Fall '22 'Players' of the Year
CHARLIE MOTTER
Oil City, Region 7 golf
ISABEL GRIFFEN
Rocky Grove, Region 3 girls cross country
NADALIE LATCHAW
Franklin, Region 7, girls cross country
CALEB PRETTYMAN
Franklin, Region 7 boys cross country
GAGE
HANIWALT
Franklin, Region 4 boys soccer
League/region/conference champions:
Boys cross country -- Oil City, Rocky Grove
Girls cross country -- Cranberry
Golf -- Oil City
District qualifiers:
Volleyball -- Franklin, Cranberry
Boys soccer -- Franklin
State qualifers:
Cross Country:
1A
Cranberry girls (team) -- 4. Karleigh Shaffer, 8. Kelsey Hanna, 13. Kayla Hanna, 28. Jordan Montgomery, 29, Ashlyn Shultz.
Cranberry boys (team) -- 4. Dalton Wenner, 7. Ben Seybert, 23. Kaleb Heath, 30. Dane Wenner, 38. Noel Bunyak
Rocky Grove boys - 5. Ethan Knapp, 13. Evan Wolfgong
2A
Oil City boys-- 10. Jack Mumford
Franklin boys -- 18. Caleb Prettyman
Franklin girls -- 4. Nadalie Latchaw
Golf: Cayden Baker, Cranberry
All-Conference:
Cranberry boys (KSAC)
Golf -- Dane Wenner (second team), Dalton Wenner and Cayden Baker (third)
Cross country -- Dalton Wenner and Ben Seybert (first), Kaleb Heath (second)
Cranberry girls (KSAC)
Volleyball -- Ayanna Ferringer (first team), Mackenzie Barnes and Brooke Hart (second)
Cross country -- Karleigh Shaffer,r Kayla Hanna and Kelsey Hanna (first, Ashlyn Shultz and Jordan Montgomery (second)
Franklin girls
Cross country -- Nadalie Latchaw (District 10 first team), Region 7 "Runner of the Year"
Volleyball -- Sydni Hobbler, Region 5, first team OH
Soccer -- Alexis Holtz, Region 5 first team CB; Raelynn Montgomery, second team OB; Riley Brophy, second team CB
Franklin boys
Soccer -- Gage Haniwalt, second team all-District 10, Region 4 first team CM and Player of Year , Nate Pfennnigwerth F and Ben Yard, CB Region 4 first team; Quinn Ritchey CM and Sheldon Bean, CD second team
Cross country -- Caleb and Jay Prettyman, Region 7 first team
Golf -- Aiden McCracken Region 4 first team; Avery Purich, Zach Rugh and Ty Prince, second team
Kelly Malek
Displaying the first-place trophy are Franklin's Venango Cup champions: (front row, from left) Ryan McCandless, Zach Rugh and Ty Prince and (back row) Avery Purich, Aiden McCracken and Damon Curry.
Oil City boys
Cross country -- Jack Mumford, Keegan Kirkwood, Elijah Brosius and Eli Collins, Region 7 first team; Andrew McGarvie, second team
Golf -- Charlie Motter Region 4 Golfer of the Year; Connor Highfield also on first team; Jacob Teeter and Will McMahon on second team
Oil City girls
Cross country -- Kennedy Liederbach, Region 7 first team; Sophie Garmong, Ella Speece and Baine Snyder, second team
Rocky Grove boys
Cross country-- Evan Wolfgong, Ethan Knapp and Easton Adamczyk, Region 3 first team; Schiffer Anderson and Gauge Gierlach, second team
Golf -- Aaron Wetjen named to Region 4 first team; Alex Zinz on second team
Rocky Grove girls
Cross country -- freshman Isabel Griffen, Runner of the Year In Region 3; Kaylin Jacoby also first team'; Ellie Coyer and Sophie Wehrle, second team
Volleyball -- Courtney Clark, Region 1, first team OH; Paige Cresswell, second team, OH
Plus:
Venango Cup (golf) -- Franklin
48th annual Rocky Grove Invitational (cross country) -- Rocky Grove boys
McQuad Invitational, Rochester, N.Y. (cross country) -- Oil City boys (1A small school)
(Facebook to the rescue)
Both Cranberry cross country teams were dethroned as District 9 1A champions, but still qualified for the state meet in Hershey. Led by fourth-place finishes by Karleigh Shaffer and freshman Dalton Wenner, both took second at districts. Also qualifying for states this fall was golfer Cayden Baker, pictured here with coach Dustin Wenner.
