Photo by Curt Werner

The referee raises Northern High School’s Kyle Swartz’s arm in victory at the PIAAWrestling Championships in the 195-pound weight class, defeating Cedar Cliff's DonovonBall 7 to 5 at the Giant Center, Hershey, March 9.

Good As Gold: Swartz claims 195-pound crown

Andy Sandrik

There were a handful of reasons to doubt Kyle Swartz at the PIAA Class AAA Wrestling Championships.

It was the first time at states for the Northern junior: Even the strongest and most experienced wrestlers, much less the newcomers, can wilt under the brightlights inside the Giant Center. If the nerves couldn't finish the job, surely the competition could, as the loaded 195-pound bracket featured not one, but two nationally-ranked wrestlers. And finally, there was a very motivated man, one set to join the Penn State roster next year, who wanted nothing more than to beat his Polar Bear rival on the state's biggest stage.

As it turns out, none ofthese factors mattered.Swartz was as good as gold.The Northern star capturedthe program's firstPIAA crown in 16 years bywinning four bouts, includinga thrilling 7-5 decisionover Cedar Cliff's DonovonBall in the finals. Swartz,who was 40-1 with 15 fallsthis season, is the fourthstate champion in wrestlingfor the Polar Bears. Hejoins Keith Rosenberger(1974), Denny Jacobs(1976) and Tyler Rees(2003).

After Swartz completedhis victory over Ball with adecisive reversal at the finalbuzzer, the normallyreservedPolar Bear gave arare show of emotion, rippingoff his ankle bands andtossing them into the air.

Record breaking year draws to close for Polar Bears

Joe Guty

Northern’s historic basketball season finally came to a close this past Tuesday.Battling to the end, as always, the Polar Bears met their match with Sun Valley H.S. In a second-round game of the PIAA Class 5A State Basketball Tournament (hosted by Garden Spot H.S.), the Polar Bears lost to the District 1 champion Vanguards who held off Northern 61-53.

Ryan McGill paced the Polar Bears with 19 points and Eddie Ensor added 10. Also scoring for Northern: Dan Leitholf (8), Nate McGill (5), Cam Kearns (5), Chris Barrett (4), Jordan Heisey (1) and Michael Ginder (1). Sun Valley pulled away in the fourth quarter, due in part, by several of Vinny DeAngelo’s game-high 26 points. Teammates Don Valente added 13 points and Marvin Freeman scored 10.

After a 16-14 first quarter lead, the Vanguards found that Northern refused to roll over as the Polar Bears grabbed rebounds and converted on three-point shots by Dan Leitholf and Cam Kearns. Then Chris Barrett provided further defensive spark with a steal and score. At the end of the first half, Ryan McGill hit a long three pointer at the buzzer – not far from half court –for a 31-30 Northern lead. That momentum continued early in the third quarter with the Polar Bears jumping out to a 36-30 lead at 4:30. With under a minute left, Northern clung to a 41-37 lead before the Vanguards rallied to take over, 42-41.“We got into foul trouble and they (Sun Valley) were going to the line late in the third and early in the fourth quarter making free throws” said head coach Kyle McGill. “That’s tough on us, we had changed our rotation a little bit, and we had some really good looks coming down the stretch when we needed them. We got a couple of steals, but the ball just didn’t fall in.”