The Penn Manor weight lifting team took the state high school title held recently at the Valley Forge Fitness Expo.
The comets team consists of Dillon aka (Harry) Walker, Carenna Neely, Sidney Kreitzer, Dylan Laudermilch, and Cheyenne Weber.
The team was awarded three gold medals and one silver medal. Jon Zajac, assistant coach, went with the team to Valley Forge to coach them and help them in the competition.
To prepare for the lifting competition, the team performed specific Olympic lifts and power lifts. These are the lifts that they will be doing in the competition. They started preparing weeks before so they could get the forms down perfect and be ready for the competition.
“What we lack in size, we make up in strength,” said Russ McDonnell. The team practices three to four days a week; they will lift for about an hour to and hour and a half for each day they lift.
They lift sometimes before school or after school, showing real commitment to the team. By winning the competition, the team was also awarded an Olympic weightlifting set that was donated by the Werksan Barbell USA company, which will be added to the weight room soon.
McDonnell, who is the head coach of the team, has been the weight lifting coach at Penn Manor for nine years now.
Dillon Walker is Penn Manor’s (and the world’s) own record-setting athlete.
Walker is the strongest pound-for-pound power lifter in the 123 lb. weight class at Penn Manor. But his efforts have been recognized way beyond the walls of this school.
Walker has been lifting since his seventh grade year.
Recently, Walker unofficially broke a world record here in the Penn Manor weight training room. The previous world record was set at 358.2 lbs. Walker tore through that record with a 365 lb. deadlift and he continues to keep adding the weight to the bar.
Dillion Walker weight lifter.
This spring, the Penn Manor junior is going to Moscow, Russia for a world weight-lifting competition and hopes to get the gold medal for the U.S. and break the world record – officially.
“I commit all my success to Russ McDonnell,” Walker said.
Walker comes from a generation of weight lifters. His dad and his older brother have lifted for many years and are still lifting. His older brother, Zane, has broken previous records in the deadlift, squat and all-together weight, but the younger Walker has already broken his older brother’s deadlift record.
“When he lifts, it’s like magic” one classmate commented, earning Walker the nickname “Harry Potter” in the weight room.
He plans to continue lifting until he can’t lift any more.
Last year’s girl’s varsity soccer team worked hard both on and off the field. After having a successful season on the field with a record of 15-6-1, the team also was named to the National Soccer Coaches Association of America for the seventh consecutive year.
Nancy Stehman. Photo by Lindsey Ostrum
The requirement of this club is to have a team GPA of at least 3.25, and the team earned a 3.847, the highest a girl’s soccer team at Penn Manor has ever earned.
Coach Zapata felt that, “[The team] always worked extremely hard, and they choose to play 12 months a year, so I know they like to play.”
Mr. Zapata. Photo by Lindsey Ostrum
However, senior Ambria Armstrong said all the hard work did come at a price.
“It was definitely a lot of work, and I really had no free time. It was pretty much school, soccer, homework and sleep.” She also stated that her hardest class to maintain an A in was AP Literature.
Coach Zapata believed being a part of the soccer team was a motivation to keep their grades high, “It was more of an expectation from the staff. Keeping their grades up is something we tell the girls about a lot.”
Ambria Armstrong. Photo by Lindsey Ostrum
This is also a new achievement for our school. This is the first time the girl’s soccer team has had the highest GPA out of the seven schools in the league.
Congratulations to the following members of the girl’s varsity soccer team:
Pick the number that doesn’t fit in this following sequence: 21, 23, 24, 33, 21.
While some people that are 18 years old and above are reflecting back to their PSSA days, some are really thinking about this. Obviously it’s 33 because it is the number that is significantly the highest… right? But what does it have to do with anything. What does it all mean?
The previous list of numbers had to do with the Philadelphia Eagles, who were just shot out of the sky – or playoffs – by the Dallas Cowboys in just the second Sunday of the young 2010 (yeah, some New Year, alright). They are the ages of the main contributors of Philadelphia’s offense in this past regular season.
“His attitude has changed over the years,” “he’s cocky,” “he sucks.” Those actual quotes from Penn Manor students are about the man in charge, and the oldest man of the Eagles’ youthful offense, Donovan McNabb.
Attitudes are changing towards McNabb from Eagles’ fans all over and people are losing faith in the aging quarterback.
“Sadly, I think it’s time,” said Assistant Principal, Doug Eby, an Eagles’ fan, who thinks it’s time the Eagles move on without McNabb
“Thirteen years in the league is it?” Eby contemplated McNabb’s career with a concerned smirk on his face. He, along with other students and faculty, think the Eagles should take next year to “rebuild” around the youth of the team.
First and most important stop on the rebuilding train: Quarterback.
McNabb has been with the team through thick and thin, coming out with multiple above .500 seasons and playoff appearances, and even one Super Bowl appearance, but no rings. And all the wins in the world mean nothing when you don’t come out of the playoffs with a Super Bowl ring. Just ask the ’07 Patriots.
