H.S. Notebook: How Jonas affected local athletes

Winter Storm Jonas hit Franklin and Fulton counties, and it hit hard.

Not only were games and school days missed, but the sheer practice time that was taken away is immeasurable.

The first time James Buchanan's boys team stepped on the court since last Thursday was Wednesday night for a game at Shippensburg. The Greyhounds, on the other hand, had a practice Tuesday, and it definitely worked to their advantage.

"Seven seniors actually got together (on Tuesday) to have a team dinner, so that was nice," JB's Gage Piper said. "But we didn't have a chance to practice at all."

Ship's Wade Mills said, "We were fortunate enough to come in and have a practice. It wasn't a very good practice, but we got the sloppiness out of the way. ... We didn't practice for three days, so we were really rusty."

Some players, such as Greencastle-Antrim's Casey Hoover, got in the gym a few times during the break, and Blue Devil coach Gary Martin also held a voluntary practice on Tuesday to combat missing the first three days of school this week.

But now after a lengthy, unexpected midseason vacation, it's back to work. G-A faces five games in the next six days, and many other teams are in similar boats.

Wrestling rankings: Six Franklin County wrestlers are currently ranked in the state by Pa. Power Wrestling - three each from Chambersburg and Shippensburg.

For the Trojans, Drew Peck (27-4) is ranked No. 6 at 182 pounds, Aaron Rump (23-7) is No. 13 at 132 and Garrett Kyner (24-5) is No. 18 at 138.

Cameron Tinner (19-0) is listed at No. 8 at 220 for the Greyhounds, while Chandler Olson (20-1) is No. 9 at 126. Cole Forrester (21-5) broke into the rankings this week at No. 18 at 195 pounds thanks to his win last week over Blake Barrick of Big Spring, who is now 19th.

Ship's Olson has had a tough time finding competition. In the Hounds' 10 dual meets, teams have forfeited to Olson six times. In the other four bouts, he's had three pins and a decision.

It's been so bad that Olson even received a forfeit in the final of the Trojan Wars Tournament.

MPC rematch pushed back: In the wake of Winter Storm Jonas, the Greencastle-Antrim girls basketball team has been on its heels waiting to play Mid Penn Colonial Division rival Boiling Springs in a possible title match, originally scheduled for Friday, Jan. 22.

Now on their third postponement date, the Blue Devils have to focus on other opponents before meeting the Bubblers on Feb. 4 - the cut-off day for games that count toward District 3 power rankings.

Five new opponents in seven days, to be exact.

"Boiling Springs is kind of on the back burner right now because we have so many games before that," Greencastle coach Mike Rhine said. "I never understood why we run schedules up to the end, but now (the Boiling Springs game) will kind of be a playoff game."

State recognition: Each week, the Harrisburg Patriot-News releases a set of state rankings for each class in basketball, and recently, Southern Fulton's girls team has moved into the spotlight.

Previously unranked, the Indians (12-3) are now on the honorable mention list in Class A. Greencastle-Antrim's girls team has moved up to seventh in Class AAA.