Brothers Dane and Dalton Wenner earned Northwest Regional 2A wrestling titles Saturday as Cranberry qualified four athletes for the state PIAA Championships next weekend. "To have them both rise to the occasion is one the biggest moments of my life. I'm speechless," said Dustin Wenner, their father and head coach of the Cranberry wrestling program, "I thank the Lord for the blessing." "It's pretty special to be brothers and win this," Dalton said following the podium honors. It is the second win in as many years for 114 pound competitor. Last year, he won the title in the 107 bracket. "Last year, he got first. And I know he is my little brother but I looked up to that. " Dane, who finished third in his bracket last year. Dalton moves to 37-4 on the season after going 3-0 in the tourney. His final match up was against Carter Beck of Saegertown, who also quailfied for the state competition last year. The pair battled to a 3-2 decision in Dalton's favor. The Berry had a takedown in the first period to go up 2-0. Beck escaped to get himself on the score board. He repeated the achievement in the second period, which started with Dalton in the top position. Tied 2-2 going into the third period, Beck elected to give up a point to start in neutral position. This ended up being the deciding moment of the match as neither wrestler could take control in the final two minutes. Dalton moves into next week's tournament hoping to improve on his seventh-place finish in 2023. Four matches later, Dalton was able to watch his older brother accomplish the same results. Dane, who came into the tournament as the third seed out of District 9, went head to head with Chase Bell of Reyonds in the final match of the 139 bracket. It was tied after one period and Dane chose the bottom position for the second period. He struggled through for an escape and earned the only points of the matchup. Dane is now 35-10 after going 4-0 at regionals. "Last year I didn't medal, hopefully this year (I will)," Dane said, noting that going in as a top seed out of the region show give him a slightly easier path to that goal. "It's all tough down there." Also qualifying for Cranberry were Aiden Thompson, 107 pounds, and Elijah Brosius, 127 pounds, both finishing third in their respective brackets. Thompson, a freshman who attends Oil City High School, beat Hunter Chew of Harbor Creek with a 5-3 decision in the third-place match. Brosius pinned Kyler See of North East in 2:57 to earn his third bronze medal at regionals in as many years. The Oil City junior was third in the 106 bracket in 2022 and third in the 121 bracket in 2023. He turned both of those state qualifying opportunites into state medals, finishing eighth both years. "Our kids have put in the work to be here," Dustin Wenner said of his quartet of qualifiers. It was a weekend of excitement for the Berries. On Friday, Brosius and Dane Wenner both recorded their 100th career wins. Brosius did so with a 10-7 victory, also against See in the quarterfinals. "The match wasn't really in my favor or going how I wanted it to go," Brosius said looking back on win 100. "All that matters is that I won and got to 100." He won two more times in the tournament and sits at 36-10 on the season and 102-31 in his career. Dane has also accumulated 100 wins in only two years. The junior pinned Glenn Sample of Saegertown in 1:28 to open the tournament. "It feels pretty great, especially after winning the tournament as well. I knew coming in that I was at 99," he said. "God has just given me a lot ability and just a lot of motivation to work hard and also my dad and my coaches they've pushed me. I really have been given a lot of opportunities to become as good as I can be." This puts them both in the hunt for the school record next year. "As long as they stay healthy, I look for both of them to set the school record (next year)," Dustin said. "Me and Elijah are pretty close, but I think Dalton is probably going to blow us both away," Dane said. For now, they put their focus on Hershey and attempting to bring home four medals. The group will leave of Wednesday to settle in and get a lay of the land before competition starts on Thursday and runs through finals on Saturday. "It says a lot for the families (who) are involved in our wrestling program right now. They hold their kids accountable and make sure they get to practice... and the extra stuff and it pays off," Dustin said. "I'm just really grateful for what I am surrounded by - good coaches, supportive parents and families, and kids (who) work hard." You can watch a lot of the Cranberry matches from the past weekend on the team's Facebook page - Cranberry Area Wrestling. |
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With 1:45 seconds on the clock, Franklin is down five, Damon Curry sent up a three. The ball rattled with half of the ball in the cylinder before it popped back out. That was Franklin's night. The Girard Yellow Jackets came to play. Their in your face defense and super fast hands stymied the Knights, especially at the end of the second quarter, when the Yellow Jackets went on a 17-point unanswered run into the second half. The Knights never saw the lead again they fell 60-50 in the District 10 for the first time in four years. The loss may have stung, but Franklin at 20-5 on the season is still a very good team and previous losses are meaningless now as they begin their run toward's Hershey beginning with a home game at 1 p.m. this Saturday against the 20-5 Neshannock Lancers. Girard is a top tier team with very tough defense in a game the officials decided to let the teams play. The Knights managed to battle out to a nine point lead early in the second quarter. But with just under four minutes in the half the rug was pulled out from under them and they didn't score again until a minute had passed in the third quarter after finding themselves 10 points down. They clawed back to within one, but a three-pointer by Zach Kelley put an end to that the comeback. The Yellowjackets kept the Knights at arms distance building back up the lead after Curry's in and out miss. The Knights may not have accomplished their goal of a four-peat District 10 championship, but their quest for state gold is within their sights. A little twist of fate last week, one aggressive play called a foul, Curry baskets going all the way in or any numnber of the little things that made this nigh Girard's and not Franklin's and it could've been different. Both teams deserve to win and who knows, they could meet again in the state semis if they both have good runs Support the Barrow-Civic Theatre this month.
