BLOOMSBURG — Junior Brynna Zentner scored three goals and dished out two assists to lead Bloomsburg in a 6-0 win over Athens here Wednesday in non-league girls soccer action.

Junior Ava Billmeyer had two goals and two assists for the Lady Panthers, and sophomore Teagan Serrano added one goal

Bloomsburg outshot Athens 16-4.

Athens, now 7-8-1, hosts Wellsboro Thursday.

STATE COLLEGE — Evan Cooper followed up his round of 80 on Monday with an 81 today, giving the Athens junior a 17-over par, two-day total of 161 total and a tie for 57th place at the PIAA, Class AAA Golf Championships here on the Penn State White Course.

“I’m happy for my first time here,” Cooper said after his round. “I did some things better today, especially my chipping, and my putting was better. I definitely struggled with my irons today, where yesterday I thought I hit my irons really well.”

Cooper’s day-one 80 included 10 pars, a birdie, five bogeys and two double-bogeys, while today’s round included nine pars, a birdie, six bogeys and a pair of double-bogeys.

Cooper shot a 38-42 for his 80 on Monday and a 41-40 today for his 81.

The District IV runner-up had five holes that he improved his score on today, five that he shot a higher score on and eight holes that he shot the same score.

Cooper is excited to get back to work and start preparing for his senior season, where the goal, according to Cooper, is to “get back here.”

The Wildcat will also look to repeat as the top player in the NTL, where he compiled an average score of 75.6 in 10 matches.

An honor that Cooper may have won at the Championships is that he had possibly the largest gallery of family and friends following his group both days.

“I really want to thank my parents and my grandparents,” Cooper said, “And everyone that came down. It means a lot to have that support.”

The PIAA distributes medals to the top-10 finishers, which this year resulted in 18 players being recognized, as the state champ shot a 4-under 140, four players tied for sixth and nine players tied for 10th place with a 5-over 149.

Cooper finished tied with five other golfers in the 57th spot on the board.

TROY — Athens is in must-win mode, needing to win its final three matches to qualify for the upcoming District, Class AA volleyball playoffs.

Well, it's "one down, and two to go" after the Lady Wildcats dispatched of Troy in straight sets here Tuesday night by scores of 25-18, 25-15, and 25-18.

“It was a team effort tonight, totally,” said Athens coach Heather Hanson. “The girls were loud, focused and had fun.

“I haven’t seen this team since our first game,” added Hanson.

Senior Jenny Ryan led the Lady Wildcats with three service aces, while seniors Cailin McDaniel, and Audrey Clare, and sophomore Kassie Babcock each had two aces.

Athens, now 7-9, hosts Towanda Thursday, then travels to Wellsboro Monday for the regular-season finale.

STATE COLLEGE — Athens junior Evan Cooper shot an opening-round 80 at the PIAA 3A Golf Championships here Monday, being held at Penn State University’s White and Blue courses.

Cooper teed off on Hole No. 1 at 9 a.m. today and had a strong start, recording pars on holes one through four. Some familiarity with the course likely played a part in Cooper’s hot start, despite the cool weather.

“This was my third time playing the course”, Cooper explained. “We came down for two practice rounds — in similar conditions, so that was a big benefit.”

After three straight bogeys, Cooper parred hole eight and birdied the par-4 ninth to make the turn at a plus-2 38.

“I’m happy with my score”, Cooper said, “but I know I can shoot better. I hit my irons well today, but there’s room for improvement.”

Cooper parred 10, 11 and 13, while getting a bogey on 12.  A double-bogey on the par-3 14th, a bogey on 16 and another double-bogey on 17 left Cooper with his round of 80 — after parring hole 18.

In all, Cooper totaled 11 pars on the day and had one birdie. His round of 80 leaves him tied for 49th place.

Tuesday’s final round, scheduled to begin at 8 a.m., will now begin at 9:30 a.m. due to anticipated frost.

Cooper is excited to get back out on the course Tuesday, saying, “It’ll be my fourth time playing it and its a really nice course .. and if I can get some birdie putts to fall — that’s the focus.”

LIBERTY — Division-leading North Penn-Liberty swept past Athens here Monday night in NTL Large School Division volleyball action.

