Rams mat kings again

The CD Rams continued their dominance of the Pennsylvania high school wrestling scene by snagging their third straight team title at the state championships that concluded Saturday evening at the Giant Center. Top finishers for the Rams were gold medalists Marshall Peppelman and Tony Dallago, and Kenny Courts with a silver medal.

Wrestling guru Rod Frisco was on the scene to capture highs and lows of the tournament for The Patriot-News.

CD grapplers are "Ram tough"

WGAL TV-8 has details on Central Dauphin High's record-breaking performance at the district wrestling championships held Friday and Saturday at the old barn, Hersheypark Arena.

Linglestown hump day update

Today’s top story … CD defeated Wilson 1-0 in Tuesday night’s semifinal of the PIAA District 3 girls’ soccer playoffs at Hersheypark Stadium. Allison Snyder (pictured), who has an amazingly strong right foot, scored the winning goal off a restart from 25 yards out. CLICK HERE for a game report by Michael Bullock of The Patriot-News.

The win earns the Lady Rams a trip to the District 3 title game against the always tough Lower Dauphin Falcons this Friday, 7:30 pm at Hersheypark Stadium. Go Rams!

CD athlete honored … CD wrestling star Walter Peppelman was selected as the 2008 male Travers Award winner at the 27th annual M&T Bank John Travers luncheon Tuesday at the Hilton Harrisburg. This prestigious award is given in honor of John Travers, the late Patriot-News executive sports editor who championed the efforts of high school-student athletes. CLICK HERE for more from The Patriot-News.

More CD need-to-know news … The CD school board Monday evening OK’d a tentative no-tax-increase budget and a new five-year contract with the teachers union. Get more details courtesy of T.W. Burger of The Patriot-News by CLICKING HERE.

Juveniles arrested for abducting girl … Lower Paxton Township police responded Monday afternoon to 5400 block of Pond Road to investigate a report of a van pulling up to a female walking along the roadway. A caller told police that two white males grabbed the female and pulled her into the van that had a third white male behind the wheel. The caller provided dispatchers with a description of the vehicle and direction of travel.

Uniformed police officers and detectives responded to the area and located the vehicle in the Four Seasons development. The juveniles told officers at the scene that they knew the girl and wanted to talk to her.

Officers informed the juveniles that a series of attempted abductions had recently occurred in the area, causing police and the caller to view the incident as a possible dangerous situation. The three juvenile males were charged with disorderly conduct, which is a summary offense that carries a maximum fine of up to $300 plus costs.

Monday’s big event … The annual Linglestown Memorial Day Parade will be held Monday, May 26 starting at 1 pm. In my opinion, one of the best spots to hang out is along Balthaser Street at Koons Park.

The parade usually forms at the American Legion and travels down Blue Eagle Avenue to Balthaser Street, goes past Koons Park on Balthaser Street, turns left onto Linglestown Road to the square, and ends at Koons Park.

This is a great smalltown U.S.A. way to honor those who sacrificed their lives defending our country.
__________
Photo credit: John Gayman

CD advances in soccer tourney

Updated Sunday, May 18 at 9 am

By Bill Bostic

MANCHESTER, York County – CD girls' soccer team socked Penn Manor 4-0 Saturday evening in a PIAA District 3 AAA quarterfinal game in at Northeastern H.S.

The Rams got off to a quick start with Jocelyn Weidner (pictured) netting the first of her three goals before 10 minutes of play had elapsed. She scored again 27 minutes into the first 40-minute half from the left side of the penalty box off a nifty feed from Kate Yurkovic.

In the second half at the 11-minute mark, Rams sophomore midfielder Sarah Dowhower floated a shot over the Comets' goalkeeper from just outside the penalty box on the left flank. Eight minutes later Weidner achieved a hat-trick from point-blank range when the ball landed on her foot after pinballing around the box following a corner kick by Allison Snyder.

CD's defenders and midfielders did a great job of bottling up the Comets in their half of the field, allowing Rams goalkeeper Amy Gouldner to get a shutout win without being serverely tested.

CLICK HERE for in-depth game coverage by Michael Bullock of The Patriot-News that includes a play-by-play description of Weidner’s first tally. (I was trying to find the stadium at the time of the goal.)

