The goal of any athlete is to be the best; to excel at the highest level. So, when one falls short, there is disappointment and time for re-evaluation.

Jared Fulton punched his ticket to the PIAA championships held March 9-11 at the Giant Center in Hershey. The senior went 1-2 and fell short in his quest for a state medal but that is just a little bump on his impressive resume. He finished his career with 104 wins against 32 losses and an impressive 52 pins. He is a two-time state qualifier, a four-time L-L League finalist and two-time L-L champ.

Fulton was one of just 75 Solanco matmen to qualify for states from 1956 to 2023. Solanco has had just 32 PIAA place-winners, the first coming in 1973 (Keith Kreider, third place). It is not an easy accomplishment.

Fulton opened the tournament with a 5-0 loss to Bethlehem Catholic's Cael McIntyre.

"All the scoring came in the first period in a span of 30 seconds," recalled head coach Tony Mendez. "It was a very tough first match. Even though Jared came in first in his region and McIntyre was third. I really expected him to win his region."

Fulton rebounded with a solid 9-1 major over Eli Bounds (Boiling Springs) in the consolations.

"Bounds was a seventh-place medalist last year," said Mendez. "Jared faced him in the semifinals at regionals as well. He controlled the entire match."

In his second wrestleback on Friday, Fulton's season ended with a 2:32 fall against eventual eighth place finisher Gabriel Ruggieri (Connellsville).

"Jared shot deep into a single, close to the edge of the mat," Mendez recalled. "The kid knocked Jared off his feet and got him to his back. He fought like crazy. That's the hard part. There it ends.

"If he wins, he gets the kid from Northern (Rocco Fratelli) who he beat before. And if he wins that, he's in for a medal.

"It's the state tournament so everyone is tough," he continued. "I still believe he is one of the top eight wrestlers in that 133-pound bracket. It was just unfortunate the way the bracket played out.

"It's tough for a senior and it's tough as a coach. You don't know what to say, though I could relate to Jared's situation. I was a two-time state qualifier and did not medal either, but I felt I grew as a wrestler in college (Millersville-D2)," he added. "Jared will continue his career at Kutztown University. States is awesome, but it does not define his career. He's on to bigger and better things now."

Fulton caps his season at 37-5. Solanco's last state place-winner was Dominic Flatt who finished fourth in the 2020-21 season.

BASKETBALL

The Lancaster-Lebanon League basketball all-stars, as voted on by the L-L coaches, have been announced and the Solanco teams were well represented. Jenna Ehlers received first team recognition, Kara Peace was recognized as a defensive all-star, Paige Althoff received academic all-star honors and head coach Chad McDowell was voted as Coach of the Year.

On the boys' side, both Tyler Burger and Noah Bailey received honorable mention all-star recognition. The pair also received the Coaches Award at Solanco's end-of-the-year banquet.

Other banquet award winners included Austin Wenger (Defensive Player of the Year) and senior Manny Himes, junior Trevor Masterson, and freshman Isiah Wright as MVP award winners.

INDOOR TRACK

Solanco's pole vaulting phenom capped her indoor season at the New Balance National meet held Sunday, March 12 where she settled for fourth place with a 12-5.5 vault. Veronica Vacca's 13-7.25 won the event.