The Lady Mountaineers, who improve to 14-1 overall and 11-0 in league play, won by scores of 25-12, 25-12, and 25-13.

"We played hard, and had great moments, but each moment was followed by an unforced error,” said Athens coach Heather Hanson. “I guess that knocked the steam out of our pipe.

“The girls need to take responsibility upon themselves to talk and communicate on the court,” noted Hanson. “Until they do that, it’s going to be tough to have any victories.”

Senior Jenny Ryan led Athens with 12 service points, three kills, two blocks, 12 setter assists, and seven digs, while senior Audrey Clare had six kills, two assists, and eight digs, and senior Cassy Friend had four kills, two blocks, and four digs.

Sophomore Ella Coyle had six digs for the Lady Wildcats, while sophomore Kassie Babcock recorded six digs, sophomore Keaton Wiles registered three kills, senior Cailin McDaniel added two kills, and one block, and juniors Izzy Davis and Emily Marshall chipped in with four digs and two digs, respectively.

Athens, now 5-8, returns to action Tuesday at Troy.

ROME — Athens saw three individuals finish in the top five between the girls and boys races here at the NTL Coaches’ Championships on Saturday.

For the girls sophomore Sara Bronson (20:46.9) and senior Emma Bronson (21:44.2) placed second and fourth to lead the Lady Wildcats to a third place team finish with 80 points.

Bronson ran with overall winner, NEB’s Gracelyn Laudermilch (20:31.9), for the first half of the race, but ultimately lost contact as she finished 15 seconds behind.

“I wanted to stick with her because I know she always runs well,” said Sara. “I thought if I was with her, it’s be a good race.”

Emma has had an up-and-down dual meet season, but had a strong showing on Saturday, holding off NEB’s Melanie Shumway (21:52.6) for fourth.

“Today was a lot better than some of my previous races,” remarked Emma. “It’s really a confidence booster to know that I can do it going into districts.”

Junior Thea Bentley (23:09.9) also finished in the medals, taking 14th overall, while sophomore Emily Henderson (26:36.5) was 37th, and senior Abby Prickitt (26:48) took 40th to round out their scorers.

On the boys’ side, sophomore Ethan Hicks (18:05.1) was fifth overall, while teammate senior Ethan Denlinger (18:25.7) took seventh.

“It feels great,” Hicks said on finishing in the top five.

After CV’s top three and NEB’s Creed Dewing was when the race could get interesting, with the question being who would step up. Hicks answered that question, nearly catching CV’s Nathaniel Welch down the stretch after running with him all race long.

“I knew it was going to be tough, but I knew if I just stayed up with Welch, it’d be good from there,” Hicks said.

Athens was sixth overall with 127 points as senior Nate Prickitt (20:11.5) took 31st, sophomore Ronel Ankam (20:59.3) finished 42nd, and freshman Sam Sensenig (21:33.2) was 48th to round out their scorers.

For the Sayre girls, Corey Ault (27:04.4) led the way with a 42nd-place finish, while Rose Shikanga (27:17.2) was 46th. Deborah Shikanga (30:19) finished 54th.

On the boys’ side, Sam Claypool (21:29.1) was 47th to lead the Redskins, and Hunter Kimball (23:32.8) was 77th.

ATHENS — Seven different players put their names in the scoring column as Montoursville remained unbeaten here Saturday with an 8-0 win over Athens in non-league girls soccer action at Alumni Stadium.

Junior Reese Bainbridge scored in the 18th minute, then senior Madison Moll scored back-to-back goals about 2 1/2 minutes apart to give the Lady Warriors a 3-0 lead with 14:50 remaining in the first half.

Seniors Lydia Earnest and Shyanne Klemick scored less than two minutes apart to give Montoursville a 5-0 lead with 3 minutes left in the half.

Senior Abby Hartman, junior Nyla Kutney, and junior Ava Lilley added second-half goals for the Lady Warriors to provide the final margin.

ROME — After the varsity races here Saturday at the NTL Coaches Championships, the future of the league was on display as the junior high runners took the stage.

Two teams stood out on the day — the Athens boy and the Wellsboro girls as both groups came away with team and individual titles.

