Senior day and night celebrations, home finales and a huge soccer win highlighted the week that was in Central Mountain sports.

The cross-country teams were busy last week as they hosted their final regular season meet on Tuesday before participating in the PHAC Championship Tournament on Saturday at Shikellamy. On Tuesday, it was senior day, and the teams welcomed Jersey Shore, Williamsport, Shik, Selinsgrove and South Williamsport to the LHU course at the West Branch Soccer Fields. Seniors were recognized prior to the event. The boys finished the day 3 and 2 defeating Jersey Shore, Selinsgrove and South Williamsport while falling to Williamsport and Shik. Damien Winner led the way for the Wildcats with a 7th place overall finish. Next top finishers for the Cats were Shane Walker, Xian Deems, Latrell Walker, and Che McAlister. Deems and McAlister set new PRs in the meet.

For the girls, it was a two-win, three-loss afternoon as they defeated Jersey Shore and South Williamsport but fell to the other three teams. Top finisher for the Wildcats was Aubrey Eiler, who finished 11th overall. Other top finishers for CM were Emma Wolfe, Kaylie McCloskey, Abigail Winslow and Calienna Cardinal. McCloskey and Winslow set new PRs.

On Saturday, the boys finished ninth overall, with Winner once again leading the Wildcat runners as he crossed the line in 23rd place while other top CM finishers included Shane Walker in 45th place and Shayden Hill coming in 57th. For the ladies, it was an eighth-place finish as Eiler finished in 34th place. She was followed by Lady Cats, Emma Wolfe in 39th place, Kaylie McCloskey in 41st and Abigail Winslow in 43rd place.

In girls soccer, it was another tough week on the scoreboard for the Lady Cats despite the very young squad showing some signs of growth at times against solid PHAC competition. Scoring has been a challenge all season and it was the case again as the CM ladies were blanked in both games last week. They were defeated by Shamokin, 2-0, and Selinsgrove by a 7-0 score.

The boys soccer team played two competitive contests, resulting in one win and a tie. At Jersey Shore on Monday, the Wildcats battled their rivals to a 1-1 tie. CM’s goal was scored by Dylan Bechdel. On Wednesday, the Wildcats held a senior night celebration prior to their contest against state ranked PHAC opponent Midd-West.

CM battled the tough Mustangs throughout the contest and were able to come away with a huge 2 to 1 victory. The seniors played a huge role in the CM win as both goals and assists were credited to a senior. CM’s goals came from Tim Brinker and Kullen McDermit off assists by Dylan Bechdel and Cole Cooper respectively. It was surely a solid home career caper for those four seniors as well as their classmates.

For girls volleyball, it was another week of sweeping the competition off the court. Playing twice last week, the Lady Cats pushed their season match record to 13-0 as they picked up two more league wins by cruising to three-set victories over Selinsgrove and Danville. Prior to the Selinsgrove match on Monday, the Lady Cats recognized their five seniors who have helped to elevate the program to new heights.

On Friday night, it was the home finale for the football team as they hosted Mount Carmel. Prior to the contest the Wildcats celebrated the careers of 10 seniors as they held their senior night festivities. Once the game began, it was a whole lot of Mount Carmel flexing their collective muscles as they used the ground game to build a up a 35 to 0 half-time lead on the Cats. Playing under the mercy rule clock for the entirety of the second half, the Wildcats were able to get some offense going as the Red Tornadoes subbed their reserves freely.

In fact, the Wildcats were able to move the ball effectively enough to push across two rushing touchdowns one by Hayes Donley and the other by Dalton McDermott who eclipsed 100 yards rushing, to set the final score at 35-13. QB Kyle Everett had his best night of the season both in the air and on the ground as he showed some good speed on several long runs. He also was able to complete some nice passes to his receivers. His performance showed signs of progress for the sophomore signal caller.

The Cats have just two games remaining both on the road at Troy next week and Jersey Shore in two weeks as the Wildcats will look to avoid what could be a two-year winless streak.

Team of the Week: The volleyball team could earn the honor most weeks and last week was no exception as they were dominant. However, this week, the honor goes out to the boys soccer team, largely on the strength of their big Senior Night victory over Midd-West. Coach Billy Hook’s team is one that battles opponents on a nightly basis and proved on Wednesday night that they can beat good teams. A very positive sign as they head towards district playoffs.

Athlete of the Week: Playing quarterback is tough. Sophomore Kyle Everett has played the position this season for the Wildcats and despite the offense struggling for most of the season the young man has continued to develop as the Wildcat signal caller. On Friday night, he demonstrated growth, toughness and potential. What’s most impressive though is his leadership. Despite the scores and situations that he and his team have faced this year, his positive leadership and support of his teammates have been evident to this observer. Those things make him this week’s Athlete of the Week. A special shoutout goes as well to all the seniors recognized this past week.

Looking Ahead: Girls’ soccer has a road game at Montoursville on Thursday which sandwiches their final home game on Tuesday as they host Bloomsburg. Boys soccer will have their final tune-up for districts on Thursday as they travel to Altoona to take on the Mountain Lions. The boys of fall hit the gridiron at Troy on Friday night.