BLUE DEVIL DISPATCH 2-24-10
WRESTLING
Two Blue Devil senior wrestlers fought their way through the Section I Tournament of the District 3-AAA Wrestling Championships last week. Dylan Schaeffer and Todd DeWalt advanced to the district round to be held in Hershey. It will be a return trip for Schaeffer. Each senior placed third to get the nod and were very close in semifinal losses to a championship bout.
Schaeffer, who came in as the second seed, was tied with time running out in his 160-pound semi before his opponent countered a shot with a spin behind for the win. Adam Geiger ended up winning the title. Schaeffer rebounded with two wins into the third-place final where he prevailed 18-1 in a 4:22 technical fall. He was third a year ago as well.
DeWalt, a third seed at 189 pounds, was leading his semifinal with time expiring and Mechanicsburg’s Bryton Barr escaped to tie it. Barr managed a five-point move in the overtime for the win. DeWalt also showed resilience in the wrestle backs to make the consolation final where he won 3-0.
G-A had another semifinalist in twice-beaten Tyler Ezolt at 152. Ezolt, who was the second seed, advanced to the semifinals where he was pinned. The senior then advanced to the consolation final where he was edged out of third place and a district berth in a 3-2 score.
Fourth-seeded Denton Ensiminger was battling in a tough heavyweight class and advanced to the semifinals where he dropped a close 2-1 decision to eventual champion Gavin Nickel of Carlisle. Another extremely close bout ended Ensminger’s tournament, 3-2 in the consolation semifinals.
G-A’s Rusty Pine (103) won a preliminary round and a first round consolation bout in the tournament. Justin Meridith and Jake Heuer each had a win and a loss. Also wrestling for the Devils in the event were Bobby McPhearson, Jordan Ladzinski and Chris Kinzey.
In the team race, G-A was ninth with 41.5 points. Cumberland Valley won the section title with 125 points.
BOYS’
BASKETBALL
The Greencastle-Antrim boys’ basketball team played in the Mid-Penn Conference Tournament and ended with a good tuneup for this week’s District 3-AAA Tournament.
The Blue Devils drew Steel High in the conference event and battled in a 62-54 loss to the Rollers on the home floor. The Rollers probably thought a 23-14 first quarter set a good tone, but the Devils had a different idea and tied the game by the break. Working into the third the Devils rebounded well on defense and ran the break to a 10-point advantage. Steel High was able to even the game out again. While G-A had a chance to make a difference at the foul line in the fourth quarter, a 2-for-13 performance wasn’t going to get it done and directed the eight-point loss.
Christian Hoover scored 18 to lead the Devils. Eric Baymon added nine points, eight assists and seven rebounds. Jared Grove had nine points and seven boards.
The Devils (12-9), the 10th seed, were scheduled to play seventh-seeded Lancaster Catholic (19-4) Tuesday, Feb. 23 in Hempfield in the first round of district play.
GIRLS’
BASKETBALL
The Blue Devils (8-12, 4-4 MPC-Capital) had trouble getting out of the gate in a 48-33 season-ending loss to West Perry last week. G-A was mired in a hole until the start of the second quarter. Trailing 20-5 senior Rachelle Piper put in six straight points. It was as narrow a deficit the Devils could manage however as West Perry kept that margin throughout the game.
Tache Smothers inserted 15 points to lead the Devils. She added four steals. Piper scored eight and Crunkleton put in seven with four steals. Rachel Kline was high on the boards with 11 rebounds.
G-A dropped a narrow junior varsity contest, 38-37. Brooke Strait scored 10 points and Miranda Sharp had eight. The team completed its 6-12 season.
MIDDLE SCHOOL
Boys’ Basketball
G-A’s freshman team (14-1) finished its regular season with just one loss with three wins last week. The squad first knocked off Mercersburg Academy 47-39 then topped Camp Hill 49-32 and finished with a 66-53 verdict over St. John’s out of Frederick County, Maryland.
The Blue Devils made most of its hay against the Academy with a 16-7 second quarter. Gabe Fridgen led with 14 points and Holden Baker added eight. “This was a very good game to watch,” said G-A head coach Jerry Englehart. “I thought both teams played with a lot of energy.”
Camp Hill put up a good fight in the first half, but G-A played to a 24-12 second half to win by 17. Brandon Puffenbarger recorded 11 points and Zach Falkner put in 10. Englehart said, “I think we wore them down in the second half.”
After starting with a 13-0 lead G-A adjusted to a defensive change from St. John’s that evened things out. The Devils pulled away with a 26-16 fourth. Fridgen led all scorers with 22 points. Faulkner added 17. Englehart said, “I’m really proud of the kids’ efforts throughout the year. The improvements made as individuals and as a team were outstanding. They should be very proud of their season.”
The freshman squad will host a tournament Friday and Saturday, Feb. 26 and 27 in the high and middle schools. G-A will open at 7 p.m. Friday against Palmyra in the high school. On Saturday the Devil pool will continue at 11 a.m. against Reading in the high school. In addition to G-A the teams competing will be: Boiling Springs, Palmyra, Reading, Chambersburg, Kennard-Dale, St. John’s and Winchester.
The eighth-grade team posted a 43-30 win over Camp Hill to end its season with a 7-3 record. The seventh-grade squad also won over Camp Hill, 40-27, for a 7-2 season.
Girls’ Basketball
The middle school girls’ hoops teams finished the season by sweeping Camp Hill. The freshman team thumped the Lions 42-14 to end its season at 7-5. The eight-grade Blue Devils wrapped up a 9-3 slate with a 30-14 win over Camp Hill. G-A’s seventh-grade team won 22-19 over Camp Hill for a 9-3 record to end the season.
