NEW CASTLE — Laurel High’s Ethan Wilson and Emily Maxwell led a county contingent at the Midwestern Athletic Conference Cross Country Championship.

Wilson, a senior, placed third in the boys race yesterday in 17:05 and Maxwell, also a senior, finished second in the girls race in 19:55. The event was held at Brush Creek.

“I think Ethan ran a tremendous race. He went in and did very well,” Laurel coach Greg Schmitt said. “Ethan is right where he needs to be. He’s on target to win a WPIAL championship.

“Emily ran a great race. I’m really looking forward to seeing how she does at the WPIAL meet. They both did a great job.”

Wilson’s time was the sixth-best among boys runners on that course and Maxwell’s effort was good for the fifth-best time among girls.

New Castle and Shenango tied with 250 points in the boys team standings. The Red Hurricane took sixth place because of Trevor Blackwell’s sixth-place finish in 17:25 and the Wildcats earned seventh.

Mike Mazzanti placed 19th for New Castle in 18:00, Alex Shepard was 66th in 19:41, Corey Niles (78th, 19:59) and Chris Mazzanti (81st, 20:03) completed the ’Canes’ top five runners.

David Waldschmidt paced the Wildcats, placing 22nd in 18:05. Andy McCann was 38th in 18:53, Nicco Pagley claimed 44th in 19:04, Kyle Campbell was 49th in 19:16 and Blake Scala was 97th in 20:47.

Neshannock placed eighth in the boys team standings with 270 points. Robbie Kroner was 14th in 17:50 for the Lancers, Matt Turner took 37th in 18:47, Austin Moose claimed 46th in 19:06 and Ron Calvert captured 58th in 19:28. Dean Lutz finished 115th in 21:46.

Laurel’s boys team captured 10th place in the team standings with 274 markers. Robert Schrantz followed Wilson’s effort, placing 52nd in 19:21. Lucas Switzer (57th, 19:26), Bryan Taylor (77th, 19:58) and Alexander Hudak (85th, 20:10) also competed for the Spartans.

Ellwood City Lincoln claimed 18th place in the boys team standings. Matt Reed led the Wolverines, placing 48th in 19:14. Tatsumasa Abe (73rd, 19:53), Wesley Larry (92nd, 20:37), James Gajewski (108th, 21:15) and Alex Tomak (121st, 22:00) completed Ellwood’s top five runners.

Mohawk took 20th in the boys team standings with 513 points. Sam Whippo led the Warriors, finishing 79th in 20:02. David Kelty (93th, 20:38), Jakob Hobel (110th, 21:25), Andrew Henley (112th, 21:36) and Dakota Lee (119th, 21:55) also participated for Mohawk.

The Lady Spartans took fourth in the team standings with 105 points.

Kristin Dicks finished 17th for Laurel in 22:18, Brooke Dicks was 23rd in 22:26, Alison Filer was 24th in 22:26 and Kacee Caughey placed 39th in 23:32.

“Our girls team did very well,” Schmitt said. “We were the first single-A team in the standings. That speaks volumes for our program.”

Neshannock’s Lizzie Manickas finished fourth in 20:23. She was the only runner competing for the Lady Lancers.

Shenango placed sixth in the girls team standings with 129 points. Katie Bruce led the Lady Wildcats, finishing ninth in 21:27. Rachel Reamer placed 27th in 22:35, Carly Danielson captured 28th in 22:36, Courtney Fontana was 32nd in 22:45 and Elizabeth Salem claimed 33rd in 22:47.

Mohawk grabbed eighth place in the girls team standings with 269 points. Breyonna Wagner claimed eighth place in 21:23, Mackenzie Moon finished 49th in 24:05, Joelle Bromley placed 63rd in 25:09, Holly Duncan was 74th in 26:54 and Danielle Kelty finished 75th in 26:54.

New Castle took 11th in the girls standings with 298 points. Andrea Lansdowne finished 25th for the Lady ’Canes in 22:29 and teammate Caitlin Adamo was 48th in 24:00. Rebecca Paul placed 60th in 24:48, Gabby Matarazzo was 82nd in 27:39 and Vanessa Turner finished 83rd in 27:47.

Ellwood City claimed 17th place in the girls team standings with 447 points. Mallory Angelucci led the Lady Wolverines in 67th place (25:39). Paige Mason took 81st in 27:38, Janelle Fox was 98th in 31:53, Goldie Bookamer finished 99th in 31:57 and Payton Kegel was 102nd in 34:36.

Mars captured the boys team championship with 96 points, while Moon won the girls team title with 50 markers.

Ellwood City’s Billy Lott placed seventh in the boys junior high race in 12:31 and Shenango’s Matt Salem was ninth in 12:45. Neshannock’s Chris Noga placed 10th in 12:53. New Castle’s Andrew Gonzales finished 23rd in 13:31.

Laurel’s Cassandra Patterson placed fourth in the girls junior high race in 13:47 and Shenango’s Brooke-Ellynne Waters was 15th in 14:36. Mohawk’s Meghan Johnson placed 37th in 15:38 and Neshannock’s Hannah Shaner finished 44th in 15:47. New Castle’s Jessica Hill was 51st in 16:12.



Girls volleyball

Lady Wildcats roll

Shenango cruised to a 25-14, 25-16, 25-14 Section 3-A road win over Union. The win sews up the section championship outright for the Lady Wildcats.

“I think the loss that Laurel had against Beaver County Christian was unexpected,” Shenango coach Angela Heagy said. “I’d rather beat Laurel on Wednesday, but I’m very proud of the team for performing as well as they have so far this year and locking up the section title.”

Sophia Koury collected 15 kills for the Lady Wildcats (9-0 section, 11-2 overall) and Jade Esposito added nine aces.

