LADY 'CATS EDGE ELK LAKE, 91-90; ATHENS BOYS WIN BIG

LADY 'CATS EDGE ELK LAKE, 91-90; ATHENS BOYS WIN BIG

December 21, 2021 Tim Birney

ATHENS — Juniors Taegan Williams and Taylar Fisher led the Lady Wildcats to a 91-90 win over Elk Lake, while junior Ethan Denlinger paced the Athens boys to a 104-50 victory here Tuesday afternoon in non-league swimming action.

GIRLS
ATHENS 91, ELK LAKE 90

Williams and Fisher each won four events while senior Brooke Kopatz was a triple-winner to lead the Lady Wildcats in their first dial of the season.

Williams won the 100-yard butterfly in a time of 1:09.96, and sophomore Emily Marshall was second in 1:23.04. Williams also won the 200-yard freestyle in a time of 2:10.53.

Fisher won the 200-yard IM in a time of 2:35.47, and Kopatz was third in 2:43.74.

Fisher also won the 100-yard backstroke in a time of 1:12.9, and Marshall was third in 1:19.06.

Williams, Fisher, Kopatz, and Marshall teamed to win the 200-yard medley relay in a time of 2:08.23.

Williams, Fisher, and Kopatz teamed with junior Alli Thoman to win the 200-yard freestyle relay in a time of 1:55.79.

Kopatz won the 100-yard breaststroke in a tim e of 1:16.89, and Thoman was second in 1:24.17.

Freshman Abbie Panek was second in the 1-meter diving competition with 176.5 points.

Sophomore Grace Cobb was second in the 500-yard freestyle in a time of 6:45.38.

Thoman finished third in the 50-yard freestyle in a time of 30.63 seconds, and senior Hannah Walker was third in the 100-yard freestyle in 1:17.49.

BOYS
ATHENS 104, ELK LAKE 50

Denlinger was a quad-winner, while freshman Ethan Hicks was a triple-winner, and freshmen Ryan Gorman and Ronel Ankam, and junior Chris DeForest each won two events in the Wildcats' 54-point win.

Denlinger won the 200-yard IM in a time of 2:28.43, and Gorman was second in 2:51.07.

Denlinger also won the 500-yard freestyle in a time of 5:48.12, and junior Joe Blood was third in 6:55.46.

Denlinger, Ankam, Gorman, and Hicks teamed to win the 200-yard medley relay in a time of 2:03.45.

Denlinger, Ankam, Hicks, and DeForest to win the 400-yard freestyle relay in a time of 3:50.37.

Gorman won the 100-yard breaststroke in a time of 1:25.95, and junior Travis Webster was third in 1:30.54.

Hicks won the 100-yard backstroke in a time of 1:07.95, and freshman Pierce Oldroyd was third in 2:20.59.

DeForest won the 100-yard butterfly in a time of 1:00.11, and freshman Treyvon Simpson won the 1-meter diving competition.

Blood finished second in the 200-yard freestyle in a time of 2:30.48, and senior Shayne Reid was third in 2:35.23.

DeForest finished second in the 50-yard freestyle in 23.35 seconds, and senior Kyle Anthony was third in 26.12 seconds.

Ankem was second in the 100-yard freestyle in a district-qualifying time of 57.73 seconds, and Reuven Gifeisman was third in 1:04.23.

The Wildcats are now off until after the New Year.

Read More

 
 
 
ATHENS' ROE WINS BRONZE MEDAL AT DISTRICT DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS

ATHENS' ROE WINS BRONZE MEDAL AT DISTRICT DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS

March 4, 2021 Tim Birney

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.

Read More

 
 
 
WILLIAMS, FISHER LEAD ATHENS TO 6TH-PLACE FINISH AT DISTRICTS

WILLIAMS, FISHER LEAD ATHENS TO 6TH-PLACE FINISH AT DISTRICTS

March 4, 2021 Tim Birney

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.

Read More

 
 
 
ATHENS BOYS BEAT LEWISBURG FOR FIRST TIME IN 11 YEARS; LADY WILDCATS FALL

ATHENS BOYS BEAT LEWISBURG FOR FIRST TIME IN 11 YEARS; LADY WILDCATS FALL

January 30, 2021 Tim Birney

TOWANDA — Sophomores Chris DeForest and Ethan Denlinger helped the Athens boys to a 49-44 win over Lewisburg here Saturday in non-league swimming action, while the Lady Dragons won all 11 swimming events in an 80-34 win over the Lady Wildcats.

BOYS
Athens 49, Lewisburg 44

DeForest and Denlinger both had two wins and a second-place finish as the Wildcats improved to 3-0 with their first win over the Green Dragons since 2010..

