A pair of wins over Cocalico and Manheim Central last week left Solanco on top of the Section Three standings for the second year in a row. Tuesday, January 28, they hosted a scrappy Cocalico squad and sent their seniors home with a 33-24 win. Two nights later, they hit the road to Manheim for their last section game of the season and the section title on the line. The Mares shook off a sluggish start and prevailed, 53-46.
"It was a great team win," said head coach Chad McDowell. "After losing the group we had last year I don't think many people felt we would be able to defend our section title. But the girls worked hard, and they did what they needed to do tonight. It's a great win for our program and the school," he added.
With Rachel Nolt drilling three treys, the Barons jumped out to a 15-11 first quarter lead. Solanco flipped the script in the second quarter, holding a 13-6 advantage while denying the hosts a single field goal and taking a 24-21 lead at the break.
Nikki Trout, who held Manheim's leading scorer, Maddie Knier (16.43 ppg), to eight points, sparked a 10 point third quarter, netting four of her eight points and pushing the lead to 34-24.
Manheim mounted its final rally down the stretch. With Nolt dropping in three more triples and Kassidy Michael adding eight points, the hosts finished with 21 but it wasn't enough. Paige Phillips netted seven of her nine points and Jenna Dombach went 6-for-6 from the free throw line to account for 13 of Solanco's 19 fourth quarter points.
"They cut the lead to 47-44 and Paige came back and hit a huge three to swing the momentum in our favor," said McDowell. "We were 8-for-8 from the line in the fourth quarter and 13-for-13 for the game.
"Everyone contributed," he added.
Jade Eshleman shook off three first half fouls and finished with a team-high 14 points. Phillips and Dombach combined for 17, Ilynd Rapant added seven, Arianna Seiberlich came off the bench with five, all in the second quarter, and Alana Yoder added two.
The JV team also picked up a win, topping the Barons 39-24 behind Kendal Janssen's 13 points. Jenna Ehler and Beg Bailey added six each.
Seniors Alana Yoder, Emma Urbine, Ilynd Rapant and Jenna Dombach, along with junior Paige Phillips got the start against the Eagles and pushed Solanco to a 14-9 first quarter advantage, a lead they never relinquished. Phillips knocked down the first shot of the game, a three-ball, and added a layup seconds later for a quick 5-0 start. Dombach finished the frame with back-to-back three point plays, the first coming with an and-one and the second, a shot from downtown with 20 seconds left.
"We have a great group of seniors, and it was very fitting to get a win on Senior Night," said McDowell. "They have given so much to our program and have dedicated years of hard work toward a common goal.
"It was ugly, but a win is a win," he continued. "We never really found any offensive flow, especially in the second half. We need to execute better moving forward."
That first quarter was the biggest quarter for the home team who held a 23-13 lead at the half and were outscored 11-10 after the break.
Cocalico ran off six straight points in the third quarter, cutting the lead to 25-19 and Solanco was whistled for six fouls over those first six minutes as they struggled to keep momentum. Dombach knocked down her second trey of the night with 1:20 left in the third to cap the scoring with Solanco in front 28-19.
Solanco, determined to run their set plays rather than the fast break, matched Cocalico with five fourth quarter points.
Jade Eshleman (2 points) anchored that defense with a team-high nine boards while Dombach chipped in with seven boards and dropped in a game-high 11 points. Phillips finished with seven points while Yoder led with three steals and chipped in with three rebounds and six points. Trout (2 points), Angela Cylc (2 points), Sammi Jackson (2 points, 2 steals), and Rapant (1 point, 4 rebounds) also contributed.
WRESTLING
With seven medal winners, Solanco's matmen finished in fourth place in the Lancaster-Lebanon League Wrestling Championships held at Manheim Township January 24-25. Hempfield ran away with the team title, accumulation 224 points to Garden Spot's 186. The Comets finished just ahead of the Mules.
"Our focus all week was to place in the top five," said head coach Tony Mendez. "I think, on paper, we probably exceeded some expectations. We were without Nate Neuhauser (hand injury). He was a number two seed and that left a lot of points for us to make up. The guys wrestled well."
Dominic Flatt was the first grappler to stand on the podium. The top seed at 106 defended his title with a 12-6 decision over Township's Josh Hillard.
"Dom beat Hillard 11-8 during the regular season," said Mendez, "so we expected a tight match. That was big."
After a bye, Flatt worked a 38 second fall over McCaskey's Javan Christian and then hung a major decision (10-2) on Lampeter-Strasburg's Austin Reiff in the quarterfinals. He recorded a second fall in the semis, decking Northern Lebanon's Owen Lehman in 1:04. His win over Hillard (24-3) pushed his record to 22-3.
Also earning a gold medal was 138-pounder Ronnie Fulton with a 5-1 decision over Garden Spot's Josh Groff. Fulton earned a 2:21 fall over CV's Tyler Jordan before holding off Hempfield's Grant Hoover, 6-1 in the quarters. He went on to shut out Warwick's David Woolley 9-0 to get to the finals.
