Montrose senior midfielder Giovanni Amato and Blue Ridge junior forward Axel Mejia were each named to the all-District 2 boys soccer team by NPF Sports.
Susquehanna County also had two players recognized on the all-District 2 girls soccer team.
Montrose sophomore forward Madison Gilhool was an all-District 2 selection while sophomore midfielder Brianna Spence was a second-team choice.
Amato has been a Lackawanna League divisional all-star selection by coaches each of the past two seasons. A second-team choice by NPF last season, he led the Meteors to a 9-3 record and second place in Lackawanna Division 2 before two playoff wins and an appearance in the District 2 Class 2A semifinals.
Mejia was also an all-state choice by the Pennsylvania Soccer Coaches Association, along with Lackawanna League Division 3 Player of the Year after leading the Raiders to an unbeaten championship season in the division.
Gilhool had been a division MVP and all-state choice by coaches last season when NPF Sports named her second-team all-district. She followed that up by leading the Lackawanna League in scoring with more than two goals per game.
Montrose went 10-3 in Lackawanna Division 3 while finishing second. The Lady Meteors reached the District 2 Class 2A semifinals.
Spence was also a division all-star, according to coaches.
In football, Susquehanna senior Eric Peters was a first-team choice as punter on the Lackawanna Football Conference Division 3 all-star team selected by NPF Sports.
Senior Jarred Mills was a second-team offensive all-star choice as an athlete for his versatility as a runner, pass receiver and even emergency fill-in at quarterback.
Mills, a linebacker, was also one of three Sabers who received honorable mention for their play on defense. Lineman Chris Graf and back Shaun Andersen, both seniors, were the others.
Junior lineman Seth Bulkley was the only Montrose player mentioned, receiving honorable mention on defense.
WEEK IN REVIEW
Blue Ridge basketball teams continued their strong start, each winning their only game of the week.
The Raiders improved to 3-0 while the Lady Raiders are 2-1.
The boys rallied from an 11-point halftime deficit Friday to defeat Windsor, 51-49.
Jeff Morris had 19 points and Mike Allen added 11.
The girls defeated Wyalusing, 54-41, Dec. 13.
Isabella Cosmello scored 24 points and Kalynne Myers added 17.
The only other basketball wins by Susquehanna County teams during the week were produced by the Susquehanna boys and Forest City girls.
The Sabers went 1-2 for the week and are now 2-3.
Susquehanna used a fast start and strong finish to defeat Northwest, 54-52, Wednesday in its middle game of the week.
Mason Deakin hit four 3-pointers in the first quarter to get the Sabers out to a 23-18 lead and finished with 17 points.
Garret Grausgruber also made four as the team connected 10 times from 3-point range. He hit two in the fourth quarter, including one with 12 seconds left for a 53-52 lead.
Tyler Williams had the other two 3-pointers and 10 points.
Susquehanna also lost to Riverside, 63-41, and Wyoming Seminary, 50-37.
Williams had 12 points against Riverside and 11 against Wyoming Seminary.
MacKenzie Hartman scored 25 points Wednesday when Forest City pounded Valley View, 54-30, to improve to 1-1.
In swimming, Elk Lake teams split their season-opening Lackawanna League meet against Holy Cross Dec. 12.
The boys won, 103-24, but the girls lost, 96-62.
In wrestling, the Lackawanna League Tournament was postponed because of snow Saturday and moved to Feb. 18 at Wallenpaupack.
Meyers defeated Montrose, 57-15, in a Dec. 12 match.
Jacob O’Brien had a first-period pin for the Meteors at 120.
COLLEGE CORNER
Western New England hit the semester break with a share of the Commonwealth Coast Conference lead at 3-0 and a 7-2 record overall.
The Golden Bears are coached by Montrose graduate Nicole Chaszar and have another former Lady Meteor, Meghan Gilhool, in the backcourt. They are on a six-game winning streak, with an average winning margin of 18.7 points.
Gilhool, a sophomore point guard, is second on the team in assists with an average of 2.9.
In nine games, including three starts, Gilhool is also averaging 3.8 pints, 2.6 rebounds and 1.0 steals.
Gilhool is shooting 10-for-30 (33.3 percent) from the floor, 3-for-10 (30.0) on 3-pointers and 11-for-14 (78.6) from the line.
THE WEEK AHEAD
The tournament basketball season gets started with the 44th annual Forest City Rotary Tournament for boys and continues with the Susquehanna County Christmas Tournament for boys and the Denise Reddon Memorial Tournament for girls.
The Forest City Rotary Tournament opens Friday and continues Monday, Dec. 26.
Western Wayne plays Mountain View in the Friday opener at 5 p.m.
Forest City hosts Wyalusing at 6:30.
The consolation game is scheduled for Dec. 26 at 5:30, followed by the championship game at 7.
Elk Lake is hosting both boys' and girls' tournaments Tuesday and Wednesday, Dec. 27-28, using two gyms.
The Susquehanna County Christmas Tournament schedule calls for Blue Ridge to play Montrose at 6 and Susquehanna to take on Elk Lake at 7:30 on Dec. 27. The consolation and championship games are set for 6 and 7:30 the next night.
The Denise Reddon Tournament schedule has Blue Ridge against Montrose at 5:30 and Susquehanna against Elk Lake at 7 on the Dec. 27. The consolation and championship games are 5:30 and 7 on Dec. 28.