The Wildcats won the boys’ race with 33 points, followed by Wyalusing (52), Sullivan County (54), Troy (101), Towanda (113), and Sayre (145).

Athens’ Graham Wanck (9:53) added another title to a season full of them, pulling away early for a comfortable win on the 1.68-mile course.

“I’ve been working hard all year, and it’s really paid off this meet,” said Wanck. “It’s not an easy sport, but I love it.”

Wanck’s had quite a season — earning a race record in his win at the McQuaid Invitational, winning the Bob Green Invite, and going undefeated in the NTL.

“I was really surprised, and really happy with myself,” he said about his win at McQuaid. “Coming into the next races, I was, you know, raising the bar a little bit, since I know I can do that.”

He’s excited to see what him and his teammates can do once they get up to the varsity level in the next couple of seasons.

“I think our team could go really far,” said Wanck. “This meet, we didn’t have our fifth and sixth runners.”

Wyalusing’s Aidan Neiley (10:25.9) was second, the only 7th-grader in the top four. Wellsboro’s Michael Knefly (10:36.7) came in third, Athens’ Eli Hicks (10:50.7) was fourth, and NEB’s Jackson Martin (11:05.7) rounded out the top five.

The rest of the medal-winners were Wildcats Matt Rossettie (11:11) and Jacob Shores (11:18.3) in sixth and seventh, Sullivan County’s Isaiah Botsford (11:18.7) in eighth, with Wyalusing’s Brayden Johnson (11:24.1) and Parker Cunningham (11:33.3) took ninth and 10th.

Towanda’s top runner was Quentin Little (11:59.1) in 13th, with Troy’s Owen Campbell (12:11.8) in 17th to lead them. Other top runners from the schools were Sayre’s Corey Hurd (12:18.3) in 19th, and Canton’s Manuel Halbfoerster (12:49.7) in 28th.

On the girls’ side, Wellsboro edged out Towanda 24-31 to win the girls’ title, as the Hornets went 1-3 between Lauren Kosek (11:20.1) and Isla Twoey (11:52.7).

“It’s awesome,” Kosek said about winning the girls’ title. “I’ve been trying for two years. This is my last big meet of junior high, so it’s super exciting.”

Kosek’s goal was to get the course record.

“I missed it by 11 or 12 seconds,” she said. “But there’s also very many good girls here, so I’m very happy getting first.”

She’s also glad to see her team take first, and hopes this is a sign of things to come for the Hornets down the road.

“We should have some good middle schoolers moving up to varsity, and moving into junior high,” said Kosek. “We’re very happy to be growing.”

NPM’s Jaci Fairchild (11:49.2) was second, while Towanda’s Mary Kate Eberlin (11:53.3) and NEB’s Kara Dughi (12:29.6) rounded out the top five.

Wyalusing’s Camryn Gesford (12:33.1) took sixth, with CV’s Clare McKee (12:46.4) finishing seventh. Sullivan County’s Zoey Reese (12:48.6) and Paige Jordan (12:51.4) were eighth and ninth, while Towanda’s Kenzie Brown (13:04.5) rounded out the top 10.

Troy’s Sheridan Wilcox (13:32.2) took 13th, Sayre’s Reghan McGaughey (15:25.7) was 24th, and Athens’ Abigail Conklin (18:14.2) finished 28th as their teams’ top runners.

CANTON — Athens didn’t come away with a win, but the Wildcats did show that, for three quarters, they could play with a state-ranked team during their 21-0 loss to Canton on Friday.

The Warriors blitzed the Wildcats for three touchdowns on their first three drives, but Athens’ defense stiffened, keeping Canton out of the end zone from that point on.

Offensively, Athens had its moments — including a 25-yard Mason Lister to Xavier Watson reception — and their opportunities — twice inside the Canton red zone in the second quarter, but weren’t able to capitalize on them for points.

“It’s tough playing these guys, they’re really, really good,” said Athens coach Jack Young. “I think we might have played a little like deer in the headlights in the first quarter. And then we woke up, and our defense played really phenomenal.”

The Wildcats kept Canton out of the end zone on its final seven drives of the night, though the Warriors did run for 318 yards.

