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February 25, 2019

Two Ellwood City Wrestlers Advance to PIAA State Championships

Two Ellwood City wrestlers have advanced to Hershey PIAA State AA Wrestling Championships.  Austin Walley collected a PIAA Class AA Southwest Regional runner up finish in the 182-pound weight class while fellow Wolverine Donavin Chambers placed 4th in his 132-pound weight class. Walley (33-3) earned an impressive come-from-behind victory over No. 2 Derek Yingling of West Branch in the semifinals to set-up a rematch with Mount Pleasant’s Dayton Pitzer in the 182-pound championship.  Pitzer had defeated Walley one week early in the WPIAL Individual Wrestling Tournament. [READ MORE] Walley started strong in the title rematch but was countered by the Mount…

February 22, 2019

Ellwood City Bocce Rolling Into Early Season Success

The Ellwood City Bocce team is ‘rolling’ along with early season success. The team is currently 2-0, with victories against Grove City, the defending state champions, and Slippery Rock. Their latest victory, and win, had been against Slippery Rock on Thursday, February 14. The team went into a sudden death frame after both teams had been tied 3-3 when time ran out. It was in sudden death that Ellwood scored a point that gave them a 4-3 will which then gave them a 3 to 1 win overall on all games played that day. “It’s been a great season thus far,”…

February 21, 2019

Wolverines Fall To Carlynton In WPIAL Class 3A Playoffs

The Ellwood City girls basketball team made the most of their upset bid on Wednesday, but after battling all game against the higher seeded Cougars of Carlynton, the Wolverines finally fell 44-39 in their opening round match-up at North Hills. The teams were tied 18-18 at the half before Carlynton opened the second half with an 11-2 run. Ellwood came back with a 9-2 run to close the gap, but was unable to regain a lead after leading Carlynton for brief moments in the first half. Senior Natalia Greco led the Wolverines (13-10 overall) with 16 points, including eight in…

February 21, 2019

Three Ellwood Wrestlers Place At WPIAL Tournament, Advance To Regionals

Three Ellwood City wrestlers medaled at the WPIAL Individual Wrestling Tournament this past weekend and all will advance to the PIAA Class AA Southwest Regional tournament at the Ed Frey Arena, Kovalchick Convention & Athletic Complex at Indiana University of Pennsylvania on Friday and Saturday. Junior Austin Walley placed second at 182lbs while Donavin Chambers (3rd at 132lbs) and Jake Alberts (4th at 120lbs) also placed and advanced. “All three boys wrestled a strong tournament,” said head coach Craig Alberts. “Each of them are fired up to advance to the SWR.  These men have been working hard together for years…

February 14, 2019

Lady Wolverines Earn Playoff Berth, Set To Battle Carlynton Cougars

The Ellwood City girls basketball team has earned a playoff berth in the 2019 WPIAL Class 3-A Playoffs that begin next week. The Wolverines, winners of four consecutive games, will square off against the 4-seed Carlynton Cougars next Wednesday at 6:30pm at North Hills High School. For the Wolverines (6-8 Section 1 3A, 13-9 Overall), last week’s victory over Mohawk earned the team a playoff berth under first-year head coach Marc Heil. Seniors Natalia Greco and Isabella Roth lead a hungry group of players looking to have its hard work pay off. “Our team worked really hard this year and…

February 13, 2019

VIDEO: Students Coming Together To Show Strength In Unity

Normally when the Panthers and the Wolverines are in one gym you can cut the tension with a knife, however not last week. On Friday, both schools came together in honor of the late Kaitlyn “Kait” Francis who had passed away January 28. Francis was an Ellwood City senior who lost her battle with cancer after being diagnosed back in elementary school. Students and athletes alike came together to show strength in by wearing the black shirts that read “She Was Not Meant to Break” on the front, with a gold ribbon, which stands for childhood cancer awareness, and “Kait” on the…

February 12, 2019

Riverside Varsity Swim is Making a “Splash” in Their Section

Riverside Varsity Swim team is making a ‘splash’ this season as the undefeated Panthers boys’ team will be looking to claim a section championship this week. Both the boys and girls varsity swim teams won in their Senior Night meet against Beaver Fall that had been held last Thursday. Prior to the meet the team honored their swimming seniors Tristn Schuester, the foreign exchange student, Jonas Tamme from Germany, Rachel LaRocca, Mckenna Hoyman, Wyatt Ray, and Donnie Paracca. Following their victory against Beaver Falls on Thursday, the boys’ team placed 3rd overall on Saturday at Moon High School for the…

February 11, 2019

Skating Into The Top 3, Hess Ice Rink Looks To Cash In

A local ice rink, Hess Ice Rink in New Castle, has been selected as one of the three finalists for a “Renovate the Rink” contest co-hosted by the Pittsburgh Penguins. Voting opened Friday, February 1st and runs through Friday, February 22nd. This contest was introduced in October of 2018 as a new contest. This contest is hosted by Pittsburgh Penguins and Pittsburgh Commercial Construction (PittComm). The winner will receive up to $100,000 in goods and services to renovate their rink. There were over 400 entries were received, and 16 rinks were nominated before the finalists were selected. Mark Bucci, the Parks…

February 9, 2019

PHOTOS: Riverside 3rd Quarter Surge Leads To Rivalry Victory

Riverside used a third quarter surge to pull away to its 59-47 rivalry victory over Ellwood City on Friday.  The victory capped a season sweep for the Panthers in the two- game Riv-Ell series. After a quick six point surge to start the third frame, Ellwood City responded to cut what had become a seven point lead down to a single possession. But after a Broc Boariu’s free throw cut the lead to 28-25 midway thru the quarter, Riverside clamped down defensively and held the Wolverines scoreless for the remainder of the third quarter.  The Panthers went on a 15-0…

February 8, 2019

PHOTOS: Ioanilli’s Late Steal Sparks Wolverines Rivalry Victory

Maria Ioanilli’s late steal and 3-point play sparked the Lady Wolverines to a 38-36 rivalry victory over Riverside on the road Thursday night. With her team trailing with less than 90 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, the sophomore forward collected a steal and went coast-to-coast for a layup under duress, earning a 3-point play with the earned free throw to boost Ellwood City  (13-9 Overall, 6-8 Section 3A-1) back in front of what was a back and forth game for much of the second half. After freshman Kyla Servick guard added two free throws, Riverside’s Lauren Bettencourt knocked down her third 3-pointer…