LEWISBURG — Athens junior Gavin Bradley, the state’s top-ranked 113-pounder, guaranteed himself a PIAA medal — his third — Saturday morning with a 16-3 major decision win over South Williamsport’s Robert Gardner in the semifinals of the Eastern Super Regionals here at Martz Hall.

With the PIAA field at Hershey pared to eight in each weight class — four from the Eastern Super Regional and four from its counterpart in the West, Bradley is guaranteed of advancing, as well as winning another PIAA medal.

“Goal one, (Gavin) got his state medal. Now, we move forward,” said Athens coach Shawn Bradley.

Bradley pushed the pace from the outset against Gardner, who is ranked third in the State, and scored a takedown midway through the first period. He rode top before turning a turk into three near-fall points at the buzzer for a 5-0 lead.

Bradley, who beat Gardner 7-1 in the District 4 finals two weeks ago, maintained constant forward pressure for six minutes.

“He kept his motion going … he kept his feet going, he kept his hands moving,” said Shawn Bradley. “If he wrestles that pace, he’s hard to wrestle with.”

Bradley chose down to start the second period, but Gardner elected to cut him loose, and the duo started on their feet with the Athens wrestler leading 6-0.

Gardner threatened to score during a couple of scrambles, but Bradley eventually came out on top with a takedown midway through the period for an 8-0 lead heading into the final two minutes.

“Gavin got into a couple spots, but worked his way out of it,” said Shawn Bradley. “(Gardner) is tough, he’s not ranked third in the State for nothing.”

Bradley scored three takedowns in the third period for a 14-3 lead with 47 seconds remaining. He scored the final takedown with 2 seconds left to provide the final margin.

“Gavin kept wrestling and kept scoring, even in the end when I didn’t want him to,” said Shawn Bradley. “I just wanted him to get a wrist, and stay away from the big move … he got another takedown.”

Shawn Bradley said Gavin’s constant motion and pressure wears on his opponents physically and mentally.

“Gavin works hard, and it pays off. He has great partners number one,” he said. “Jake Courtney and Kaden Setzer have busted their butts this year, and the last couple weeks helping him.

“Gavin wrestles that pace for two hours every night, so seeing it for six minutes is not surprising to me.

“Kids know that when they go out there, and some of them are thinking ‘I don’t want to do this,’” added Shawn Bradley. “If a kid comes on the mat and has any doubt about being there, that’s a big advantage to Gavin.”

Gavin Bradley will have a chance to add a title no one else in Athens’ storied wrestling history can claim — Eastern Super Regional champ, but it won’t be easy as he’ll face Wyoming Area’s Jaden Pepe, who is ranked second in the state. Bradley beat Pepe, 5-3, in last weekend’s Northeast Regional final.

“We have another tough one in the finals,” said Shawn Bradley. “Gavin didn’t wrestle great last weekend, so we’re going to make some adjustments to try and capitalize on what we can do well, instead of worrying about what (Pepe) does.”

The finals are set to begin at 12:30 p.m.

LEWISBURG — One down, one to go.

After a second-period fall in his quarter-final match here Saturday morning at the PIAA Eastern Super Regionals, Athens junior Gavin Bradley is just one win away from his third trip to Hershey, and better yet, his third PIAA medal.

“(Gavin) doesn’t even know it right now, but he only needs one win and he places at States,” said Athens coach Shawn Bradley.

“If he goes out and wrestles like that, there’s no one in the State that can beat him, but that’s up to him,” added Bradley.

Gavin Bradley scored a single-leg takedown just seven seconds into his 113-pound bout with Boiling Springs junior Raif Barber to take a 2-0 lead.

After riding top for more than a minute, Bradley cut Barber loose with 44 seconds remaining, then scored a takedown four seconds later to take a 4-1 lead.

Bradley mercilessly worked on top, and turned Barber with a turk for three near-fall points with 7 seconds remaining to take a 7-1 lead into the second period.

Bradley chose neutral and scored a go-behind takedown just 7 seconds into the second period, then quickly cut Barber loose to make it 9-2.

Bradley scored another takedown with 1:23 remaining, and 21 seconds later finished off another turk for a fall at 2:58.

Coach Bradley said they had watched some tape on Barber this week.

“Honestly, you see everything on the Internet now.

“I watched (Barber) wrestle, and he has techniques that worried me a little bit,” said Bradley. “Gavin (Bradley) did what he had to do to stay away from those.

“And, he just kept the pace super-high,” Bradley added.

Coach Bradley said the win takes the edge off for the younger Bradley.

“It’s a new atmosphere, so it kind of relaxes him a little bit,” said Coach Bradley. “He was a little nervous earlier, but this (win) helps.

Gavin Bradley, now 37-0, won’t need to watch tape on his next opponent, South Williamsport’s sixth-seeded Robert Gardner, who improved to 35-2 on the season with an 8-5 win over third-seeded Adam Schweitzer of Notre Dame Green Pond in the quarterfinals. Bradley beat Gardner, 7-1, in the District 4 finals.

“Gavin just needs to keep the same approach he’s had all year, so nothing changes,” said Shawn Bradley. “If we can keep it so he doesn’t feel tension, and he can just wrestle, he can beat anybody.

“If we let something get to him, then it puts him in a spot where he has to overcome that, too,” he added.

LEWISBURG — Fifth-seeded Athens scored the first seven points of the game, and never led by fewer than four points the remainder of the game in a 55-41 win over fourth-seeded Lewisburg here Friday night in the quarterfinals of the District 4, Class AAAA boys basketball playoffs.

