win over North East
3-3-3-1, 2B,Villa Maria’s Courtney Giblin in 10-0 win over North East
3-0-3-5, 2B, Harbor Creek’s Kacey Haas in 7-1 win over Warren
4-2-3-2, 3B, HR, Strong Vincent’s Micki Murzynski in 10-5 win over McDowell

Pitching
IP-H-R-ER-BB-SO
Monday
6-2-0-0-0-12, Villa Maria’s Ali Grab in 10-0 win over Girard
Tuesday
7-3-0-0-0-3, Union City’s Carrie Williams in 1-0 win over Cambridge Springs
7-4-1-1-1-13, Harbor Creek’s Andrea Collins in 7-1 win over Mercyhurst Prep
7-4-1-1-0-9, Cambridge Springs’ Stephanie Baer in 1-0 loss to Union city
7-3-0-0-1-10, Iroquois’ Lindsey Phillips in 9-0 win over Eisenhower
4-0-0-0-0-4, Fairview’s Megan Rog in 3-0 win over Seneca
5-2-0-0-1-9, Strong Vincent’s Stacie Balkovic in 11-0 loss to Central Tech
Thursday
5-4-1-0-0-5, Fairview’s Megan Rog in 11-1 win over Fort LeBoeuf
5-2-0-0-1-14, Iroquois Lindsey Phillips in 11-0 win over Seneca
5-1-0-0-3-11, Villa Maria’s Ali Grab in 10-0 win over North East
7-5-1-0-0-10, 2B, Harbor Creek’s Andrea Collins in 7-1 win over Warren
Friday
7-3-0-0-2-8, Cambridge Springs’ Stephanie Baer in 3-0 win over Iroquois

Hitting line of the week: Kacey Haas had quite a day Thursday, but Micki Murzynski had a huge offensive performance in Vincent’s region-clinching victory.
Pitching line of the week: Carrie Williams didn’t get a a lot of strikeouts, but it’s impressive when you shut out an offensive lineup as strong as Cambridge Springs.

Some of last week’s top performances in District 10:
AB-R-H-RBI
Monday
5-2-4-1 2B, HR, Northwestern’s Marcus Paradise in 9-6 win over North East
5-2-3-2, HR, Northwestern’s David Bihler in 9-6 win over North East
3-1-2-2, 2B, Fort LeBoeuf’s Brandon Lavery in 3-0 win over Mercyhurst Prep
Tuesday
2-0-1-2, two-run single in bottom of 7th, Cambridge Springs’ Blaze Pietrowski in 2-1 win over Union City
4-2-3-4, 2B, HR, Villa Maria’s Chris Wright in 13-2 win over Iroquois
4-2-3-4, HR, Villa Maria’s Matt Adamczyk in 13-2 win over Iroquois
2-2-1-4, HR, Grove City’s Jason Ferderber in 10-6 win over Titusville
4-1-1-4, HR, Titusville’s Derek Carr in 10-6 loss to Grove City
4-2-2-2, two 2Bs, Corry’s Jeremy Cressley in 12-0 win over East
4-0-2-3, 2B, Corry’s Colin Bailey in 12-0 win over East
5-3-3-1, 2B, 3B, Cathedral Prep’s Mike Travers in 7-6 win over Harbor Creek
4-1-3-3, 2B, HR, Cathedral Prep’s Phil Sorensen in 7-6 win over Harbor Creek
Wednesday
2-1-2-2, Villa Maria’s Terry Carson in 3-0 win over Youngsville
4-1-4-0, Fairview’s Andrew Carne in 7-6 loss to Eisenhower
Thursday
4-1-3-2, 2B, Mercyhurst Prep’s Brandon Forcier in 12-2 win over Iroquois
4-3-2-2, Corry’s Tyler Amoroso in 12-3 win over General McLane
4-1-3-2, Corry’s Kyle Hamilton in 12-3 win over General McLane
2-2-2-4, HR, Union City’s Dominic Crocker in 7-6 loss to Fairview
Friday
4-3-2-2, HR, Northwestern’s Marcus Paradise in 9-7 win over Linesville
4-1-2-2, 2B, HR, Linesville’s Doug Williams in 9-7 loss to Northwestern
4-3-3-3, North East’s Aaron Meehl in 10-0 win over Girard
3-2-2-2, HR, North East’s Nick Grow in 10-0 win over Girard
Saturday
2-2-2-2, Harbor Creek’s Marc Amendola in 14-3 win over East
3-2-1-2, McDowell’s Kyle Harpster in 13-5 win over Warren
3-1-1-2, 3B, Mercyhurst Prep’s Brandon Forcier in 3-2 win over General McLane

