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.

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

McDowell running back/outside linebacker James Conner signs his National Letter of Intent with Pitt Wednesday at the McDowell's lirbary. MATT MEAD/Erie Times-News

Today is National Letter of Intent Day, and many area football players and other athletes are set to sign with Division I and Division II schools or commit to program at other levels.

The Erie Times-News took a look at the area football players expected to sign today. Read a short bio on each player. Here’s the list:

Following are the athletes from other sports who plan to sign today. Read a short bio on each athlete.

Note: Coaches are encouraged to notify the Times-News if an athlete plans to commit to a college.

———————————————————-

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

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

Click below for the complete rankings.

–Tom Reisenweber

PennTrackXC cross country state rankings
Girls
Top 10
Rank School (District)
1. Pennsbury (1)
2. Unionville (1)
3. Central Bucks West (1)
4. Cumberland Valley (3)
5. Mt. Lebanon (7)
6. North Penn (1)
7. State Colege (6)
8. Palmyra (3)
9. Dallas (2)
10. North Hills (7)

Class A
Rank School (District)
1. Elk Lake (2)
2. West Middlesex (10)
3. Central Cambria (6)
4. Germantown Academy (Independent)
5. Elk County Catholic (9)

Class AA
Rank School (District)
1. Palmyra (3)
2. Dallas (2)
3. Holy Redeemer (2)
4. Villa Maria (10)
5. York Suburban (3)

Boys
Top 10
Rank School (District)
1. West Chester Henderson (1)
2. Cardinal O’Hara (12)
3. Council Rock North (1)
4. North Allegheny (7)
5. La Salle (12)
6. Great Valley (1)
7. West Chester East (1)
8. Pottsgrove (1)
9. Cumberland Valley (3)
10. Grove City (10)

Class A
Rank School (District)
1. Northeast Bradford (1)
2. Germantown Academy (Independent)
3. Elk Lake (2)
4. Saegertown (10)
5. Oswayo Valley (9)

Class AA
Rank School (District)
1. Pottsgrove (1)
2. Grove City (10)
3. Annville-Cleona (3)
4. Tunkhannock (2)
5. Scranton Prep (2)

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:

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

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

Update 22
Chase Hoffman scores with a great move to make it 1-0 Mercer with 3:50 left in the first half. Nathan Breese with the assist. McDowell leads DuBois 2-0 on a goal from Dimitri Arvanitopulus.

Update 21
McDowell boys take a 1-0 lead against DuBois with a penalty kick from Miguel Navarro. Mercer and Mercyhurst Prep boys are scoreless through 18 minutes.

Update 20
Mercer hits the crossbar! Still scoreless nine minutes into the Mustangs Class A boys match with Mercyhurst Prep. McDowell and DuBois are underway in DuBois.

Update 19
Fort LeBoeuf knocks off Meadville in the fourth set 25-23. The Bison win the D-10 Class AA volleyball championship.

Update 18
McDowell girls lose 1-0 to State College. Fort LeBoeuf rallied in volleyball to win the second set 29-27 and lead 2-1.

Update 17
Harbor Creek wins 3-0 in D-10 Class AA boys. Mercyhurst wins 5-2 in Class AA girls. Both move on to the PIAA along with the GM boys in AA.

Update 16
Sarah Kaiser with two more goals! 5-1 Mercyhurst with 21 minutes left. Harbor Creek leads 3-0 on another Eric Campbell goal with 15 left.

Update 15
Meadville takes the second set 25-23 against Fort LeBoeuf. The two powerhouses are tied 1-1 for the D-10 AA volleyball title.

Update 14
Corry’s Austin Pondel matches Jaskowak and finishes third in the Class AAA boys race. He had a time of 15:56. Cathedral Prep finished 15th as a team. Ethan Louis led the Ramblers with a 55th-place finish by running a 16:54. Click here for the Class AAA boys results.

Taylor Smallshaw gives Mercyhurst a 3-1 lead with 30 minutes left.

Update 13
Kaiser again! 2-1 Mercyhurst with 37:12 left. This is getting intense.

Update 12
Morgan Putnam responds immediately! 1-1 between Villa and MP with 38 minutes left.

Update 11
Sarah Kaiser with a great move around the keeper on a breakaway. 1-0 Lakers with 38:41 left.

Update 10
McDowell and State College girls soccer are scoreless at the half of a PIAA Class AAA subregional.

Update 9
Fort LeBoeuf wins the first set 25-11 against Meadville in the D-10 Class AA volleyball championship. Villa and Mercyhurst are scoreless through one half in girls soccer. Harbor Creek leads 2-0 at the half in boys AA.

Update 8
Harbor Creek takes a 2-0 lead on a Koltin Hammer goal with 17 minutes left in the first half in the D-10 AA boys soccer championship.

10 minutes left in the first half of the MP-Villa match. MP is getting some great chances but can’t convert.

Update 9
Harbor Creek 1, General McLane 0 on a goal from Eric Campbell. 23 minutes left in the first half in the D-10 Class AA boys championship.

The Mercyhurst Prep girls tennis doubles team of Katie Elia and Brittany McBride win 6-2, 6-2 in the PIAA Class AA third-place match to medal.

Update 8
10 minutes in and Mercyhurst Prep and Villa Maria are scoreless in the D-10 Class AA girls soccer championship. Sarah Kaiser had a tremendous corner kick but her teammate couldn’t convert a header.

