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May 21, 2015

Relay Team Overcomes Obstacles to Break Record and Qualify for States

Ellwood City’s girl’s track and field 4 x 100 meter relay team is on the road to states. The team broke a 39-year old record at the Tri-County Invitational a few weeks ago, broke their new record a week later at the WPIAL qualifiers, and again at the WPIALs. Their current record is 50.8 seconds, and the team is prepared to break that at the PIAA meet at Shippensburg this Friday and Saturday. The team consists (in the order they run) of sophomore Maddy Morella, sophomore Taylor Petrak, senior Brooke Muntean and junior Brianna McClintick. Head Coach Tom Natale said,…

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May 7, 2015

Lady Wolverines Finish Section Play Strong on Senior Night

Gary Rozanski’s softball team played the last game of the regular season on Tuesday against Riverside. The Lady Wolverines went out with a bang, defeating the Lady Panthers 8-0. The home game was also senior night, which had to be arranged at the last moment due to weather cancellations. The team’s three seniors, Lauren Stiles, Summer Maine and RaeAnna Orock, were honored. In the first three innings, Riverside’s offense consistently manage to load bases with hits by Ashley Boehm, Makenzie McElwain and Morgan Bailey. However, pitcher Skyla Greco was able to shut down Riverside before they could secure runs, with…

April 14, 2015

Photos: Lady Wolverines Fight It Out with the Lady Panthers, Win 3-1

On Monday evening, the Ellwood City and Riverside softball teams met at Riverside High School for the rivalry showdown. The close game ended with the Lady Wolverines pulling ahead of the Lady Panthers and winning 3-1. It was Ellwood’s first real fight of the season, as the combined score for their first four games is 35-2. Both teams had gone about a week without a game due to weather. Ellwood’s Allie McKelvey got the first run of the game in the first inning. Afterward, the game stalemated until McKelvey got another run, batted in by Summer Maine, in the fifth…

March 17, 2015

Ellwood’s Petrak is the Swimming State Champion

Taylor Petrak’s greatest challenge, being a swimmer in a school without a team or pool, became her strength and motivation. Petrak, a sophomore at Lincoln High School, won the 50 yard freestyle last Wednesday at the PIAA competition at Bucknell University. With a time of 23.62 seconds, she tied her WPIAL record and beat the second place finisher by roughly .4 seconds, a sizable difference in a short-distance event. Petrak placed third in the 100 yard freestyle and had the satisfaction of achieving a new personal record of 51.23. Rather than allow her status as Ellwood’s sole swimmer be an…

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March 5, 2015

Riverside’s Swim Team Sets School Records; Sends Seven to States

Apparently, panthers can swim really well. Riverside’s swim team outperformed competition and their own school records at the WPIAL tournaments on Feb. 20 and 21. Three relays and three individuals qualified for the PIAAs, and four school records were set. The three relays were the work of the Lady Panthers. The 200 freestyle and 400 freestyle placed third and fourth and automatically advanced to the state competition. The 200 medley placed fifth, which doesn’t automatically qualify for the PIAA. “There was no guarantee that any of the relays would get to states, but the girls did not hesitate,” Coach Bill…

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March 4, 2015

Remembering Charlie Hogan (1983-1994) in the Best Way: Hockey

by Jonalyn Telesz The Lawrence County Lightning mites hockey team from Hess Ice Rink in New Castle traveled to Indiana, Pa. to compete in the 20th Annual Charlie Hogan Hockey Tournament on Feb. 7 and 8. The Charlie Hogan Tournament is a memorial for the late Charlie Hogan of the 1991-94 mite and squirt level PAHL Championship teams with the Indiana Youth Hockey Association. Charlie lost his life when he was only 10 years old. The tournament helps bring together young hockey players from all over the state to celebrate their love for this great sport and remember the life…

February 10, 2015

Photos: Ellwood City Wrestling Senior Night

Ellwood City wrestling celebrated senior night on Friday, Feb. 6. Seniors David McCarthy, Jacob Mayle and Mike Sinclair were honored. The team had their last home match against Mars. Although they lost 37-30, the wrestlers remain confident. “Overall the season went well,” coach Craig Alberts said. “We had some holes to fill after losing so many seniors last year, and we had some injuries that could have made a difference in the close matches. We are a young team, and I am confident that our younger wrestlers will all improve and perform even better for the years to come.” Lincoln…

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February 6, 2015

Wolverines Victorious, Celebrate Entering Playoff Season

For the first time since the 1997-98 season, the Ellwood City girls basketball team has reached the playoffs. The Lady Wolverines traveled to New Castle on Thursday for the deciding game. With four conference wins and seven losses, the team was tied with Hopewell for the 4th playoff spot. If they lost and Hopewell won its game against Central Valley, the playoff dream would be over. Raising the stakes, the Wolverines barely won its last game against the Hurricanes, 49-43, played on Jan. 12. The first quarter was slow, with just 10 points total- six for Ellwood and four for…

February 5, 2015

Photos: Ellwood City Boys Basketball Senior Night

On Tuesday night, the Ellwood City Wolverines defeated Hopewell 59-50 in a hard fought, hard won game. The victory capped a successful back-to-back victory for Ellwood City basketball squads against the Vikings as the girls were also victorious Monday. Seniors Nick D’Itri, Ricie Scott and Trey Moses were honored. The home field and Senior Night advantages gave the Wolverines the morale boost they needed to shut out Hopewell in the second half. The first quarter was tied 11-11, but Hopewell pushed ahead 16-11 in the second. However, Ellwood made four three-pointers in the third quarter, giving them a substantial lead….