“I’m proud of our guys’ fight, but there’s no moral victories here,” said Young. “I’m just glad we showed up and fought, and this was as physical of a second half of football as I’ve seen in a long time. If we can take the positives, and learn from the negatives, we will be better next week.”

In the second half, Athens held Canton to 116 yards of total offense, and sent them backwards on six plays, including three straight at one point.

“I think we’re better than what we believe we are,” Young said, noting his team started to believe in that second-quarter turnaround.

Offensively, though, they only produced two first downs outside the second quarter — one in the entire second half — and he knows they have to get better at protecting Lister in the backfield.

“We have to handle that pressure better,” said Young.

The Wildcats finished with just 80 yards of total offense, 16 of which came on the ground. Lister was 15-for-21 for 64 yards, and his top two targets were Luke Horton (seven catches, 19 yards) and Xavier Watson (two catches, 36 yards).

Caleb Nichols had 23 yards rushing on 13 carries, while Kolsen Keathley finished with 17 yards on three touches.

Canton saw two backs go over 100 yards -—Riley Parker (19 carries, 152 yards, one touchdown) and Weston Bellows (10 carries, 112 yards, one touchdown), while Holden Ward ran for 33 yards on eight carries as he took the lion’s share of snaps at QB.

Canton attempted just five passes, going 3-for-5, with Michael Davis’ 38-yard completion to Hudson Ward the highlight of the night.

Penalties also hurt the Warriors, who were flagged 11 times for 80 yards.

Canton took the opening kick-off and marched down the field, going 65 yards on seven plays — all runs — to paydirt. Parker’s 2-yard punch got them in the end zone, but the key play was a 30-yard run from Holden Ward, followed by a 17-yard run from Parker to get them inside the Athens 25-yard line.

Bailey Ferguson added the point after to make it 7-0 just 2:30 into the contest.

Athens’ first possession ended in a 3-and-out, with Canton taking over at their own 37-yard line. This time it was just three plays to paydirt, as Bellows ran untouched up the middle 59 yards to the end zone.

Ferguson’s kick was good, and Canton led 14-0 with 6:49 on left in the first quarter.

After another Athens punt, Canton took over at its own 38-yard line. The Warriors went into their bag of tricks, pulling out a halfback pass from Davis to Hudson Ward for 38 yards down to the Athens 24-yard line.

From there, they used six runs to get into the end zone, with Allen sneaking it in from one yard out on 4th-and-goal for their third touchdown of the quarter. Ferguson’s kick was good, and it was 21-0 with 1:27 left to play in the first.

Athens’ offense found some life in the ensuing drive, getting down to the Canton 26-yard line when Lister hit Watson for the 25-yard hook up.

However, the drive would stall, and Canton would force Athens to turn it over on downs, taking over at its 19-yard line.

This time, though, it was the Wildcats making something happen on defense, recovering a fumble on the initial play of the drive to take over at the Canton 27-yard line.

A roughing-the-passer call on fourth down would put the Wildcats inside the Canton 15-yard line. However, a Hayden Ward sack on second down pushed them back to the 20.

On fourth down, Lister got Horton 1-on-1 in the end zone, and for a moment Horton had the ball in his hands, but Allen reached up through and punched it away for another defensive stop.

Both teams then ended the half with empty drives.

It was a defensive struggle in the second half — Canton had just 116 yards of total offense, Athens had 25.

Eventually, the Warriors used a big dose of Parker to run out the clock, as he finished with 105 yards rushing on 12 carries in final two quarters.

Athens (5-3) will host Central Columbia next week as they try to catch Montoursville in the District IV standings to have a home game in the first round of the Class AAA playoffs.

“We’re too good to be shutout, even against a really good team like Canton,” Young said. “We just got to be better.”

WELLSBORO — Athens struck first, but Wellsboro rallied to finish off its unbeaten NTL season with a 2-1 win here Thursday evening in boys soccer action.

The Hornets (14-2 overall) finish the season with a 12-0 mark in league play, including a 2-1 win at Athens on Sept. 14.

The Wildcats scored on a direct kick with 19 minutes remaining in the first half. After Wellsboro was whistled for a trip just outside the box, senior Brayden Post drove a shot into the net to make it 1-0.

