EDITORIAL: CROP OF CHAMPIONS -- Young women dominated with sequel state titles

Mar. 22—HERE in Mercer County, farming is part of the culture.

But we don't grow just corn and soybeans in these parts. We grow champions.

The winter season brought a yield of repeat state championship winners in girls basketball, speech and girls wrestling.

Play it again, Sam(antha)

All of Mercer County's state champions, and all of the repeaters, had one thing in common. All of them were girls.

Avry Ryhal accomplished an apparently impossible feat. In the first year of girls wrestling's recognition as a PIAA sanctioned sport, the Hickory senior stood atop the champion's podium March 9 for her second state title, having finished first in the non-PIAA state tournament in 2022.

Mercer's standout speech program produced two state title winners March 16 at the Pennsylvania High School Speech League State Tournament. For the first time in the program's storied history, a student won back-to-back state titles.

Senior Isabella Smith repeated as champion in dramatic interpretation to follow Maddie Rowe, who won the dramatic interpretation category as a freshman in 2015 and a senior in 2018, as the only two-time state title winner on the history of Mercer speech.

Mercer senior Jadyn Dittrich claimed her own championship by finishing first in prose interpretation.

Finally, but by no means least, Kennedy Catholic's girls basketball team ended the winter sports season Thursday by winning its second consecutive state Class 2A title in dramatic fashion — with a last-minute putback of her own missed free throw, with an and-one for good measure — by defeating Marion Center, 42-40, in the Golden Eagles' third trip to the state title game in as many years.

Three cheers

Another dynasty — Hickory High School's competitive cheerleading team — continued its own championship run with its sixth consecutive District 10 championship and followed up its second-place PIAA finish with a third place result at the state tournament in the Class 2A large school division.

Lakeview's team finished second in the Class 2A small school division at the District 10 championships.

Above the rim

On the basketball court, Mercer County's banner season wasn't limited to Kennedy Catholic's girls team. Farrell's boys and Jamestown's girls teams claimed District 10 championships in Class 1A and advanced to the PIAA playoffs.

The Steelers capped their district title with a trip to the PIAA Elite Eight.

Also qualifying for the boys state basketball tournament from District 10 were Hickory (second place in Class 4A) and Grove City (third place in Class 4A).

Wilmington (third place in Class 3A) and West Middlesex (third place in Class 2A) reached the PIAA girls tournament, with the Big Reds reaching the state tournament's second round.

In the water

Capping a standout career, Sharon senior Mark Cattron finished fourth in the 200 freestyle and eighth in the 100 freestyle March 15 and 16 at the PIAA Class 2A swimming championships, after winning the 200 and finishing second in the 100 at the District 10 meet.

Cattron passes the torch of Tigers' swimming prowess to sophomore Nate Dorsch, who won the 500 freestyle and finished second to Cattron in the 200 freestyle at the District 10 championships. At the PIAA meet, Dorsch was fourth in the 200 and fifth in the 500.

Slippery Rock junior Mollie Massella won individual titles in the 200 freestyle and 100 butterfly March 2 from the District 10 Class 2A swimming championships, and led the team's district champion 400 freestyle relay team, with junior Raely FaJohn, sophomore Season Grant and junior Maddy Gauselmann.

Sharon senior Logan Wilson won the 500 freestyle and finished second in the 200 freestyle at the District 10 meet.

Ella Stillwagon of Grove City took second place at the district meet and ninth at the state championships in the 100 butterfly.

On the mat

In yet another dynastic performance, Reynolds won its 21st — and second consecutive — District 10 dual meet wrestling title. Hickory, bumped up to Class 3A in wrestling before the 2023-24 season, earned a runner-up finish District 10 dual meet finish.

With girls wrestling making its inaugural appearance at the PIAA championships, Greenville senior Madilyn Enterline joined Ryhal in the state Class 2A finals, finishing second in the 106-pound weight class.

The top PIAA Class 2A boys finishers were Reynolds seniors Chase Bell (third place, 139 pounds) and Louie Gill (fourth place, 121 pounds); Reynolds freshman Logan Stewart (fourth place, 127 pounds); Grove City's Hunter Hohman (fourth place, 172 pounds), Cody Hamilton (fifth place, 152 pounds) and Hudson Hohman (eighth place, 133 pounds); and Greenville's Teague Calvin (eight place, 215 pounds).

Brady Slicker of Hickory finished eighth place at 127 pounds.

At the District 10 championships, Angelo Lomonte of Reynolds finished first at 107 pounds, along with Raiders' teammates Gill, Stewart and Bell. The Raiders' Waylon Waite, Colton Tupper and Louie DeJulia finished third, Waite at 114 pounds, Tupper at 189 and DeJulia at 172.

Commodore Perry's Wyatt Lazzar won the District 10 title at 145 pounds and teammate Garet Guthrie was second at 285 pounds.

Hamilton and Hunter Hohman won District 10 championships and Hudson Hohman finished third for Grove City.

Carter Wise of Mercer was third at 121 pounds in the District 10 meet, and the Greenville trio of Calvin, Hunter Cox and Joey Peterson all had top-three finishes. Calvin was second at 215 pounds, Cox was third 139 pounds and Peterson was third at 285 pounds.

Mercer speech

In addition to the state championship victories for Smith and Dittrich, seven other competitors marked top-10 finishes at the Pennsylvania High School Speech League State Tournament:

Junior Alex Cameron (fifth place, dramatic interpretation), juniors Madeline Jewell and Luke Childers (third place, duo interpretation), senior Robert Rudavetz (fourth place, humorous interpretation), senior Morgan Miller (seventh place, humorous interpretation, freshman Kailyn Minner (eighth place, storytelling) and sophomore Kailyn Minner (10th place, humorous interpretation)

And unlike the other winter competitors, Mercer's speech season isn't over yet. Seven members of the team have qualified for the National Speech and Debate Association Tournament, June 16-21 in West Des Moines, Iowa.

National championship contenders are Smith, Dittrich, Miller, Rudavetz, the team of Jewell and junior Ben Hamilton and Minner.

Whether they were repeat winners or first-timers, The Herald congratulates not just everyone who won championships this year, but to every athlete in the area who competed this season. All of you contributed to this spring's crop of champions.