This is the second straight year, Athens has knocked off Lewisburg on its home court in the opening round of the District 4 playoffs. Last year, head coach Jim Lister was an Wildcat assistant coach.

“This feels good,” said Lister. “It was a great experience winning here last year, but as the head coach it’s even better.

“It’s great to come down here and get a big win with these kids,” added Lister. “I’ve been with these kids for a long time. I’ve grown up with them. I love to see them succeed and do well.”

The Wildcats led 9-5 after the first eight minutes, and extended their lead to 21-9 at the half. The Green Dragons never got closer than seven points in the second half.

First-year Athens coach Jim Lister said his team continues to play good defense.

“Defense was obviously the key tonight,” he said. “You have to play good defense to win games like this.

“We’re young, long, and athletic. When we keep our hands busy, we make it difficult on teams. I think we did that tonight.

“I’m real happy for these kids, they played great defense tonight. We gave up nine points in the first half, that’s fantastic,” added Lister. “The guys played hard … I’d say we played almost a full four quarters tonight.”

The Wildcats had chances throughout the first half to extend the lead, but did little until a 7-0 spurt in the final 1:47 pushed the lead from 14-9 to 21-9.

“I’m still not 100-percent happy with how we’re scoring,” said Lister. “I think we can score better. I think we could have put 75 or 80 points on the board tonight.

“You have to make the easy one … we have to make those shots,” he noted. “Early on, I think the kids were really just amped up, and were missing the easy ones, bus as I think back on the season, we’ve had that problem all year, so we have to continue to try to fix that.”

Leading 14-9, junior Troy Pritchard gave Athens a 16-9 lead with a putback on the offensive boards with 1:47 remaining in the first half.

After a defensive stop, senior James Benninger-Jones buried a 3-pointer from the wing to make it 19-9 with 1:16 left in the half.

Junior J.J. Babcock finished off the first-half scoring with 18 seconds remaining to make it 21-9 heading into the halftime locker room.

Pritchard scored on a nifty low-post move in the opening moments of the third quarter to make it 23-9, but Lewisburg used a 10-3 spurt, capped by a 3-pointer by Kevin Magyar, over the next four minutes to trim the deficit to 26-19.

Lister answered Magyar’s 3-pointer with one of his own to make it 29-19 with 3:23 left in the third quarter, then on the next trip down the floor knocked down another shot from behind the arc to make it 32-20.

Forest Zeledoski scored five straight points, including a 3-pointer, for the Green Dragons to cut the Athens lead to 32-25 with 1:00 minute remaining in the third quarter.

Junior Tucker Brown answered with 23 seconds remaining, but Lewisburg’s Joey Martin scored in the low blocks with 3 seconds left to close the gap to 34-27 entering the final eight minutes.

Junior Nalen Carling and Lister opened the fourth-quarter scoring with buckets in transition to give the Wildcats a 38-27 lead, and the closest Lewisburg would get the remainder of the game was eight points.

The Wildcats out-rebounded the Green Dragons, 44-23, in the contest, and allowed just six offensive rebounds in the entire game — and just one in the second half.

“We talked about rebounding at halftime,” said Lister. “We needed to pound the boards, and not give up any second-chance points.

“I told the guys when the shot went up, we needed to find someone and box them out,” he added. “I think we did that, especially in the second half.”

Athens was also much more efficient offensively in the second half.

“It was an adjustment we made at halftime,” said Lister. “We wanted to slow up our offense … we needed to run our offense, and get some good looks. We got those good looks, and we made those shots.”

Lister led Athens with 18 points, including a trio of 3-poiners, 10 rebounds, five assists, five steals, and one blocked shot, while Pritchard had 11 points and four boards, and Carling had nine points, four rebounds, and one blocked shot.

Brown added six points, three boards, and two blocked shots in the win, while Babcock chipped in with five points, 10 rebounds, five assists, and one blocked shot, and sophomore Chris Mitchell added five boards and two steals.

Zeledoski led Lewisburg with 11 points and Cam Michaels added nine.

Athens, now 14-9, returns to action Tuesday at top-seeded Danville, which rolled to a 79-30 win over eighth-seeded Midd-West Friday. Game time is 7 p.m.

ATHENS — Athens built a 14-point lead early in the third quarter, but on three different occasions over the next 12 minutes needed a “big shot” to stave off a pesky Milton in a 54-42 win here Thursday night in the quarterfinals of the District 4, Class AAAA girls basketball playoffs.

“It was a night where we played really well to get the lead,” said Athens girls coach Brian Miller. “(Milton) is a good team and they battled back, then we responded with big 3s from Kayleigh (Miller) and Megan (Collins), and a nice pass (from Megan Collins to Caydence Macik) for a finish in transition.

“I’m super-proud of the girls, we knew that team was going to battle for 32 minutes, no matter what, and we did a good job,” he added.

Senior Kayleigh Miller had 19 points, four rebounds and two blocked shots, and junior Caydence Macik had 18 points, eight rebounds, three assists, and three blocked shots to lead Athens.

“(Miller and Macik) have been our offensive threats the last two years, and this year especially,” said Miller. “Megan (Collins) hit a couple big shots, but Caydence and Kayleigh have been our offense.

“We’re that much better of a team, though, if the other girls make their shots, and they did tonight,” added Miller.

Senior Megan Collins added nine points on a trio of 3-pointers, and five assists for the Lady Wildcats, while sophomore Karlee Bartlow added five points — all from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter, and four rebounds, senior Rachel Stephens grabbed five boards, and senior Hannah Blackman chipped in with four rebounds.