Pitching
IP-H-R-ER-BB-SO
Monday
7-6-0-0-1-3, Fort LeBoeuf’s Bryan Yost in 3-0 win over Mercyhurst Prep
7-8-2-2-0-9, Girard’s Bobby Morrow in 4-2 win over Fairview
7-5-4-2-3-13, Fairview’s Nick Lohrer in 4-2 loss to Girard
Tuesday
7-6-2-1-0-6, Eisenhower’s Dustin Anderson in 5-2 win over Seneca
6-3-2-2-1-9, Villa Maria’s Kevin Gnacinski in 13-2 win over Iroquois
3-2-0-0-0-6, Corry’s Joel Oesch in 12-0 win over East
Wednesday
7-3-0-0-0-18, Villa Maria’s Chris Wright in 3-0 win over Youngsville
Thursday
7-2-0-0-1-6, Fort LeBoeuf’s Justin Jones in 1-0 win over Seneca
5-4-2-0-2-5, Mercyhurst Prep’s Shane Hodapp in 12-2 win over Iroquois
Friday
3-0-0-0-2-5, North East’s Eric Meehl in 10-0 win over Girard
3-1-0-0-1-6, North East’s Nick Grow in 10-0 win over Girard
7-5-1-0-0-10, Fairview’s Nick Lohrer in 3-1 win over Central Tech
Hitting line of the week: Villa Maria’s Chris Wright and Matt Adamczyk shared the same line in Villa’s clutch win over Iroquois.
Pitching line of the week: Villa’s Wright wins this one with an amazing 18 strikeouts.

When the PIAA track and field championships take place Friday and Saturday, District 10 athletes will be among the favorites in a multitude of events. Check the PIAA qualifiers performance list to see how your favorite athletes' performances stack up against other state qualifiers.

The District 10 Class AA singles champion will open against Bedford’s Steven Dull for the second straight year at the PIAA tennis tournament.

Fairview sophomore Johnathan Knoll will make his state debut against Dull when action begins Friday morning at the Hershey Racquet Club. Last year, Warren’s Jeff Nuhfer advanced to the 2007 quarterfinals with a 6-0, 6-1 victory over the District 5 titlist.

Knoll qualified for Hershey when he beat Tigers teammate Jake Batchelor in the District 10 AA singles final. Batchelor, though, rebounded to win the AA doubles title with Thomas Shuttleworth.

Those two will open Friday’s AA doubles tournament against Tussey Mountain’s Peter Riley and Bruno DeBock.

In Class AAA, McDowell sophomore Landon Williams draws District 8 winner Max Schmerw of Allderdice in the first round of singles. It will be Williams’ second appearance at states after he advanced as a 2007 District 10 doubles winner with Chris Galvin.

This season, that honor went to Cathedral Prep’s James Ward and John Walbridge. The Ramblers’ duo will open against Arjun Iyengar and Henry Netzer, also from Allderdice.

The two-day tournament will culminate with Saturday's AA finals at 1 p.m., followed by the AAA finals at 3.

— Mike Copper

Garrett Gray, North East's top distance runner, had a winning time of 9:45.72 in the 3,200-meter run at the District 10 championships. However, he has scratched in that event for the PIAA championships.
The reason?
Gray and teammates Dylan Klein, Zach Mix and Carter Denne will be aiming for a gold medal in the 3,200-meter relay. That race just happens to fall right after the individual 3,200 meters.
The Grapepickers' relay team is seeded third, and their winning time of 8:08.83 is within 6 seconds of the top seed. North East set its time on Saturday at Hickory in conditions that have to be describes as anything but ideal, with scattered rain and wind.

The Union City girls' 3,200-meter relay team and Titusville pole vaulter Jacquelyn Kerr are among District 10's early Class AA hopefuls scheduled to compete in Friday's PIAA track and field meet. Action in various events is scheduled to start at 9 a.m.

