After honoring seniors Colt Barley, Dylan Coleman, Jacob Hess, Tanner Stephanick and Ben Weaver, the Comets took the mat against visiting Conestoga Valley Saturday morning, January 23. But when the final whistle sounded, it was the Bucks that celebrated, winning 45-27.

The visitors jumped in front quickly, winning the first three bouts in a combined 4:04, all via the fall.

Coleman halted the run with a 5:20 fall over Robby Swift (160) only to see the Bucks counter with their fourth first period fall, extending the lead to 24-6.

Barley (182) added to the pin parade, slowing the Bucks when he put Conrad Dillman to his back in 3:21.

The Comets forfeited at 215 and each team won three bouts down the stretch. Ben Weaver (285) got the crowd going with a 1:30 fall over Braden Egerter and freshman Travis Clawson's hard-fought match against Trent Ruble was a thriller. Tied at 2-2 in the first, Ruble escaped for a 3-2 lead in the second. Clinging to a 5-4 lead late in the match, Ruble worked a reversal to ice a 7-4 decision.

"Ben had a great match for only having a few practices under his belt," said Vernalli. "He is a very fast and athletic heavyweight. And Travis wrestled a very heads up, smart match against a rough senior. We were yelling for Travis to cut him with a minute left because we believe he could have gotten that tying takedown to push it into overtime," he explained. "I think it will be a different matchup the next time they wrestle."

The Bucks scored yet another fall at 113 and the Comets forfeited at 120 before Leo Medvedkin 6-4 decision over Peyton Peace.

"Overall, I think it was one of the better matches we've wrestled this year," said Vernalli. "Unfortunately, we gave up too many pins. CV has some tough kids in the middle, but I give my kids credit for going out and battling."

SWIMMING

Three meets into the season, the Comets are undefeated, taking down McCaskey, Hempfield and on January 21, Cedar Crest in another thriller, 84-75.

"Both the Hempfield match and Cedar Crest came down to the last relay," said head coach Eric Urban. "We have depth and talent on our boys' team to remain undefeated with only eight swimmers. Wes Kending anchoring the 200 free relay against Cedar Crest was the deciding factor of the meet," he continued. "He was just down at the start and came back against a very talented Cedar Crest swimmer to outtouch him by .08."

Jack Garvey, Spencer Barry and Colton Garber opened that 200 free relay before Kendig brought it home. Kendig also went 1-2 in the 50 free with Pan Kunyu and went 1-3 in the 100 free with Spencer.

Kendig and Kunyu also joined forces with Jayden Almodovar and Everett Barry to win the 200-medley relay. Almodovar went on to claim the top time in the 100 fly with Garvey grabbing second. Barry earned the fastest 500 free and was second in the 100 breaststroke.

The Comets capped the evening when S. Barry, E. Barry, Kunyu and Almodovar picked up an easy win in the 400 free relay.

The going was a bit tougher for the girls as Crest improved to 2-1 with a 105-59 final.

The Comets recorded three wins on the day with Bella Fulmer, Catherine Repkoe, Emma Landis and Caroline May teaming for a win in the 400 free relay and a second in the 200-medley relay. They also stood out individually. Repkoe clocked the fastest 200 free and was second in the 100 back with Kari Anderson taking third. Fulmer won the 100 fly and May took the 100 free.

BOWLING

The Comets earned its fourth straight win on Thursday, Jan. 21, sweeping the series against Hempfield with a 7-0 final and sit atop the Section One standings at 26-2.

Derek Warfel rolled a game-high 242 but it was Charlie Hull who had the highest Comet series at 616. Warfel followed at 611. Delaney Reitnauer added a 596, Josh Stock hit 589 and Eva Brubaker worked a 583.

Manor won the first game 1064-958 and the second game 958-807 before Hempfield challenged with a 984-973 third game.

"They won that last game by 11 pins, but we won 7-0 on a technicality," said head coach Chris Vital. "They subbed their lineup incorrectly.

"Overall, we had four of our top five roll 200 or better in that first game," he continued. "We are starting to be more consistent. Delaney was off in the first game but came back with a 231 for our only 200 in the second game.

"Charlie and Eva have been the mainstays I did not expect," said Vital.

BOYS' BASKETBALL

Looking for their first league win of the season, the Comets got off to a good start against Manheim Township at home Friday, January 22 but couldn't maintain the momentum, dropping a 58-41 result.

Manor jumped out to an 18-10 lead before the Streaks (2-2, 3-2 overall) ran off 11 straight to finish the second quarter in front, 21-18. The Comets cut the lead to 29-27 late in the third quarter but Township pulled away with a 21-point burst in the fourth.

"We played well through the first quarter and a half," said head coach Larry Bellew. "Then they switched to a zone press and we did not handle it well. I introduced a new press breaker, and we did not execute it well. A coaching error on my end. It disrupted our rhythm, and we were never able to find it again."

Manor got a 13-point effort from Reed Lawrence and another 11 from Brayde Erb.

Less than 24 hours later, the Comets fought off a 6-0 first quarter deficit, took a 15-12 lead by halftime and extended that advantage with a 10-7 third quarter only to fall short against Palmyra, 35-31. The hosts exploded for 16 fourth quarter points, including a 6-for-6 effort at the free throw line, held the Comets to 6 and pulled out the win.

"We tied the game on two free throws by Kamrin Carroll with less than two minutes, but couldn't convert after that," noted Bellew. "It's tough to win a game shooting 9-for-40 from the floor. We are making progress in several areas but continue to commit too many errors."

Freshman Ethan Benne poured in a game-high 12 points to pace the offense.

GIRLS' BASKETBALL

The girls' basketball team dropped its third straight game Friday, Jan. 22 at Manheim Township, 33-28. This one was close throughout, with neither team winning a quarter by more than three points. Unfortunately, it was the Streaks holding the advantage, winning three of four frames.

With single digit scoring in each of the first two quarters, Township led 13-9 at the break.

With Izzy Kligge knocking down all seven of her points in the third quarter, the Comets found their groove and won the frame 13-11, cutting the lead to 24-22. Township, however, had the last say, scoring nine points in the fourth and holding the Comets to six. The Streaks helped their cause at the free throw line, connecting on 11-of-20 attempts. The visitors were 4-of-12.

"We never took the lead," said head coach Megan Collins. "We are still struggling to make shots inside and from the foul line.

"Izzy played a great game on both ends of the floor and gave us the spark we needed on offense," she added.

Morgan Miller settled for a team-high 10 points.