Macik scored Athens’ first two buckets, then Miller gave the Lady Wildcats the lead for good, at 7-4, with a 3-pointer from the top-of-the-key with 5:02 remaining in the first quarter.

Macik added a putback of her own miss to make it 9-5 with 2:35 remaining. After a Milton bucket, Miller buried another 3-pointer from the right wing to make it 12-7 less than a minute later.

Back-to-back 3-pointers by Miller late in the quarter extended the Athens lead to 25-12, but Milton scored the only bucket in the final 85 seconds of the first half, and trailed 25-14 heading into the locker room.

Collins buried her second 3-pointer of the game a little more than a minute into the second half, to give Athens a 28-14 lead, but Milton’s physical pressure defense helped it scored eight points in a row to cut the deficit to 38-32 with 4:27 left in the third quarter.

“We wanted to come out in the second half and extend our lead, hopefully close to 20, and the game could be over,” said Miller.

“We got it to 14, then they made a nice push with some physical play in the backcourt,” added Miller. “We turned it over and they made some baskets, but we held our composure, and made some key shots down the stretch.”

Miller stopped Milton’s momentum with a 3-pointer from deep in the corner to make it 31-22 with 3:22 left in the third quarter.

After a bucket by Kiersten Stork trimmed the lead to 31-24, Macik made a pair of free throws, then scored in transition against the Lady Black Panther press to make it 35-24 with 1:12 remaining in the third quarter.

Freshman Emma Bronson connected on a short jumper just 10 seconds into the final stanza to give Athens a 37-26 lead, but a bucket by Stork, followed by a defensive rebound and coast-to-coast drive by Crystal Hamilton, and a jumper by Morgan Riener cut the lead to 37-32 with 6:27 left in the third quarter.

Collins stemmed the tide with a 3-pointer to make it 40-32, but Milton bounced back to cut the lead to 42-36 with 4:16 remaining in the third quarter.

The Milton pressure seemed to be wearing on the Lady Wildcats, but Collins found Macik open up court against the press for an uncontested lay-up to make it 44-36.

A pair of free throws by Miller and Bartlow would push the lead to 48-36 with 3:39 remaining.

Milton would close the gap to nine points twice in the final 3 1/2 minutes but could get no closer.

Hamilton led Milton with 17 points and 12 rebounds.

“I saw (Hamilton) on tape and knew the was good, but seeing her in person you can really appreciate that’s she is a really good ball player,” said Miller. “Unfortunately for her, and fortunately for the Lady Wildcats,  she fouled out, and didn’t get to play the last couple minutes.”

Leah Walter scored eight points for Milton, while Stork added seven, and Reiner chipped in with six.

The third-seeded Lady Wildcats, now 17-6, will travel to second-seeded Shamokin (10-5) Monday at 7 p.m. for a Class AAAA semi-final match-up.

BLOOMSBURG — Athens senior Emma Roe finished third at the District 4 Diving Championships here at the Bloomsburg Middle School, improving on last year’s finish and point total.

Roe, in just her second year of diving, tallied 317.05 points, bettering last year’s total of 314.6 points, which earned her a fourth-plat finish.

Danville’s Gabrielle Hackett won individual gold medal with 339.2 points, and is the only diver advancing to States this year due to the reduction in numbers as a result of Covid.

Central Columbia’s Ava Snyder won the silver with 332.05 points, and Bloom’s Alayna Lovelace finished fourth with 315.3 points.

WILLIAMSPORT — Sophomores Taegan Williams and Taylar Fisher each had four top-8 finishes to lead Athens to a sixth-place finish here Thursday night at the District 4 Girls Swimming & Diving Championship at Williamsport High School.

Danville cruised to the team title with 383 points, well ahead of runner-up Danville, which tallied 315 points. Central Columbia was third with 249 points, while Bloomsburg was fourth with 229 points, Shamokin was fifth with 181 points, and Athens tallied 180.

Williams finished third in the 200-yard freestyle in a time of 2:04.39, and freshman Emily Marshall was eighth in 2:23.82. Williams also finished sixth in the 100-yard freestyle in a time of 58.56 seconds.

Fisher finished sixth in the 100-yard backstroke in a time of 1:08.86. She was seventh in the 200-yard IM in a time of 2:28.64.

Williams teamed with sophomores Alli Thoman and Taylar Fisher, and junior Raven McCarthy-Gardner to finish sixth in the 200-yard freestyle relay in a time of 1:58.42.

Williams teamed with Marshall, sophomore Macaria Benjamin, and freshman Grace Cobb finished eighth in the 400-yard freestyle relay in a time of 4:34.94.

Fisher teamed with Thoman, Marshall, and McCarthy-Gardner to finish fifth in the 200-yard medley relay in a time of 2:14.13.

McCarthy-Gardner was eighth in the 100-yard breaststroke in a time of 1:22.44.

ATHENS — Junior Ty Barrett’s driving lay-up with 2.4 seconds remaining lifted Troy to a 60-58 win over Athens here Wednesday night in NTL Large School boys basketball action.

“Ty is a special basketball player,” said Troy coach Steve Renzi. “When the game is on the line, we can depend on Ty (Barrett) to get to the rack.”

Athens coach Jim Lister pointed to his team’s fourth-quarter performance at the free-throw line (1-for-6) after the loss.

“You have to make your foul shots at the end of the game when you’re tired; that’s the key.

“We had them in double-bonus, and we missed five foul shots at the end of the game,” said Lister. “We make those foul shots, we win the game.

“It’s the little things, we need to make lay-up, make foul shots, and play defense,” he added.

