2016-17 high school sports seasons produces many Centre County champions

Another amazing high school sports year has come to an end, and now, before the schools begin to gear up for 2017-18, would be a good time to look back and acknowledge some of the highlights and successes of the teams here in Centre County.

As usual, and perhaps even more than usual, Centre County teams more than showed up in the District 6 and PIAA state playoffs. In almost every sport — fall, winter or spring — local schools were there vying for district, or even state, championships. Here’s a rundown of some of the top 2016-17 teams and performances in the county.

FOOTBALL 

 The State College Little Lions won their second consecutive Mid-Penn championship behind an explosive offense and a defense led by Mid-Penn Defensive Player of the Year Pete Haffner.

SC swept into the PIAA Tournament with a 35-14 romp over Erie McDowell at Clarion University, setting up a showdown with speedy Williamsport High. In that game, played at Selinsgrove on Nov. 18, the Lions fell behind early and couldn’t complete a comeback in an exciting, 35-28 loss to the Millionaires.

CROSS- COUNTRY

In Single A, after another successful regular season, Penns Valley dominated the District 6 boys’ meet by taking the first, second and fifth finishing positions. Chris Colwell and Mark Bierly finished 1-2 for the Rams in the meet.

In AA, Bellefonte finished in third place in the D-6 meet, while in AAA, the State College boys cruised to another district title. The Little Lions finished 1-2-3-5-9, with Nick Feffer, Owen Wing and Owen Isham taking the top three spots.

In girls’ Single-A, St. Joseph’s Academy ran away with not only the District 6 meet, but the PIAA state meet as well. SJCA sophomore Sara Mazza won both individual championships for the Lady Wolves.

In 2-A, Penns Valley finished in fourth place in the district, but Rebecca Bierly won the individual championship for the Rams.

And, in 3-A, State College finished 2-5-9 on the way to the D-6 championship, and then the Lady Little Lions place fourth in the PIAA state meet in Hershey.

FIELD HOCKEY

It was State College, 3, Mifflin County, 0, in the District 6 AAA championship on Oct. 26. Unfortunately for the Lions, they ran into a very hot Unionville team and lost in the PIAA first round at BEA by a score of 5-0.

GOLF

In the AAA D-6 tournament, the State College girls took home the trophy with a final team score of 796.

In AA boys, seniors Carter Fischer and Payton Guelich led Philipsburg-Osceola to the district team championship. The Mounties finished three strokes ahead of runner-up Northern Cambria.

BOYS’ SOCCER

District 6 runner-up BEA lost to Everett, 2-1, in the regional playoffs and just missed a chance to qualify for the PIAA tournament.

In AAAA, State College shut out Altoona, 2-0, in the D-6 championship, and then moved into the state tournament with a 1-0 win over McDowell in the sub-regional. Unfortunately, SC lost to Seneca Valley, 1-0, in the first round game Nov. 8 at Hollidaysburg High School.

GIRLS’ SOCCER

State College beat Altoona, 2-0, in the D-6 championship, but the Lions missed a chance to play in the states with a loss to McDowell in the regional playoffs.

GIRLS’ VOLLEYBALL
Undefeated Mid-Penn champion State College, 20-0, swept into the PIAA tournament after a successful run through District 6. The Lady Little Lions took out Hempfield and then Seneca Valley on the way to a state semi-final showdown with District 1’s Garnet Valley. Garnet Valley won the final set, 15-12, to squeeze past SC into the final match against Parkland. GV took that match as well, 3-2, and won the state championship.

BOYS’ BASKETBALL

Tommy Sekunda and Drew Friberg, 6-foot-5 bookends, led the State College boys to one of the most successful seasons in the county this year. In 6-A, the Little Lions won the Mid-Penn championship, took the District 6 title with a win over Altoona and beat District 7’s Woodland Hills in the PIAA first round. In the second round, it was D-7 No. 2 Butler and its controlled game that stood in SC’s way. In the end, Butler prevailed, 53-50, in overtime, but the Lions had some chances to win it in regulation. The shots just didn’t fall.

In 3-A, Penns Valley won perhaps the most exciting game of the season in the D-6 first round at Penn Cambria. Luke Snyder scored 30 points and led the Rams back from a double-digit, fourth quarter deficit and to a dramatic 52-49 win. No. 1 Richland, however, was next, and PV didn’t quite have enough fire power that night in a 57-38 loss.  

GIRLS’ BASKETBALL

In the 3-A tournament, Penns Valley fell in the second round to No. 4 Central after a solid 60-50 win over Ligonier Valley in the opening round.

In 5-A, Bellefonte advanced into the D-6 finals and into the PIAA tournament with a 52-36 win over DuBois. The Lady Raiders fell to Obama Academy in the combined final, and then fell to powerful Trinity in the state first round.

In 6-A, State College survived the playback round to ultimately enter the state tournament. However, 18-6 Mount Lebanon proved to be too much in a 62-44 win that ended the SC season.

SWIMMING

Both the State College boys and girls won the District 6 team titles, and the boys went on to finish fourth in the state tournament at Bucknell.

WRESTLING

Centre County had four wrestlers place at the PIAA State Tournament in 2017. Bellefonte’s Brock Port lost in the finals and finished second in the 145-pound bracket. At 182, State College’s Cole Urbas came in third, and BEA’s Seth Koleno finished fifth at 138. BEA’s Gage McClenahan, who lost to Port in the 145 D-6 championship, came in seventh at the state meet.

BASEBALL
Surprising State College emerged from a nondescript regular season to win the District 6 championship and move into the state tournament. The successes didn’t stop there. Led by Penn State recruit Mason Mellott, the Little Lions advanced to the semifinal against Dallastown with wins over North Allegheny and Penn Manor. Dallastown, who eventually lost to Pennsbury in the finals, outlasted the Little Lions by a score of 6-1.

SOFTBALL

On the same day that the State College baseball team was tangling with Dallastown, the Philipsburg-Osceola softball team was also trying to get into the state finals against District 7’s South Park. South Park beat P-O last year in a wind-blown slug-fest, and it prevailed again this year by a score of 4-0.

That didn’t dampen the accomplishments of the Lady Mounties, however, as they completed another season as Mountain League champs, District 6 champs and state semifinalists.

BOYS’ VOLLEYBALL

State College narrowly lost to Altoona, 3-2, in the District 6 championship. The Little Lions were ahead 10-2 in the final set before the Mountain Lions rallied to take the set and the match.

BOYS’ LACROSSE

State College edged Erie McDowell, 7-5, to advance into the 2017 PIAA tournament. The Little Lions didn’t stop there, as they went on to beat Shady Side, 7-6, in the first round. Next up was powerful Mount Lebanon, No. 2 out of District 7, and the Lions’ season came to an end with an 11-4 loss in the quarter-finals.

GIRLS’ LACROSSE

The Lady Little Lions pulled off a mild surprise when they scored seven goals in the first half and upended McDowell in the PIAA sub-regional by a final score of 9-5.

They were on the verge of a major surprise against 21-1 Fox Chapel when they led by two goals with less than five minutes to play in the first round of the PIAA match. Fox Chapel rallied, however, and pulled out a last-minute 10-9 win that ended the season for State College.

That all adds up to quite a lot of success for county schools, and quite a year for the State College Little Lions. And it is good news, especially for the football fans out there, that it will all be starting over again in a few short weeks.