Warming Up
Phoenixville downs Upper Perkiomen in cross country opener
It was the lid-lifter for the Pioneer Athletic Conference’s boys cross country season.
And Phoenixville picked up from where it left off one year ago, running to a 20-40 victory over Upper Perkiomen.
While Cameron Junk earned overall race honors for UP — the Indian senior covered Phoenixville’s home course in a strong 18:02 — the Phantoms took the next six places behind sophomore Gabe Puleo, who clocked an 18:19. Aaron Hin, Christian Schaaf, Zack Kleppe, Pat Darcy and Jake New followed Puleo across the line in a 70-second span to secure the win for a Phantom unit that went 4-1 in the PAC’s Frontier Division in 2016.
Evan Hanney, Lane Homan and Gage Gardner had other Top 10 finishes for UP, placing eighth through 10th.
On the girls side, the Phantoms countered the Indians’ 1-2 finish by taking the next four places to come away with a narrow 27-29 victory.
Serena Detweiler and LeeAnn Markwalter led the UP squad, Detweiler covering the Phoenixville course in 22:29. Emma Visnov led the Phantom pack with her third-place (23:19) effort, followed by Madison O’Neil, Meg Gibbons and Julia Hihi.
Girls volleyball
PERKIOMEN VALLEY 3, NORRISTOWN 0 » The Vikings opened their season with a sweep of the Eagles. PV took the PAC match by game scores of 25-10, 25-10 and
25-11.
Lia Torrilo led the Vikes with nine kills, and Helena Clauhs added six kills and two aces. Ellie Min added 15 assists, leaving her just 16 assists shy of 2,000 for her career. POPE JOHN PAUL II 3, PHOENIXVILLE 0 » Kayla Grammerstorf and Romina Broglia were the statistical stars for the Golden Panthers in their PAC match with the Phantoms. PJP swept by set scores of 25-9, 25-20 and 25-21.
Grammerstorf scored five kills and four blocks while Broglia had eight kills. EXETER 3, DANIEL BOONE 0 » Devon Haag came up with 31 assists for the Blazers in their Berks Conference meeting with the Eagles. Exeter won by set scores of 25-21, 25-14 and 25-14. PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 3, METHACTON 1 » Andrea Castaneda and Emma Eglinton were among the statistical stars for the Warriors in their non-league outing with the Colonials. Methacton (21) opened with a 25-22 victory
but PW answered with 25-20, 25-21 and 26-24 wins.
Castaneda had seven kills, 11 digs and two blocks while Eglinton added 26 assist, three kills and one ace. Methacton also got solid performances from Maggie Welsh (nine kills, seven blocks, one ace), Carli Ginther (15 digs, two aces, one kill), Sydney Zerbe (six kills, four digs) and Fran Mbonglou (four kills, three blocks).
Girls soccer
UPPER PERKIOMEN 3, KUTZTOWN 0 » The Indians tallied three goals in a 16-minute span of the first half to pave the way to a nonleague victory over the Cougars.
Kate Cairnes opened the scoring as she hammered home a free kick, served to the back post by Kayleigh Durning. Taylor Kearney extended the lead when she took a perfect pass from Emily Schaut and drove at goal before shooting from 25 yards out, and Durning finished off the scoring on a powerful free kick from 45 yards out. POPE JOHN PAUL II VS. PENNCREST » Lightning forced suspension of the
Golden Panthers’ nonleague game with the Lions. It will be resumed at a later date.
Field hockey
POTTSTOWN 2. CHICHESTER0» Onjelay Nixon and Alex Dicampello scored within a six-minute span of the first half to lift the Trojans over the Eagles in non-league action. Nixon got the scoring started at the 10:59 mark with an assist by Elsie Cannell, and Dicampello followed at 4:56. Lillian Stirk made five saves in goal to preserve the shutout for Pottstown.
Boys golf
MUHLENBERG 15, DANIEL BOONE 9 » Colin Gabbett and Evan Pingitore were the big scorers for the Blazers in their Berks Conference match with the Muhls at Arrowhead.
Gabbett shot a teambest 50 on Arrowhead’s Blue Course en route to a 3-0 win over Robby Lambi. Pingitore carded a 55 in a similar verdict over Ethan Hoffman. PERKIOMEN VALLEY 214, PHOENIXVILLE 223 » Though Phoenixville’s Mitchell
Schwartz got low-man honors with a 40, the Vikings had the next three scores in their PAC victory at Raven’s Claw. UPPER PERKIOMEN 217, PERKIOMEN SCHOOL 269 » Macauley Swenk got lowman honors for the Indians in leading their non-league victory over the Panthers at Butter Valley.
Swenk shot a 41 to head teammate Brett Miller’s 42. Zach Smith was low scorer for Perkiomen with a 44, matching the rounds of UP’s Zach Rozanski and Deion Doperak.
Girls tennis
POPE JOHN PAUL II 5, POTTSGROVE 2 » Winning three of four doubles matches was key to the Golden Panthers’ PAC victory over the Falcons.
The best individual showing for PJP came at second doubles, where its team of Kristen Milligan and Shannon Farnsworth scored a 6-1, 6-1 victory. For Pottsgrove, Mya Krueger (second singles) and the first doubles team of Makenzie Murphy and Jaelyn Kennedy were both extended to three sets in their winning matches.