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North East distance runner Ryan Smathers, seated, accepts his appointment to the United States Military Academy at West Point in a ceremony at the North East library Monday. Smathers is joined by, from left, his mother, Gracie Smathers, North East track and field coach Dick Gregg, distance coach Ted Miller and his father, Cliff Smathers. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

North East standout distance runner Ryan Smathers has accepted an appointment to the United States Military Academy at West Point.

Smathers will attend the United States Military Academy Preparatory School for one year before heading to the Academy. He will run cross country and indoor and outdoor track.

Smathers has been a four-year star at North East in both cross country and track. He is the defending PIAA Class AA champion in the 1,600 meters and holds the District 10 record in that event.

By accepting the appointment, Smathers is making a 10-year commitment — one year at prep school, four years at the Academy and five years of active service.

The offseason brings coach turnover and Fairview is looking to fill four positions. Jamin Bookhamer, the boys soccer coach, has accepted a teaching position in Korea and is leaving at the end of the school year. Dino Montagna, the cross country coach, is also relocating out of state. Ben Corbin, the wrestling coach, and Christine Gretka, the competitive spirit coach, have also resigned.

Fairview is in looking to fill the positions right away. For information on the four vacancies, contact athletic director Jerry Lightner at 814 474-2600, ext. 3218 or by e-mail glightner@fairview.iu5.org.

–Tom Reisenweber

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Austin Pondel

All-star distance runner Austin Pondel of Corry has committed to Penn State. He will sign his letter of intent on Feb. 6 during the next signing period.

Pondel was named all-state this past fall after winning the District 10 Class AAA championship. He was the D-10 Class AAA runner-up as a junior and all-district in both seasons.

Pondel took third at the PIAA meet in the fall and placed 32nd at the Foot Locker national championships.

–Tom Reisenweber

Here’s a look at the District 10 Player of the Year for each fall sport.
Football – Damion Terry, Cathedral Prep
Boys soccer – Eric Campbell, Harbor Creek
Girls soccer – Sarah Kaiser, Mercyhurst Prep
Girls volleyball – Maria Peluso, Fort LeBoeuf
Girls tennis – Adrianna Jeffress, McDowell
Boys cross country – Dan Jaskowak, Grove City and Austin Pondel, Corry
Girls cross country – Bernadette Prichard, Villa Maria
Boys golf - Brett Rinker, Slippery Rock
Girls golf - Megan Moylan, North East

District 10 champions
Football
Class A – Sharpsville
Class AA – Hickory
Class AAA – Cathedral Prep
Boys soccer
Class A - Mercer
Class AA – Harbor Creek
Class AAA – McDowell
Girls soccer
Class A – Fairview
Class AA – Mercyhurst Prep
Class AAA – McDowell
Girls volleyball
Class A – Maplewood
Class AA – Fort LeBoeuf
Class AAA – McDowell
Girls tennis
Class AA team – Mercyhurst Prep
Class AA singles - Adina Spahalic, General McLane
Class AA doubles – Katie Elia, Brittany McBride, Mercyhurst Prep
Class AAA team – McDowell
Class AAA singles – Adrianna Jeffress, McDowell
Class AAA doubles – Rachel Dougherty, Larissa Chen, McDowell
Boys cross country
Class A team - Saegertown
Class A individual – Jeremy Parsons, Maplewood
Class AA team – Grove City
Class AA individual – Dan Jaskowak, Grove City
Class AAA team – Cathedral Prep
Class AAA individual – Austin Pondel, Corry
Girls cross country
Class A team – West Middlesex
Class A individual – Olivia Mamula, Cambridge Springs
Class AA team – Villa Maria
Class AA individual – Bernadette Prichard, Villa Maria
Class AAA team – McDowell
Class AAA individual – Melissa Perseo, McDowell
Boys golf
Class AA team – Harbor Creek
Class AA individual – Sean Sculley, Mercyhurst Prep
Class AAA team - Meadville
Class AAA individual – Brett Rinker, Slippery Rock
Girls golf
Class AA team - Mercyhurst Prep
Class AA individual – Rosy Hearns, Hickory
Class AAA team – McDowell
Class AAA individual - Megan Kaverman, McDowell

–Tom Reisenweber

The final PennTrackXC cross country state rankings were released Saturday, featuring four District 10 teams. The West Middlesex girls finished second in Class A, while Villa Maria was No. 4 in AA. The Saegertown boys finished fourth in Class A, while Grove City was No. 2 in AA and No. 10 overall.

