LEWISBURG The biggest stage is where Palmerton's Shea Solt performs her best.
For the second year in a row, Solt set a personal-best time and won a bronze medal in the PIAA Class AA 200-yard freestyle on Friday night at Bucknell University's Kinney Natatorium.
"Last year was my personal best which I came in with, which was a 1:53.10," Solt said. "I knew I wanted to get a high 1:51 or a low 1:52 and that's what I did."
OMAHA, Neb Northwestern graduate Scott Clymer must have had mixed feelings after the first day of the NCAA Division I wrestling championships.
The former Tiger and current Liberty University grappler experienced the thrill of winning his opening bout. But later in the day, Clymer not only suffered a crushing loss in his next match but also learned his brother, Ben, was eliminated from the tournament.
ENOLA - For the second year in a row, Tamaqua's State playoff battle with Delone Catholic went right down to the wire.
Unfortunately for the Lady Raiders, they were left with a disheartening sense of deja vu.
A year ago, Tamaqua led by four points with under two minutes to go, but Delone reeled off the last eight points of the game to pull out a 44-40 triumph.
This time, it was sophomore Sierra Moore who snatched victory out of the jaws of defeat for the Squirettes.
READING - Somebody forgot to tell the Marian Colts that they were going up against the defending state champs last night at the Geigle Complex in a PIAA Class A second round playoff game.
Mick Stefanek's club defied all odds and came up a bit short of pulling off the upset against Girard College from Philadelphia.
The Cavaliers overcame a slow start and went on to pull out a 73-67 win, ending Marian's season at 23-6.
Girard (22-7) will now face Reading Central Catholic, who defeated Math, Civics and Sciences (85-53) in the PIAA quarterfinal round on Friday.
Losing in the state playoffs can be emotionally devastating for any team in any sport.
The tournament dictates that all but one team will sooner-or-later have its heart broken. While the ratio of heartache-to-elation is weighted heavily to the left, it is still a road worth traveling.
The Tamaqua girls' basketball team ventured down the 'state road' last year and ended up crashing in the second round when it ran into Delone Catholic. Now, a year later, the Lady Raiders are looking to dish out a little pay-back.
Marian is coming off what was arguably its best all-around performance of the season.
It will probably need to improve on that effort if its hopes to keep on playing beyond tonight.
In its PIAA State Tournament opener last Friday, the Colts played an almost perfect first half, built a 30-point lead after three quarters, and coasted to a 59-44 victory over a Millville team that had lost just four times in 25 previous games.
Marian's reward for that impressive performance?
A date with defending PIAA Class A State Champion Girard College.
SHAMOKIN - The Northern Lehigh girls' basketball team saw itself in a bit of unfamiliar grounds during its PIAA Class 3A State playoff game with Shikellamy at Shamokin High School.
Over the course of their memorable undefeated regular season, the Bulldogs usually were the ones playing 'lead dog.'
This time, the Bulldogs found themselves playing a bit of catch-up.
There wasn't enough fight left, however, as Shikellamy (22-5) ended Nolehi's (24-3) successful season, 50-46.
