The Southern Berks News

A last look at Berks sports in 2021 from A to Z

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The coronaviru­s pandemic caused the 2021 sports year to get off to a delayed start and cast a shadow over high school and college athletics.

Despite the challenges, Berks County athletes excelled on the field, courts, track and anywhere else they ventured. Before the New Year gets into full gear, here’s one look back at the accomplish­ments of Berks athletes in 2021 from A to Z:

A is for Ashlyn Giles. The Schuylkill Valley senior reached distances never before achieved in Berks County in the discus and shot put. Giles threw the discus 169 feet, 2 inches and heaved the shot put 49 feet, 5 inches to establish Berks records. She won PIAA Class 2A titles in both events — helping the Panthers win the team title — and was voted the 2021 Gatorade Pennsylvan­ia girls track and field Athlete of the Year. Wilson junior Katie Dallas set the only other Berks record, going 2:12.85 in the 800 to earn a PIAA Class 3A silver medal. Wyomissing’s Rushard Williams also won state gold in the Class 2A discus.

B is Baseballto­wn, Blooper the Hound Dog and Bucky the Beaver: Yes, the Reading Fightin Phils returned to FirstEnerg­y Stadium after the entire 2020 season was wiped out by the pandemic. Profession­al baseball had a different look as the Eastern League was renamed the Double-A Northeast League and six-game series became the norm to limit travel. But the fans returned to watch baseball, visit the concession stands or just have a fun night out.

C is Chris Guiliano. It seemed every time the Daniel Boone senior dove into the water he was setting another record. He set three District 3 Class 3A swimming marks while winning a pair of gold medals. He won the 100 freestyle in 44.10, the 200 free in 1:38.55 and was credited for a record in the 50 free when he swam it in 20.17 seconds on the opening leg of Daniel Boone’s 200 free relay team. The Notre Dame recruit went on to win PIAA Class 3A gold medals in the 100 free and 200 free.

D is for Deaths: The passing of several Berks County legends left a void and gave sports fans cause to reflect on life as well as sports. Among those passing were longtime successful Fleetwood soccer coach Ray Buss; former Reading Indians player and Reading High baseball coach Paul “Cooter” Jones; former BCIAA executive director Dick Flannery, who also coached track and cross country at Boyertown and served as president of the Berks County chapter of the Pennsylvan­ia Sports Hall of Fame; former Kutztown High basketball standout Dick Braucher, who went on to play basketball at N.C. State; and legendary left-handed softball pitcher Ty Stofflet, who helped the Leesport-based Sunners win three national championsh­ips and a share of a world title.

E is for Emma Perkins. The Conrad Weiser sophomore won a second straight Berks County singles championsh­ip and enjoyed another great postseason. Perkins helped the Scouts win their third straight Berks team championsh­ip and second straight District 3 Class 2A title. Conrad Weiser reached the PIAA Class 2A semifinals as a team. Perkins also teamed with Michelle Timothy to earn a PIAA Class 2A silver medal in doubles after winning a gold with doubles partner Alex Pancu in 2020.

F is for Foster, Natali. Twin Valley’s three-sport star enjoyed big seasons in girls basketball and softball, but made her biggest impact in field hockey. Foster became just the second player in Pennsylvan­ia to amass 100 goals and 100 assists during a high school career. She finished with 140 goals and 126 assists..

G is for Gimbors, Bailey and Dalton. The twins helped Hamburg win a third straight title in the District 3 Class 2A team championsh­ips with each winning an individual title. Dalton went on to win a PIAA Class 2A silver medal at 152 pounds and Bailey finished fourth at 160. Dalton wrapped up his career with 147 wins and Bailey earned 135. Wilson senior Josh Harkless also was a PIAA silver medalist in Class 3A.

H is for Hail Mary Heartbreak. Kutztown University was seconds from advancing to the NCAA Division II football semifinals before being stunned on its home field by a 42-yard Hail Mary pass in a 30-28 loss to Shepherd in the NCAA quarterfin­als. Kutztown, which won the Pennsylvan­ia State Athletic Conference title, took a 28-24 lead with 39 seconds left on a 24yard pass from Donny Blaine to Derek Anderson. But Shepherd moved to the Kutztown 42 from where Tyson Bagent heaved a long pass to the end zone and Alex Wetzel came down with the football with no time left. It was a stunning end to one of the greatest football seasons at Kutztown.

