Mountain View senior midfielder Hannah Richner was selected by NPFSports.com on its first All-District 2 girls’ soccer team.

Richner, an all-state player as a junior when Mountain View won Lackawanna League Division 3 and District 2 Class A titles, repeated as a first-team, division all-star, according to the division’s coaches. She helped Mountain View into a three-way playoff for the division title and into the district championship game before losing in overtime.

Montrose’s Madison Gilhool, a freshman forward, was a second-team choice on the district team after receiving Division 3 Player of the Year honors from the division’s coaches. Montrose also went 7-1 to reach the three-way division playoff that Lakeland ultimately won.

Along with the Player of the Year honors for Gilhool came all-state recognition from the Pennsylvania Soccer Coaches Association.

Giovanni Amato from Montrose was second-team, all-District 2 by NPF Sports after the junior midfielder earned a first-team spot on the Lackawanna League Division 1 boys soccer coaches’ first team.

Montrose’s Lou Cella was named Lackawanna Football Conference Division 2 Coach of the Year by the website in his second season coaching the team.

Despite losing his top three quarterbacks to injuries early in the season, Cella led the Meteors to a 5-5 season, producing more wins than in the previous six years for the program combined.

Derek Nunez was Montrose’s only first-team division all-star, landing spots at both running back and linebacker.

Nunez, an Elk Lake student playing as part of the cooperative sponsorship of the sport by the two schools, ran for more than 1,200 yards, getting more than half of them in a pair of 300-yard efforts to lead Montrose to its two biggest offensive nights. He had six touchdowns in a 49-12 win over Holy Cross and led a 50-38 victory over Honesdale for the team’s only division victory.

Bulkley was a second-team division all-star in the offensive line.

WEEK IN REVIEW

Makeela Fabrizio from Montrose finished second at 145 pounds Saturday as the only Susquehanna County finalist in the Lackawanna League Wrestling Tournament at Wallenpaupack.

Montrose finished eighth out of 13 teams with 59 points.

Scranton outscored Delaware Valley, 178 ½-159 ½, for the team title.

Elk Lake was 12th with 26 points and Blue Ridge 13th with 26.

Fabrizio lost the final by technical fall to Bubba Novak from West Scranton.

Jacob O’Brien was third at 126 pounds and Cole Aukema fourth at 152 for the Meteors.

Jake Hand led Elk Lake with a third-place finish at 160.

In boys’ basketball, Elk Lake used balanced scoring to fuel a potent attack while winning a pair of games to improve to 3-0.

Bailey Newhart’s 19 points led the way Dec. 7 in a 90-57 rout of Northeast Bradford.

Elk Lake then handled Lake-Lehman, 68-39, Thursday.

Cole Tyler and Hunter Watkins each had 14 points while Newhart, who is averaging 18, added 12.

The Warriors led 28-12 at halftime before Tyler hit two 3-pointers and went 4-for-4 in the line for 10 third-quarter points to build the lead to 52-24.

Tyler finished with three 3-pointers and Newhart had two.

Forest City finished last in the four-team Jerry Finan Memorial Tournament at Carbondale when it fell to West Scranton, 46-32, Dec. 7.

Tyler Williams produced more than half of Susquehanna’s points, scoring 18 Friday in a 51-35 loss to Wyoming Seminary, which is off to a 4-1 start.

In girls’ basketball, Susquehanna and Mountain View each went 0-2 Saturday at the Mountain View Shootout, a five-team event in which each team played two games.

County teams have struggled so far. They went winless for the week and are a combined 2-15 on the season.

In high school football, the last active District 2 team of the fall had its season come to an end when Old Forge fell, 43-13, to Bishop Guilfoyle of Altoona in a Friday night Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association Class AA semifinal at Kemp Memorial Stadium in Shamokin.

Bishop Guilfoyle scored on its first five possessions of the second half to finish with the game’s last 40 points after Old Forge took leads of 3-0 in the first quarter and 13-3 in the second. The defending state champion Marauders won their 31st straight game with the help of 251 yards passing, including passes of at least 41 yards from three different backs.

Bishop Guilfoyle outgained Old Forge, 308-0, during a 14-minute stretch early in the second half that turned a 13-10 deficit into the 43-13 final margin.

In professional hockey, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins posted back-to-back, 4-0 shutouts, the first at Lehigh Valley Friday night, the second at home against the Albany Devils Saturday.

