In the final week of the season, the boys packed in a lot of basketball. Saturday, February 20 they traveled to Northern Lebanon, Monday they hosted Lancaster Mennonite and Wednesday Elco. They will wrap up the season against Donegal.
Playing short-handed, the boys put up a good effort in a 47-32 loss to N. Lebanon. Without starting point guard Zed Baker (injury), Solanco was tied at 10-10 in the first and down just three at the break, 26-23. The Vikings pulled away with a 12-1 third quarter which proved to be the difference.
"We played well in the first half," said head coach Dave Long. "In that third quarter we were 0-10 from the floor on shots that I felt were good looks. In that quarter we shot six threes and only four two-pointers," he added. "I would like to see us attack the rim more, especially when we're struggling to score."
Ethan Clary was the top gun for the Mules, netting nine points, all in the first half, and five rebounds. "Ethan played well and shot 60% from the field," said Long.
Tyler Burger and Ayden Maggs combined for 13.
Monday the Mules hosted the second-place team in Section Five, Lancaster Mennonite (12-6) and suffered similar results, bowing out 59-42. The Blazers used a 23-10 run through the second quarter to extend their 30-19 lead at the half.
"We played well early but struggled when they went to that 1-3-1 zone in the second half," said Long. "And Camden Hurst with 27 points didn't help. Still, we had a lot of kids come in and do some good things."
Burger and Clary both hit double figures with 13 and 10 points respectively. Maggs added nine and Brock Osborne came off the bench with four.
At home Wednesday, the 24th, Solanco got off to a slow start and never recovered in a 64-46 loss to Elco. The Raiders raced to a 24-10 first quarter lead and never looked back.
Burger dropped in 16 points and Maggs, with three triples, added 10. Ryan Smith and Colesen Sheaffer each added eight.
WRESTLING
Solanco's matmen qualified 12 wrestlers to the District Three Class 3A championships at Hempfield High School Saturday, Feb. 20. They earned six top four medals and with 90 points, finished in fourth place behind Central Dauphin (188), Hempfield (139.5), and Township (130.5). Three of those medal winners advance to the District Three Championships at Spring Grove.
"I was ecstatic that our entire varsity team qualified," said head coach Tony Mendez, "especially since they were only taking the top eight. And only the top two advance."
The Mules earned one gold, a pair of silver medals, one bronze and a pair of fourths.
Jackson Houghton (132), with a 12-6 thriller in the finals against Lampeter-Strasburg's Arik Harnish, was the gold medal winner. Houghton lost to Harnish twice this year, 5-3 in an ultimate tiebreaker in a league meet and 2-0 in a battle for third place in the L-L League tournament.
"Jackson fell behind 5-0 early and fought like crazy to get off his back," recalled Mendez. "He was very focused after that. It was one point at a time."
Down 6-4 heading into the third period, Houghton kept pressing and Harnish became frustrated, yielding six points in violations. Houghton earned a reversal for the final points of the bout and erased that deficit for a come-from-behind victory and a first sectional title for the senior.
"It was an awesome match," said Mendez, "not just to come back but to come back and win big. The entire team was excited."
Houghton advanced with a tech fall over Township's Braden Schuyler, and an 8-1 semifinals decision over Warwick's Bryn Hess.
Both Dom Flatt (106) and Ronnie Fulton (138) settled for silver medals. Flatt dominated early, posting an 18-3 tech fall (3:40) over Central's Gabe Thomas and then adding a major decision over Liam Flanigan of Central Dauphin to get to Township's Kaedyn Williams in the finals.
"This was the third time Dom wrestled Williams," said Mendez. "He lost 9-2 and 5-1 coming in."
Williams broke a 2-2 tie with a third period escape and then sealed the deal with a takedown at the buzzer.
"Dom has made huge gains to make those adjustments," Mendez said. "He is at 92 wins," he added. "In a normal season, not a shortened season with shortened brackets, he would probably be at 100 wins by now."
R. Fulton also dominated early, pinning Lampeter's Josh Heisey in 1:11 and Palmyra's Jacob Myers in 3:47 in the semifinals. His finals appearance was also a pin result, this one however went to Central Dauphin's Josh Miller.
Weston Bare (120), Jared Fulton (126) and Steven Williams (152) were also medal winners but saw their season end.
Bare matched his third seed with a bronze medal effort. After a quarterfinals fall, Bare lost a 3-2 result to eventual second place finisher Seamus Mack of Hempfield. He came back with a 6-0 decision over Conner Erb of L-S and then pinned Warwick's Zach Zimmerman.
J. Fulton was a third seed finishing fourth. He lost 9-2 in the semis to eventual second place winner Aliazer Alicea of Township and was winning the third-place bout by five points before getting turned by Hempfield's Braden Edwards.
Williams also settled for fourth place. He lost to the 152-pound champ Kevin Ollavaria of Township in the semis and came back to beat Central's Dakoda Thomas 4-2 for a chance for third. That match went to Warwick's David Woolley with a 2:24 fall.
Justin McCauley (145), Wade Adams (160), Blaine Plastino (172), Robert Castagna (189), Logan Pittman (215) and John Sankus (285) also competed.
"Probably seven of our other wrestlers won at least one match," Mendez noted. "They took advantage of the opportunity. Everyone was making the adjustments to be more competitive. Overall, I was very happy with their efforts."
GIRLS' BASKETBALL
Still looking to qualify for districts, Solanco earned a 45-41 upset victory at Elco Wednesday, Feb. 24. Big wins require big plays. In the last 2:30, and clinging to a 38-26 lead, Olivia Lasko (season high 10 points) cleanly blocked an open layup. Sammi Jackson (10 points) chipped in with a pair of jumpers, the second putting Solanco in front 42-41. Jade Eshleman followed that with a blocked shot and Nikki Trout (team-high 14 points) sank three free throws in the final 19 seconds to spoil Elco's senior night.
"Sammi and Nikki made some key shots and Olivia and Jade were big on the boards," said head coach Chad McDowell. "Nikki and Kendall Janssen also played great defense on their best player and Arianna Seiberlich had some great passes to set up our shooters. The girls never quit playing or believing they could win."
The girls were coming off a 55-32 win over N. Lebanon, using a 17-2 run in the fourth to pull away. Trout (16) and Lasko (9 pts., 12 rebounds) and Seiberlich (9) paced the offense.
"Everyone contributed," said McDowell. "We had 16 assists on 23 baskets. That's unselfish play."
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