A Penn Manor Senior and Eagles’ fan, T.J. Richards, said in order to “bring a Super Bowl to Philly” they need to platoon Kevin Kolb, 25, and Michael Vick, 29, together. He also is with the many who think that McNabb is a little too old for the young offense. In addition, he noted, “He shakes things off” and he doesn’t get bothered by mistakes as much. While that could be a good thing during a game it doesn’t do much during the reflection period when players typically dwell on their mistakes. That’s another reason why Richards wants him out.
Kolb drop-stepping before a pass
Kolb filled in for McNabb for two games and played at the end of the season while Philadelphia was resting their starters. In these games, Kolb threw for 4 touchdowns with 3 interceptions and had an 88. 9 quarterback rating.
Michael Vick has shown flickers of his remaining talents at quarterback after his dog-fighting debacle. With the Eagles, he has been an important part of their wildcat formation and putting him in is a diversion that defenses have to cope with might be a good move. He has started one game and played in a total of twelve. In those games, he passed for one touchdown and ran for two with 181 total yards.
While some people are getting a little tired of McNabb, some people, like Eagles’ fan Matthew Scheuing don’t think it’s quite time for McNabb to go but are a little hesitant to say who the QB should be if McNabb were to leave.
“I don’t think Kevin Kolb is the answer,” said Scheuing. He’s leaning on Vick if someone would have to replace McNabb saying that Vick would be a “better option than Kolb.”
Vick ready for some action with his helmet half-on
Scheuing, though, thinks that the offensive line is the highlight of the Eagles’ problems rather than the quarterback position.
The rebuilding train is-a-movin’ and the first stop is already stirring up some rumors including McNabb going to the Cleveland Browns or to the Chicago Bears.
The train will have a couple stops but first the Eagles have to deal with the quarterback situation. Will it be McNabb? Kolb? Vick? Kolb and Vick?
You can find the latest gossip about this dilemma at Philly.com and Scheuing also noted that there is a good blog called the 700 level that he looks at for Eagles’ latest and breaking news.
As the Penn Manor Comets ice hockey team skate into their second half of their season at a 3-8 record, there are some hopes for this team to improve their record overall.
The Comets faced some “problems early in the season but worked out the kinks,” said team captain Garth Bolin. “We are a solid team.
“We are better than our record shows,” said Bolin when referring to their game on January 13 against West York, the number one-team in the division.
Penn Manor came out strong and stunned the West York Bulldogs with an early goal by Jason Green.
“He may be small but he is a very talented player,” said one of the comets leading defenders, junior Cree Bleacher.
The Bulldogs answered with two goals to end the first period at 2-1 West York.
The Comets answered back with two goals to start out the period. The Bulldogs found it in them to pull out one more goal to tie up the score and make it a 3-3 game at the end of the second period.
The third period was a rough one for the Comets. They were scored on twice. And just when it seemed to be hopeless, the Comets scored with a 1:06 left in the game.
But the Comets seemed to have no more in them and the Bull Dogs took the hard-fought game 5-4.
The Comets two-game losing streak snapped was snapped Friday night when Penn Manor hosted the Cedar Crest Falcons in a section one throw down.
The Comets had to get back on track with a victory after two disappointing losses and accomplished
this goal with a steady lead throughout the entire game.
Penn Manor went to the lead early and controlled the scoreboard the whole game.
Junior Brian Ramsey stepped up for the second night in a row for the
Comets and helped Manor penetrate the Falcon’s defense. Ramsey is developing his role on this Penn Manor squad which has seen the loss of some key players from injury throughout the season.
At times the Falcons threatened Penn Manor’s lead but never taking over the scoreboard.
Penn Manor won the game 68-42 and will try to keep the remaining games in the win column for the rest of the season.
Philadelphia was a complete bust, with a capital B.
The Eagles got embarrassed for the second time in a row by the Cowboys in their wild card showdown, and their schedule possibly shows why.
All of their 11 wins came against teams that didn’t make the playoffs. Weak teams; the Chiefs, 49ers, Redskins, Buccaneers, and the Bears. Sure, they beat the Giants and Broncos, who could be classified as good teams, but none of the elite teams in the league.
The team that did beat Philly, however, is on a hot streak. How ‘bout them Cowboys!
“(The Cowboys) have a chance to win because their defense is strong and their offense is doing a great job,” said Bahir Wahidullah.
Dallas wrecked the Eagles in Wild Card weekend and now look like the team to beat from the NFC. Tony Romo is having a record year and hasn’t had his yearly struggles in December. Wahidullah thinks that the team goes as Romo goes.
Their offense and the leadership of Romo isn’t the only reason why the ‘Boys are in this optimistic position, their defense is also a big reason for their success.