The shutouts came before and after a coaching change for the Penguins, who have the American Hockey League’s best record at 19-5-0-0.

Mike Sullivan was promoted to take over as head coach of the parent Pittsburgh Penguins in the National Hockey League. Jay Leach became the interim coach.

“I said to them in the room that I really appreciate their effort,” Leach said after his first AHL win. “Guys were doing everything we’ve asked for since Day One.”

COLLEGE CORNER

Meghan Gilhool has worked her way back from ACL surgery earlier this year to begin playing as a freshman at Western New England University where she is coached by another Montrose graduate, Nicole Chaszar.

The 5-foot-7 guard broke into the starting lineup as a freshman at Montrose, was a three-time, all-star and was last season’s Lackawanna League Division 4 Player of the Year. She had reconstructive knee surgery following last basketball season.

After sitting out the opener, Gilhool has played six straight games for the Golden Bears, who are 1-1 in the Commonwealth Coast Conference and 3-4 overall.

Gilhool has played 52 minutes averaging 1.8 points in 8.7 minutes per game. She is 2-for-7 (28.6 percent) from the floor, 0-for-2 on 3-pointers and 7-for-11 (63.6) on free throws. Gilhool also has nine rebounds, nine assists and four steals.

Chaszar, a former Temple University captain, has led the Springfield, Mass.-based school to 10 straight playoff appearances while setting the school record for coaching wins. She has a career record of 154-120.

THE WEEK AHEAD

Montrose and Forest City, the top two teams in each of the four seasons since Lackawanna League Division 4 girls’ basketball was created, both take on opponents who won titles last season as they continue preparation for the beginning of league play in January.

Forest City hosts defending District 2-4 Class AAAA Subregional champion Pittston Area Wednesday. The Foresters reached the District 2 Class A final after finishing second in Division 4.

Montrose is at North Pocono Monday, Dec. 21 in a game matching two of the four defending Lackawanna division champions. Montrose won Division 4 while North Pocono was winning Division 2.

In boys’ basketball, Mountain View is at Susquehanna Monday, Dec. 21 in the Bill McLaughlin Tribune Game, which honors the former Eagles coach for his achievements and contributions to the game.

In high school football, Old Forge’s loss brings an end to the season for Lackawanna Football Conference teams and, therefore, the end of our high school football predictions.

Our picks were 1-0 last week, 17-2 (89.5 percent) during the playoffs and 106-29 (78.5) for the season.

CORRECTION

Blue Ridge’s leading boys’ basketball scorer during a 2-0 start was misidentified in last week’s Susquehanna County Transcript.

Jeff Morris had 31 points in two games during the first Raider Classic.

We apologize for the error.

TOM ROBINSON writes a weekly local sports column for the Susquehanna County Transcript. He can be followed on Twitter at @tomjrobinson or reached online at RobbyTR@aol.com.

SCOTT REPLACES HORNISH AT RPM

Brian Scott at Texas Motor Speedway in 2015

Brian Scott’s family has bought him a Sprint Cup ride with Richard Petty Motorsports.

Scott the former Truck and Xfinity Series driver will replace Sam Hornish next year in the No. 9 RPM Ford.

Scott, 27, has competed fulltime in the Xfinity Series the past six seasons, the last three with Richard Childress Racing. In 208 starts, Scott has 20 top-five and 77 top-10 finishes and won five poles. His best finish in the series standings was fourth in 2014.

He will join Aric Almirola in the RPM Sprint Cup Series lineup. The 2016 season will mark Scott's first full-time Sprint Cup Series schedule, where he will have the opportunity to compete for the Rookie of the Year. Scott will make his debut at the Goodyear tire test at Homestead-Miami Speedway Monday, December 14.

“I am thrilled to go Sprint Cup Series racing full time next year and to do it with such an iconic team,” said Scott. “When you think NASCAR racing, you think Petty. I'm glad to now be a part of that legacy. I had a lot of fun competing in the Xfinity Series for the last seven years, and I'm excited to take the next step. I ran some races in the Sprint Cup Series the last few years and learned a lot. I feel like we are in a good position to compete for the Rookie of the Year next year and continue the consistency that RPM built over the last few years.”

It might be worth mentioning that Scott was able to oust Hornish from his driving position not because of superior driving skills, but because he brought a sponsor with him.

You see, Scott’s family owns a big share of Albertson’s grocery supermarket chain.