The Trojan win, however, wasn’t all Barrett, who was held to 19 points — about seven points below his season average. Jake Deitrick scored a season-high 18 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, and Mason Imbt had 10 points and 12 boards.

“We challenged our big guys to be better tonight,” said Renzi. “We go as our big guys go.

“They came out in the second half, and really pounded the boards.

“Jake Dietrick played the best game he’s played all year, and Mason Imbt played his best game of the year,” Renzi noted.

“Usually, you see the box score is a little lopsided, with our guards getting all the points, and our big guys not producing much, but tonight was pretty much opposite,” he added.

Lister said his team executed the game plan.

“When we played Troy the first time, we were in a box-and-one on Ty Barrett, and Tucker Brown did a really nice job,” said Lister. “He held him to seven points in the first half.

“But where Troy got us was (Ethan) VanNoy in the corner. He killed us from three-point land,” noted Lister. “Tonight, I wanted to take a different approach. I put Mason (Lister) on VanNoy, and he didn’t score many points.

“The game plan was to meet them at half court, play defense, and make them earn every shot they got,” added Lister. “I think we did that.”

The teams traded scores over the first six minutes of the game, until Deitrick scored back-to-back buckets to give the Trojans an 11-9 lead with 1:33 remaining in the first quarter.

After a pair of free throws by Athens sophomore Chris Mitchell tied the game, Nick Williams scored his only bucket of the game with 6 seconds left in the first quarter to give Troy a 13-11 lead.

Ethan Vannoy came up with a steal and lay-up on the first possession of the second quarter to give the Trojans a 15-11 lead, but a pair of free throws and a bucket by 6-5 Wildcat junior J.J. Babcock tied the game at 15-15 with 6:48 remaining in the first half.

After Deitrick gave Troy a 17-15 lead with a nifty one-hander in the lane, Babcock drained a 3-pointer to spark a 9-2 Athens spurt that gave the Wildcats a 24-17 lead with 3:27 remaining in the first half.

Troy trimmed the deficit to 24-20, but Nalen Carling’s old-fashioned three-point play pushed the Athens advantage back to seven points, 27-20, with 2:48 left in the first half.

A 3-pointer by Barrett with 1:45 remaining made it 27-23, but junior Troy Pritchard made a free throw to push the Athens lead to 28-23 at the half.

The Wildcats maintained their lead, and pushed it to seven points, at 37-30, on a nice low-post bucket by Pritchard with 4:03 remaining in the third quarter, but a top-of-the-key 3-pointer by Zeb Oldroyd — his only bucket of the game — with 1:55 left capped an 8-0 spurt that gave the Trojans a 38-37 lead.

The lead was short-lived, however, as Babcock and junior Tucker Brown scored back-to-back buckets to give the Wildcats a 41-38 lead with 55 seconds left in the third quarter.

A pair of Barrett free throws cut the deficit back to one point, but a driving baseline lay-up by Mason Lister with 5 seconds remaining gave Athens a 43-40 lead heading into the final eight minutes.

A spinning move in the lane resulted in a bucket by Pritchard in the opening moments of the fourth quarter, but he missed the free throw to make it a three-point play, and Athens led 45-40.

Moments later, Imbt scored on a putback and made the free throw to complete the old-fashioned three-point play to trim the deficit 45-43.

Imbt and Deitrick then added putbacks on the offensive glass on consecutive trip down the floor for the Trojans, giving them a 47-45 lead with 6:35 remaining in the contest.

Babcock gave the Wildcats the lead back moments later on a fast-break lay-up and a free throw to make it 48-47 with 6:12 left in the game. It was Athens’ last lead of the contest.

Deitrick scored on an offensive rebound, then made two free throws after collecting an offensive rebound, giving the Trojans a 51-48 lead with 5:13 remaining.

Pritchard scored in the low blocks, thanks to a nice pump fake, but missed the free throw after being fouled on the shot.

A driving lay-in down the lane by Barrett with 4:13 remaining gave the Trojans a 53-50 lead.

Athens missed the front end of a one-and-one with 3:31 remaining, but a fast-break lay-up by Babcock, off a steal by Lister, trimmed the deficit to 53-52 just 26 seconds later.

A bucket by Deitrick, and a long 3-pointer by Vannoy gave the Trojans a 58-52 lead with 1:50 remaining.

Things seemed dire for the Wildcats moments later after a pair of missed free throws, but they turned up the defensive pressure and scored three quick buckets to tie the game with 36 seconds remaining.

Carling started the spurt with a steal and breakaway lay-up, then Brown scored on a putback of an errant lay-up in transition, and Babcock scored on a lay-up, off a long outlet pass on the break from Pritchard, to cap the 6-0 run.

Troy milked the clock into single-digits, then Barrett took the ball near the Troy bench, cut across the top of the key, and down the lane, kissing the ball off the glass for the game-winner.

After a time-out, a long in-bounds pass for Athens was batted away from Babcock, and the final horn sounded as the ball rolled out-of-bounds.

“The kids had a hell of an effort tonight. I think that’s the first time this season we’ve played four full quarters,” said Lister.

“I’m proud of the guys, they’ve played very well the last two games. I told them after the game, if they continue to play the way they did tonight, we’ll be right there in the end,” he added.

Carling led Athens with 17 points and six rebounds, while Babcock had 16 points, five rebounds, four assists, and one blocked shot, Pritchard scored 11 points, Brown added eight points and six rebounds, and Lister chipped in with eight assists, three rebounds, and one blocked shot.

Athens, now 8-6, travels to Wellsboro Friday night.