TOM ROBINSON writes a weekly local sports column for the Susquehanna County Transcript. He can be reached online at RobbyTR@aol.com or followed on Twitter at @tomjrobinson.
CHRISTMAS WITH “THE ARKANSAS TRAVELER”
Bobby Ward receives the trophy after winning the 1963 Soputhwest Supermodified Championship at Amarillo, Texas.
NOTE: Each year during Christmas we break from our traditional NASCAR racing news in order to bring a timeless Christmas story from Bobby Ward, an early sprint car racer from Arkansas. While he was not well known along the east coast, he was a household name among racing fans in the Midwest and South. When Ward showed up at the race track, he was always the “one to beat.”
He is a member of the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame.
Bobby had a stroke four years ago, but is doing well. He and his wife sold their “homeplace,” and moved to Conway, Arkansas, so he could be closer to a medical facility.
“I think that sometimes people overvalue the things of Christmas, and forget to really focus on their friends and the actual holiday season,” said Ward. “I certainly have more material things now, which I thoroughly enjoy, but as far as true happiness goes, I’m not so sure that we weren’t just as happy back in my early years.”
Ward was born in 1935 in the community of Bee Branch, Arkansas, about 40 miles north of Little Rock, in a one-room log cabin. His racing career began in 1956.
He raced hard, traveled long distances, won many, many championships, accumulated a large fan following, and became known as “The Arkansas Traveler.”
“Christmas for us was very light,” continued Ward. “Mom and dad, and sometimes all the family would go out on Christmas Eve and cut down a tree. It wasn’t always a cedar tree. Sometimes it was a pine. After getting it set up in the house we would decorate it. The decorations consisted of some colorful ribbon that had been cut in strips, and strings of popcorn.
“That was all the decorations we used. There were no lights, or anything shiny.
“My three sisters and I each got one toy. That’s the only time of the year we got any store bought toys. But I don’t ever remember a Christmas when we didn’t get that one toy.
“On my sixth birthday I had asked my mom for some type of Tinker Toy. On Christmas Eve, I happened by the bedroom and saw a Tinker Toy sticking out from under the bed. Mom saw me, and said, ‘Son, would you believe that Santa Claus came by earlier today and left this for you? And he might even come back again tonight.’
“Well, I believed her, and sure enough, the next morning Santa had paid us a second visit and left some oranges, apples, and cookies.
“Our Christmas dinner consisted of chicken and dumplings, and dressing, along with ham and some other vegetables, plus a cake and pie.
“We never had turkey or anything you had to buy.
“Around Christmastime, daddy would kill some hogs and cure the meat. He would take some type sugar cure and put it all over the ham, and inject it all around the bone. This not only flavored the meat, but preserved it. The meat would keep in a smoke house for at least a month.
“In my very early childhood, we had Christmas by ourselves. We lived a pretty good way from our neighbors, and traveling in our wagon would have taken too long.
“As I got older, we moved and dad bought a car, and we visited my father’s mother and dad on Christmas. I had a cousin that always got lots of toys and we were allowed to play with them while the rest of the family visited.
“I never said anything to mother and dad about the single toy I got, because I knew how things were with us.
“During the year, I was able to make homemade cars out of blocks of wood.
“We used our imagination and what we had, to entertain ourselves.
“We always ate well, even outside the holidays. We had pork, along with fried potatoes, pinto beans, and corn bread. Every Thursday night we had corn bread and buttermilk.
“There was no electricity in my early years. Our traditional lighting was a simple kerosene lamp. One day my dad brought home a new type of kerosene lamp, called a “Latin Lamp.” It gave a much brighter light, and that was the first time my sister and I had been able to do our homework together at the kitchen table.
“Sometimes at night I would get a glass of milk, and only drink half of it. I would leave the rest of it setting in the kitchen. When it was really cold, the next morning I would have a half glass of ice cream.
“When we moved from Bee Branch to Shirley, Arkansas, there weren’t any boys around to play with, just girls. Mother made me a doll on her old treadmill sewing machine, and filled it with straw and rags, so I would have something to play with.
“It might seem funny now, but I had the time of my life playing with that doll, along with my three sisters and the other girls.
“Whenever my dad took corn to the grist mill, to get it ground into meal and grits, I always went along. The corn was yellow. We never raised any white corn like they have now.
“My childhood was good. I thoroughly enjoyed growing up with my sisters and we were a loving family. We were also a working family. We worked hard, and loved each other. We didn’t go around hugging each other, saying, “I love you,” but we all shared a bond of love.
“I don’t ever remember a day growing up when I didn’t feel loved.
“I tried to race everyone just like I would want him to race me.
“I didn’t always win, but I knew it was important for me to try and finish each race. I think in order to enjoy our success we’ve got to put forth effort. The races that I enjoyed winning the most were those I really had to work for.
“Greater labor leads to greater love.
“To maximize our present enjoyment in life we might need to give up some of the comforts our easy life style brings us. Instead of buying a present ready-made this Christmas, why not see what kind of physical chore you could do for your neighbor. Instead of buying a pre-cooked pie or cake for Christmas dinner, why not bake it yourself?
“Christmas happiness can still be found. You just need to know how and where to look.”
Racing Trivia Question: What famous family is Ben Kennedy, the Truck Series driver related to?
Last Week's Question: What year did Tony Stewart win the NASCAR Sprint Cup Rookie of The Year? Answer. He was Rookie of the Year in 1999, his first season with Joe Gibbs Racing.
You may contact the Racing Reporter by e-mail at: hodges@race500.com.