It’s something like a self-sponsorship deal.

Not taking anything away from Brian Scott’s driving skills, but this is a perfect example of the type money game that exists in NASCAR. Big money sponsors are hard to come by. All the teams will tell you, that if you’ve got a sponsor or can bring the money, they’ll provide you with a ride.

The best driver does not always get the best ride.

BUESCHER TO DRIVE NO. 34 CUP CAR

Roush Fenway Racing has announced an enhanced technical alliance with Front Row Motorsports that will include engineering, equipment and driver support in 2016. As a key part of the deal, Xfinity Series Champion and Roush Fenway driver Chris Buescher will drive the No. 34 Sprint Cup Ford.

Buescher, in only his second season of full-time NASCAR racing in 2015, won the Xfinity Championship and added to his list of accomplishments that already included becoming the youngest driver to ever win an ARCA title in 2012.

He scored his first NASCAR win last season at Mid-Ohio and followed up his rookie-year performance with wins at Iowa and Dover this season en route to the championship. Buescher never ranked lower than third in the driver championship standings, and the Prosper, Texas native completed the season with zero DNFs (Did Not Finish). He finished inside of the top-20 in all of the 33 races on the season, completing 99.9 percent of the laps during the 2015 campaign, while leading a total of 263 laps.

UPDATE ON KEVIN SWINDELL

Kevin Swindell talked about his day-to-day physical therapy and progress while recovering from a World of Outlaws sprint car crash at Knoxville, Iowa in Augsut, 2015. He has undergone several neck and spinal cord surgeries since then.

“You could say I'm semi-paralyzed from the waist down,” Swindell said. “I can voluntarily kick both legs outward to a straight position. I can also lock out my knees enough to stand with a walker. I haven't gotten any movement back in my ankles or feet to this point, but the doctors and therapists say that the upper leg comes back before the lower. Right now I go to therapy for two hours, three days a week. I also just added an extra hour on Tuesdays and Thursdays to try and get as much as I can. I spend 30 minutes or so standing with the help of my therapist.”

In addition to the physical therapy the 26 year-old receives electrical shock therapy.

“They place electrode pads on each muscle group of my legs,” he continued. “This helps them contract to strengthen them. It also serves as a method to try to activate the nerves, and encourage them to wake up. I can't say this doesn't suck, because it does.

“Though with the help of my fiancé, family, and a lot of great friends there hasn't been much that I haven't been able to do just three and a half months after breaking my back in two places and going through 16 hours of surgery.

“I'm really looking forward to heading to PRI in Indianapolis this week. I'm hoping to spend some time meeting with people to discuss how we can prevent what happened to me from happening to others. We've spent a lot of time worrying about our necks in sprint cars. It's time to think about our lower back and realize that the driver is truly the only thing there is to give when a car lands flat on the frame the way I did. I had every piece of equipment to the newest standards you can get. From a HANS device connected to the best Arai helmet to a full containment Butlerbuilt seat with an insert under me. I had everything. Yet one of the softest flips I've probably ever taken is the only one that's ever hurt me.”

Swindell has competed primarily in USAC and WoO competition. He has won 77 races in various dirt racing series including the Chili Bowl Nationals. But he has also run 30 NASCAR races during the past five years.

He made his NASCAR Xfinity Sereies debut at New Hampshire driving for Baker Curb Racing. He also ran two more events that year but had DNF's in those as well.

In 2011, Swindell drove the No. 16 Ford for Roush Fenway Racing in the Nationwide race at Dover filling in for Trevor Bayne. He qualified an impressive 5th and ran very well until being taken out nearly halfway in a controversial incident with Alex Kennedy. After an accident, Kennedy pulled across the racetrack while attempting to rejoin the field, leaving Swindell with nowhere to go and triggering a major accident.

In 2012, he ran 8 ARCA Racing Series events and won his first career ARCA victory at Chicagoland Speedway, leading every single lap from the pole. He finished a career best 22nd in points that season. He also ran two Xfinity Series events with Biagi-DenBeste Racing late in the season, finishing ninth at Texas Motor Speedway, his first career top-ten finish, and finishing 21st in the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Racing Trivia Question: Which Cup team does Jamie McMurray drive for?

Last Week’s Question: How many Cup championships did Richard Petty win? Answer Seven

You may contact the Racing Reporter by e-mail at: hodges@race500.com.