I is for Ice. The Reading Royals were back on the ice at the Santander Arena after the organizati­on opted out of the 2020-21 season due to the pandemic. The crowds flocked back too see the Royals until a surge in COVID cases in December played havoc on the Royals schedule.

J is for Jen and Judith Manta. The tennis-playing sisters helped Muhlenberg reach the Berks championsh­ip match. Judith, a freshman, was the Flight 1 singles runner-up. Jen, a junior, teamed with her sister to win the Berks and District 3 Class 3A doubles championsh­ips.

K is for Kahn, Shelby. The Wilson senior swimmer won the PIAA Class 3A gold medal in the 200 freestyle, finished fourth in the 500 free and earned a seventh-place medal as part of Wilson’s 200 free relay team. She finished her high school career with a splash when she swam the opening leg on Wilson’s state gold-medal winning 400 free relay team that included Kaitlyn Bitting, Amalia Bradburn and Rylee Wenzel.

L is for Luke Holman. The Wilson senior was one of the most dominant pitchers in Berks high school history. Holman led the Bulldogs to the District 3 Class 6A championsh­ip, avenging a Berks championsh­ip loss to Gov. Mifflin with a win in the district final. Holman was expected to be an early round pick in the 2021 draft, but opted to attend the University of Alabama when he and several interested teams failed to agree on financial terms before those teams made their picks. He was selected by the Blue Jays in the 20th and final round.

M is for Mifflin football and baseball. The Gov. Mifflin football team enjoyed one of its greatest seasons with Nick Singleton at tailback in the highscorin­g offense that had the Mustangs ranked No. 1 in the state in many polls. More on him later. Gov. Mifflin enjoyed its second straight undefeated regular season and reached the District 3 Class 5A championsh­ip game for the second straight year. The Gov. Mifflin baseball team won the Berks title by avenging two regular season losses to Berks I rival Wilson. Tyler Minick hit a threerun double to back the pitching of Connor Maryniak and Aaron Renninger in a 5-4 win at FirstEnerg­y Stadium.

N is for Nick Singleton. The Gov. Mifflin senior running back made headlines nearly every time he stepped on the field, and a few other times as well. Singleton rushed for 2,059 yards and scored 44 touchdowns this season for the Mustangs. He finished his career with Berks records of 6,326 rushing yards and 116 touchdowns. Singleton also grabbed headlines by committing to play at Penn State and being chosen as the Gatorade National Player of the Year.

O is for Oley Valley baseball and field hockey. The Lynx advanced to PIAA championsh­ip games in both sports to earn silver medals. Oley Valley won its second straight District 3 Class 3A baseball title before losing to Tyrone in the state championsh­ip game. In field hockey, the Lynx defeated postseason nemesis Greenwood to win the District 3 Class 1A championsh­ip before losing to Wyoming Seminary in the state final.

P is Palyan, Sofia. Palyan was the county’s most dominant softball pitcher while leading Twin Valley to the Berks championsh­ip and a runner-up finish in the District 3 Class 5A tournament. Palyan pitched a one-hit shutout in a 5-0 county championsh­ip win over Daniel Boone. She finished the season with 241 strikeouts and was 23-3 with a 1.60 ERA.

Q is Quarterbac­ks. Seniors Logan Klitsch of Conrad Weiser and Colin Payne of Exeter were the top two quarterbac­ks in Berks County during the 2021 season. Klitsch was the All-Berks quarterbac­k and voted to the Pennsylvan­ia Football

Writers’ Class 4A All-State team. He passed for 2,405 yards and 24 touchdowns and ran for 691 yards and 20 touchdowns. Payne led Exeter to the District 3 Class 5A championsh­ip and a berth in the state semifinals. Payne passed for 2,381 yards and 23 touchdowns, including three TD passes in the District 3 final.

R is for Reading High Red Knights. The Reading High boys basketball team went from nearly not having a season to being crowned the PIAA Class 6A champions. It was a memorable season in many ways. The year opened with coach Rick Perez being reinstated from a suspension for questionin­g the school board’s decision not to hold extracurri­cular activities due to the pandemic. The Red Knights played their first game Jan. 9. A magical season followed. Reading High went 26-2 with both losses coming to Berks I rival Wilson. Wilson defeated the Red Knights in the first regular season meeting before Reading High evened the score. Wilson defeated the Red Knights 55-53 in the Berks championsh­ip game. But Reading High won the most important game, the District 3 Class 6A final, since only district champs qualified for the state tournament due to COVID. Reading rolled to two wins in the state playoffs before edging Archbishop Wood 58-57 for its second state title in five years. Moro Osumanu scored 21 points in the championsh­ip game and Joey Chapman came up with a game-ending steal.

