JOHNSTOWN —
The high school football season has reached the midway point, but several other scholastic sports seasons are starting to wind down.
In girls’ tennis, Westmont Hilltop has already clinched the Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference title with a 14-0 league record and a 15-1 mark overall. In golf, Richland has claimed the LHAC regular-season title with a 9-0 record.
The District 6 tennis singles competition is set to get underway on Thursday at the Leopold Center in Altoona with the doubles tournament a week later. In District 5, the singles tournament will be Oct. 8 at Everett High School with the doubles a week later.
Last year, Song Lu of Bishop McCort won the singles title in District 6, while the Hilltoppers’ Brittany Carney and Hannah Gleason were the doubles champions. In District 5, Maria Snyder of Northern Bedford claimed the singles championship, while Windber’s Jill Penatzer and Cheyenne Feathers were the doubles champs.
The District 6 Western Sectional for golf is set for Tuesday at Summit Country Club with the championship set for Oct. 9-10 at Scotch Valley Country Club in Hollidaysburg. In District 5, the individual championship will be held at Great Cove Golf Club in McConnellsburg will also be held on Tuesday.
Halfway: Several area squads got the winless monkey off of their backs this week including Bedford, which saw the return of Luke Campbell to its roster, Central Cambria and Meyersdale.
On the other end of the spectrum, the number of unbeaten schools decreased this week with only Berlin, Ligonier Valley and Richland carrying 5-0 marks. All three are currently ranked on top of their respective conferences. The Mountaineers are second in District 5-A while Richland moved to the top spot in District 6-AA and Ligonier is ranked third, just behind 4-1 Central from Martinsburg.
In my opinion, some of the pleasant surprises thus far have been Somerset, Portage and Blacklick Valley, none of whom were highly touted in the preseason and all sporting 4-1 records at the halfway point.
The Golden Eagles win over Greater Johnstown on Friday was their first since 2007, which coincidentally was their last winning season. Somerset is currently second behind unbeaten Clearfield in the District 5-6-8-9 Class AAA rankings. After facing Richland this week, the Golden Eagles close out with Bedford, Forest Hills, Cambria Heights and Penn Cambria.
With their upset of North Star in the season opener, the Mustangs opened many eyes to their potential, but they have a tough five games to finish with in order to make it into the elite eight in District 6-A. Portage hosts Blacklick Valley, which had to battle to overtime last week against Conemaugh Township. The Vikings have a slightly easier path to the playoffs than the Mustangs. After Portage, Blacklick faces Ferndale, Conemaugh Valley, North Star and Saltsburg in their final four games.
Cory Isenberg is sports writer for The Tribune-Democrat. She can be reached at cisenberg@tribdem.com.
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Discussion
Big dates ahead for golf, tennis
- Cory Isenberg
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CORY ISENBERG| District playoffs command spotlight
District 5 gets set to jump into the baseball and softball playoffs this week.
Class A softball opens with four games on Wednesday, all set for 4:30 p.m. -
CORY ISENBERG| Stakes rise as schedules shrink
There are fewer events on the daily high school sports schedules, but the stakes are going up for area athletes as the spring season heads into its final weeks.
In track and field, the three area conferences will hold their championship meets this week.
In Portage today, the WestPAC athletes will gather for their championships while the Laurel Highlands and Heritage meets will be on Tuesday at Somerset and United, respectively. -
CORY ISENBERG | Area athletes shine at NBC meet
The Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference track and field league-leading Bedford boys and Forest Hills girls were the big team winners at Friday’s Northern Bedford Invitational.
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CORY ISENBERG| Leechburg may join Heritage Conference
According to the Heritage Conference website, Leechburg is getting closer to joining the league in July 2014.
The Blue Devils, who are currently part of District 7, received permission in a unanimous vote from the WPIAL Board of Control to allow them to move to District 6. -
CORY ISENBERG | The Price was right in Meadville
After an outstanding 23-year coaching career at Meadville High School, former Ferndale basketball player Norm Price is stepping down as the Bulldogs boys’ basketball coach - again.
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CORY ISENBERG | Nine area basketball teams still alive in PIAA playoffs
Following the opening weekend of the PIAA basketball playoffs, nine area teams - six boys and three girls squads - remain in the march toward Hershey.
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Fourteen area teams headed to states
District basketball champions have been crowned and there are 14 area squads that move ahead into the week’s PIAA playoffs.
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CORY ISENBERG | District basketball moves into Week 2
The first week of the district basketball playoffs was filled with excitement and its share of surprises in District 6.
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CORY ISENBERG | District basketball playoffs set to tip
With the conference championships in our rear-view mirrors, the district basketball playoffs in 5 and 6 get underway this week.
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CORY ISENBERG| No love lost in hoops rivalries
Valentine’s Day is this Thursday. I received my gift last month when my sweetheart bought me new front tires for my car so I can get around on the area roads to cover sports events.
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