DeForest won the 50-yard freestyle in a district-qualifying time of 24.25 seconds, and senior Asher Ellis was third in 29.63 seconds

Denlinger won the 500-yard freestyle in a district-qualifying time of 6:07.42, and sophomore Joe Blood was second in 6:48.79

DeForest and Denlinger teamed with seniors Mason Henderson and Joe Toscano to win the 200-yard freestyle relay in a time of 1:44.51.

Senior Zac Gowin won the 200-yard freestyle in a time of 2:19.85, and senior Lucas Aquilio was third in 2:52.07

DeForest also finished second in the 100-yard freestyle in a district-qualifying time of 54.2 seconds, and senior Joey Toscano was third in a district-qualifying time of 59.05 seconds.

Denlinger was second in the 200-yard IM in a time of 2:36.78.

Henderson finished second in the 100-yard butterfly in a district-qualifying time of 1:07.42, and Gowin was third in 1:17.01.

Ellis finished second in the 100-yard breaststroke in a time of 1:28.88, and Aquilio was third in 1:31.63.

Blood finished second in the 100-yard backstroke in a time of 1:26.19.

GIRLS
Lewisburg 80, Athens 34

Senior diver Emma Roe notched Athens’ only win in the loss to Lewisburg

Roe won the 1-meter diving competition with 177 points, and junior Rave McCarthy-Gardner was third with 104.25 points

Sophomore Alli Thoman finished second in the 50-yard freestyle in a time of 31.44 seconds. She also finished seconds in the 100-yard breaststroke in a time of 1:24.74, and McCarthy-Gardner was third in 1:27.0

Sophomore Taylar Fisher finished second in the 100-yard backstroke in a district-qualifying time of 1:12.92. Fisher also finished third in the 200-yard IM in a district-qualifying time of 2:36.86

Freshman Emily Marshall finished third in the 200-yard freestyle in a time of 37.93 seconds. She was also third in the 100-yard butterfly in a time of 1:24.41

Sophomore Taegan Williams finished third in the 500-yard freestyle in a district-qualifying time of 6:00.43.

Freshman Rebeca Gifeisman finished third in the 100-yard freestyle in a time of 1:25.08.

Athens returns to action Wednesday at Towanda.

Read More

 
 
 
ATHENS GIRLS, BOYS SWIM TO WINS OVER TOWANDA ON 'SENIOR NIGHT'

ATHENS GIRLS, BOYS SWIM TO WINS OVER TOWANDA ON 'SENIOR NIGHT'

January 19, 2021 Tim Birney

ATHENS — The Athens swim teams both recorded wins over Towanda on “Senior Night” here Tuesday afternoon in NTL swimming & diving action.

“The seniors had a great night and lots of fun,” said Keister. “We had several very close races that made are nearly empty pool area roar. 

“Senior Emma Roe and junior Raven McCarthy-Gardner tried out some new dives,” he added. “And, we had an all seniors boys medley relay.

It wasn’t all about the seniors, though.

“The freshmen also did well,” said Keister. “For example, Grace Cobb dropped nearly 23 seconds in the 500 free from last week.”

GIRLS
Athens 110, Towanda 51

Sophomores Taegan Williams and Taylar Fisher won four events apiece, and junior Raven McCarthy-Gardner and freshman Emily Marshall were each triple-winners to lead Athens to a 110-51 win over Towanda.

Williams won the 200-yard IM in 2:40.98. She also won the 500-yard freestyle in a time of 6:04.97, and Cobb was second in 7:15.44.

Fisher won the 100-yard butterfly in a time of 1:16.59, and Marshall was second in 1:26.08. Fisher also won the 100-yard backstroke in a time of 1:13.56.

Marshall led a sweep in the 200-yard freestyle in a time of 2:33.02, while freshman Isabella Potter was second in 2:33.97, and Cobb was third in 2:38.64.

McCarthy-Gardner won the 100-yard breaststroke in a time of 1:25.03, and Potter was third in 1:35.77.

Williams, Fisher, McCarthy-Gardner, and Marshall teamed to win the 200-yard freestyle in a time of 2:00.59, while Fisher, Williams, McCarthy-Gardner, and sophomore Macaria Benjamin teamed to win the 200-yard medley relay in a time of 2:17.36.

Marshall, senior Kaitlin Kisner, Cobb and freshman Rebeca Gifeisman teamed to win the 400-yard freestyle relay in a time of 5:06.18.

Senior Emma Roe won the 1-meter diving competition with 153.7 points, and McCarthy-Gardner was second with 103.75 points.