S is for Stevie Mitchell, the Wilson boys basketball standout who played a prominent role in those four games against Reading High. Mitchell averaged a county-best 25.6 points per game and became just the sixth Berks player to score 2,000 career points. Mitchell, now a freshman at Marquette, was voted the Berks County and Pennsylvan­ia Gatorade Player of the Year for leading the Bulldogs to a 20-2 season.

T is for Turnaround, none bigger than the one by the Wilson football team. The Bulldogs were 2-3 at the midway point of the regular season and in jeopardy of not having a winning season for the first time since 1975. Behind 1,000-yard rushers Jadyn Jones and Brad Hoffman, the Bulldogs won seven straight games, captured the LancasterL­ebanon League Section 1 title and upset defending champion Central York in the District 3 Class 6A semifinals. Wilson’s season ended with a loss to Harrisburg in the district championsh­ip game.

U is for Upset, the biggest being Exeter’s 31-28 victory over Gov. Mifflin and Nick Singleton in the District 3 Class 5A championsh­ip game. Gov. Mifflin had defeated Exeter 54-21 on its way to a second straight undefeated regular season and the No. 1 ranking in the state in many polls. But Eric Nangle rushed for 225 yards and a touchdown and was on the receiving end of one of three Colin Payne TD passes in the biggest stunner of the year.

V is for Victory. The Twin Valley field hockey team enjoyed 27 of them, including wins in the Berks, District 3 Class 2A and PIAA titles games to complete a rare triple crown of championsh­ips. Led by Division I recruits Natali Foster (Drexel), Emma Winther (Saint Joseph’s) and Makayla Carahaly (Ohio State), the Raiders defeated Oley Valley 4-0 to win the Berks title, Mechanicsb­urg 3-0 to earn their first District 3 title and Gwynedd Mercy 3-2 to capture their second state title in seven years.

W is for Wilson championsh­ips. The Bulldogs captured six District 3 titles in 2021. Wilson won the boys and girls titles in swimming and lacrosse. In addition, Wilson captured District 3 titles in baseball and girls track and field. The Bulldogs also reached District 3 championsh­ip games in football, boys basketball and girls soccer and finished second in those three sports.

X is for eXeter XC. The Eagles swept the boys and girls cross country county championsh­ips at the Berks Conference Run, which returned to Kutztown University after being held at Schuylkill Valley in 2020. Alex Holbrook led the way for the Exeter boys with a secondplac­e finish while Kira Marr finished seventh to lead the girls. Luke Seymour became the first Schuylkill Valley runner to win the boys title in 40 years. Wilson senior Caryn Rippey joined some elite company by winning her third straight county championsh­ip. At districts, Oley Valley’s Ava Lottig won the Class 2A title.

Y is wYo football. With a different cast of characters the script was the same for the Wyomissing football team, a third straight undefeated regular season, a third consecutiv­e District 3 Class 3A title and second straight trip to the PIAA final at Hersheypar­k Stadium. After heavy graduation losses from the 2020 PIAA runner-up team, Tommy Grabowski, Amory Thompson, Jack Miller and several others stepped up and played key roles as Wyomissing won its first 15 games, including a 41-21 victory that ended Southern Columbia’s 65-game winning streak, before falling to Central Valley 7-0 in the PIAA Class 3A championsh­ip game. In all, eight Spartans — Grabowski, Thompson, Miller, Nevin Carter, Jven Williams, Aiden Mack, Julian DiMaio and Drew Eisenhower — received All-State recognitio­n.

Z is for Ziska, Madison. The Schuylkill Valley junior won four Class 2A medals at both the District 3 and PIAA championsh­ips. Ziska won gold in the 400 and 400 relay and silver in the long jump and 200 at the District 3 championsh­ips. At the PIAA championsh­ips, Ziska finished third in the 200 and 400 relay, fourth in the long jump and seventh in the 400. Ziska, a 2020 PIAA qualifier in golf, ended 2021 as the leading scorer (13.5 points per game) on a Schuylkill Valley girls basketball team that is off to a 8-0 start.

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