Dallas’s star outside line backer Demarcus Ware led the Cowboys in sacks during the regular season with a not too shabby 11 and continued his defensive dominance with 2 more in the postseason. Line backer Anthony Spencer joined in on the action with a sack of his own, and has come out of that early season daze that he began the year with.
Wahidullah is confident that his team will make the big game, but isn’t too sure about the outcome.
“I don’t think they can actually win the Super Bowl, cuz that’s a tough game.”
Although he is still hopeful the Cowboys will be World Champs, he fears that teams from the AFC, such as the Chargers, will be too much to handle.
San Diego is on a roll – they’ve just one eleven in a row… no big deal. As they go up against the New York Jets, they will have a tough road to the big game where they just might meet the Cowboys
The Comets found themselves in a unexpected situation Wednesday.
Penn Manor visited Warwick High School with eyes on their section opponent to improve their section play record to 3-1.
However, things did not turn out as easy as they expected.
The game was looking like a easy win for Manor as every shot seemed to land in the first quarter for the Comets.
Comets defense couldn't stop warwick's three-pointers. Photo by Connor Rowe
The starters were taken out of the game with a ten-point lead early in the second quarter.
Warwick took advantage of this and the spark was lit.
Penn Manor maintained the lead entering the half, but it became obvious Warwick was gaining control of this game.
The half ended at 28-23 still favoring the Comets.
As the second half started, things began to get sloppy for the Comets with bad passes and fundamental mistakes.
Junior, Brian Ramsey stepped in for the Comets donating eight points and playing with tremendous heart.
His courage gave a slight spark to the Comets, but Warwick wasn’t going away.
Head coach Charlie Detz trying to excite the manor basketball team. Photo by Connor Rowe
Warwick kept hitting deep threes to cancel the Comet’s efforts and Penn Manor was trading two points for every three points for the Warriors.
When the fourth quarter finally hit, Warwick continued their three-point attack and were able to reverse the scoreboard.
Once in the lead, Warwick began to run away with the game.
The final score: 63-52, Warriors over Comets.
The Comets will host Cedar Crest on Friday night and will hopefully improve their section record along with their performance.
Two undefeated teams in Lancaster-Lebanon League play finally met Monday night in the Penn Manor gymnasium and the Comets’ two-game winning streak was snapped.
Although any sporting event between Hempfield and Penn Manor is considered to be a supreme rivalry, this game consisted of more than a rivalry as both teams carried a chip on their shoulders.
Both teams wanted to keep their perfect LL record.
The Penn Manor fans were ready or even maybe more ready than the Comet players as they started out the game on a 13-4 streak.
But the Comets couldnt seem to put their game together as they trailed in the game from the tip-off.
The anxious Penn Manor fans hoped for a different first quarter than the 17-6 deficit they faced against the strong Black Knights.
The game continued to stay in Hempfield’s hands throughout the game, but the Comet’s never once gave up as they kept trading baskets along with chants from student sections.
The game ended with a score of 54-49.
This isn’t the last time Penn Manor will go up against Hempfield. They will have another opportunity to avenge their loss to the Black Knights.
In just his third season as Alabama Crimson Tide head coach, Nick Saban had his team in the center of the Rose Bowl stadium, accepting the 2009-2010 National College Football BCS Championship trophy.
Though the enjoyment of Alabama was most likely due to the injury of Texas Quarterback, Colt McCoy. McCoy was knocked out of the game about midway through the first quarter by a hit on the shoulder by Alabama defensive player Marcell Dareus.
Many are certain that if McCoy had not been injured, that the Longhorns would find themselves in the center of the field wearing the ever-cheesy smile they are known for. Texas was leading 3-0 and in the red zone ready to score once again.
Nick Saban opened up the first drive of the game by having his team fake a punt on fourth-down and throw the ball, which was intercepted by the Longhorn defense. The following drive, Alabama allowed the kickoff to be recovered by Texas, without even touching the ball.
The Tide benefited by a 49-yard run by halfback Trent Richardson and an interception thrown by Texas’s freshman back-up quarterback Garrett Gilbert. Without those two big plays, the halftime score would have been 10-6 Alabama.
Texas opened up the second half with two touchdowns and a two-point conversion. The score was 24-21 Alabama with just six minutes left. Alabama responded with a touchdown making the score 31-21 and scored yet again after a fumble by Gilbert late in the fourth quarter.
Had McCoy played in the entire game, the outcome may have been different. Alabama may have actually had to show up and play.
Texas suffered from less than half the rushing compared to Alabama, twice the penalties and five turnovers, though the Longhorns had 195 passing yards compared to the 58 by Alabama.
Alabama will try and prove themselves ready for anyone next season. ESPN analysts already predicted the Tide to be number one next season. For all you Penn State fans, the Nittany Lions will travel to Tuscaloosa on September 11, for the second game of the season.