Next up for the second-seeded Rams is a semifinal match-up Tuesday, 5:30 pm against sixth-seeded Wilson at Hersheypark Stadium.

Other sports … Gazette congrats go out to CD senior Anna Muzio and junior Jason Shirk for winning gold Saturday at the District 3 Track and Field Championships contested at Shippensburg University. Muzio was best in the shot put competition (40-71/2), and Shirk was tops in the javelin for the second straight year, throwing 196-7 on his last attempt. … CD seniors Jocelyn Weidner (field hockey, soccer) and Walter Peppelman Jr. (wrestling) are in the running for the prestigious M&T Bank John Travers Awards. ... CD boys volleyballers begin District 3 tournament play Monday, 6 pm at Central York H.S. against Warwick out of Lancaster County.
____________
Photo credit: John Gayman

Terrific Tuesday in Linglestown

Government watchdog … The Lower Paxton Township supervisors will hold a workshop session tonight at 6 pm, Township Municipal Center, 425 Prince Street.

The agenda includes a status report on Koons Park Pool. Late last year the township cut its annual $10,000 grant for the pool in a fiscal austerity move that touched off speculation the pool may not open this summer.

Also on the agenda is McNaughton Homes to discuss its plan for the massive Autumn Oaks housing community and needed improvements to Patton Road to accommodate the development.

CD news … High school students are moaning about the salt supply being pinched in the cafeteria; School board faces challenges trying to live up to its no-new-tax vow.

CD sports … CLICK HERE for a preview of tonight’s state girls’ basketball tournament semifinal tilt between CD and Allentown Allen (scroll down to “Third Time a Charm for CD girls."); Senior CD wrestling coach Jeff Sweigard and senior wrestler Walter Peppelman receive accolades, and Peppelman will compete in big-time tournament Saturday in Pittsburgh.
______________

Watch for information on Linglestown Gazette's food drive that will take place at Amelia's Grocery Outlet along Mountain Road.

CD Rams capture wrestling gold

The front-page of the sports section in today’s Sunday Patriot-News screams out in big, bold print “GOLDEN RAM.” The headline is positioned over a photo of CD sophomore Marshall Peppelman (pictured) who won the state wrestling title at 140 pounds Saturday night before a packed house at the Giant Center in Hershey.

Meanwhile, CD senior Walter Peppelman, Marshall’s older brother and a defending state champ, lost his title match at 145 pounds to Cumberland Valley’s Joey Napoli by a heartbreaking score of 7-6.

In the team competition, CD came out on top for the second year in a row.

“We had seven qualifiers [for the state tournament], six medalists, two kids who got their first medals, another state champion and another team title,” CD coach Jeff Sweigard told Patriot-News wrestling reporter Rod Frisco. “I’d say we’ve earned some respect.”

CLICK HERE to read Frisco’s report.

In other CD sports news, the girls’ basketball team is gearing up for Tuesday night’s semifinal game against Allentown Allen. The time and site of the game still has not been announced.
___________

Photo credit: Patriot-News photgrapher John C. Whitehead

Ram-ettes qualify for state b-ball final four

CD Rams girls' basketball team defeated Scranton 51-40 Friday night in Pottsville to move into the PIAA AAAA state basketball tournament's final four. They will play William Allen from Allentown on Tuesday, location and time to be determined.

The game report by Andrew P. Shay of The Patriot-News has an interesting description of play during the first half of last night's game: "... this PIAA Class AAAA girls' basketball quarterfinal at Martz Hall was slobbering bulldog-ugly for a half."

In other CD sports action, four Rams wrestlers – Simon Rice, Marshall Peppelman, Walter Peppelman (2007 state champion), and Tony Dallago – are still in the running at the PIAA state tournament being contested at Giant Center in nearby Hershey. Here's today's schedule: semifinals at 8 am; finals at 8 pm.

I'll update the Twitter box in the right-hand sidebar this afternoon with names of CD wrestlers who qualify for tonight's championship round.

Linglestown weekender

* Champion Ship, an all-ages music venue is Lemoyne, attracts teens from across the midstate region, including some from Linglestown.