Morning conditions at Shippensburg University's Seth Grove Stadium are sunny with temperatures expected to reach the upper 60s. An early morning breeze could make it difficult for pole vaulters like Kerr, seeded fifth and a serious contender in the AA field.

-- Mike Copper

Some of the best bets from District 10 to medal this weekend in Shippensburg:

Class AAA boys

Dan Kwiatkowski, senior, McDowell
Shot put – seeded first, 64-8
Discus – seeded third, 170-5

Class AA boys

William Altman, senior, Sharon
300-meter hurdles – seeded first, 39.35

Ryan Bell, senior, Wilmington
Javelin – seeded first, 196-5

Paul Yohman, senior, Wilmington
Shot put – seeded first, 52-11½
Discus – seeded sixth, 151-6

A.J. Dohanic, senior, Girard
300-meter hurdles – seeded second, 39.46
110-meter hurdles – seeded sixth, 15.01

Parker Kocan, senior, Titusville
Pole vault – seeded second, 14-1

Sam Havko, junior, Fairview
800 meters – seeded third, 1:57.89
1,600 meters – seeded third, 4:23.71

Josh Falvo, junior, Wilmington
Shot put – seeded third, 52-5
Discus – seeded seventh, 151-3

Carter Denne, senior, North East
800 meters – seeded fourth, 1:58.13

Shane Sigler, senior, Sharpsville
1,600 meters – seeded fourth, 4:26.06

Weston Schaa, senior, Mercer
High jump – seeded fourth, 6-6

Matt Durisko, sophomore, Hickory
Javelin – seeded fourth, 191-0

Adam Shrawder, junior, West Middlesex
800 meters – seeded fifth, 1:58.85

Josh Williams, senior, Fort LeBoeuf
Shot put – seeded sixth, 51-1

Chris Burns, senior, Wilmington
Long jump – seeded seventh, 21-10

Trevor Foley, sophomore, Titusville
300 meter hurdles – seeded eighth, 40.15

Greg Reiber, senior, Grove City
Shot put – seeded eighth, 50-9¾

Class AA girls

Kristy Woods, senior, Grove City
Shot put – seeded first, 44-5
Discus – seeded first, 132-4

Fawn Miller, sophomore, Lakeview
Javelin – seeded second, 145-6

Lauren Zarger, junior, Harbor Creek
3,200 meters – seeded second, 10:56.12

Jacquelyn Kerr, senior, Titusville
Pole vault – seeded fifth, 11-6

Emily Woods, sophomore, Hickory
Discus – seeded fifth, 126-5
Shot put – seeded sixth, 39-¼

Hana Casalnova, sophomore, Grove City
400 meters – seeded eighth, 58.99

Hannah Day, junior, Union City
800 meters – seeded eighth, 2:19.47

Relay teams to watch

Class AAA boys

McDowell
400-meter relay – seeded second, 42.64

Cathedral Prep
400-meter relay – seeded third, 42.71

Class AA boys

North East
3,200-meter relay – seeded third, 8:08.83

Fairview
3,200-meter relay – seeded sixth, 8:15.60

George Junior Republic
400-meter relay – seeded seventh, 43.61

Class AA girls

Fairview
400-meter relay – seeded eighth, 50.27

McDowell’s Dan Kwiatkowski will have to wait until Saturday in his attempt to win a medal at the PIAA track and field championships.

Kwiatkowski, who was seeded third in Friday’s Class AAA discus throw, did not qualify for the finals. He fouled on his first two attempts, and then had a throw of 143 feet, 8 inches in his third attempt.

Kwiatkowski had won the District 10 championship with a throw of 170-5.

Kwiatkowski had a state-best throw of 64 feet, 8 inches in the shot put. He is seeded first in that event, which will be contested Saturday morning. A year ago, Kwiatkowski was fifth in the shot at 55-8¼.

The Class AA long jump produced District 10's first female champion and Erie County medalist at Friday's PIAA track and field meet.

Reynolds sophomore Kara Mostoller, seeded 10th, surprised the eight favorites with a top leap of 18 feet, 8 1/2 inches at Shippensburg University's Seth Grove Stadium. Mostoller medaled seventh in the long jump at the