Click below for the complete rankings.

–Tom Reisenweber
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Jeremy Parsons

Maplewood cross country runner Jeremy Parsons started to peak at the right time this season.

The junior was solid early on, but over the past two weeks, he stepped forward as one of the top runners in District 10.

Parsons navigated a muddy Buhl Park course to win the District 10 Class A championship with a time of 17 minutes,
27 seconds.

One week later, he was one of the top finishers from D-10 at the PIAA meet. He ran a time of 16:28 to finish in fifth place in Class A.

Poll results:

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Check back throughout the day for updates from all playoff soccer and volleyball matches as well as PIAA cross country and tennis.

Update 30
Fairview wins 2-0. All sites and times for Tuesday to be posted soon!

Update 29
Fairview still leads Mercer 2-0 with 23 minutes left. Fort LeBoeuf leads East 7-0 early on in a non-region football game.

Update 29
Fairview leads 2-0 at the half. The Tigers have dominated possession in this one.

Update 28
Anna Reynolds, who had the assist on the first goal, scores with 12:45 left in the first half to give Fairview a 2-0 lead on Mercer.

Update 27
McDowell boys survive with a 3-2 win over DuBois.

Update 26
Elle Bennett gives Fairview a quick 1-0 lead over Mercer in the D-10 Class A girls championship.

Update 25
Mercer wins 2-0 for the program’s first D-10 boys soccer title since 2000. McDowell leads 3-2 with 15 minutes left.

Update 24
Mercyhurst gives up an own goal! Mercer leads 2-0 with 27 minutes left. McDowell is up 2-1 on DuBois at the half.

Update 23
Mercer leads Mercyhurst Prep 1-0 at the half of the D-10 Class A boys soccer championship.

For earlier updates, click below.

–Tom Reisenweber
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Corry senior Austin Pondel produced the best finish of any Erie County entrant at Saturday’s PIAA cross country meet at Hershey.

Pondel, in his final appearance for the Beavers, completed the 3.1-mile Parkview Cross Country Course in 15 minutes, 56 seconds of the meet’s Class AAA boys finale. Tony Russell of team champion West Chester Henderson was first at 15:45 and Kiski Area’s Brent Kennedy second at 15:52.

– Mike Copper

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Bernadette Prichard

Prichard, a freshman, has quickly become the most dominant female runner in District 10.

Her season started with a surprisingly wide margin of victory in the season-opening McDowell Invitational, and it continued Saturday when she won the District 10 Class AA title with a time of 19 minutes, 36 seconds on a wet Buhl Park course in Sharon. In between, Prichard has won several invitationals.

Prichard is slight of build, but she’s had a huge impact on the Villa Maria program. She helped the Victors easily claim the District 10 Class AA team title Saturday.

Prichard has turned her attention to Saturday’s PIAA championships in Hershey, where she will be one of the favorites in the Class AA competition.

She’ll join with teammates Grace Trucilla, Alison Carson, Claire Brown, Catie Cacchione, Kim Demjenanko and Rebecca Easly in an effort to win a state title this weekend.

Poll results:

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District 10 cross country runners, coaches and fans should expect the PIAA championships to be run as scheduled Saturday at Hershey’s Parkview Cross Country Course.

Superstorm Sandy’s heavy downpours had led some coaches to speculate that Saturday’s meets might be moved to a new location or postponed to a later date. Last year’s meet was run on a muddy course that proved troublesome for runners.

However, Melissa N. Mertz, the PIAA’s associate executive director, said today that Hershey was spared much of the storm’s wrath Monday and Tuesday.

“We don’t anticipate any problems,” said Mertz, who added that officials will monitor the course over the next few days and make necessary preparations or fixes before Saturday.