Winter Athletic Honors

On the wrestling team, seniors Evan Sweesy and Dean Ward won their 100th career wins this season. Additionally, Sweesy, senior Kody Komara and sophomore Bryson Miller were named Beaver County Times Athletes of the Week as a result of their WPIAL wrestling titles.

Senior Jarrett Boyd placed 13th at the State Indoor Track and Field Conference at Penn State University on Feb. 25.

For Boys’ Basketball, senior Zach Greene was selected to the All-Conference 2nd Team. Senior Nick Henderson, junior Santino Guandolo and sophomore Zach Rosa were honorable mentions.

Coaches Jim Covert and Robbie Muron were also named WPIAL Section 1AA Coach and Junior High Coach of the Year, respectively.
Wrestling Records

At the March 7 school board, Athletic Director John Rosa reported that seniors Kody Komara and Evan Sweesy tied school records. At the time of Rosa’s report, Komara tied the record for most career wrestling wins at 151 and Sweesy tied for most wrestling wins within a season at 44. When they competed at the PIAA Wrestling Championships on March 9-11, Komara earned 156 career wins and Sweesy earned 48 season wins, breaking those school records.

Junior High Football/Cheerleading:

Beginning in fall 2017, students in grades 7-9 will have the opportunity to play in the junior high school football team. Ninth grade students will participate with the varsity team’s heat acclimation and football camp weeks in August. Before Aug. 21, ninth graders will be placed on either the junior high, junior varsity or varsity team.

Practices for all teams will begin on Aug. 21. After that, the junior high team will have practices on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday and games on Wednesdays.

The new program also offers an opportunity to middle school students to cheer in a junior high cheerleading program. According to paperwork for the program, “The JH cheer program will not only serve as a feeder program for our varsity cheer, but will determine placement once girls enter ninth grade.”
Similar to the football rule concerning ninth grade participants, current eighth graders may try out for varsity cheer for 2017; if they don’t make the team, they will participate in junior high cheer and will be in varsity or junior varsity cheer in 2018.

For the class of 2022 and beyond, however, students who participate in junior high school cheer will earn the credit necessary to advance to the varsity or junior varsity level later. Current seventh graders will need to participate in one year of junior high cheer to join the varsity or junior varsity team. Current sixth graders will need to participate for two years in order to join the varsity or junior varsity team once they get to high school.

Students have the option of participating in both junior high football/cheerleading and Lil’ Bulldogs at the same time, but paperwork for the program says that those students are responsible for managing conflicts. Paperwork for both programs due to the Athletic Department by April 28.