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PIAA Wrestling: Determination drives WVC to medals

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Crestwood and Wyoming Seminary knocked off District 12 teams in the first round of the PIAA boys basketball state playoffs over the weekend.But as will be seen over the next two days, not all District 12 squads are created equally. Defeating a Philadelphia public school is one thing. Getting past a Philly private school is completely different.But that&#8217;s the task for Seminary and Nanticoke Area. Their opponents are two of the best in the state.Seminary gets Neumann-Goretti, which has dominated the state playoffs like no other since Philadelphia joined the PIAA for the 2005-06 school year. Rumors are Neumann-Goretti is down a little bit from the past, but the Saints still have a huge gap to spare.&#8220;Every game, you play your game to the best of your ability,&#8221; Seminary coach Pete Moses said. &#8220;I think we can play with anybody. Obviously, my guys aren&#8217;t intimidated to play any team. Once you&#8217;re at this point of the tournament, you have to be ready to play any opponent that&#8217;s in front of you.&#8221;Nanticoke Area has Bonner-Prendergast, considered the top Class 4A team in the state. Bonner-Prendergast has two of the top 14 players in the state according to one scouting website.&#8220;We&#8217;re going to get to film, try to get a good plan together, go down and give it our best shot,&#8221; Nanticoke Area coach John Beggs said.Crestwood and Holy Redeemer don&#8217;t face District 12 opponents, but they have huge challenges waiting as well.Here&#8217;s a look at the four games involving Wyoming Valley Conference teams.Crestwood (21-7) vs. Pottsville (24-3)PIAA 5A Second Round7:30 p.m. TuesdayHazleton Area HSSince winning 12 games in the 2008-09 season, District 11 champion Pottsville has won at least 21 games nine of the past 10 seasons. The Crimson Tide are led by 6-foot-5 junior Kevin Schenk (15.9 ppg) and 6-1 junior Mason Barnes (13.8). Three seniors &#8212; Trevor Sherakis (9.0), JR Hahner (6.4) and Aiden Stanton (5.0) &#8212; are also main contributors. Pottsville isn&#8217;t overly tall, but neither is Crestwood. The Crimson Tide defeated D3 fifth seed Lampeter-Strasburg 56-51 in their state opener.After a slow start, D2 runner-up Crestwood wiped out D12 third seed Frankford 65-35. Sean Murphy scored 25 points and Ryan Petrosky had 18. Camden Boris had eight of his 10 points in the second quarter when the Comets seized control.The winner advances to Friday&#8217;s quarterfinals against the winner of the game between D12 champion Archbishop Wood (17-8) and D1 third seed Penncrest (23-7).Nanticoke Area (22-7) vs. Bonner-Prendergast (19-5)PIAA 4A Second Round7:30 p.m. TuesdayBethlehem Freedom HSDistrict 12 champ Bonner-Prendergast features two of the top seniors in the state. Isaiah Wong is a 6-foot-3 guard who averages 22.9 points and will play at the University of Miami next season. He is the third-best prospect in the state according to 247sports.com. Tariq Ingraham is a 6-9 inside force who scores 11.9 per contest. He is listed as the 12-best prospect by 247sports.com and has over a dozen Division I offers, including Kansas State, Pitt and Villanova. Bonner-Prendergast rolled D3 fifth seed Littlestown 64-38 in its state opener.D2 runner-up Nanticoke Area dominated D4 third seed Montoursville from the onset for a 57-35 win. The offense, though, was top heavy with guard Nate Kreitzer and center Trahjan Krupinski scoring 48 of the points.The winner advances to Friday&#8217;s quarterfinals against the winner of the game between D11 runner-up Allentown Central Catholic (18-9) and D3 runner-up Lancaster Catholic (17-10).Wyoming Seminary (26-2) vs. Neumann-Goretti (20-7)PIAA 3A Second Round8 p.m. WednesdayBethlehem Freedom HSNo program has dominated the state playoffs like District 12 champion Neumann-Goretti, which has won eight of the last nine PIAA Class 3A state championships. The Saints&#8217; only slip-up during the run was a 55-50 loss to D3 third seed Donegal in the 2013 quarterfinals. Their overall record in states is 44-2, including 27 consecutive state wins with an 83-48 victory over D3 fourth seed Lancaster Mennonite.Senior guard Christian Ings is ranked the 14th-best player in the state by 247sports.com. He is averaging 18.5 points and will play at Rider University next season. Neumann-Goretti has a pair of 6-foot-5 juniors who contribute &#8212; Jordan Hall (10.2 ppg) and Cameron Young (9.6). Junior Hakim Byrd is a perimeter player who adds 12.8 per game.D2 champ Seminary wiped out D12 fourth seed String Theory 75-41, with guard Jeremy Callahan scoring 25 points. All the starters played in last season&#8217;s 62-44 loss to Neumann-Goretti, so they know what to expect.The winner advances to Saturday&#8217;s quarterfinals against the winner of the game between D4 champion Loyalsock (27-1) and D12 third seed Bishop McDevitt (19-7).Holy Redeemer (21-4) vs. Trinity (23-3)PIAA Class 3A Second Round8 p.m. WednesdayMartz Hall, PottsvilleDistrict 2 runner-up Holy Redeemer was supposed to play District 3 champion Trinity this season, but the weather failed to cooperate a couple times and the game was eventually bumped from the schedule.Chance Westry, a 6-foot-3 freshman, leads Trinity in scoring with a 14.9 average. He&#8217;s followed by a trio of seniors &#8212; 6-4 Patrick Walker (11.9), 6-7 Kalen Veres (7.2) and 6-0 Matt Long (6.4). The Shamrocks are 17-3 vs. District 2 opponents in their state playoff history. They won state titles in 2001 and 2003. They lost in state title games in 1991 and 1992.Trinity routed D12 sixth seed High School of the Future 82-63 in the first round. Redeemer had a tougher time with D4 runner-up Wellsboro. The Royals held Wellsboro scoreless in the third quarter to rally for a 46-42 victory.Senior forward Collin Cook had just six points, but was able to top 1,000 for his career. Freshman guard Justice Shoats led the way with 15 points followed by senior big man Nick Prociak with 14.The winner advances to Saturday&#8217;s quarterfinals against the winner of the game between D12 runner-up SLA Beeber (22-6) and D1 champion New Hope Solesbury (16-9).<style>
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<div class="neCaption">Todd Phillips and the rest of the Wyoming Seminary Blue Knights will play District 12 champion Neumann-Goretti on Wednesday in the PIAA Class 3A second round. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/web1_TTL031019HSBB-Sem-StringTheory_3-1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Todd Phillips and the rest of the Wyoming Seminary Blue Knights will play District 12 champion Neumann-Goretti on Wednesday in the PIAA Class 3A second round. </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/web1_nan_mon3_faa-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Nanticoke Area center Trahjan Krupinski and the rest of the Trojans face a tough task against District 12 champion Bonner-Prendergast in Tuesday&#8217;s PIAA Class 4A second round. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/web1_nan_mon3_faa-1.jpg</photo1><caption1>Nanticoke Area center Trahjan Krupinski and the rest of the Trojans face a tough task against District 12 champion Bonner-Prendergast in Tuesday&#8217;s PIAA Class 4A second round. </caption1><photoCredit1></photoCredit1></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta>By John Erzarjerzar@www.timesleader.com</bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta>Reach John Erzar at 570-991-6394 or on Twitter @TLJohnErzar</shirttailMeta></div>

PIAA Boys Basketball: WVC teams facing big challenges in second round