Update 7
Maplewood rallies to win the D-10 Class A volleyball championship 26-28, 25-20, 25-20, 25-23.

In Class AA boys cross country, Grove City’s Dan Jaskowak runs a 16:12 to finish third overall. He is District 10′s highest finish with one race left. His teammate, Aaron Benka, finished 18th place with a 16:53. Oil City’s Gordon Phipps took 28th with a 16:53 and General McLane’s Lukas Hallett ran a 17:15 to take 34th.

Grove City just missed winning the team title. The Eagles finished with 99 points to take second place behind District 1′s Pottsgrove at 96.

Cathedral Prep falls in the state semifinals of water polo. The Ramblers lost to North Allegheny 20-13. Prep will play for third place later today.

Update 6
Sharpsville volleyball wins the first set of the D-10 Class A championship 28-26 over Maplewood.

In Class A boys cross country, Saegertown finished third as a team with 142 points behind Northeast Bradford (96) and Elk Lake (133). West Middlesex finished sixth and Mercyhurst Prep eighth. Maplewood’s Jeremy Parsons finished fifth overall with a time of 16:28, while Ryan Smathers (North East) was seventh at 16:35. Hunter Johnston of Saegertown finished 11th with a time of 16:46 and Commodore Perry’s Nathan White ran a 17:19 to take 30th. North East runner Gary Olson ran a solid time of 17:22 to finish in 32nd, while fellow sophomore Sebastian Curtin (Mercyhurst Prep) ran a 17:28 to take 37th. Click here for the complete results.

Update 5
The McDowell girls cross country took 18th in the Class AAA race. Melissa Perseo ran the course in 20:35 to finish in 102nd place followed by Strong Vincent’s Courtney Sargent (21:31) in 163rd place. Sophomore Kelsey Swantek contributed for the Trojans with a 184th place finish after running a 22:04. Click here for the Class AAA girls results.

Update 4
District 10 will not have a tennis singles or doubles state championship. General McLane’s Adina Spahalic fell to nationally-ranked Audrey Ann Blakely of Wyomissing 6-0, 6-2 in the PIAA Class AA semifinals. Spahalic will remain in Hershey to take on Genevieve Hobson (New Hope-Solebury) at 1 p.m for third place.

Mercyhurst Prep duo Katie Elia and Brittany McBride lost to Mariah Wardius and Lin Robertson of Berks Catholic 6-4, 6-3 in the PIAA Class AA doubles semifinals. Elia and McBride will play at 1 p.m. in the third-place match against Kendra Croker and Grace Reilly of Scranton Prep.

Update 3
The Villa Maria girls cross country team takes fourth in the Class AA race. Palmyra won with 91 points followed by Dallas (94 points), Holy Redeemer (121) and Villa at 151. Freshman Bernadette Prichard finished the Parkview Course in 19 minutes, 45 seconds to finish in 12th place. Sophomore Grace Trucilla (20:24) took 44th place followed by freshman Claire Brown (20:29) and sophomore Alison Carson (20:30) in 48th and 50th place, respectively. The young Victors also received a 95th-place finish by senior Kim Demjanenko (21:07).

Mercyhurst Prep senior Sarah Kupniewski ran a 19:58 to finish in 24th place, while Hickory took 16th as a team. Freshman Lexi Bible (20:45) and Jackie Abraham (20:58) led the Hornets by finishing in 65th and 80th, respectively. Click here for complete results.

Update 2
West Middlesex girls cross country finished second as a team in the Class A race. Elk Lake won the team state championship with 66 points and the Big Reds had 100. Freshman Kristen White put together a solid time of 19:57 to take seventh overall. Kelsey Murray (21:05) took 34th place to contribute for the Big Reds, while Chloe Tyillian (21:13) and Alyson Pierce (21:16) finished 45th and 50th place, respectively.

Cambridge Springs runners Olivia Mamula (20:28) and Reilly Walsh (20:29) finished in the top 20. Mamula finished 16th and Walsh was 17th, while Seneca’s Kelsey Leasure had a time of 20:40 to take 27th place. Click here for the complete Class A girls results.

Update 1
VOLLEYBALL MOVED TO COCHRANTON. Both District 10 volleyball championships have moved to Cochranton High School. Meadville High School had a water main break overnight and cannot host the matches today. Maplewood and Sharpsville will still play at noon for the Class A title and Fort LeBoeuf and Meadville meet at 2 p.m. for the Class AA title.

–Tom Reisenweber

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

The Villa Maria girls produced the best team result for a county program. The Victors, led by freshman Bernadette Prichard, were fourth (151 points) in the Class AA standings.

Prichard placed 12th as an individual, crossing the finish line in 19:45.

Highlighting District 10′s other results were the Grove City boys (Class AA) and the West Middlesex girls (Class A).

Grove City finished second in the team standings, with star senior Dan Jaskowak’s time of 16:12 good for third as an individual.  The West Middlesex girls, led by seventh-place Kristen White (19:57) were second to PIAA champ Elk Lake.

The Saegertown boys finished third in the A team standings. The Panthers managed to place that high despite a team with four starters who never ran cross country before this season.

Hunter Johnston returned in 16:46 (11th) for Saegertown.

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:

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

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.