After a 14-day layoff, the Comets resumed Section One play Friday, Feb. 5 against Manheim Township. Ironically, the last game Penn Manor played was against the Streaks. That game ended in a five-point loss.

Township shook off a 13-8 first quarter deficit with a 17-2 run through the second quarter and held on for a 41-31 road win.

Down 25-15 at the half, the Comets, without starter Lily Sugra (injury), put up a 16-3 third quarter rally. Kamia Goodley, who finished with a team-high 14 points, canned a trey and Sydney Shepos (2 blocked shots, 6 points) made it 25-20 with 4:35 left. Goodley banked in a pair of three-balls and Emily Riggs (7 points) followed with another, putting Manor back in front, 29-28 with 1:28 left. The hosts held for the last shot and Riggs made it count.

Despite having that momentum, the Comets struggled against Township's full court pressure, turned the ball over eight times in the quarter and saw the Streaks convert 9-of-12 free throws to pull away.

"We scored two points in 16 minutes of playing," noted head coach Megan Collins. "We need to find a way to stay consistent on offense. And it didn't help that they got to the foul line 25 times to our two. We need to be more disciplined on defense.

"And it doesn't help that Lily is out," she added. "She's a demanding presence inside. Now there is opportunity for others to step up and we need that to happen to be successful."

Feb. 8 saw the Comets host the top team in Section One, Hempfield. The Knights sprinted to a 21-3 first quarter lead and never looked back, securing a 54-30 win.

Morgan Miller, with 10 points, was the only double digit scorer for the Comets.

SWIMMING

The boys' swim team entered the Lancaster-Lebanon League championships, held at Wilson High School on Saturday, Feb. 6, with a 3-0 Section One record and came away with a fourth place finish. They were just one point behind Warwick. Township was the overall winner.

"I expected to finish around third or fourth," noted head coach Eric Urban. "The boys dropped a lot of time this season at this meet. There were multiple PR's."

Pan Kunyu was Manor's top individual finisher, grabbing bronze in the 100 free with a 49.95. He also anchored the third place 200 medley relay team with Jayden Almodovar, Everett Barry and Wes Keding (1:41.08) and swam with Almodovar, Jack Garvey and Wes Kendig for yet another third, this time in the 400 free relay.

The girls' team competed on Friday night and picked up one top 8 medal. The 400 free relay team of Caroline May, Emma Landis, Bella Fulmer and Catherine Repkoe finished in seventh place with a 4:11.89, improving their seed time of 4:16.31.

"The girls had three relays in the meet and all three dropped more than two seconds," Urban praised.

BOWLING

Penn Manor's bowlers rose to the top of the Section One standings with a pair of key wins over Cedar Crest. Feb. 8th they blanked the Falcons 7-0 at Leisure Lanes and one day later earned a 5-2 win on the road. A sweep there would have wrapped up the section title.

On Monday, Derek Warfel rolled a team-high 631 series with Eva Brubaker close behind at 591. Delaney Reitnauer, with the highest game of the day, a 242, finished with a 558 series.

The Comets pulled out a 13-pin win in the first game and never looked back.

On the road Tuesday proved to be a closer match. Manor won the first game 961-923 only to see the hosts even things up with a 69-pin win in game two. The Comets returned the favor, winning the final game 1018-952 and total pins 2892-2857.

Charlie Hall posted a match-high 637 series. Brubaker, who rolled seven strikes to close out the match, was six pins back. Reitnauer added a 570 with Warfel four pins off that mark.

Manor earned its third win of the week on Wednesday. With Lacy Slaymaker rolling a season and match-high 702 series, the Comets topped Manheim Township 5-2 and clinched the Section One title.

Josh Stock (675), Warfel (601) and Reitnauer (596) were also high rollers for the Comets who took the first game by a slim six pins.

BOYS' BASKETBALL

Having not played a game since January 22, the boys' basketball team found itself back in action with back-to-back games against two of the top three teams in Section One. That layoff proved unkind as the Comets were dealt a 79-56 loss to Manheim Township on Friday, Feb. 5 and a 62-43 loss to Hempfield less than 24 hours later.

"I thought we played well against Township except for turnovers," said head coach Larry Bellew. "We had 12 in the first half for 16 transition points for them. Then they hit four threes in that third quarter and pulled away."

Both teams knocked down 20 field goals, but the Streaks dropped in eight three-pointers, seven in the second half, and connected on 15-of-21 free throws. The Comets managed four triples and were 4-of-8 from the charity stripe.

A 22-point effort from Brayde Erb, including 14 in the first half, highlighted Manor's offense as the only double figure scorer.

"Brayde played a strong game," said Bellew. "The guards did a great job driving into the pain and he moved to open areas on the court."

On the road Saturday, the Comets gave up 19 first quarter points and were unable to overcome a 14 point deficit. The Knights pushed the lead to 26-5 before the Comets regrouped. Unfortunately, the damage was done. After a dead even second quarter (16-16), Hempfield barely won the second half, holding a slim 27-22 advantage.

"We came out flat," Bellew said. "We did cut the lead to 11 a couple of times but could not get closer."

Kamrin Carroll was tops for the Comets, netting six of his 13 in the second quarter. Jack Shipley also hit double figures with 11.

On the road Tuesday, Feb. 9, the Warriors tallied five of their eight three pointers in the second half to offset Manor's 15-12 advantage in made field goals and pulled away for a 58-37 win. Carroll was Manor's top point-getter with 11.

WRESTLING

Saturday mornings' matchup with Manheim Township was a chance for the Comets to grind off some rust. Having not wrestled since Jan. 23 due to covid moving learning to virtual, Penn Manor was a little sluggish on Feb. 6. The result was a 41-24 Township victory.

The home team got off to a great start with Travis Clawson (106) securing a 3:05 fall. But then the Comets went nine bouts without earning points on the mat. They picked up a pair of forfeit wins but did not score a single point until Colt Barley's 5-2 decision over fellow returning state qualifier Cade Clancy at 189. Ben Weaver capped the action with a 3-2 thriller over Tyrese Washington (285).

"Harrison Brown had an exciting match at 145, coming up just shy of the win, and Dylan Coleman, at 160, also came up just shy," recalled head coach Brandon Vernalli. "Ben picked up a hard-earned victory and is showing great improvements."

Monday, Feb. 8 the Comets faced Section One leader Hempfield and came up short, 59-7. Coleman's 9-3 decision over Jonah Gelbart was the lone bright spot of the match.