Finishing in second place for the Mules was Nick Yannutz (195) and Jared Fulton (120).
"Nick was a second seed," noted Mendez. "He had a couple of opportunities to score in that final bout, a 3-2 loss to Donegal's Garrett Blake, but was just a couple of inches away."
Fulton worked a 2:35 fall over Columbia's Michelangelo Stewart, pinned McCaskey's Justin Pacheco in 2:37 in the quarters and decked Hempfield's Gordy Hoover in 3:26 before getting stopped in the finals.
Also securing silver was Jared Fulton, a freshman. "He knocked off the top seed at 120, Penn Manor's Tanner Stefanick, in an ultimate tiebreaker 4-2 to get to the finals," Mendez recalled. "He lost two Stefanick twice before this meeting and both were by major decisions so this was big."
Fulton went on to face Griffin Gonzalez in the finals where he was dealt of 6-2 loss.
Fulton opened the tournament with a 2:20 fall over Nathan Thomas (E-town) and then scored an 8-0 major decision over Central's Brandon Kheuangthirath.
Weston Bare (113) and Jackson Houghton (126) both added to the team total with fourth place finishes.
Weston opened the tournament with two falls (:49 and 3:25) and then picked up a 6-1 decision over Central's Connor Beck in the quarterfinals. In the semis he went up against top seed Matthew Inman (A-C) and lost a tight 7-5 decision. He came back with a shutout in the consi semis before losing 5-1 to Hempfield's Gio Luciano in the fight for third.
"Weston wrestled that top seed tough," said Mendez, "and then lost that four point match to the Hempfield kid who had beaten him by seven or eight before. He had a great tournament and showed improvement.
"Jackson lost a tight one, 2-1 to Lampeter's Arik Harnish, the eventual second place finisher in the semis and then lost to a tough Garden Spot kid (Mason Casey) in the third and fourth place match," said Mendez. "He wrestled well."
Houghton pinned PV's Carter Roher (1:10) and worked a 10-2 major to get to Harnish and then earned a 7-2 decision over Hempfield's Clay Gainer to get to Casey.
Rounding out the place winners was Joey Vandegriff's sixth place effort at 132.
"Joey wasn't seeded so to come through and place showed great improvement," said Mendez. "He had a couple upsets along the way."
After a first period fall in his opening match, Vandegriff suffered a 9-1 loss to Hempfield Reagan Lefevre, the eventual champ, but rebounded with two more falls, putting CV's Eddie Hernandez to his back in 3:10 and doing the same to Elco's Trenton Brubaker in 1:18. He dropped a 13-6 result in the consi semis and then suffered a 6-4 result against Penn Manor's Trevor Grassel in the battle for fifth.
The Mules were back at it Tuesday night when they traveled to Gettysburg for the opening round of the District Three Class 3A team tournament. The top seeded Warriors were undefeated at 17-0 and rolled into the semifinals with a 57-16 win over 16th seed Solanco.
"It was a tall task but a good opportunity," said Mendez.
The action opened at 195 with Max Gourley taking a hard-fought 4-3 win over Yannutz. A fall at 220 and a forfeit made it 15-0.
Solanco got on the board with Flatt's 13-3 major decision at 106 and then cut the lead to 15-7 when Bare upended Montana DeLawder 5-3 at 113. Jared Fulton's 8-1 win over Jacob Fetrow (120) closed the gap to 15-10 but that was as close as the Mules would get. Gettysburg took seven of the final eight bouts, picking up five falls and two forfeits. Ronald Fulton's first period fall over Jacob Cherry (120) was Solanco's final win.
BOYS' BASKETBALL
While the wins have been slim, it hasn't been for lack of effort. The Mules traveled to second place Cocalico (8-3, 11-8 overall) last Tuesday, January 28 where another slow start played a key role in their 61-47 loss.
The Eagles jumped out to a 15-5 first quarter lead and felt confident. Solanco, with a never quit attitude, came back to win the next two quarters 31-26, cutting the lead to 41-36 with eight minutes remaining. The hosts, with a 12-for-15 effort at the foul line, rallied for a 20-11 fourth quarter advantage to finish on top.
Cocalico, with a game-high 19 points from Trey Griffin, placed three players in double figures. Solanco got a team-high 12 point effort from Colesen Sheaffer, who knocked down three triples, and ten points from Tyler Burger. Zed Baker (9), Jalen Henry (9), Ryan Smith (6) and Ethan Clary (2) rounded out the scoring.
Thursday the Mules hosted the Barons where they looked to split the series. Instead, they were handed a 60-41 loss. Determined to get out of the gate early, Solanco tied the Barons at 14-14 in the first quarter. This time around, however, the middle frames proved to be the difference. The visitors poured in 33 points while holding Solanco to 10. Not giving up, the Mules looked to rally down the stretch but the damage was down. They did outscored the Barons 17-13.
Sheaffer again led the offense with 10 points. Burger and Baker combined for 15. Henry and Clary each added five points with Smith and Marty Grawe chipping in with three each.
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