Jan 8, 2008 By The 6 min read

LH swimmers win In a non-section meet filled with WPIAL-qualifying performances, Laurel Highlands won five events and then took enough non-first place finishes Monday for a 98-82 victory over visiting Greensburg Salem.

The Fillies’ Angela Nepa not only hit the qualifying mark in winning the 500 freestyle with a time of 5:29.48, but set a school record as well. Nepa had a qualifying mark of 2:03.01 in winning the 200 freestyle, and although Kelly Huston, Casey Dascenzo, Alyssa Welch, and Nepa didn’t win the 400 freestyle relay, the foursome had a qualifying time of 3:59.11 in finishing second.

Laurel Highlands’ Laura Koposko won the diving competition with 126.50 points. Heather Hunchuck finished first in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:18.27. The quartet of Huston, Dascenzo, Welch and Nepa won the 200 freestyle relay in 1:49.62.

Stephanie Davis, Michelle Fischl, Clair Swauger and Kim Davis all played key roles for the winning Lady Lions. The foursome won the 200 medley relay in 2:01.0 and the 400 freestyle relay in a qualifying time of 3:55.96.

Fischl had qualifying times and victories in the 200 IM (2:21.48) and 100 backstroke (1:04.87). Kim Davis qualified with her winning times in the 50 freestyle (:24.95) and 100 freestyle (:54.75). Swauger had an individual victory in the 100 butterfly in 1:10.53.

Laurel Highlands (6-2) hosts Belle Vernon tonight.

Boys swimming

Greensburg Salem 85, Laurel Highlands 81 – The Mustangs fared well with eight first place finishes, but the Golden Lions still managed to edge the home team for a non-section victory.

Joey Saylor had a couple of victories, winning the diving with 130.85 points and the 50 freestyle in 25.62 seconds. Zack Collins was victorious in the 100 freestyle (:56.74) and 200 freestyle (2:03.73), and Chris Kostelnik had a couple of top finishes as well, winning the 500 freestyle (5:53.35) and 100 butterfly (1:03.35).

Kevin Bane had the other wins for the Mustangs, finishing first in the 100 breaststroke (1:12.15) and the 200 IM (2:22.76).

Saylor, Bane, Kostelnik and Collins didn’t win the 200 medley relay, but the quartet swam a WPIAL qualifying time of 1:57.71.

Girls basketball

Beth-Center 36, Bentworth 35 – Megan Sowers hit a 3-pointer with 50 seconds remaining, the final points the Lady Bulldogs would need to rally past the visiting Bearcats for a Section 5-AA home victory.

Beth-Center led 8-6 after the first quarter, but Bentworth gained the lead in the second half and held the advantage until Sowers’ deep shot late in the game.

Breigh Devecka led the Lady Bulldogs (4-2, 9-4) with 16 points. Sowers was also in double figures with 12.

Cassie Robker was the top scorer for Bentworth (2-4, 7-7) with 11 points.

Beth-Center returns to action on Wednesday as the second game of a boy-girl home doubleheader against Carmichaels.

Derry 81, Laurel Highlands 51 – The Lady Trojans scored 53 points in the first half, and then added 21 more in the third quarter to cruise to a Section 3-AAA victory over the visiting Fillies.

Morgan Hoone led Derry (3-1, 9-4) with a game-high 28 points. Tiffani Downey finished with 20 points, Maria Slezak had 17 and Katie McBroom scored 11.

Meg Mahoney was the top scorer for the Fillies (1-3, 5-8) with 18 points. Marissa Guynn added 10.

Connellsville 54, Albert Gallatin 35 – The Lady Falcons finally put one up in the win column behind Erica Brooks’ game-high 24 points in a Section 1-AAAA contest at Connellsville.

Connellsville is now 1-6 in the section and 1-12 overall, while the Lady Colonials fall to 0-7 in the section and 1-13 overall.

Brooks made three field goals, five 3-pointers and 5-of-9 free throws for her game-high total. Jenna Luczka scored 12 and Jessica Brooks added 10.

Jade Turner led Albert Gallatin with nine points.