Kisner finished second int he 50-yard freestyle in a time of 31.23, and Benjamin was third in 34.36 seconds. Kisner was also second in the 100-yard freestyle in a time of 1:09.74.

BOYS
Athens 75, Towanda 54

Senior Mason Henderson won four events and sophomore Chris DeForest was a triple-winner to lead Athens to a 75-54 win in the boys meet.

Sophomore Ethan Denlinger and senior Zac Gowin were double-winners for the Wildcats.

Henderson won the 200-yard IM in 2:37.11. He also won the 100-yard freestyle in a time of 58.6 seconds.

DeForest won the 200-yard freestyle in a time of 2:08.76, and sophomore Joe Blood was third in 2:31.95. DeForest also won the 100-yard butterfly in a time of 1:05.8.

Denlinger won the 500-yard freestyle in time of 6:0903, and Gowin was second in 6:19.89.

Henderson and Gowin teamed with seniors Joe Toscano and Lucas Aquilio to win the 200-yard medley relay in a time of 2:07.16.

Henderson, DeForest, Gowin, and Denlinger teamed to win the 200-yard freestyle relay in a time of 1:48.11.

Toscano finished second in the 50-yard freestyle in a time of 26.32 seconds, and Aquilio was third in 30.71 seconds. Toscano also finished second in the 100-yard backstroke in a time of 1:11.57.

Aquilio finished second in the 100-yard breaststroke in a time of 1:31.43, and senior Asher Ellis was third in 1:37.16.

Athens is scheduled to swim against Danville at Towanda Saturday.

Read More

 
 
 
ATHENS RETURNS A SLEW OF DISTRICT QUALIFIERS IN 2021

ATHENS RETURNS A SLEW OF DISTRICT QUALIFIERS IN 2021

January 14, 2021 Tim Birney

ATHENS — Coming off NTL championship seasons, both Athens swim teams return a host of District 4 qualifiers, and look to be very competitive in 2021.

“We have some solid swimmers on the boys and girls team — several district qualifiers, who are normally year-round swimmers,” said Athens boys coach Mark Keister.  

“We do have a couple of swimmers who were top-10 point-earners and district qualifiers that decided not to come out this season.  

“The remaining swimmers are getting a good amount of attention and working hard to catch up in this ‘short’ season,” added Keister.

The boys were 7-3 last season, and return seniors Lucas Aquilio, Zac Gowin, Mason Henderson, and Joe Toscano, who were all District 4 qualifiers, as well as juniors Reuven Gifeisman, and sophomores Chris DeForest and Ethan Denlinger — also District qualifiers.

The newcomers are senior Asher Ellis and freshman Joe Blood.

“Asher (Ellis) is a good athlete,” said Keister. “He’ll likely swim freestyle and breaststroke.”

The Lady Wildcats also return a slew of District qualifiers, led by sophomore Taegan Williams.

“(Taegan) broke the 500 free school-record at Districts,” said Keister. “She has the potential to break additional records this year.”

Also returning are seniors Kaitlin Kisner and Raven Gardner, sophomore Mea Abbott, Taylar Fisher, and Allison Thoman, and well as senior divers Emma Roe, who finished fourth at Districts, and Katie Lynch.

The Lady Wildcats also have a long list of newcomers, including sophomore Meltem VanHelder, and freshmen Macaria Benjamin, Grace Cobb, Rebecca Gifeisman, Emily Henderson,
Madelyn Jones, Isabella Potter and Emily Marshall.

“Our newcomers have good potential that may produce a couple district qualifiers,” Keister said.

Keister is also excited there will be a postseason.

“We got word recently that we will have secured a district championship meet site this year and plans for States,” he said.

“We will again compete at Bloomsburg for diving — boys and girls split morning and afternoon as normal — and Williamsport High School for swimming, but the boys and girls meet will be separate days.

“Another new thing is a virtual swim meet.  We will be able to compete with any team in the Commonwealth,” added Keister.

Athens opens the season today at Towanda.

Read More

 
 
 
ATHENS OPENS 'VIRTUAL' COMPETITION ERA AT TOWANDA

ATHENS OPENS 'VIRTUAL' COMPETITION ERA AT TOWANDA

January 14, 2021 Tim Birney

TOWANDA — Virtual competition is upon us, and the Athens swim team got its first taste of it Thursday.

The Wildcats swam, along with Towanda in the Black Knight pool, while Shamokin swam in its own pool. Shamokin actually swam on Wednesday, but the times won’t be merged until Friday morning to produce the team scores and individual placements.

The following are the times and places in the Athens-Towanda meet:

BOYS
Senior Mason Henderson and sophomore Chris DeForest won four events apiece, while seniors Joey Toscano and Zac Gowin, and sophomore Ethan Denlinger were each triple-winners to pace the Wildcats’ efforts.