CROSS COUNTRY
The Cranberry girls finished sixth in the 1A state meet behind their three sophs -- Kelsey Hanna (47), Karleigh Shaffer (56) and Kayla Hanna (75), who all ran in the 22s.
Meanwhile, the Cranberry boys were 13th behind Dalton Wenner (46) and Ben Seybert (69). Dane Wenner was No. 72.
Cranberry was dethroned of both of its team titles, in the District 9 meet, taking seconds in both races.
The Cranberry girls had won the last three titles.
Rocky Grove's boys just missed qualifying as a team after taking third in the District 10 1A meet at Titusville.
Inaddition to the two teams from Cranberry, Venango County qualified five individuals for states through the District 10 meet.
STATE QUALIFIERS
1A
Cranberry girls -- 4. Karleigh Shaffer, 8. Kelsey Hanna, 13. Kayla Hanna, 28. Jordan Montgomery, 29, Ashlyn Shultz.
Cranberry boys -- 4. Dalton Wenner, 7. Ben Seybert, 23. Kaleb Heath, 30. Dane Wenner, 38. Noel Bunyak
Rocky Grove -boys - 5. Ethan Knapp, 13. Evan Wolfgong (81 at states). No results found for Knapp.
2A
Oil City boys-- 10. Jack Mumford (87 at states)
Franklin boys -- 18. Caleb Prettyman (38 at states)
Franklin girls -- 4. Nadalie Latchaw (44 at states)
Lakeview and West Middlesex were 1-2 in the 1A boys. Also scoring for the third-place Orioles were 19. Easton Adamaczyk, 28. Gauge Gierlach and 29. Cael Dailey
The Oilers were fifth in 2A boys where six of the top eight teams were from Erie city or county -- yes, the Oilers beat out Erie Prep! Grove City won the team title and Harbor Creek was second.
Backing Mumford for the Oilers were 24. Elijah Brosius, 37. Keegan Kirkwood, 42. Andrew McGarvie and 45. Colin Liederbach. Also for Franklin, Jay Prettyman placed 22.
Oil City was 12th among 15 girls teams. Kennedy Liederbach led the way at 27.
(Photo by Richard Sayer)
(Photos by Richard Sayer)
Coach Josh Beightol poses with his only senior, Evan Wolfgong (left), and junior Ethan Knapp, who led the Orioles to a first-place finish in the 48th annual Rocky Grove Invitational on Oct. 15.They later qualified for the 1A state meet.
( Malek/Sayer)
Oil City's Jack Mumford (clockwise from top left) and Franklin's Caleb Prettyman and Nadalie Latchaw qualified for the Class 2A state meet in Hershey.
Members of Oil City Region 7 championship team are (front row, from left), Greg Matassa, Gavin Teeter, Brandon Murray, Keegan Kirkwood, Christian Speece and Derek Love, and (back row), Elliot Hulsizer, Mike Fink, Elijah Brosius, Jack Mumford, Colin Liederbach, Clae Thompson, Eli Collins, Andy McGarvie, Ethan Plowman and Aiden Sloane.
VOLLEYBALL
Franklin, a 10-seed for the District 10 2A tourney , dropped a 3-0 decision to Harbor Creek Oct. 24 in the first round.
The Knights finished 5-6 in their region and 12-7 overall. Coach Matt Jones pointed out that seniors McKenzie McFadden Sydney May, Sydni Hoobler and Gabby LaJeunessse rebounded nicely from a winless freshman campaign.
