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Weekly Rewind (Feb. 25 to March 2)


If you're still playing a winter sport as we head into the first full week of March, congratulations on an outstanding season.

All three sports -- basketball, swimming and wrestling -- are set for state competition. The PIAA Wrestling Championships begin Thursday and conclude Saturday at Giant Center in Hershey. The PIAA Swimming Championships begin March 13 at Bucknell University and the eight state basketball tournaments tip off Friday at various sites throughout Pennsylvania.

Plus, the first official practice day of spring sports is today.

Before we start, Matt Goul breaks down sites, times and opponents for the YAIAA teams in the opening round of state play.

And here are the complete brackets:

Boys' Brackets

Class AAAA; Class AAA; Class AA; Class A

Girls' Brackets

Class AAAA; Class AAA; Class AA; Class A

1. The YAIAA placed two boys' basketball teams in the district finals this week at Giant Center.

In the main event Saturday afternoon, third-seeded William Penn met top-seeded Harrisburg for the second time this year. The Bearcats won the first game back in December and are the only in-state team to have beaten the Cougars this year.

Unfortunately for the YAIAA tournament champs, history didn't repeat itself Saturday when Harrisburg survived, 78-76, in overtime.

Jerel Patterson made two free throws with 12.8 seconds left for the winning points.

William Penn (23-3) will try and get over the tough loss in time for Saturday's state opener vs. District 1 seventh-place finisher Methacton (22-5).

The other YAIAA boys' team to play for gold was Delone Catholic in 3-AA.

The nine-loss Squires weren't considered the favorite against top-seeded Trinity on Friday. But when Andrew Austin gobbled up a rebound and scored the winning points as time expired, Delone had its second straight state title with a dramatic 58-56 win.

Northeastern (Class AAA) and New Hope Academy (A) are also in the state field.

2. In girls' basketball, three YAIAA teams played for gold, but only one exited Giant Center with the desired prize.

York Catholic knocked off nemesis Delone Catholic, 56-38, for its eighth straight district title. This one came in the 3-AA final behind 14 points from Zaenna Echevarria and 13 from Morgan Klunk.

In the 3-AAA final, Susquehannock's surprise run came to an end with a 46-30 loss to top-seeded and unbeaten Palmyra.

The Warriors couldn't overcome a dreadful second quarter when they failed to score and went into halftime down by 18.

Despite the loss, upstart Susquehannock does take some momentum into state play. The Warriors will be joined in the Class AAA tournament by West York (fourth place in 3-AAA) and Eastern York (sixth).

The other girls' team still playing is Dover. The Eagles closed District 3-AAAA play with back-to-back losses in the semifinals (to Central Dauphin) and the third-place game (Central Dauphin East). They enter the state field as the district's fourth-place finisher.

3. The YAIAA had a solid showing in the District 3  swimming championships over the weekend at Cumberland Valley.

The York Suburban girls came away with gold in Class AA while the Dallastown boys pushed perennial powers Hershey and Cumberland Valley in 3-AAA.

One of the more interesting stories of the weekend was that of Niki Price. The Northeastern junior, who has had a successful career at the club level, swam in districts for the first time and won the 100 butterfly.

4. The PIAA Class AA Southeast Region tournament was a stepping-stone of sorts for Hanover wrestler Ian Brown on Saturday.

The fourth-place finisher in the last two PIAA Class AA Championships, Brown is aiming for a better finish at this week's state finals. But first, there was the Southeast Region to navigate.

No problem for Brown, who won the 132-pound title with a workmanlike 6-1 win vs. Annville-Cleona's Jeffrey Inman. It was his first regional crown.

Nick Mort (Fairfield) and Trevor Stover (Biglerville) were runners-up at 160 and 285, respectively.