EPHRATA - A trio of freshmen each went unbeaten and a pair of heavyweights combined to sweep their weight class as Mifflin County opened its wrestling campaign with a third-place finish in the Ephrata Duals Saturday.
Using their strength in the lower weights, the Huskies dashed off wins over Daniel Boone (57-9), Columbia (63-11) and the host team (53-17) before running into Downingtown East, which beat Mifflin County 43-20. Biglerville won the event with a one-point victory over Downingtown in the finals.
"Downingtown and Biglerville, I thought those were going to be the teams we'd need to beat to win it," Huskies coach Kirby Martin said.
That put Mifflin County in the third-place match against Martin's alma mater, Garden Spot, which was 3-0 against teams Martin coached until this year.
"This is the first time Ive gotten to beat them," he said. "The last three years they've had some good teams."
Going 5-0 on the day were Hayden Hidlay at 113, who pinned three opponents, and Noah Stewart at 126. Brandon Wilson (145) was 4-0.
"They come in with high expectations, but they did have very good days," Martin said. "Stewart wrestled some really tough kids," one of whom was a senior who went 29-6 last season.
Kyle Kahley and Caleb Rhodes were the heavyweight winners, with Kahley getting three of those. Daulton Wilson (106), Isaac Underhill (120) and Lucas Besch (132) each had four wins. Joe Knarr had a winning record at 3-2.
Wrestling
Wyalusing Duals
WYALUSING - The cooperative that formed in Juniata County to start the season is already working, and the Indians can be thankful they have a few Tigers in the tank.
Adam Barrick and Sean Heggs both went unbeaten for Juniata in the Wyalusing Duals, which the local team won when it beat the host squad 38-30. Prior to that, the Indians notched wins over Athens, Sayre, Elk Lake and Tunkhannock, the latter being the only close match in the pool.
"It was a good way to start the year. The kids responded well," Juniata coach Mike Robinson said. "We suffered some tough losses by some of our kids that have a lot of experience. The other kids came through when we needed them."
Barrick pinned four of five opponents. Heggs flattened three, had a tech fall and decisioned another.
The Indians (5-0) host Line Mountain Wednesday.
Newport Duals
NEWPORT - Corey Stauffer pinned two opponents and received a forfeit to contribute six points in all of his matches for Midd-West Saturday.
Unfortunately for the Mustangs, the opposition at the Newport Duals proved to be more than they could handle in two of three dual meets. The only Midd-West win came against Cedar Crest, 52-24. Carlisle (37-22) and Camp Hill (42-32) got past the Mustangs.
Boys basketball
Belleville 56, Columbia County Christian 46
BELLEVILLE - Noah Anders scored 20 point, dialing long distance three times in the process, to lead Belleville Mennonite's boys basketball team to a 56-46 win over Columbia County Christian Saturday, giving the Trojans the title in their own tip-off event.
On Friday, the hosts dispatched Northumberland Christian 39-27, a game that was completed too late to be reported for The Sentinel's Saturday edition. Anders tallied 10 in that game but four other players had six each, proving a versatile scoring threat.
"I'm extremely happy with this outcome," Belleville Mennonite coach Doug Snook said. "We have a very balanced attack - everyone's got to be a threat to score. The guys are working well as a team."
Snook was pleased with the Trojans on defense as well, especially after Columbia County put up 70 points in the opener.
Belleville Mennonite (2-0) hosts Juniata Mennonite Thursday.
East Juniata 58, Line Mountain 44
COCOLAMUS - Nick Lorenz scored 23 points - including an 11-of-15 performance at the line - to lead East Juniata to a 58-44 win over Line Mountain in the championship game of the Tigers' tip-off boys basketball tournament.
For his efforts, Lorenz was the MVP of the tournament.
"He's obviously playing well right now and leading us out on the floor," East Juniata coach Brock Anders said.
Bailey Coder, who had 13 points, all from the floor, was an all-tournament selection. And Dylan Leonard chipped in 11, with three long balls. Anders said he was especially pleased with the bench play when foul trouble and defensive changes put his squad on its heels.
"We felt a little bit of adversity at different spots in the game. I thought the guys responded fairly well," he said.
East Juniata (2-0) hosts Mount Union Tuesday.
Fairfield 43, Juniata 38
THREE SPRINGS - Juniata got good scoring out of Zach Graybill (19 points) and Scott Sneath (13) Saturday.
Unfortunately, those two represented two thirds of the scorers and nearly 85 percent of the Indians' point total in a 43-38 loss to Fairfield in the consolation game of the Southern Huntingdon boys basketball tip-off tournament.
It was the second night in a row only three players got to the net from the floor.
"That's our main thing and that's what I said to the guys after the game," Juniata coach Nate Geibel said. "We need other guys to step up and score."
The Indians (0-2) have a week to work on it - they're idle until Dec. 17, when they host Greenwood.
Susquehannock 54, Greenwood 40
BOILING SPRINGS - Tyler Fegley's 17 point-night wasn't enough for Greenwood, which started the season with back-to-back boys basketball losses in the Paul Corby tournament, dropping a 54-40 consolation to Susquehannock Saturday.
The rest of the Wildcats were held to single digits in the loss.
Girls basketball
Juniata 46, Southern Huntingdon 32
LEWISTOWN - Trailing 15-3 early in the second, Juniata came together and stymied Southern Huntingdon down the stretch, winning their girls basketball game 46-32 in the second day of the Mifflin County Tip-Off Challenge.
"It was a little rough at the beginning because we were down two starters," Juniata coach Meghan Geedey explained. "I was thrilled with the girls response."
The Rockets were hitting threes early, which opened the spread, but when the Indians traded the zone for a man defense, it allowed Juniata to push hard. By halftime, the eventual winners had taken back the lead.
Victoria Varner led all scorers with 22 points, including a solid 11-of-17 at the stripe.
Juniata (2-0) heads to Upper Dauphin Tuesday.
Newport 41, Greenwood 27
MILLERSTOWN - Nobody but Mallory Fortenbaugh was doing well at the line for Greenwood, and only Newport's Erin Zeiders was truly hot on the floor, which helped the Buffaloes send the host team reeling in the consolation game of the Perry County Tournament in girls basketball Saturday.
Fortenbaugh's 10 led her team. The Wildcats fall to 0-2 to start the season.