Henderson and DeForest each swam on all three of Athens’ winning relays.

The duo teamed with Toscano and Denlinger to win the 200-yard medley really in a time of 2:21.98, then teamed with Toscano and Gowin to win the 200-yard freestyle relay in a time of 1:47.61. They teamed with Denlinger and Gowin to win the 400-yard freestyle in a time of 4:04.24.

Henderson won the 100-yard butterfly in a District-qualifying time of 1:07.46, while DeForest won the 100-yard freestyle in a District-qualifying times of 54.4 seconds, and Gowin placed third in 1:05.68.

Gowin won the 200-yard freestyle in a  time of 2:23.68, while Denlinger won the 200-yard IM in 2:36.42, and Toscano won the 50-yard freestyle in a time of 26.43 seconds.

Senior newcomer Asher Ellis posted his first varsity win in the 100-yard breaststroke in a time of 1:34.8, and senior Lucas Aquilio was third in 1:37.43.

Toscano finished second in the 100-yard backstroke in a time of 1:17.55, and freshman Joe Blood was third in 1:28.21.

GIRLS
Sophomores Taegan Williams and Taylar Fisher, and freshman Emily Marshall were triple-winners, and sophomore Ally Thoman was a double-winner to lead the Lady Wildcats.

Williams led a sweep in the 200-yard freestyle in a district-qualifying time of 2:16.1, while freshman Isabella Potter was second in 2:35.03, and freshman Grace Cobb was third in exhibition in 2:40.64.

Williams also won the 500-yard freestyle in a District-qualifying time of 6:05.13, and senior Kaitlin Kisner was second in 7:10.58.

Fisher led a sweep in the 200-yard IM in a District-qualifying time of 2:41.67, while freshman Malaria Benjamin was second in 3:31.66. Swimming in exhibition, Marshall clocked in at 2:58.72.

Fisher also won the 100-yard backstroke in a District-qualifying time of 1:13.93, and freshman Emily Henderson was third in 1:58.1.

Marshall won the 100-yard butterfly in a time of 1:28.57, and Benjamin was second in 1:40.40.

Thoman won the 100-yard backstroke in a time of 1:26.41, and senior Raven McCarthy-Gardner was second in 1:27.32.

Fisher, Thoman, Benjamin, and Marshall teamed to win the 200-yard medley relay in a time of 2:20.39, while Kisner, Marshall, Potter, and Williams teamed to win the 400-yard freestyle relay in a time of 4:42.13.

Senior Emma Roe won the 1-meter diving competition with 156.1 points, and McCarthy-Gardner was second with 109.45 points.

Thoman finished second in the 50-yard freestyle in 31.44 seconds, and Kisner was third in 31.77, while Potter finished second in the 100-yard freestyle in a time of 1:08.35.

Read More

 
 
 
BLOOMSBURG TOO MUCH FOR ATHENS

BLOOMSBURG TOO MUCH FOR ATHENS

January 13, 2021 Tim Birney

BLOOMSBURG — Defending District 4 champion Bloomsburg jumped out to a big lead early, and rolled to a 59-29 win over Athens here Wednesday night in non-league girls basketball action.

“Bloomsburg is a very talented team,” said Athens coach Brian Miller. “They were bigger and faster and played great team defense.

“It was good for us to get of our league and play a talented team like that,” noted Miller. “We won’t see a team that good unless we make it to the state tournament.

“We played hard and did some nice things against a very good team,” he added. “We will build off it learn and get better from it.”

Rylee Klinger scored 11 points, including a pair of 3-pointers and an old-fashioned three-point play, to fuel Bloomsburg’s 22-7 first-quarter blitz.

The Lady Panthers used a 15-5 second-quarter run to extend its lead to 37-12 at the half.

Senior Kayleigh Miller scored eight points, including a pair of 3-pointers, in the first half for the Lady Wildcats.

Bloom subbed liberally in the second half, and outscored the Lady Wildcats, 22-17. Junior Caydence Macik and senior Megan Collins combined to score all 17 of Athens’ points.

Macik led Athens with 12 points, including 10 in the second half, three rebounds, and four blocked shots, while Miller had eight points and three steals, Collins scored seven points, and sophomore Karlee Bartlow grabbed four rebounds.

The Lady Wildcats committed 25 turnovers in the loss.

Klinger led Bloom with 22 points, including a trio of 3-pointers, while Madeline Evans scored 15 points, and Kelsey Widom added 10 points.

Athens, now 2-1, returns to action Saturday at Wellsboro in a noon start.

Read More