Dom Flatt was Solanco's lone representative at the PIAA Class 3A West "Super Regional" at Altoona High School Saturday, March 6. The senior lightweight made the most of this opportunity, punching his ticket to the State Championships at the Giant Center in Hershey with a second-place finish. The top four finishers from the East "Super Regional" and the top four from the West will compete at Hershey so Flatt is assured a top-eight state medal.

"Dom had a great weekend," lauded head coach Tony Mendez. "The competition is so tight you know things can go either way."

Flatt got off to a slow start Saturday morning. Holding a slim 2-1, second period lead over Plum's Antonio Walker, Flatt used a pair of escapes and a takedown in the final seconds to secure a 6-3 quarter-finals decision.

"Dom got off to a bit of a slow start," said Mendez. "He arched his back pretty bad and needed an injury timeout but after that, he pushed the pace and won."

His semifinals opponent, Cael Nasdeo, of Williamsport, advanced with a 5-0 shutout but would not get past Flatt. Solanco's 106-pounder led from start to finish in a 6-1 decision that vaulted him to the finals.

"The Nasdeo kid was undefeated coming in," noted Mendez. "He was a long, lanky kid for a 106-pounder. "Up 4-1, Dom chose down in the third period. He didn't want to get caught. A win here was huge and secured a spot in the finals."

Clinging to a 1-0 second period advantage over Seneca Valley's Tyler Chappell, Flatt gave up an escape with 1:34 left in the match and was taken down with nine seconds left, leaving him with a silver medal. Chappell advanced to the finals with a 2-1 decision over Manheim Township's Kaedyn Williams.

"It was nice to wrestle in the finals against someone other than Williams," Mendez chuckled. "Dom almost had a takedown in the second period but was called out of bounds. He was defending late in the match and gave up that late takedown. He's right there.

"All four of the guys moving on are very evenly matched," he continued. "Their scores have all been close. It's going to come down to who has a good day. We'll take things one match at a time and see where the cards play out.

"We were able to get a couple of extra tickets," he added, "so Dom's parents were able to be there. That was nice, especially after everything that we've gone through this season."

SWIMMING

Solanco's swim team of one, Addie Scott, grabbed a pair of District Three Class 3A medals in competition on Saturday, March 6 at Cumberland Valley High School.

Just one of four sophomores in the 100 freestyle, Scott finished fourth with a 51.89, lowering her seeding time of 52.41.

Earlier in the meet, Scott settled for fifth place in the 200 freestyle, again lowering her seed time (1:55.13) and medaling with a 1:52.80.

GIRLS' BASKETBALL

Despite ending the season with a loss, Solanco's girls' basketball team got stronger as the season played out, winning three of their last four games, including an upset victory over playoff bound Elco, 45-41.

The girls finished 9-11 overall and were 2-6 in Section Three.

"We were thankful for every opportunity to play," said head coach Chad McDowell. "From start to finish we never knew what to expect but we successfully navigated a 20-game season. I was happy that the seniors had some normalcy for their final season."

McDowell pointed to four "big" wins this season - Manheim Central in overtime, West York, Section Five champ Lancaster Mennonite, and Section Four runner-up Elco.

"The Elco win ranks up there with some of the biggest and best wins for our program that I have been a part of over the past seven years," said McDowell.

As a team, Solanco averaged 40 ppg and gave up 41 ppg. They shot 40% from the field, 22% from 3-point range and 61% from the foul line.

"We had some high scoring games and some low scoring games," the coach recalled. "Our season, in a nutshell, was up and down."

Jade Eshleman wrapped up her senior season as the team's top scorer with 185 points (9.2 avg) and top rebounder (156). Olivia Lasko led the way with 31 steals and earned the highest foul shooting percentage with 92% (23 of 25). Arianna Seiberlich was tops with 41 assists.

"Jade has shown growth as a post player over the past four seasons," said McDowell. "I look forward to watching her continue her basketball career at Lancaster Bible College.

"Olivia did everything we asked her to do," he continued. "She really played well in the second half of the season.

"Arianna, a sophomore, was challenged to run the team from the point guard spot and did an outstanding job," McDowell said.

"We also had two outstanding defenders in Nikki Trout and Kendal Janssen. They did a great job in face guarding some of the league leading scorers in our box-and-one and held six or seven players well below their season averages.

"Sammi Jackson was steady all season," noted McDowell. "Her consistent play helped us win the big games.

"Our three seniors (Eshleman, Trout and Jackson) have given a great deal to our program. They will be missed. The legacy they are leaving behind is phenomenal and I am proud of them," said McDowell.

The girls also got solid production off the bench from Hanna Wood, Meg Bailey, Josie Janssen, Kara Peace, Jaelyn Olmeda and Jenna Ehlers.

In JV action, Solanco finished with a 10-7 record overall and went 4-2 in Section Three. Their games were closely contested as they averaged 27 ppg and gave up 24.5 ppg. In their last four games of the season, the Mares defeated CV 30-20 and N. Lebanon 35-17 with Josie Janssen dropping in 12 and 11 points, respectively. They ended the year with losses to Elco (44-28) and York Suburban (29-23). Hannah Wood was the top scorer with nine points in each game.

All ten players scored within the first five games of the season and six different players were recognized as high scorers throughout the season.

"We gave up four points or less in 26 of 68 quarters played," noted coach Jeff McCardell. "This group worked hard all season and had a never give up attitude. Regardless of the score, they played hard every quarter."

Members of the team include Paige Althoff, Meg Bailey, Jenna Ehlers, Josie Janssen, Sarah Landis, Frances Northern, Jaleyn Olmeda, Kara Peace, Hannah Wood and Stella Woy.