Solanco's JV boys basketball team split a pair of games at the Octorara JV Shootout Thursday.
    The Mules downed the hosts 31-20 in the second game of the afternoon.

    The inexperienced Solanco JV girls basketball team lost three straight games after opening with a victory.
    McCaskey dealt the Mules a 38-20 setback last Wednesday.
    Jen Eberly led Solanco with six points. Paige Borcky added five points and played her best game of the year so far, coach Mike Glackin said.
    "Inexperience isn't something we can correct in one game," Glackin said.
    "We're young and we just have to keep coming to work every day, try to be better. The girls have great attitudes and are already showing improvement."
    Solanco fell 57-23 to Cedar Crest Monday, December 16.
    Cedar Crest outscored the Mules 24-4 in the first quarter.
    Nikki Boultinghouse led Solanco with 15 points.
    "We struggled to take care of the ball which led to easy baskets for them," Glackin said. "Jen Eberly is our best defender right now. She's doing a great job of understanding help position and reacting to the ball. Lots of room for improvement as a team. We just need to get stronger with the ball and be able to make decisions under pressure."
    The Mules split their first two games of the season the week before.
    Hempfield handed Solanco a 59-16 defeat December 13.
    Eberly had eight points and Taylor Stitz scored four.
    "We were down to seven players because of injuries and struggled with their ball pressure. Right now we have six freshmen and were just trying to make the adjustment to the speed of the game at this level."
    Solanco started the season with a 25-21 triumph over Garden Spot December 11.
    Boultinghouse had a team-high six points.
    "Megan Perry did a great job at point guard distributing the ball and running the offense," said Glackin. "It was good to get a win in the first game of the year with five freshmen starting."
   

    The Solanco wrestling team captured the team title at the Penn Manor tournament Saturday.
    Thomas Haines (285) won an individual title to top the list of 10 Mule placewinners.
    Solanco (199) defeated second place Liberty by 9.5 points in the 25-team tournament. Garden Spot (169.5) was third.
    "I was super shocked at our overall team performance," Solanco coach John Little said. "We had 10 wrestlers place. I could not have been more pleased with the aggressive style of wrestling we saw from our wrestlers in this tournament."
    Haines won his first two matches by fall and got a forfeit in the finals.
    The Mules had three other finalists – Connor Sheehan (113), Alec Proffitt (120), and Bo Spiller (220).
    Sheehan lost a 3-2 decision to KJ Fenstemacher of Liberty in the title bout. Proffitt dropped a 12-5 decision to Ty Reynolds of Washington.
    Spiller was nipped 3-2 by Thomas Ott of Cape Henlopen (Del.). Solanco's Shane DeVoe was fourth at 195 pounds. Wyatt Jennings (132) and Dalton Groff (152) each finished fourth. Taylor Morrison (120), Kody Hart (145), and Karson Beane (160) each had a seventh place finish.

    The Solanco boys basketball team split a pair of games last week.
    The Mules lost 61-45 to Hempfield in a crossover game Friday night.
    Damon Kreider paced Solanco with 13 points, eight rebounds, and two steals. Desmond Kreider collected eight points and two assists.
    Shane Belczyk provided eight points. Zack Leonard added four points, four rebounds, and three assists. Evan Mankin had four points and two rebounds. Curtis Herr recorded two points and three rebounds. Joe Pfender supplied two points, a rebound, and a steal. Dylan Hastings chipped in two points and a rebound and Ethan McCardell managed two points and two boards.
    Solanco posted a 57-45 triumph over Donegal last Wednesday.
    Leonard led the way with 17 points, eight rebounds, and two assists.
    Belczyk recorded 12 points and four steals. Damon Kreider had 10 points, six assists, four rebounds, and four steals. McCardell added eight points and eight rebounds. Desmond Kreider notched seven points and two steals. Pfender supplied three points and three rebounds.
    The Mules host McCaskey Wednesday night and Ephrata Friday.

    Four was the magic number at the Mule Classic wrestling tournament.
    Solanco's Thomas Haines became the first four-time champion and the host Mules captured four individual titles.
    John Carroll (Md.) also had four champions and edged Solanco to take the team title.
    Haines pinned Trista Coello of Blue Mountain in the finals.
    Connor Sheehan (113), Wyatt Jennings (132), and Bo Spiller (220) also won a title for the Mules.
    Sheehan decisioned John Carroll's C.J. Skokowski in the championship bout. Jennings prevailed by injury default in the finals. Spiller pinned Mark Remmey of Central Bucks East.
    Solanco's Kody Hart was the runnerup at 145 pounds. Alec Proffitt (126) was third. Shane Devoe (195) had a fifth place finish. John Carroll (207.5) downed the Mules (193) in the 15-team tournament.

    The Solanco girls basketball team finished third at the Twin Valley Tip-Off Tournament.
    The Mules defeated Lancaster Mennonite 47-39 in overtime Saturday.
    "It was a close game throughout and we took control in overtime," Solanco coach Janelle Garber. "Solanco executed and picked up the defense at the end of the game."
    Jocelyn Mendez paced the Mules with 16 points. Kerri Mauger added 12 and Megan Yannutz chipped in 10.
    The Mules fell 58-42 to Owen J. Roberts in the first round Friday.
    Mendez had a team-high 16 points. Rachel Trout added eight and Emily Parmer provided six.
    "It was a tough game but we saw a lot of good things from Solanco," Garber said. "Owen J. Roberts is a very good team."

    The Solanco boys basketball team battled back to defeat Avon Grove 56-53 Saturday to finish third in the Oxford Tip-Off Tournament.
    The Mules trailed 40-29 before ending the third quarter on an 11-0 run.
    Solanco led by one with a minute left before Avon Grove drained a three-pointer. Shane Belczyk then hit a clutch three-pointer to put the Mules back up by a point with 20 seconds left. Avon Grove missed a shot in the final seconds and Solanco's Zack Leonard grabbed the rebound, was fouled, and made both free throws with 1.1 seconds left to ice the victory.

    New players. New coach. Same expectations.
    The Solanco girls basketball team fully expects to contend for the Section Two title despite some major changes.
    "We don't have many players with a lot of varsity experience," first-year coach Janelle Garber said. "With a lot of young girls and a new coach we're still getting used to each other. It's taking some time to get adjusted but it's going well. The biggest thing is to keep working hard every day."
    Center Gillian Glackin, the last of the core players who led the Mules to the state tournament, graduated last spring.

    The Solanco wrestling team is looking to extend an impressive streak while Thomas Haines is trying to make history.
    While the Mules are vying for a fifth straight Section One title, Haines will be attempting to capture a fourth state title.
    Last year, Haines (career record of 132-5) became the 40th Pennsylvania wrestler to win three state titles. Only 10 have claimed four with Haines and Kennard-Dale's Chance Marsteller having the chance to join that exclusive club this season.

    Coach Bill Moore says the success of the Solanco boys basketball team will be determined by how unselfishly the squad plays.
    He has every reason to believe his veteran-laden team will play solid, team-first basketball.
    Senior point guard Damon Kreider will bear a good deal of the responsibility of spreading the ball around. "As long as he plays within the team he'll be okay," Moore said.
    Senior Zach Leonard is another returning starter.
Senior guard Evan Mankin returns after missing last season because of injury.
    Senior Colin Buffington is the team's most experienced post player.
Juniors Joe Pfender and Shane Belczyk have varsity experience and are being counted on to contribute.
    Juniors Kenny Walton, Ethan McCardell, Curtis Herr, and Matt Gote are competing for court time.