Christina Rapone recorded 13 assists.

“The girls did pretty well,” Heagy said. “They kept the lead the entire match.

“I thought Amanda Herb played really great for us and Angelina Sibeto did a great job defensively.”

Union is now 5-5, 7-7.

“We played OK,” Union coach Bob Miller said. “Shenango is a pretty good team. I thought we had a good shot of at least winning one game against them.”

Shenango won the JV match, 25-6, 25-13.

Sarah Herb handed out 12 assists for the Lady Wildcats and Dominique Camera was next with four kills.

Angelina Sibeto served up four aces.



Ellwood loses

The Lady Wolverines dropped 25-21, 19-25, 25-18, 25-11. Section 1-AA home loss to Hopewell.

Isabella Williams recorded three aces and 19 assists for Ellwood City (3-6, 6-5), while Angela McCowin added nine blocks and 14 kills.

Asia Borders contributed eight blocks and eight kills. Susie Blyth scooped up 21 digs.

“I was really proud of my girls. Hopewell is undefeated in the section,” Lady Wolverines coach Kim Frampton said. “They’re known for being a strong force.

“We gave them a strong match and we took a game. It was nice to see that no matter who a team is, if you play your game, you can take a team down. And that’s how we played (last night).”

Ellwood City lost the JV match, 25-21, 25-20.



Lady Spartans cruise

Laurel breezed to a 25-8, 25-6, 25-7 Section 3-A road victory over Western Beaver.

Emily Gibson served up 13 points with 11 aces for the Lady Spartans (8-2, 12-3), who clinched second place in the section. Mackenzie Mraz chipped in 12 points and eight aces.

Allie Collier registered eight points and four aces, while Makayla Dupont handed out 12 assists. Leah Telesz slammed five kills and Ellen Shaffer added four.

“They had a fun practice yesterday,” Laurel coach Nikki Downing said. “I think they’re less stressed now. The pressure is kind of off of them because first place is out of the question.

“They’re enjoying having fun and that’s kind of been the difference. They’re just going to enjoy playing and having a good time. Every year, when we make it to the playoffs, our goal is to play better. I hope we continue to come together and play hard the rest of the way.”

The Lady Spartans won the JV match, 25-6, 25-6.

Morgan Ritchie delivered 13 points for Laurel and Lydia Pollum was next with seven.



Lady Lancers roll

Neshannock coasted to a 25-11, 25-12, 25-17 Section 3-A road win over Aliquippa.

Rayanna Furst paced the Lady Lancers (6-4, 8-5) with 12 points and three kills. Taylor Frank contributed eight points, four aces, and 20 assists. Annalisa Frengel notched 12 points and six aces.

Kaela Zingaro registered nine kills, Jordan Wethli followed with six and Katie Burrelli was next with five.

“The team as a whole is continuing to improve each match,” Neshannock coach Andrew Frank said. “We’re looking to continue to improve our offense and stay competitive toward the end of the year.”



Mohawk drops marathon

The Lady Warriors lost in five games on the road to Beaver Falls in Section 1-AA action, 21-25, 25-21, 21-25, 25-18, 15-9.

Paige Ruby paced Mohawk (1-8, 5-9) with 12 kills, five blocks and four aces, while Devon Giancola added 13 kills.

Shannon Verlotte supplied eight kills and three aces. Malea Tress dished out 43 assists.

“It just seems it’s five games with Beaver Falls every year,” Lady Warriors coach Britney Kwolek said. “They put up a heck of a fight against us.

“We started off the match in pretty good shape. It was just back and forth the whole night. We’re trying to keep our head above water. One minute, we’re playing well, then we do a 180.”

Mohawk lost the JV match 25-20, 25-19.



Wilmington struggles

The Lady Greyhounds couldn’t get started in a 25-9, 25-18, 25-8 District 10, Region 3-AA road loss to Slippery Rock.

Cassidy Marett posted nine digs and eight assists for Wilmington (4-4, 6-5) and Abby Sotter supplied seven digs. Tessa Sikora delivered four kills.

Wilmington lost the JV match, 25-19, 25-18.

Jamie Thompson notched 12 points, seven assists and six digs for the Lady Greyhounds. Rachel Vernon slammed four kills and Julie Falvo was next with three kills and three markers.



Girls tennis

Lady ’Hounds win

Wilmington breezed to a 4-1 District 10, Region 1-AA road win over Oil City in the season finale.

Katie Chase (No. 2) and Alexis Donati (No. 3) earned singles wins for the Lady Greyhounds (10-4, 10-4).

The doubles tandems of Rebeccah Swerdlow/Lydea Kraynak (No. 1) and Nikki McCown/Cheyenne George (No. 2) also scored wins for Wilmington.

“We thought in the early part of the year that 7-7 would be a good season for us,” Lady Greyhounds coach Jim Arrow said. “We did a lot better than we thought we would. The girls really improved and had a good season.”

Following are the results:

Wilmington 4, Oil City 1

SINGLES

1. Mora McLaughlin (OC) def. Alanna Elliott 6-1, 6-0.

2. Katie Chase (W) def. Michaela Lockwood 6-1, 6-1.

3. Alexis Donati (W) def. Allie Davie 6-4, 6-1.

DOUBLES

1. Rebeccah Swerdlow/Lydea Kraynak (W) def. Ashlee Roth/Leisel Kober 6-4, 6-2.

2. Nikki McCown/Cheyenne George (W) def. Katie Dolecki/Rachelle Gove 6-4, 4-6, 6-0.

EXHIBITIONS

1. Holly Vernon/Allison Krupa (W) won 6-4, and won a second match 6-1.