Brownsville 50, McGuffey 49 – The Lady Falcons fell behind in the third quarter, but rallied past the visiting Lady Highlanders for a non-section victory. Brownsville led 14-12 after the first quarter, and continued to lead at the half, 24-20. McGuffey edged ahead after three quarters, 38-34.

Stacey Knox had a double-double for Brownsville (12-3) with 14 points and 19 rebounds. Cassie Onesko scored 13 and Angie Pelehac added 11.

West Allegheny 55, Waynesburg Central 21 – The Lady Raiders weren’t able to top 10 points in any of the four quarters, dropping a Section 4-AAA home game to the Lady Indians.

Waynesburg trailed 18-5, 35-10, and 45-13 at the quarter breaks.

Kaitlin Lemley led Waynesburg (0-4, 3-10) with six points.

Brianna Bayley was the top scorer for West Allegheny (3-1, 8-7) with 12 points. Kristy Beswick added 10.

Mapletown 42, West Greene 22 – Erika Chory and Kaitlyn Novak reached double digits as the Lady Maples cruised past the Lady Pioneers in Section 2-A action.

Chory tossed in a game-high 12 points, while Novak added 11.

Mapletown led 9-6 after one quarter and 13-10 at halftime. The Lady Maples increased their edge to eight points after three quarters, before running away with the game by outscoring the hosts 17-5 over the final eight minutes.

Samantha Milliken paced West Greene (1-12, 1-3) with nine points.

Boys basketball

Albert Gallatin 71, Brownsville 64 – The Colonials finished strong, scoring 44 points in the final 16 minutes to rally from a 37-27 halftime deficit for a non-section home victory over the Falcons.

Brownsville led 13-8 after the first quarter and held a 13-point lead at the halftime break, but Albert Gallatin drew closer with a 24-15 third quarter.

Anthony Stevenson led Albert Gallatin (2-11) with 25 points. Aaron Cromwell added 21.

Andrew Roberts was the top scorer for Brownsville (8-6) with a game-high 30 points. Gary Brooks scored 15 and Greg Allamon added 13 for the Falcons.

Turkeyfoot 77, Meyersdale 68 – Bill Chatman was one of three Rams to score at least 20 points, and Turkeyfoot outscored visiting Meyersdale, 11-2, in overtime, in West-Pac conference action.

Chatman tossed in a team-high 27 points, including five three-pointers, followed by Bill McClintock’s 21 and Robert Harbaugh’s 20. Harbaugh also pulled down 17 rebounds.

Meyersdale’s Eric Brant ripped the nets for a game-high 37 points, while teammate Tyler Sechler added 16.

Turkeyfoot (4-5, 4-4) led 24-13 after one quarter, but Meyersdale fought back and trailed by just one point at the half. The visitors ran off a 22-11 third-period advantage, but Turkeyfoot tied the game with a 21-12 fourth-quarter edge.

High school hockey

Connellsville 7, Ligonier Valley 4 – Eric Bogden had a hand in all seven goals, and Rich Wicker and Joe Bucci both scored a hat tricks as the Falcons defeated the visiting Mounties for a PIHL Open Class victory.

Shane Daugherty spotted Connellsville at 1-0 lead just 17 seconds into the game, but goals by Ryan Cavanaugh and Jake Hendrick gave the visitors the lead.

Joe Bucci scored with 59 seconds remaining in the first period from assists by Bogden and Wicker.

Bucci picked up where he left off with a goal at 8:50 from Bogden, and the Falcons wasted no time from the faceoff when Wicker scored just 23 seconds later from Bogden and Scott House. Wicker added to Connellsville’s lead with a goal at 4:13 from Bogden.

Ligonier Valley’s Hendrick and Cavanaugh scored to draw the Mounties closer after two periods.

Wicker scored his third goal of the game, a power play goal, at 8:07 of the third period from Bogden and Brad Halfin. Bucci capped the scoring at 6:23 from Bogden and Wicker.

Connellsville’s Mark Cable stopped 20 shots as the Falcons improve to 5-7-1. Ligonier Valley’s Ryan Lutes made 23 saves.

Connellsville plays Ferndale on Thursday at the Johnstown War Memorial.