The Athens defense kept Wellsboro at bay, but Hornet two-sport standout Jack Poirier, off a feed from Jack Bryant, scored with 2 seconds remaining in the first half to tie the game at 1-1.

Sam Rudy, off an assist from Poirier, scored with 21:24 remaining in the contest to give the Hornets a 2-1 lead.

Wellsboro had a 7-4 edge in shots-on-goal, and a 9-4 advantage in corner kicks.

Senior Grant Liechty recorded five saves in net for the Wildcats.

Athens, now 9-7-1, wraps up the regular season Oct. 22 when it hosts Williamson.

ATHENS — Senior Ally Thoman scored a second-half goal to help Athens overcome an early NEB goal on its way to a 2-1 win in the annual “Pink Out for Sarah Reid” game here Wednesday evening in NTL girls soccer action at Alumni Stadium.

“It was a great victory over a very good NEB team on Sarah Reid Pink Out night,” said Athens coach Rich Pitts. “NEB came in with a great game plan, and really came at us the first 20 minutes.

“We were able to survive, then get a goal back before half to help us settle in.

“In the second half, I thought we played pretty good soccer,” noted Pitts. “We were moving the ball around and doing a lot of the things we work on every day in training.

RYAN, COYLE REACH CAREER MILESTONES

MANSFIELD — Sophomore Sara Bronson ran the day’s fastest time to lead Athens to three wins, and the program’s first Large School Division title since 1990 here Tuesday in NTL cross country quad-meet, while the Athens were 2-1, falling to division champ Cowanesque Valley.

“Today was a great race to end the regular season,” said Athens girls coach Scott Riley. “It was really a team effort to win a big quad meet.

“The girls ran strong up front with Sara Bronson, Emma Bronson and Thea Bentley setting the tone for the team,” he noted. “But it was equally important in a meet like today how the other girls ran. Emily Henderson and Abby Prickitt ran great races to secure key places.

“The girls have been working really hard this year with many of them having been in the program for several years now,” added Riley. “We are really excited with the outcome for them and winning the large school championship.”

GIRLS
Athens 24, CV 33
Athens 21, NP-Mansfield 34
Athens 19, Canton 37
The Lady Wildcats earned wins over CV, North Penn-Mansfield, and Canton to finish 8-2 on the season.

Sara Bronson finished first in a time of 20:49, while Emma Bronson (third against CV, second NP-M and Canton) was third overall on the day in a time of 21:08.

Thea Bentley finished sixth overall (fourth CV, third NP-M and Canton) in a time of 22:54, while Emily Henderson was 10th (seventh CV, sixth NP-M and Canton) in 24:52, Abby Prickitt was 14th (ninth CV, eighth NP-M, and seventh Canton) in 14:47, and Olivia Cheresnowsky was 19th (10th CV and Canton, 11th NP-M)  in 27:46.

Janae Barkins was 22nd in 29:57, and Maryrose Bertsch was 26th in 38:30.

BOYS
CV 19, Athens 41
Athens 20, NP-Mansfield 37
Athens 17, Canton 41
The Athens boys logged wins over North Penn-Mansfield and Canton, but fell to division champ Cowanesque Valley.

“Our kids did a great job today,” said Athens boys coach Mike Bronson. “It was awesome to see the girls clinch the Large School Championship and for the junior high boys to finish an undefeated regular season.

“We will spend the next two weeks sharpening up to be ready for the District meet,” he added.

CV’s Kristian Mizdail (16:19), Owen Cummings (16:54), and Nathaniel Welsh (17:20) finished 1-2-3 on the day to lead the Indians to three convincing wins.

Ethan Denlinger finished fourth overall (fourth against CV, and first against NP-M and Canton) in 17:41 and Ethan Hicks was fifth (fifth CV, second NP-M and Canton)  in 17:58 to lead the Wildcats.

Nate Prickitt was 10th (ninth CV, fourth NP-M, third Canton) in 19:39, while Ronel Ankam was 14th (12th CV), sixth NP-M, fourth Canton) in 20:12, and Sam Sensenig was 19th (15th CV, seventh NP-M and Canton) in 20:30.