ATHENS — Athens shook off a sluggish first half, and outscored Troy, 40-8, in the second half to deliver coach Brian Miller his 300th career victory — a 53-22 decision over Troy — here Tuesday night in NTL Large School girls basketball action.

Miller, who is in his third year at Athens, won 254 games as head coach at Waverly.

“It has been a great journey for the last 19 years,” said Miller. “I have enjoyed coaching young athletes and having so many successful teams at both schools.

“I have made so many friendships over the years with coaches, referees, parents, media, and many more.

“It has been a great ride and I am lucky person,” added Miller.

It was also a milestone night for Coach Miller’s daughter, Kayleigh, who knocked down her 200th (and 201st) career 3-pointer, and is just one away from tying the school record held by Mallory Hafer.

Senior Megan Collins knocked down a 3-pointer and scored five points in the first quarter to help the Lady Wildcats to a 9-5 lead, but the Lady Trojans used a 9-4 seconds-quarter run to take a 14-13 lead into the halftime locker room.

“We missed some shots versus the triangle-and-two in the first half, and looked a little slow,” said Miller. “Maybe the long road trip to Benton was a factor in that.

“We came out with a lot of energy in the second half and used a lot of pressure to create some nice scoring opportunities,” he added.

Kayleigh Miller knocked down her milestone 3-pointer, and was also 3-for-3 from the free-throw line after being fouled on a shot from behind the 3-point arc, and junior Caydence Macik also scored six points in the frame, while Collins buried her second 3-pointer and scored five points to fuel a 19-4 run that gave Athens a commanding 32-18 lead heading into the final eight minutes.

In the fourth quarter, Collins canned a pair of 3-pointers, and Miller once again connected on a 3-pointer and was 3-for-3 after being fouled on a 3-point attempt. The Lady Wildcats outscored Troy, 21-4, in the final stanza.

Collins led Athens with a career-high 16 points, including four 3-pointers on just six shots from behind the arc, while Macik scored 15 points and hauled down nine boards, and Miller, who was held scoreless in the first half, had 12 points and four steals.

Sophomore Karlee Bartlow added four points, five rebounds, and four assists, while freshman Mya Thompson had four points, three boards, and three steals, sophomore Emma Bronson dished out five assists, and senior Rachel Stephens chipped in with five rebounds, and two blocked shots.

Sydney Taylor led Troy with 14 points, and Hannah Zimmerman and Rachel Kingsley added four points apiece.

Athens, now 11-3 overall and 4-2 in NTL Large School divisional play, hosts Wellsboro Thursday.

NOTES: The Athens Lady Wildcats all donned T-shirts prior to the game that read “No One Fights Alone” to honor coach Miller, who is successfully battling cancer. … The girls basketball program raised $1,000 for the Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center and donated it in Coach Miller’s name.

TROY — Athens wracked up bonus points in all eight of its victories, which included six falls, in a 50-13 win over Troy here Tuesday night in NTL wrestling action here at the Commons Building.

Unbeaten junior Gavin Bradley, now 28-0, got the Wildcats off to a fast start with a 30-second fall over Kenyon Slater at 113 pounds.

At 120 pounds, freshman Mason Vanderpool built an 8-2 lead early in the second period, then put Joseph Schwenk on his back for a fall at 2:45 to give Athens a 12-0 lead.

Seth Seymour put the Trojans on the board with an 8-0 major decision over sophomore Josh Courtney at 126 pounds.

Seymour scored a takedown midway through the first period, and an escape early in the second period to take a 3-0 lead into the third period.

Seymour scored another takedown early in the third period, and turned Courtney to his back late to secure the major decision.

Freshman Emiliano Mallare got the Wildcats back on the winning track with a 13-4 major decision win over ben Randall at 132 pounds.

Mallare scored a takedown midway through the second period to break a 2-2 tie, then turned Randall to his back to increase his lead to 7-2 entering the final two minutes.

A takedown and two near-fall points upped Mallare’s lead to 11-2 midway through the third period.

Randall scored an escape, and Mallare was penalized for locked hands to trim the deficit to 11-4, but Mallare scored another takedown at the buzzer for the 13-4 major decision.

At 138 pounds, Kaden Setzer scored a pair of quick takedowns, then turned Peyton Bellows to his back for a fall at 36 seconds to give Athens a 22-4 lead.

Junior Lucas Forbes kept it rolling for the Wildcats with a 10-2 major decision over Lacey Hitman at 145 pounds.

Forbes scored five takedowns in the match as his win increased the lead to 26-4.

Sophomore Chris Bathgate registered four first-period takedown, and added three near-fall points in the final seconds to take a 13-4 lead into the second period of this 152-pound match-up with Eli Randall.

Bathgate scored another takedown early in the second period, and finished off the pin at 2:31 to give the Wildcats a 32-4 lead.

At 160 pounds, junior Karter Rude locked a cradle in one Jayden Renzo for a 46-second fall to extend the lead to 38-4.

Senior Zach Stafursky made it six wins in a row for the Wildcats with a fall over Mason Woodward in 3:01 to make it 44-4.

After a scoreless first period, Stafursky scored a takedown and quickly locked in a cradle for the fall.

Josh Isbell stopped the bleeding for the Trojans with a 10-3 win in their 189-pound bout.

Isbell scored a takedown midway through the first period, and added two sets of near-fall points for an 8-0 lead after the first two minutes.

Isabel led 10-2 deep into the third period, but was banged for stalling in the final seconds to take away the major decision.

Athens freshman Josh Nittinger received a forfeit at 285 pounds, and Troy’s Caleb Schwenk received a forfeit at 106 pounds to end the night.

