Penn Manor's Lady Comet bowlers were the only Lancaster-Lebanon League girls' bowling team to compete in the PA State High School Bowling Championships at Erie's Eastway Lanes on Saturday, March 18. Unfortunately, Shikellamy once again stood in their way and the Comets settled for second place.

"It was the splitting image of our regionals loss to Shikellamy," said head coach Chris Vital, "only on a bigger stage."

The Comets got off to a strong start, rolling an 808 in their first game. Kayla Wasche's 243 topped the field and carried the Comets. Eva Brubaker was also solid with a 193.

The second game was even better, an 858. Lacey Slaymaker's 185 led the way with Corinne Smith close behind at 180. They rounded things out with a 766. Wasche finished with a 182 and led the way with a 595 series. Brubaker (524), Slaymaker (465), and Smith (424) rounded out the three game series leaders. Abigail Nesmith chipped in with a 312 over two games and Hope Leaman added a 112.

"We were in third place after our second game, but the third game was brutal," said Vital. "Corinne was struggling but I had her change balls and she got four strikes that really helped.

"Our baker sets were decent, and we settled for a 3477 average that left us well behind Shikellamy (3720) and 33 pins ahead of Freeport and 40 pins ahead of Kiski Area."

The Comets got a bye in the quarterfinals and then topped Freeport in the semis, 203-200 and 143-123, setting up another championship match opposite Shikellamy.

"We took the first baker game 155-149 but then struggled in the second game, losing 234-150," recalled Vital. "Now winner takes all and Shikellamy prevailed 185-159. They're a very good squad. Last year we finished third. This year we get second. Maybe next year we can win.

"Kayla's 243 was the high game of the day and her 595 tied for the second highest series," he added. "That left her as one of five bowlers to make the all-state team."

On Friday, Brubaker competed in the singles portion of the tournament where, after six games, she settled for a 1172 qualifying total. "She was just ten pins from being top five and advancing to the stepladder finals," noted Vital. "I definitely felt like she was one of the better bowlers there. She was in second place after her first two games (216 and 233). She threw a 156 in the fourth game, which dropped her to ninth but then she changed balls again and wound up throwing five strikes in a row and a 228. She finished with a 178 and was literally just ten pins away.

"She was, however, the highest Lancaster County bowler to finish," Vital added. "One of the Township boys was seventh and an Ephrata boy was 15th."

GIRLS' WRESTLING

Three members of Penn Manor's girls' wrestling team qualified for the PA girls' Championships held at Central Dauphin High School on Sunday, March 12. Two of them brought home medals.

Kaitlyn Clawson (100) finished in sixth place and Trinity Mowery, wrestling at 148 pounds, finished eighth. Anisa Orr (155) won her first-round match but lost a 10-9 decision in her final match and just missed placing.

The girls qualified for states by placing in the top six at the central regional tournament held at Manheim Township High School on March 5. Clawson was third at regionals while Mowery and Orr both finished in second place. Slyvia Moenga was eighth and just missed qualifying for states.

Clawson wrapped up her season with an 18-7 record. Mowery finished at 16-7 and Orr was 19-10.

The girls mostly competed in tournaments this year. They did have a few dual meets and finished the season with a 1-4 team record.

"We had 17 girls on the team this year, more than our first year," said head coach Jason Fellenbaum. "We look forward to the continued growth of the sport locally and at the state level. With 103 teams in the state, we expect it should be a PIAA sanctioned sport next season."

Also of note, assistant coach Scott Shenk received the PA Girls' wrestling assistant Coach of the Year award.

ALL-STARS

This year's wrestling all-stars included Gavin Boland and Travis Clawson as Section One first team all-stars, Riley Evans was voted to the second team and Josh Zook and Teagen Rogers were honorable mention selections.

On the girls' basketball front, Paityn Smith was a defensive all-star, Izzy Kligge received academic all-star recognition and the Comets as a team received the Sportsmanship Award.