* New Hope Church launches a community outreach program that aims to help people living in the Linglestown area deal with life's challenges. CLICK HERE to view the church’s Web site.

CD sports …

* The Sunday Patriot-New did a front-page feature article on the CD Rams wrestling team. CLICK HERE for a slide show about the team's recent victory in the state team championship.

* CD boys’ basketball coach resigns.

* On the frozen pond, Lower Dauphin bumps CD Rams ice hockey team from playoffs.

Rams grapplers win District 3 title

The Central Dauphin Rams wrestling team won its second straight Distict 3 team title Saturday at Hersheypark Arena. The team's lone gold medal winner was junior Simon Rice in the 112-pound weight class. CLICK HERE to read a report by Patriot-News wrestling guru Rod Frisco.

CD wrestling update

On the mats Friday at Hersheypark Area, seven Central Dauphin grapplers advanced to the PIAA District 3 Class AAA semifinals that will be contested today at 1 pm. The championship round is scheduled today at 6:30 pm.

Those advancing were (weight class shown in parentheses): Clayton Youtz (103), Simon Rice (112), Patrick Wieger (119), Kenny Stank (130), Marshall Peppelman (140), Walter Peppelman (145), Tony Dallago (152).

CD is rated by those in the know as one of the top teams in the state.

TGIF Linglestown

* I posted a remixed video of highlights of the photography show staged last month by Central Dauphin students. CLICK HERE to view it.

* Gazette congratulations go out to the Central Dauphin girls’ basketball team for winning their first round District 3 playoff game last night, and to Central Dauphin wrestler Walter Peppelman for being named the WGAL TV-8 athlete of the week for his outstanding performance at last weekend's state team championship.

Monday menagerie

CD sports 'Ram tough' … CD Rams wrestling makes history with five picks on The Patriot-News Big 14, and eight was great for CD grapplers Saturday at the New Oxford Invitational Wrestling Tournament.

CD Rams girls b-ballers well-balanced attack was unkind Saturday to Altoona. The Lady Rams are one win away from wrapping up a division title.

CD schools due refund from tax bureau ... Central Dauphin and eight other school districts will receive payments for overcharges and interest totaling $241,435 from the Capital Tax Collection Bureau on Friday. CLICK HERE for details from today’s The Patriot-News.

Crime watch ... Police are seeking tips on a fast-working crook that ripped off a Christian bookstore, other businesses.

Lower Paxton Township Police Department asks for help in tracking down two persons who were going door-to-door offering carpet cleaning services. If you have info, call the police at 657-5656 or the department's anonymous tip line at 635-2606

Day tripin’ to DC ... I spent Saturday in the nation’s capital taking in a photo exhibit – my teenage daughter is an aspiring photographer. Travel into the big city was made easy by taking a Metro train from Shady Grove, Md., which is about a two-hour drive from Linglestown. CLICK HERE for map to the transit station.

Monday, Monday

Name that tune ...

What musical group is famous for doing the song named in the headline of this post? Post a comment if you think you know the title – no Googling allowed.

O Christmas tree …

Tree lighting took place at the village square last night followed by refreshments at Murphy’s Automotive. Check back for video.

C.D sports update …

Girls basketball team finished second at the C.D. Tip-Off Tournament. Downingtown East bettered the Rams in the final by a 46-31 count, reports The Patriot-News. C.D. was the state’s third-ranked Class AAAA team coming into the tourney, according to the Centre Daily Times out of State College, Pa.

Boys basketball team was crowned champions in the York Suburban Tip-Off Tournament. Desi Washington scored 10 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter as the Rams pulled away for a 77-66 win over the host Trojans in the final, The Patriot-News reports.

C.D. grapplers won Saturday night’s Top Hat Wrestling Tournament at Williamsport High School, ending Cumberland Valley’s two-year reign at the prestigious event, according to The Patriot-News. The Rams are considered by those in the know to be one of the top-rated wrestling teams in the state.

Lower Paxton Township meeting …

Lower Paxton Township supervisors are scheduled to meet Tuesday night at 7:30 pm, Township Municipal Center, 425 Prince Street. Comcast cable subscribers can view a live broadcast of the meeting on channel 20.

There’s no link available to the meeting agenda because the township’s Webmaster is under the weather.