Meanwhile, led by Ashlynn Collins and Ayanna Ferringer, Cranberry ended 13-6 after dropping a 3-0 decision to homesteading Kane in the District 9 2A semifinals Oct. 26.
Oil City was 4-16 and Rocky Grove 6-13.
VC competes in District 9 with Cranberry, but you hardly hear anything about the Vikings.
Sydni Hoobler announced Sept. 8 on Twitter that she will continue her athletic career at Akron. Hoobler stars in softball and volleyball at Franklin. The Region 4 MVP last spring, she led the state in stolen bases and hit over .500. (Richard Sayer)
SOCCER
Franklin bowed to Grove City, 3-2, on Oct. 24, in the first round of the District 10 2A playoffs, losing Gage Haniwalt to a broken collarbone 10 minutes into the match.
The Eagles had a 1-0 lead, but the Knights went ahead on an unassisted goal by Nate Pfennigwerth and, in the 57th minute, another by Chippy Whitling on an assist from Quinn Ritchey.
But the Eagles scored two unanswered goals, the first in the 62nd minute and the tie-breaker with three minutes left in the match.
Franklin finished with a 13-5-1 record. Haniwalt and Pfennigwerth scored 29 points apiece. Haniwalt also had 21 assists and Pfennigwerth 10. Reston Weisman was the primary goal keeper.
Haniwalt was listed among the pre-season Players to Watch by the Erie Times News. He and Pfennigwerth each enjoyed a five-goal game this season.
Franklin has only two seniors -- Haniwalt and Ritchey, both Rocky Grove students.
Oil City finished 2-13, 3-16 after a 2-1 victory over Eisenhower in its season finale Oct. 20.
In girls soccer, Franklin was 0-7-1, 2-12-1 and Oil City was 0-10, 0-17.
Laiyla Russell, who stars in track for Cranberry in the spring, plays soccer for Oil City in the fall. (Richard Sayer)
GOLF
Cayden Baker of Cranberry qualified for the 2A state tournament after shooting 82-85-167 in the District 9 event Oct. 1 at Kane Country Club.
None of the other local golfers made the cut Sept. 30 in the District 10 AA tournament at Meadville Country Club. Two juniors, Frankln's Aiden McCracken and Oil City's Charlie Motter, shot 89s, while Oil City senior Connor Highfield came in at 93. Aaron Wetjen, a sophomore from Rocky Grove, shot 100, and Franklin senior Avery Purich closed at 101. Lakeview upset Grove City by a stroke for the team title.
Oil City won its first region (league) title since 1971, but was somewhat inconsistent. Franklin took the Venango Cup and the 17-team Bill Mook Invitational. Both events were at Wanango.
Titusville, Rocky Grove and Conneaut rounded out the region, normally finishing in that order in mega-matches. Wetjen made a hole-in-one in a non-scholastic outing at Wanango.
Meanwhile, Cranberry was a middle-of-the-pack team in the Keystone Shortway Athletic Conference.
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Cranberry also fields a girls team and was generally runner-up in the KSAC mega matches. The Berries were second to Moniteau in the D-9 2A tourney at Coudersport CC. Cranberry's scoring: Kendall Findlay 108, Brooke Whitling 116, Alaina Hogue 121.
By Mark Motter
Oilers Region 4 golf champs (from left); Jacob Teeter, Charlie Motter, Will McMahon, Jake Hornbeck, Connor Highfield and Logan Loughran.
TENNIS
Season over after Oil City's three doubles teams lost out Oct. 13 in the District 10 tourney...Oil City finished 4-12 overall. Emily Russell, Cassidy Sutley and Kylee Copley playe singles for the Oilers. Franklin was 0-12 overall. Oil City competed in the Buhl Farm Invitational on Oct. 5 where Copley and a doubles team of Mackenzie Canaan and Maggie Van Wormer reached the quarterfinals. Both team's entries went 0-3 in the District 10 singles tournament on Oct. 8.