SCHUYLKILL HAVEN - Nick Semanco and Billy Sieck made their final invitational at their home pool one to remember.
The two Schuylkill Haven seniors each had a hand in four victories during Saturday's Schuylkill Haven Swim Invitational.
Swimmers from Blue Mountain, Mahanoy Area, Pottsville, Schuylkill Haven, Tamaqua and Weatherly competed in the invitational, which featured a modified order and was mostly used by the participating schools as a last chance to qualify individual swimmers for the District 11 Swimming Championships set for Feb. 28-March 1 at Parkland.
On the boys' side, Semanco won the 50 freestyle and 100 freestyle, while Sieck placed first in the 100 breaststroke and 100 backstroke. The two then swam a leg on Haven's victorious 400 freestyle and 200 freestyle relays.
Tamaqua's Matt Stanek (200 free) and Ben Turrano (100 fly), Pottsville's Mike Smerlick (500 free) and Weatherly's Jacob Sirkot (200 IM) added individual wins, while Pottsville captured the 200 medley relay.
On the girls' side, Tamaqua's Joann Butkus won a pair of individual events (100 breast, 100 free) and swam on two winning relays as the Blue Raiders won six of the 11 events.
Danielle DeCindio (100 fly) and Rebecca Kanaskie (200 IM) added victories for Tamaqua, while Schuylkill Haven's Allison Adams (50 free, 100 back) was a double-winner.
Mahanoy Area's Ashley Lipshaw (200 free) and Blue Mountain's JoJo Jacobson (500 free) scored individual wins, while the Mahanoy Area quartet of Kiera Van Horn, Noel Bernardyn, Jessica Knapp and Brooke Kufrovich placed first in the 200 medley relay.
Schuylkill Haven Invitational
Teams participating: Blue Mountain (BM), Mahanoy Area (MA), Pottsville (P), Schuylkill Haven (SH), Tamaqua (T), Weatherly (W)
GIRLS
400 freestyle relay - 1. Tamaqua A (Amey, DeCindio, Kanaskie, Butkus) 3:56.78, 2. Schuylkill Haven A 4:01.56, 3. Pottsville A 4:14.25
50 freestyle - 1. Adams (SH) 26.25, 2. Zimmerman (SH) 26.57, 3. Bernardyn (MA) 26.83
100 breaststroke - 1. Butkus (T) 1:13.95, 2. Kanaskie (T) 1:15.25, 3. Bernardyn (MA) 1:15.62
200 freestyle - 1. Lipshaw (MA) 2:20.72, 2. Jeffries (MA) 2:24.39, 3. Pucklavage (T) 2:26.74
500 freestyle - 1. Jacobson (BM) 6:10.62, 2. M. Krause (BM) 6:20.87, 3. Burke (MA) 6:24.46
100 butterfly - 1. DeCindio (T) 1:07.63, 2. Daley (SH) 1:09.92, 3. Knapp (MA) 1:15.39
200 medley relay - 1. Mahanoy Area A (Van Horn, Bernardyn, Knapp, Kufrovich) 2:05.84, 2. Schuylkill Haven A 2:09.72, 3. Tamaqua A 2:15.40
100 freestyle - 1. Butkus (T) 56.38, 2. Zimmerman (SH) 57.52, 3. DeCindio (T) 1:00.02
100 backstroke - 1. Adams (SH) 1:05.78, 2. Reidler (BM) 1:11.20, 3. Jacobson (BM) 1:11.53
200 IM - 1. Kanaskie (T) 2:26.59, 2. Van Horn (MA) 2:33.47, 3. Daley (SH) 2:47.10
200 freestyle relay - 1. Tamaqua A (Amey, DeCindio, Kanaskie, Butkus) 1:47.32, 2. Schuylkill Haven A 1:49.05, 3. Pottsville A 1:55.30
BOYS
400 freestyle relay - 1. Schuylkill Haven A (Sieck, McGowan, S. Brennan, N. Semanco) 3:43.18, 2. Tamaqua A 3:45.75, 3. Pottsville A 3:45.95
50 freestyle - 1. N. Semanco (SH) 24.34, 2. McGarry (SH) 25.51, 3. Kropp (T) 25.61
100 breaststroke - 1. Sieck (SH) 1:11.54, 2. Steinhart (P) 1:12.65, 3. Howell (P) 1:16.36
200 freestyle - 1. Stanek (T) 2:04.40, 2. Wenzel (T) 2:06.98, 3. Schock (SH) 2:10.15
500 freestyle - 1. Smerlick (P) 5:34.53, 2. Stanek (T) 5:39.50, 3. McGowan (SH) 6:04.79
100 butterfly - 1. Turrano (T) 1:02.11, 2. Wojciechowsky (P) 1:07.95, 3. Cullen (W) 1:09.53
200 medley relay - 1. Pottsville A (Botto, Steinhart, J. Marx, Smerlick) 1:54.93, 2. Schuylkill Haven A 2:09.04, 3. Pottsville B 2:09.99
100 freestyle - 1. N. Semanco (SH) 52.92, 2. Mansell (MA) 55.08, 3. S. Brennan (SH) 56.44
100 backstroke - 1. Sieck (SH) 1:01.76, 2. Kropp (T) 1:01.85, 3. Botto (P) 1:07.09
200 IM - 1. Sirkot (W) 2:25.08, 2. Steinhart (P) 2:28.21, 3. McMullen (T) 2:35.26
200 freestyle relay - 1. Schuylkill Haven A (J. Brennan, S. Brennan, Sieck, N. Semanco) 1:41.16, 2. Tamaqua A 1:41.27, 3. Pottsville A 1:42.55
District 11 pairings to be unveiled today
The pairings for the District 11 boys' and girls' basketball playoffs will be announced today after district officials meet this morning.
