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Comet Teams Wrap Up Fall in PIAA Playoffs
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BY MONA STEINHAUER
From tennis to cross country, to girls’ soccer and field hockey, the Comet fall sports teams competed in the PIAA Championships over the last week and all saw their seasons come to a close.
The action started Friday, November 4th with Catherine Rabatin making the trip to the Hershey Racquet Club for a chance to earn a state medal. The senior got off to a strong start, handing District 12 champ senior Mia Jeftic, of Central, a 6-2,6-1 loss. Later on Friday the standout senior ended her career with a 6-0, 6-3 quarterfinals loss to junior Mia Matriccino. The No. 3 seed from District One came back to finish third and left Rabatin one match shy of a PIAA medal.
“Catherine had an easy first match, but that second match up was tough,” said head coach Amanda Pryzbylkowski. “Her opponent hit very hard, and her shots barely cleared the net. Catherine had some good rallies but struggled to finish,” she continued. “Her opponent had a crazy one handed backhand and a very, very hard serve. It was a great match. At states you never know what you’re going to get. She was in a very tough half of the draw.”
While the season ends with a loss for Rabatin, it does not overshadow an impressive career at Penn Manor. She finished fourth in states as a freshman and was third her sophomore year. She captured the L-L League title four times and earned four District Three titles as well.
“She is one of the most decorated tennis players in the L-L League and at Penn Manor,” said Pryzblkowski. “She is excited to continue her tennis career in college.” CROSS COUNTRY
On Saturday, November 5, Kaleb Kabakjian made his PIAA debut at Hershey’s Parkview cross country course. The junior finished the 3A race in 34th place with a time of 17:08.
“Kaleb won two of our weekly meets, placed 6th at Gettysburg, 8th in the League Meet and was 21st in Districts in addition to his state placing,” said head coach Andrea Kramer. “His personal record for the year was 16:14 at the district meet so he has had a very solid and impressive season.” GIRLS’ SOCCER
The girls’ soccer team opened their quest for PIAA gold Tuesday, November 8 with a road trip to Council Rock North where they faced off against Neshaminy, the District One champs at 5 pm. The last time the Comets qualified for states was 2011.
And when the final horn sounded, it was Neshaminy advancing.
“We’re upset the season is over but we realize we lost to a very good team,” said Zapata. “They were a very physical team and it caused frustration on our part because we weren’t used to that and I did not prepare them for that.
“But we did have chances,” he continued. “Both Carolyn Hinkle and Alyssa Mann had shots hit the crossbar and we did have a couple of breakaways. Sometimes it depends on how lucky you get.
“Overall, it was a good season. The girls responded to my new formation, and we did well enough (14-6 overall) to qualify for states. That was my one goal for this team and we accomplished that,” he added. “On Monday we were one of just 16 teams in the whole district still practicing. It’s not easy to get to states.”
Their efforts did not go unnoticed as six players received all-star recognition. Alice Burkholder and Carly Keene were both First Team selections. Keene was also one of 12 voted to the All-League team and one of three selected to the AllState team. She finished as the second highest scorer in the L-L League with 23 goals and 20 assists in 17 games.
Second Team all-stars included Carolyn Hinkle, Izzy Kligge, Annaliese Mann, and Lauren Stoner.
“Six all-stars tie the team record for most all-stars in one season,” Zapata noted. FIELD HOCKEY
The field hockey team also hit the road for their PIAA opener, traveling to Conestoga High School Tuesday evening at Teamer Field.
After losing the District One 3A title game three days earlier, the 20-2 Pioneers ended Penn Manor’s season with a closer than it appeared 3-1 final.
The Comets (19-6), who finished fourth in District 3, forced the first corner of the game, and worked three more over the next five minutes but came up empty.
Momentum switched through the final half of the first quarter as Conestoga, outscoring their opponents 17-3 in four post-season games, converted a pair of corners to take a 2-0 lead. That score stood through the second quarter and just about 30 seconds of the third before the Comets cut the lead in half. Avery Bradburn sent a smooth corner insert to Tristan Groff who onetimed a shot just inside the left post.
With momentum growing, Conestoga was whistled for not one but two cards in quick succession, leaving the Comets with the perfect opportunity to knot the score. Despite being down two players, Conestoga forced a corner and converted when Shae Wosniak found the back of the cage with 5:06 remaining. It was her second goal of the evening.
The Comets finished with nine shots on goal, and 10 corners. Adeline Arkhurst had 11 saves.
Conestoga finished with 14 shots and nine corners. Goalie Alex Lepore made eight saves.
The Comets were coming off a disappointing 2-0 loss to Manheim Township in a battle for third place in District 3 on Saturday, November 5. It was the fourth meeting between the two teams who split 2-2. The Comets topped the Streaks 2-1 to win the L-L League crown while the Streaks returned the favor just over two weeks later.
The Streaks scored single goals in each of the first two quarters and fought off five Comet corners in the second half to earn that third-place spot.
AL LL-STARS
For their efforts on the court this season, a pair of Penn Manor volleyball players were recognized with post-season accolades. Senior Cassidy McCollum was a Section One first team all-star and also received a L-L League Academic Award. Lezlie Nguyen, a junior, was a Second Team all-star.
“This was Cassidy’s third year being chosen for the all-star team but her first time making First Team,” said head coach Tim Joyce. “She also had the highest GPA on our team. She was our only senior and served as a highly respected captain. Her teammates voted her as both the 2022 Team CVP and 2022 Attitude-Character-Effort Award winner.”
McCollum finished with 97 career aces, the eighth highest in program history. She also recorded the 10th highest number of kills with 142 and finished with 404 career digs, also the 10th highest in program history.
Nugyen was voted, by her teammates, as Most Improved for the second year in a row. “As a sophomore she worked hard to earn a varsity starting position as a middle hitter,” said Joyce. “This season she worked just as hard when we asked her to switch to being a right-side hitter. Her calm, steady demeanor made her a serious threat as an attacker and blocker,” he added. “This was her first all-star award.”
Nugyen recorded 132 kills, 19 blocks and 53 digs this season.
file photo
Penn Manor’s Catherine Rabatin suffered a quarterfinal loss to Grace Li, the eventual silver medal winner, at the PIAA 3A Tennis championships Friday, November 4 at the Hershey Racquet Club.
submitted photo
Penn Manor’s Kaleb Kabakjian finished in 34th place at the PIAA 3A cross country championships at Hershey’s Parkview course on Saturday, November 5.
photo by Mona Steinhauer
In a battle for third place in the District Three 3A championships Saturday, November 5 at Comet Field, Penn Manor’s Liv Cox carries the ball down the sideline with pressure from Manheim Township’s Natalie Phillips.
Come out to see the Juniors and Seniors battle it out at our Annual Powder Puff Game
Thursday, November 17 • 6:30pm at Comet Field
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