This site is about the sports doings -- mainly football -- of the high schools in Venango County, Pa. Contact:
Photos by Kelly Malek
By Joe Henderson
The Derrick/The News-Herald
Pride of Cranberry
Through the years with Dalton Wenner...
State wrestling champion Dalton Wenner has been no stranger to local newspaper readers over the last 10 years or so:
2017 -- Dane (gold) , Darien and Dalton (bronze) Wenner medaled in the World Bible Quiz in Indianapolis. Parents: mat coach Dustin and Merrisa; Bible coach Esther King.
2019 -- Modest fourth at his weight in 11-12 division at Pa. Junior Wrestling tourney at Pitt... He developed into a three-time regional and four-time district champion and four-time state place-winner in high school.
2021 -- 97-pound state title (junior high division), Keystone Games.
2025-26 -- 150-plus varsity mat victories celebrated by family and friends. Career total: 161-25.
And, don't forget: Dalton also stars as a distance runner for the Berries' cross country and track teams (shown here in 2022) and in golf. He's a KSAC all-star in all three. He's also been known to make the honor roll.
Colleges
Brosius takes red shirt
for UPJ wrestling
Freshman Elijah Brosius, listed at 141 pounds and a Cranberry wrestling product, was a redshirt for Pitt-Johnstown wrestling.
Brosius was a two-time state place-winner for the Berries.
He ran cross country and track for his Ala mater, Oil City. Brosius is a civil engineer major.
McFetridge at Mt. Union
Junior Brayden McFetridge (197), another Oil City grad who wrestled for Cranberry, is a junior at Mount Union.
He lost his first match in the NCAA Division III tourney, but in five discoverable duals had a 4-1 record. And one was a 5-3 decision over a W&J guy who was ranked No. 6 in the region.
Franklin graduates Easton Fulmer and Camdon Bashor finished their senior seasons of college basketball. St. Vincent (Bashor) was 21-7 and Chatham (Fulmer) was 18-8 but neither team made the NCAA Division III playoffs. Chatham played to a share of the PAC regular season title. Bashor received an honorable mention on the Presidents Athletic Conference all-stars. Photos from their school web sites. Final stats:
Brown solid
in backstroke
at Cleve State
Alaina Brown is a veteran backstroker for the Cleveland State swimming team.
The junior from Rocky Grove (swam in high school for Franklin) was sixth in the 200 back in the Horizon League meet. Her time (2:01.84) was fourth fastest in school history. She was also fifth in the 100 back (56.5).
Montgomery
Thrower for
Titan Track
Grove grad Rae Montgomery is listed as a junior thrower for the Westminster women's track team.
Caleb Prettyman has only been out of high school for two years, but he's already well traveled.
Prettyman, a Franklin grad, and a former state level distance runner for the Knights, was at Penn State last year.
This past fall he ran cross country for Kansas State, and made the All-Big 12 academic team. He also ran a 26:20.8 8k at the Pre-National Invite among other things.
Now he's at Youngstown State, where he hopes to have found a home. Stay tuned...
FRankliin's
Prettyman:
Glbetrotter,
now at YSU
Keep an EYE out this spring
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Franklin's Luke Guth (pictured), was touched up Saturday for three runs in two-thirds of an inning in a 16-9 loss to LSU. But before that he sported an 0.87 ERA over 10.1 for Vanderbilt.
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Another Franklin grad, Drew Kockler is playing second base for Bryant and Stratton College in Ohio. Kockler, who was sixth in the state in batting last year, is hitting .286 for the 5-9 Bobcats with a .479 OBA.
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And still another FHS grad, Trinity Edge, is pitching and playing CF for Bethany softball. She's 2-0 with a 1.00 ERA in 14 IP and batting .429. Edge was Newcomer of the Year for Waynesburg in 2024, and then took a year off.
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Soph Kristen Hicks, also from Franklin, is a lettering 3B-C for Westminster softball.
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Carson Wible (5-11, 210) is in his senior season at Gannon. The Franklin grad has a career average of .293 with 25 RBI. He's appeared in 44 games. Wible is highly decorated academically, including three-time PSAC Scholar Athlete. He was a Division II ADA Academic Achievement award winner in 2023 and 2024.
Mcmahon freshman
pitcher at Behrend
Also contributing to PSU-Behrend athletics is Will McMahon, freshman right-hander from Oil City.
The 6-3, 195-pounder has seen action in three games, giving up four earned in eight innings. He's fanned 12.
Motter on Track, Golf rosters at Behrend
Still another Oil City grad, sophomore Charlie Motter, is on two Behrend rosters -- track and golf. Motter placed in the SUNYAC meet last year with a 153-8. His personal best is 170-10, good for 15th in the outdoor regional last spring.
Football
Franklin finds
its man
Austin Ion was introduced as the new Franklin football coach at a school board work session on Jan. 19. He officially became Franklin's 26th paid coach at the board's Jan. 26 meeting.
Ion succeeds Matt Turk, a former Knight all-star, who resigned after six years at the helm.
Ion is a 2017 Keystone High School graduate who played football, basketball and baseball for the Panthers.
He played wide receiver at Grove City College, where he majored in accounting.
He has coached at Keystone for eight years and most recently served as jayvee coach under coach Todd Smith.
The commiittee to select a new coach at Franklin consisted of athletic director Becky Barnes, high school co-principal Tom Holoman, Central Elementary principal Joe Keenan and assistant AD Chris Romanowski.
Ion was the choice among "nine good applicants," according to Barnes.​