Schuylkill League champion Mahanoy Area will be the top seed in the Class A boys' playoffs, while Schuylkill League champion Minersville (AA) and runner-up Marian (A) will be top seeds in the girls' playoffs.
Saturday, champions were crowned in the Colonial League and Lehigh Valley Conference.
In the Colonial League, Northwestern Lehigh won the girls' crown with a 48-38 victory over Southern Lehigh, while Notre Dame-Green Pond beat Catasauqua 60-58 for the boys' title on a putback at the buzzer by Vince Eze.
In the LVC, Bethlehem Catholic won its first girls' crown in 19 years with a 65-33 rout of Allentown Central Catholic. On the boys' side, ACC captured its first-ever title with a 66-62 win over Parkland.
First-round games in the District 11 basketball playoffs will be played Tuesday and Wednesday at home gyms. Full pairings will appear in Monday's edition of The Republican-Herald.
H.S. Wrestling 4 Red Tornadoes qualify for districts
MIFFLINBURG - Mount Carmel's Blake Panko (145), Gabe Bogutskie (170) and Allen Yancoskie (182) placed third at the District 4 Class AA Southern Sectional at Mifflinburg High School.
Wesley Shurock (195) earned a fourth for the Red Tornadoes, meaning all four advance to next weekend's District 4 Tournament at Williamsport Area High School.
Shamokin had three wrestlers advance to districts. Brett Long (132) placed third, while Josiah Miller (145) and Adam Miller (285) took fourths.
Results from the District 3 Class AA regionals were unavailable as of press time.
District 4 Class AA Southern Sectional
At Mifflinburg H.S.
Team scores: 1. Lewisburg (L) 154, 2. Southern Columbia (SC) 138, 3. Line Mountain (LM) 130, 4. Midd-West (MW) 124, 5. Milton (Mil) 114.5, 6. Mifflinburg (Miff) 105.5, 7. Danville (D) 71, 8. Mount Carmel (MC) 53, 9. Shamokin (S) 35, 10. Columbia-Montour Vo-Tech (CMVT) 4, 11. Sugar Valley Charter (SV) 0
Consolation finals
106 - Casey (SC) inj. default Feliciano (Miff), 2:23
113 - Gessner (L) maj. dec. Carl (SC), 12-1
120 - Bennett (Mil) tech. fall Klinger (MW), 16-1, 4:11
126 - Carl (LM) dec. Shepard (SC), 4-2
132 - Long (S) pinned Anderson (L), 1:00
138 - Delbaugh (L) pinned Laudenslager (LM), 4:40
145 - Panko (MC) pinned Miller (S), 2:44
152 - Tittle (MW) pinned Brennan (D), 3:33
160 - Semiclose (D) pinned Trego (Miff), 3:45
170 - Bogutskie (MC) dec. Aikey (L), 3-2
182 - Yancoskie (MC) dec. Gessner (Miff), 7-2
195 - Delbo (SC) dec. Shurock (MC), 8-4
220 - Campbell (D) dec. Boyer (LM), 9-3
285 - Feudale (SC) dec. Miller (S), 3-2, UTB
Championship finals
106 - Friery (L) tech. fall Klinger (LM), 20-4, 2:23
113 - Newman (LM) dec. Stauffer (MW), 3-2
120 - T. Lane (SC) dec. Earlston (LM), 5-0
126 - Taylor (L) dec. Kuba (Miff), 6-1
132 - Ebright (MW) pinned Wagner (Miff), 2:18
138 - K. Lane (SC) pinned Stenger (Miff), 4:40
145 - Bennett (Mil) dec. Boyer (LM), 6-0
152 - Walter (Miff) pinned Marks (SC), 3:17
160 - Preisch (Mil) maj. dec. Reed (L), 14-2
170 - Lieberman (MW) dec. Burke (D), 7-4
182 - Heller (Mil) pinned Bernstein (L), 1:37
195 - Stokes (Mil) dec. Feldman (D), 5-3
220 - Longacre (MW) pinned Wood (L), 1:41
285 - Kieffer (LM) pinned Zerby (MW), :39