Solanco's matmen hosted the Annual Mule Classic on Friday and Saturday, December 2-3. Six of ten wrestlers competing earned medals, contributing to Solanco's 7th (96 points) place team finish, edging Penn Manor who settled for 8th place (88.5 points) out of 25. Central Dauphin earned the team title with 206 points.

Jared Fulton (145), a state qualifier last season, was Solanco's top finisher. The senior pinned his way to the finals, decking Downingtown East's Scott Zhang (:25), Kennett's Michael Pepe (1:25) and Blue Mountain's Payton Fasnacht (1:17). In the finals, Fulton faced CD's Matt Repos, a state runner-up last year, and was dealt a 13-0 major decision.

"Repos is tough," said head coach Tony Mendez, "but Jared had a good tournament. He wasn't really challenged until he met Repos."

Caden Rutt (107) and Blaine Plastino (172) chipped in with a pair of bronze medals.

Rutt opened against CD's Thunder Beard, the eventual second place finisher, and suffered a 15-1 loss. He bounced back with four straight consolation wins to medal.

"Caden had a tough first match but recovered and wrestled very well through the consolation rounds," said Mendez.

Plastino's journey was similar. He opened with fall and a 5-1 decision before suffering a 4-2 loss to Dallastown's Isaiah Feeney, the eventual 172-pound champ. He rebounded with a 4:38 consolation fall and then survived Mason Keller (Pennsbury) 6-5 to get the bronze.

Next to medal was Andrew Smith. The 139-pounder fell just short of fifth place, suffering a 3-2 loss to Blue Mountain's Owen Woll.

"That was disappointing," said Mendez. "Andrew was up 2-1, working an armbar pinning combo and was called for stalling. I was pretty upset with that call, but that's sports sometimes. It changed the momentum. Woll got a point and then on the restart escaped with 14 seconds left to win.

"He also had a tough second match, losing to Oxford's Austin McMillian, the eventual champ," Mendez added.

Earning a seventh-place medal was Ben Williams (152) while Aidan Ruiz (127) settled for eighth place.

"Ben lost to Tyler Maiers, the eventual second place winner, in a match he probably could have won," said Mendez. "He wrestled very well and improved as the tournament progressed. If he wrestled Maiers at the end of the tournament, it could have been a different outcome.

"And Aidan was in one of the tougher weight classes," he continued. "He's a first-year starter but comes in with high expectations. He went 2-2 but I was happy to see him place considering who was in this weight class."

Also competing was Bradeon Bickford (114), Nathan Smith (121), Cole Harris (189) and Jamar Moore (285).

"Overall, everyone feels that starting a week earlier this year, after just 10 practices, is too soon. But we're all in the same boat. We still have things to work on and expect to fill two more weight classes in the near future so it's still hard to know what to expect," the coach said.

"We also know that we couldn't host this tournament without the wrestling association and all the alumni, volunteers and parents that help out."

BOYS' BASKETBALL

After a season with just two wins, the boys' basketball team took a step in the right direction, opening the season with a solid 53-40 victory over Oxford in the first round of the Octorara Tip Off tournament, Friday, December 2.

After three closely contested quarters, the Mules took control when they buckled down in the fourth, outscoring the Hornets 19-6 to break a 34-34 game.

"I thought we came out a little nervous but in the third quarter we started executing more on offense and buckled down defensively to put them away," said head coach Anthony Hall.

Senior captain Tyler Burger, after a year off, tossed in a game-high 16 points, including 6-of-13 from the foul line, an area in which both teams struggled. Solanco went 15-for-31 from the stripe while the hosts were a slim 8-of-26.

Noah Baber followed with 14 points and Noah Bailey, with three triples, also hit double figures with 11. Brock Osborne (6), Jadon Yoder (5), Austin Wenger (2) and Manny Himes (1) also reached the scoring column.

In the championship game against Octorara one night later, a slow start played a key role in Solanco's 65-55 loss. Despite outscoring the Braves 32-27 in the second half, the Mules could not overcome a 38-23 first half deficit. Three pointers were also pivotal as Octorara canned eight shots from downtown while the Mule hit three.

"We basically lost to experience," said Hall, "but we didn't give up. They just executed better. They did not outwork us. They got up by 20 and we cut it to ten."

Burger went 4-for-5 from the free throw line and netted a team-high 18 points. Yoder followed with 17 points, including two of Solanco's three-pointers, and Bailey rounded out the double-digit scorers, netting ten.

"Both Ty Burger and Jayden Yoder played very well," Hall added. "We're expecting even more from them. And Elijah Cunningham did a great job defending.

"Our main goal is to compete every night and we did that. I was very happy."

In just the third game of the season, Solanco matched last years' win total. Last Wednesday the Mules jumped out to a 38-23 halftime lead and cruised to a 61-35 victory over N. Lebanon. Solanco was 14-for-17 from the free throw line in the first half and 18-of-23 for the game. Bailey dropped in a game-high 19 points, 14 in the first half. He knocked down three triples. Cunningham and Burger each added seven points while Baber hit all nine of his in the first half.

GIRLS' BASKETBALL

After winning just three games last season, the girls' basketball team opened the 2022 season with a 42-41 thriller at Twin Valley Friday, December 2.

Tied at 9-9 in the first quarter, Solanco took a six-point lead with a 12-6 second frame advantage. Jenna Ehlers knocked down a pair of triples and hit a free throw to spark the scoring and her team-high 13 point night. And Sarah Landis, taking a diagonal pass from Kara Peace, scored a layup at the halftime buzzer to gain some momentum at the break.

Neither team gained much ground in the third quarter, but the hosts rallied down the stretch, outscoring Solanco 13-9 to make for a thrilling finish. They canned 8-of-12 free throws over the final minutes to keep things interesting. Solanco struggled at the line, going 10-for-21 on the night and 5-of-10 in the fourth quarter.

"We held the lead for almost the entire game but in the middle of the fourth quarter we went cold and could not find a way to score," said head coach Chad McDowell.

Twin Valley forged ahead 41-39 but that was short-lived as Ehlers hit two free throws to tie the game. After a defensive stop, Arianna Seiberlich got out in transition and was fouled with 2.8 seconds left. She made one of two in the double bonus putting Solanco back in front.

"They had one last shot but missed," said McDowell. "We did make three free throws in those last 30 seconds to secure the win.

Ehlers led a balanced scoring attack with Sarah Landis (8), Arianna Seiberlich (7), Frances Northern (6), Josie Janssen (4), Paige Althoff (2) and Madison Harnish (2) also contributing. Landis also hauled in six rebounds with Althoff and Peace snagging three steals each.

In another thriller last Wednesday, Solanco fought off a 24-18 first half deficit with a 16-7 run through the third quarter but fell short down the stretch. York used a 19-13 fourth quarter advantage to steal a 50-47 victory at home.

Solanco shot just 8-of-19 from the free throw line and was outscored 18-3 from three-point range.

Ehlers netted a team-high 13 points and Landis added 12 as the double figure scorers.