Below are photos from this season swim meets in Franklin, Titusville and Oil City Swimmers from the three schools are headed to The Spire in Ohio to compete in the District 10 Cham[ionships this weekend. Good luck. Several are looking to have quality swims to make it to the state tournament next week.
Special thank you to Copley Notary for their support of Eight & 322 and Rocky Grove girls basketball this year. great things are happening in the future of Oriole athletics..
Rocky Grove's Landen Carter drove the lane in the early seconds of the second half to tie up the game with Cochranton who took a two point lead into the half. He was fouled. The Orioles took the lead after Carter's "and one" free throw and never gave it up again. Seconds later, almost to show that all the kinks the Orioles had in the first half were worked out, Carter snagged a tough rebound and took it coast-to-coast for another bucket. Then Schiffer Anderson got a bucket and a foul to increase the lead. Josh Stevenson got a terrific steal and fed Carter, who again took it the length of the court for a layup. Anderson got red hot, scoring another bucket then another and another. The Orioles were cooking with gas, outscoring the Cardinals 21 to six in the third frame. It took the Cardinals nearly five minutes to score their first basket of the second half. Rocky Grove's defense tightened, holding Cochranton's Walker Carroll to just three in the third. To put that in perspective, Carroll had 32 points on the night, 15 in the fourth quarter as the red birds tried to come back. Despite Cochranton's last-minute efforts to slow the clock by sending the Orioles to the foul line over and over, Rocky Grove hung on to win 60-51 Tuesday night in Oil City. Anderson led the Orioles with 24 points, including five from beyond the arc. Carter pumped in 13 and Noah Baughman added 11. Aiden Focht had a good night with seven while Jamison Hughes and Connor Ritchey combined for five. Rocky Grove will have a tough foe on Friday when they take on Farrell at a site and time to be determined. Farrell crushed the Orioles twice this season already. Regardless of the outcome, both teams will advance in the 1A division of the PIAA State Tournament beginning a week from Friday. The Rocky Grove girls will be in action tonight (February 28) at 7:30 p.m. at Sharon High School as they take on the Jamestown Muskies.
Below are more photos from Franklin's win Tuesday night in Oil City.
With the score tied and the clock winding down in the low-scoring game, Franklin's Estella Adams was trying to get the ball across half-court when suddenly double-teamed by a pair of aggressive Eagles. As she was attempting to thread the needle between the two Conneaut defenders, Courtney Perry and Debella Durbin, the ball was stripped away and Perry took it to the hoop for the lead. Adams again, as the consulate team leader, took the ball the length of the court and was tripped up sending the ball into a pile. After a bit of mayhem, a jump ball was called. The possession arrow pointed toward Franklin. With only a couple seconds left, Franklin had an inbound play with a chance to tie or win. Franklin's 6'-3" center Katie Boal was positioned under the basket but tightly guarded. Instead of lofting a pass up high to her, she headed toward the foul line for the pass. It was contested and before she or Adams could gain control of the ball again time ran on the game, and the Knight's season.
Holding Conneaut to just 29 points was an accomplishment. It was the lowest score all season for Conneaut. Unfortunately for Franklin, they could only muster 27 of their own despite holding the lead throughout the contest. Conneaut's patience paid off in the end and they will continue their quest for a District 10 crown. They will face Fairview Wednesday at the Haggerty Center in Erie. The game is scheduled for a 7:30 p.m. More game photos below.
Below are more photos captured from the weekend.
Aiden Thompson and Dalton Wenner take titles
Brosius was Cranberry's other wrestler to make it to the parade of champions. He faced a tough opponent in three-time District 9 winner Weston Pisarchick of Brockway. Brosius dropped a heartbreaker 4-3 to Pisarchick and had to settle for second place at 127. Brosius beat Aiden Beimel of St. Mary's 5-1 in the semifinals. He moves to 33-9 on the season and will be on the hunt for his 100th career victory in Sharon.
PennWest - Clarion hosted the two-day championships. The regional championships will kick off next Friday afternoon at Sharon High School with a trip Hershey on the line. See more photographs of Cranberry wrestlers at the District 9 Championships below.
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For a very comprehensive look ate Venango Sports visit our friend's website: yardsandpoints.com is a website dedicated the long history of the Oil City and Franklin football rivalry by former sports editor Penny Weichel. It is an amazing labor of love and valuable resource for history. It is our go-to here at 8and322.com. Categories |