Caleb Simwale finished 24th for the Wildcats in 21:34, Hunter Huffman was 26th in 21:36, while Aiden Oldroyd was 31st in 22:39, Aiden Pollock-Sinsabaugh was 31st in 22:47, Pierce Oldroyd was 34th in 23:28, Andrew DeForest was 35th in 23:58, Lohith Kinthala was 38th in 24:37, and Gehrig Thurston was 40th in 24:53.

JUNIOR HIGH
BOYS
Athens 15, CV 50
Athens 15, Mansfield 50
Athens 15, Canton 50
Athens had seven of the top nine runners on the day, led by Graham Wanck, Eli Hicks, and Jacob Shores in a 1-2-3 finish.

Wanck clocked in at 8:31, while Hicks crossed the finish line in 9:24, and Shores finished in 10:00.

Matthew Rossettie was fifth overall in 10:06, while Zach Fisher was sixth in 10:29, Abram Steinfelt was eighths in 10:59, and Darious Miller was 10th in 12:24. Isaac Roy was 12th in 13:02 for the junior Wildcats.

Athens girls incomplete
Athens’ Alissa Vough finished second in the junior high girls race in 10:55, and Abigail Conklin was sixth in 17:22.

ATHENS — Senior Ally Thoman continued her goal-scoring ways, and she received some help from junior Kendra Merrill here Saturday morning in Athens’ 6-0 win over North Penn-Mansfield in NTL girls soccer action.

Thoman, who had scored six goals in her last three games, scored four more against the Lady Tigers, and Merrill added two goals.

Thoman put the Lady Wildcats on the board in the 11th minute, taking a through-ball from sophomore Addy Wheeler, and beating the NP-M keeper with a shot inside the far post.

About three minuted later, Merrill scored off a pair of quick passes from Thoman and Amber Galvin to make it 2-0.

With 3:39 remaining in the first half, Thoman collected a through-ball from Wheeler, and beat the keeper in a 1-v-1 to give the Lady Wildcats a 3-0 lead, which it carried into the halftime intermission.

Thoman scored an unassisted goal with 29:25 remaining game. Two minutes later, Merrill scored an unassisted goal to make it 5-0.

About 4 1/2 minutes later, Thoman took a feed from Merrill, and punched a shot into the net from close range to extend the lead to 6-0. It's the second four-goal game this season for Thoman, who now has 15 goals.

Brooke Wilcox scored with a shot over the keeper’s head from 30 yards out with 3 minutes remaining to put NP-M on the board.

Athens outshot NP-M, 15-7, and had an 8-2 edge in corner kicks.

Carmelita Pomaquiza recorded five saves in the “clean sheet” for the Lady Wildcats.

Athens, now 6-6, hosts NEB Wednesday.

WILLIAMSPORT — Athens trailed Williamsport by a goal about 50 minutes into the game, but a Wildcat injury opened the flood gates as the Millionaires scored four goals in a five-minute span on its way to a 6-0 win here Saturday morning in non-league boys soccer action.

“It was not a good day for us,” said Athens coach Jake Lezak. “We were missing starters to begin the day ,then losing two more during the game plus another playing injured … we did not step up and play balanced defense for five minutes in second half.

“We were unorganized and (Williamsport) took full advantage,” noted Lezak “We had players in new positions against a good team.

“We get the next few days to recover, and see who we will have against Wellsboro on Thursday,” added Lezak.

Connor Poole scored about 9 1/2 minutes into the game, and the Millionaires led 1-0 at the half.

The game remained 1-0 until Angelo Casas scored with 29:25 remaining in the game to make it 2-0. Over the next five minutes, Jett Johnson scored a pair of goals, sandwiched around a goal by Poole to extend the lead to 5-0.

Jack Fink capped the scoring with 10:15 left in the contest.

Williamsport had a 9-4 edge in shots-on-goal, while Athens had a 6-5 edge in corner kicks.

Senior Grant Liechty recorded three saves in net for the Wildcats.

Athens, now 9-6-1 overall, and 8-1-1, travel Thursday to face NTL-leading Wellsboro (11-2), which is 10-0 in league play.