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Sunday, January 15, 2023 | 11:01 AM
After opening 2023 with two consecutive losses, the Penn-Trafford ice hockey team found the winning touch Jan. 10 with a 6-1 victory against Butler.
Penn-Trafford (8-4) lost to Thomas Jefferson, 6-1, and Hempfield, 7-5, the first week of the new year.
Thanks to a four-goal and one-assist effort from Xavier Solomon, the Warriors blew by the Golden Tornado.
Garrett Rechtorik and Ben Zierski also had goals for the Warriors. Rechtorik added two assists.
Solomon now has 15 goals and eight assists this season. Nate Loughner has eight goals and 12 assists.
Penn-Trafford faced rival Franklin Regional on Jan. 17 and gets a rematch against Thomas Jefferson on Jan. 27.
Rifle drops first match
The Penn-Trafford rifle team lost its first match of the season Jan. 10 to Mt. Lebanon, 798.65 to 798.55.
The Warriors fell short in the number of bulls-eyes which gave Mt. Lebanon the win.
Leading the way for Penn-Trafford was Carlee Valenta with 100-10x, followed by Michael Koreen 100-9x, Nessa Wright 100-8x, Seth Baughman 100-7x, Mallory McRae 100-6x, Ivy Thomas 100-6x, Brian Broadwater 99-5x and Emily Valenta 99-4x.
Penn-Trafford returned to action Jan. 12 against Plum and Jan. 17 against Armstrong.
DeSantis wins gold
Luke DeSantis captured the 115-pound crown Jan. 6 at the Southmoreland Junior High wrestling tournament.
He went 4-0 and defeated Valley’s Alex Wylly, 9-0, in the finals.
Teammate Ivan Ratesic finished fourth at 94 pounds.
P-T grad to lead Norwin football
Mike Brown learned a lot in his two years as football coach at Hempfield.
His time there might have been brief, but the knowledge he collected looks to be long-lasting.
“A lot of valuable lessons,” Brown said. “I am very grateful to (athletic director) Brandon (Rapp) for believing in me. I was lucky to be surrounded by so many good people on my staff. The players bought into what we preached.”
Brown hopes to take his experience with him as he joins another Westmoreland County program that is looking to turn a corner.
Brown, 32, was hired Jan. 9 as coach at Norwin, three days after he resigned at Hempfield.
“Mike has great qualifications and has proven himself at Hempfield,” Norwin athletic director Mike Burrell said. “He is a great young coach with a bright future.”
Even though he is entering…
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