Athens, which finishes off the dual season with a 17-10 record, returns to action Saturday when it hosts the North Section Tournament.

—————

ATHENS 50, TROY 13
113: Gavin Bradley (A) by fall over Kenyon Slater (T), 0:30;
120: Mason Vanderpool (A) by fall over Joseph Schwenk (T), 2:45;
126: Seth Seymour (T) major dec. Jacob  Courtney (A), 8-0;
132: Emiliano Mallare (A) major dec. Ben Randall (T), 13-4;
138: Kaden Setzer (A) by fall over Peyton Bellows (T), 0:36;
145: Lucas Forbes (A) major dec. Lacey Hinman (T),10-2;
152: Christopher Bathgate (A) by fall over Eli Randall (T), 2:31;
160: Karter Rude (A) by fall over Jayden Renzo (T), 0:46;
172: Zachary Stafursky (A) by fall over Mason Woodward (T), 3:01;
189: Josh Isbell (T) dec. Colin Rosh (A), 10-3;
215: No Match;
285: Joshua Nittinger (A) won by forfeit;
106: Caleb Schwenk (T) won by forfeit.

ATHENS — Sophomore Ben Chilson put on a show here Monday night, knocking down 12 3-pointers — nine in the first half — en route to a 50-point performance in leading Tunkhannock to an 88-70 non-league boys basketball win over Athens.

“I’m not unhappy in how we played tonight,” said Athens coach Jim Lister. “Normally, when you put up 70 points in high school basketball you win.

“Not tonight, though, because I watched one of the best shooting performances I have ever had the pleasure of watching,” noted Lister. “We contested every shot, but it didn’t matter.

“(Chilson) and his teammates just could not miss tonight,” Lister added.

Lister said this game, like the Wildcats’ other non-league contests, will benefit them in the long run.

“We will continue to keep playing these very good teams down south .. it's just going to make us better.”

Chilson, who connected on 12 of 18 shots from behind the arc, hit four 3-pointers and scored 15 points in the first quarter, and his teammate Ryan Harder drained two 3-pointers to help the Tigers to a 25-14 lead after the first eight minutes.

The lead was nearly 14 points at the end of the first quarter, but Athens junior Shayne Reid’s shot from well behind the mid-court line found nothing-but-net at the buzzer.

Chilson, who also had a pair of big dunks in the game, scored 21 more points, including five 3-pointers, in the second quarter to give him 36 points in the first half. Tunkhannock outscored Athens 30-18 in the stanza to take a 55-32 lead into the halftime locker room.

Juniors Tucker Brown and Troy Pritchard scored six points apiece in the third quarter, and senior James Benninger-Jones and junior J.J. Babcock added 3-pointers for the Wildcats, but Ben Chilson countered with seven points, including two 3-pointers, and senior Jack Chilson scored five points, including his second trey of the game. Both teams scored 21 points in the third quarter, and the lead remained at 23 points, at 76-53, entering the final eight minutes.

Brown scored a career-high 19 points, and had six rebounds and three assists, while Pritchard had 14 points and three rebounds, Lister had 10 points, three rebounds, and three assists, and Benninger-Jones scored 10 points.

Babcock added seven points, eight rebounds, and seven assists for the Wildcats, and junior Nalen Carling chipped in with six points and seven boards.

Harder added 19 points, including a trio of 3-pointers, and Jack Chilson chipped in with 10 points.

Tunkhannock shot 60 percent (18 of 30) from behind the 3-point arc.

BENTON — Athens built a double-digit lead in the first half, then blew the game wide-open in the third quarter of a 50-17 rout of Benton here Monday night in non-league girls basketball action.

The Lady Wildcats held to just one field goal in the first quarter, and seven points in the first half.

“We played great defense all night,” said Athens coach Brian Miller.

Athens also had 15 assists on just 20 field goals in the win.

 “We had outstanding ball movement tonight, to get some nice baskets,” said Miller. “We shared the ball very well tonight.”

Senior Kayleigh Miller and junior Caydence Macik combined to score all of Athens’ points in a 13-2 first quarter run.

Athens used an 8-5 spurt in the second quarter to stretch its lead to 21-7.

Miller scored eight points, including a 3-pointer and an old-fashioned three-point play, in the third quarter, while Macik added six points, and seniors Megan Collins and Rachel Stephens chipped in with five and four, respectively, to fuel a 23-6 outburst that extended the Lady Wildcat advantage to 44-13 entering the final eight minutes.

Macik led Athens with 20 points, 10 rebounds, eight steals, five assists, and two blocked shot, and
Miller had 17 points, including a pair of 3-pointers, six steals, five assists, and three rebounds.

Collins added five points, three rebounds, and two assists in the win, while Stephens chipped in with four points, three boards, and one blocked shot, and freshman Mya Thompson recorded eight steals.

Gracey Baker led Benton with eight points.

Athens, now 10-3, hosts Troy Tuesday night.

HERNDON, Pa. — Athens went 1-4 here Saturday at the Line Mountain Duals, but junior Gavin Bradley went 5-0, including his 100th career victory.

Senior Zach Stafursky and sophomore Chris Bathgate each went 4-1 for the Wildcats, while senior Kaden Setzer and Karter Rude were both 3-2. Sophomore Jake Courtney, and freshmen Josh Courtney and Mason Vanderpool each won two matches.

Benton 46, Athens 30
Benton won the final four weight classes, including on by fall and two via forfeit, to rally for a 46-30 win over Athens in the first match of the day.

