Catasauqua Press

Catasauqua girls’ basketball Mark Seremula has likened his team to the adage, “one step forward, two steps back.”

But Seremula lately has seen his young team take more steps forward. In fact, the Rough Riders (4-14) have one more victory than last year’s total and believe they can double last year’s mark in the final stretch that includes Northern Lehigh, Notre Dame Green Pond, Notre Dame East Stroudsburg, and Northwestern.

“We’re getting better,” offered Seremula. “We have a few games left, and we have a legitimate chance to double our win total from last year.

Catasauqua wrestlers are hoping they can use last week’s Coal Cracker Tournament as a springboard to what they hope will be long runs in the upcoming wrestling playoffs - which includes the team districts duals this weekend, and then eventually individual districts, regionals and states.

The Roughs had four wrestlers place last weekend: Austin Brett (3rd, 120), Jaryn Hartranft (4th, 106), Jacob Nye (7th, 106) and Gavin Fehr (7th, 120).

All four wrestlers agreed that last weekend’s tournament has turned into one of the tougher ones in the area but that is a good thing.

The East Penn Conference wrestling championship is slated to take place on Saturday at Easton Area Middle School.

The official pairings for the Saturday full slate of competition between each team in the conference won’t be decided until Thursday, but one matchup that appears to be a near certainty before pairings are released is the 7 p.m. championship bout between Bethlehem Catholic (8-0, 7-0) and Nazareth (11-1, 6-0).

Adam Reinhart and Austin Brett both believe they are battle-tested for upcoming leagues and districts ahead.

They both have endured their share of obstacles along the way and have won most of their challenges much like their team.

Reinhart (195 pounds) and Brett (120 pounds) both had successful days in the always competitive Berwick Duals Jan. 18. Reinhart went 5-0 with a pair of pins, two forfeits and a decision over the five dual meets, while Brett went 4-1 with a pair of falls and forfeits.

If cabin fever is beginning to set it, you can enjoy and sample a taste of the great outdoors by attending Blue Mountain Resort’s 11th annual Winter Fest on Jan. 25-26.

Even if you’re not a skier or snowboarder, the event will cater to all, including youngsters.

The two-day event will take place at the Summit Lodge at the top of Pennsylvania’s highest vertical on School Hill on Saturday, Jan. 25 from 11 a.m.-6 p.m. and Sunday, Jan. 26 from 10 a.m.-2 p.m.

Northern Lehigh’s late surge fell short as Catasauqua pulled out a 39-27 Colonial League win in wrestling last Friday. It followed a tough, 40-39 road loss at Palisades last Wednesday for the Rough Riders.

Now, the showdown comes Wednesday night after Press deadlines as the Roughies host Northwestern in what will be for the West Division title and a trip to the Colonial League Wrestling Tournament which is scheduled for Monday, Jan. 27, and will feature the semifinals and finals in the same night. The tourney takes place at Catty.

DARTS, TRAPSHOOTING

Suburban Dart League

Standings

Star of Bethlehem 34 17 .657

Dryland 31 17 .646

Light of Christ 29 22 .569

Salem UCC 27 24 .529

Bath Luth 25 23 .521

Emmanuel 23 22 .511

Christ UCC 22 26 .458

St. Stephen’s 23 28 .451

Farmersville 21 30 .412

St. Paul’s 20 31 .392

Ebenezer 15 30 .333

Light of Christ at

St. Stephen’s 1-3, 7-4, 6-4 (11)

LC - Buzz Highdecker 7-15, Dan Halteman 6-14, Rich Hasonich 5-14, Andy Mickelson 4-12 HR, Aaron Yetter 4-13, Todd Jones 4-15

Derek Troxell knew it was his time.

The Catasauqua junior was one of two returning starters to the team this winter, and Troxell saw himself in a leadership role for the team.

So far, the tri-captain with experience since his freshman year has played his part.

“Derek has done a nice job for us and he has been a leader out there,” said Rough Riders’ head basketball coach Eric Snyder. “He has been our leading scorer and has taken control of the offense. He is the guy who will take the big shot.

“But Derek does all the little things and is a student of the game.”

The NHL trading deadline is just over a month away on Feb. 24. This year’s deadline finds the Flyers in somewhat of a precarious position; they definitely need some help for their lineup, but they’re also up against the salary cap so they don’t have much wiggle room financially. Injuries – especially ones to Oskar Lindblom (bone cancer) and Nolan Patrick (chronic migraines) - have left a couple of holes in the lineup.

The Catty wrestling team continues to put up victories, their most recent prior to Press deadline was a 42-28 win over Palmerton last week to improve them to 4-1 as they sit atop the West Division.

Against the Bombers, the match started at 106, as Jacob Nye dropped a 10-8 decision.

Catty got on the board at 113 and 120 with Jaryn Hartranft and Gavin Fehr forfeit wins to make it 12-3.

At 126, Austin Brett pinned his opponent in 3:06 to give Catty an 18-3 lead. Cole Brown would be on the losing end of a 15-5 score which cut into the Roughs lead to make it 18-7.