Bradley and freshman Mason Vanderpool picked up forfeits at 113 and 120 pounds to give the Wildcats a quick 12-0 lead, but the Tigers registered back-to-back falls at 126 and 132 to tie it at 12-12.

Kaden Setzer put Athens back ahead with a pin of Remington Morrow in 1:24 at 138 pounds, but a Benton pin at 145 tied it at 18-18.

Bathgate put the Wildcats ahead 24-18 with a pin of Nick Stevens in 63 seconds at 152, but Benton standout Nolan Lear answered with a pin at 160 to tie the match at 24-24.

Stafursky gave Athens its final lead of the match with a pin of Mason Michael in 5:28 at 172 pounds, but Benton pins at 189 and 285, alternating with forfeits at 215 and 106 put away the win.

West Perry 52, Athens 22
Once-beaten West Perry won five straight bouts late in the match to pull away for a 52-22 win over Athens.

After sophomore Jake Courtney tied the match at 6-6, with a pin of Adam Rea in 4:36 at 126 pounds, West Perry scored back-to-back-to-back falls at 132, 138 and 145 to take an 24-6 lead.

Bathgate stopped the bleeding with a pin of Joe Saylor in 1:56 at 152 pounds, and Rude followed with a pin of Dayton Seidel in 3:20 at 160 pounds to cut the deficit to 24-18.

West Perry logged a major decision at 172, pins and 189 and 285, and forfeits at 215 and 106 to take an insurmountable to 52-18 lead.

At 113, Bradley closed out the match with a 16-8 major decision over previously-unbeaten Deven Jackson.

Line Mountain 45, Athens 19
Line Mountain won the first five weight classes to take a 24-0 lead en route to a 45-19 win over Athens.

Junior Karter Rude put the Wildcats on the board with a pin of Chandon Maurer in 1:46 at 160 pounds, and Stafursky followed it up with a 4-3 win over Cale King at 172 pounds to cut the Athens deficit to 24-9.

Line Mountain won four of the next five weight classes, including two forfeits and a fall, to stretch its lead to to 45-13. Freshman Josh Nittinger picked up a forfeit at 285 pounds for Athens’ only win in that stretch.

Bradley, stepping up a weight class, closed out the match with a 12-3 major decision of Aidan Kritzer, who entered the day at 15-2.

Athens 45, Mifflinburg 24
Athens won six of the first seven weight classes to race out to a big lead en route to a 45-24 win over Mifflinburg.

Jake Courtney got the Wildcats off to a fast start with a pin of Jeremy Page in 1:26 at 132 pounds, then Kaden Setzer had his hand raised at 138 pounds — the first of four forfeits Athens would receive — to make it 12-0.

After Mifflinburg standout Troy Bingamann registered a fall at 145 pounds, Bathgate and Rude were awarded forfeits at 152 and 160 pounds, respectively, to make it 24-6.

Stafursky ended his 172-pound bout in 52 seconds with a fall over Jon Melendez, and junior Colin Rosh received a forfeit at 189 pounds to extend the lead to 36-6.

Mifflinburg piked up a forfeit at 215 and a fall at 285 ti cut the deficit to 36-12, but Josh Courtney forged a 9-0 major decision over Dylan Starr at 113 pounds to make it 40-12.

Bradley provided Athens’ final points of the bout with a 16-0 technical fall of Brady Struble at 120 pounds.

Jersey Shore 35, Athens 33
Athens only won one bout on the mat, but five forfeits kept them in the match until the final weight class in a 35-33 loss to Jersey Shore.

The Wildcats’ only win was at 172 pounds, where senior Zach Stafursky forged a 7-2 decision over Jon Smith.

Athens also picked up forfeits at 138 (senior Kaden Setzer), 152 (sophomore Chris Bathgate), 113 (junior Gavin Bradley), 120 (freshman Josh Courtney), and 126 (freshman Mason Vanderpool), and led 33-30 going into the final weight class.

In that final match, Jersey Shore’s Liam Goodrich pounded out a 16-1 technical fall win to secure the victory for the Bulldogs.

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IN PHOTO: Athens junior Gavin Bradley. … PHOTO PROVIDED.

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Benton 46, Athens 30
113: Gavin Bradley (A) won by forfeit;
120: Mason Vanderpool (A) won by forfeit;
126: Gable Strickland (B) by fall over Jacob Courtney (A), 2:54;
132: Caden Temple (B) by fall over Gavin McGrath (A), 1:23;
138: Kaden Setzer (A) by fall over Remington Morrow (B), 1:24;
145: Mason Smith (B) by fall over Lucas Forbes (A), 2:32;
152: Christopher Bathgate (A) by fall over Nicholas Stevens (B), 1:03;
160: Nolan Lear (B) by fall over Karter Rude (A), 1:51;
172: Zachary Stafursky (A) by fall over Mason Michael (B), 5:28;
189: Jacob Bobersky (B) by fall over Colin Rosh (A), 2:25;
215: Zach Poust (B) won by forfeit;
285: Andrew Wolfe (B) major dec. Joshua Nittinger (A), 11-2;
106: Chase Burke (B) won by forfeit.

West Perry 52, Athens 22
120: Blain Puchalsky (WP) by fall over Mason Vanderpool (A), 4:32;
126: Jacob Courtney (A) by fall over Adam Rea (WP), 4:36;
132: Nolen Zeigler (WP) by fall over Gavin McGrath (A), 2:47;
138: Justice Hockenberry-Folk (WP) by fall over Kaden Setzer (A), 3:15;
145: Carter Nace (WP) by fall over Lucas Forbes (A), 0:55;
152: Christopher Bathgate (A) by fall over Joe Saylor (WP), 1:56;
160: Karter Rude (A) by fall over Dayton Seidel (WP), 3:20;
172: Tyler Wonders (WP) major de. Zachary Stafursky (A), 10-0;
189: Brad Morrison (WP) by fall over Colin Rosh (A), 0:19;
215: Kaleb Cordell (WP) won by forfeit;
285: Josh Trostle (WP) by fall over Joshua Nittinger (A), 0:56;
106: Ashtyn Leigh (WP) won by forfeit;
113: Gavin Bradley (A) major dec. Deven Jackson (WP), 16-8.

Line Mountain 45, Athens 19
126: Lane Schadel (LM) tech. fall Jacob Courtney (A), 15-0 @ 5:56;
132: Max Bingaman (LM) by fall over Gavin McGrath (A), 1:50;
138: Mason Leshock (LM) major dec. Kaden Setzer (A), 18-6;
145: Ian Coller (LM) by fall over Lucas Forbes (A), 0:59;
152: Bryce Carl (LM) dec. Christopher Bathgate (A), 9-3;
160: Karter Rude (A) by fall over Chandon Maurer (LM), 1:46;
172: Zachary Stafursky (A) dec. Cale King (LM), 4-3;
189: Jacob Feese (LM) by fall over Colin Rosh (A), 0:29;
215: Dominick Bridi (LM) won by forfeit;
285: Joshua Nittinger (A) won by forfeit;
106: Nolan Baumert (LM) won by forfeit;
113: Brody Long (LM) dec. Joshua Courtney (A), 13-6;

TOWANDA — Towanda knocked down a pair of key 3-pointers in the fourth quarter to rally for a 38-35 win over Athens here Saturday afternoon in NTL junior varsity girls basketball action.

Karlee Bartlow scored five points and Abby Champion added four points to help Athens an 11-6 lead after the first quarter.

Destiny Brennan and Gracie Schoonover combined for 13 points in the second quarter to fuel a 13-8 spurt that tied the game at 19-19 at the half.

Emma Bronson scored four points in the third quarter in a 9-6 spurt that gave the junior Wildcats a 28-25 lead heading into the final eight minutes.

Brennan and Eliza Fowler each drained 3-pointers, and Bella Hurley made a pair of free throws as Towanda used a 13-7 run to pull out the win.

Bartlow led Athens with 16 points, six boards, four steals, two assists, and one blocked shot, while Bronson had 11 points, five steals, two assists, and one blocked shot, Champion added four points and three rebounds, and Mya Thompson hauled down 14 rebounds, recorded six steals, and blocked two shots.

Brennan led Towanda with 11 points, and Schoonover added 10 points.

Athens returns to action Monday at Benton.

LIBERTY — Noah Spencer poured in 34 points, including 16 points from the free-throw line, to lead unbeaten North Penn-Liberty to a 79-59 win over Athens here Saturday night in NTL boys basketball action.

The Mountaineers, now 7-0, shot 30 free throws (24 made) in the contest to the Wildcats’ 17 (12 made), and that fact was not lost on Athens coach Jim Lister.

“I am taking nothing away from (North Penn-Liberty) and Noah Spencer,” he said. “They are a very good, well-coached basketball team and we would had to be at our best to beat them.

“Our game plan tonight was to come out and be aggressive on defense and attack, but unfortunately some extremely inconsistent officiating took us completely out of our game plan,” noted Lister. “I believe we had 12 or 13 team fouls with 5 minutes left to go in the second quarter.

“I felt terrible for our kids who working there tails off,” added Lister. “Through it all, though, they did not quit and were never out of the game until the end, and for that I am proud of them.”

Spencer scored six points in the first quarter, and Koleton Roupp and Brandon Thompson each had five points to help NP-L to a 20-13 lead after the first eight minutes.

Thompson scored seven points in the second quarter, and Spencer added five, but the Mountaineers were only able to add one point to their lead, taking a 41-33 lead into the halftime locker room.

Junior Troy Pritchard scored six points in the second quarter, and junior J.J. Babcock, who had 10 points in the first half, added five points, including a 3-pointer, to keep the Wildcats in the game.

Athens had no answers for Spencer in the second half.

Spencer tossed in 14 points in the third quarter, including an 8-for-10 performance at the line, as NP-L used an 18-14 edge in the stanza to stretch its lead to 59-47 entering the final eight minutes.

Spencer made 5 of 6 free-throw attempts, and scored nine points in the fourth quarter to fuel a 20-12 Mountaineers advantage in the final stanza.

Spencer had eight assists and six boards to go along with his game-high 34 points for NP-L, while Thompson added 20 points, five rebounds, and three blocked shots, and Colton Litzelman added six steals, five rebounds, and four assists.

Babcock led Athens with 14 points, eight rebounds, seven assists, and three steals, while junior Shayne Reid had 14 points, five steals, and two blocked shots, and junior Mason Lister had 11 points, four rebounds, and four steals. Junior Nalen Carling and Pritchard each had eight points and five rebounds for the Wildcats,.

The Wildcats shot 31 percent (22 of 71) from the field.

Athens, now 8-4, hosts Tunkhannock Monday in a non-league contest.

Valley Sports Report
TOWANDA — For three quarters, Athens outplayed Towanda, taking a 31-26 lead into the fourth quarter. Then, disaster struck, as they were outscored 19-5 in the final frame to fall to the Knights, 43-36, in NTL girls’ basketball action Saturday.

“They went to that 2-2-1 three-quarters court trap,” explained Athens coach Brian Miller. “They ran that earlier in the game, and we handled it effectively, but we struggled big time with it.