TOP STORIES COUNTDOWN (2-3): A DOMINANT SEASON ON THE MAT, AND A HISTORIC PLAYOFF RUN (2025-07-15)

BY CHRIS MANNING
Northern Tier Sports Report
Getting down to the final three, and it took historically good performances make it this far.

3. Towanda wrestling has dominant season: Led by a deep and talented senior class, and flanked by an influx of talented freshmen, the Black Knights had a historically dominant NTL dual meet season in 2024-2025.

They not only swept the NTL, they won their matches by an average of 58-15. The Knights defeated Williamson 58-11, a team that made it to the final eight of District Duals, and they won 51-15 over Athens, who made the Class 3A District IV Duals championships.

Other big wins include 60-10 against rivals Wyalusing, and 58-13 over a Canton team that made the duals playoffs.

Outside of the NTL they were just as strong, beating a tough New York Horseheads squad (44-22), along with rolling past defending District IV Duals champions Warrior Run (44-27).

They only had five dual meet losses on the season, and three of the four teams that beat them went on to the state playoffs.

Things kept rolling into the individual postseason as they won the North Section title by nearly 100 points, and advanced 11 of their 12 wrestlers on to districts.

They finished with six champions on the day as Riley Vanderpool became just the second Black Knight to be a 4-time North Section champ.

Other champions were fellow seniors Mason Higley, and Sawyer Robinson, sophomore Curtis Maynard, and freshmen Gage Evans and Reese Sluyter.

Vanderpool and Higley went on to win capture gold at districts with eight earning berths to regionals.

At regionals Higley scored another title, with Vanderpool, Robinson, and Gage Evans all earning state berths. An injury to Sluyter likely kept him from being the fifth Knight heading south.

It was a wild state tournament, with Higley and Robinson coming through the wrestlebacks to earn medals, while Vanderpool came up 1-point short in the blood round.

This year’s senior class put Towanda wrestling, not just back on the map, but also on top of the NTL. They have plenty coming back in 2025, but the line-up will still look very different.

“We had a really good dual meet year,” said Towanda coach Bill Sexton. “We had one bad dual meet match, but as your move farther away from that, you know we’ve had a really nice season. It’s been a really nice four years with this group of kids, they’re going to be missed.”

2. NEB softball rides playoff run to state finals: It didn’t look like it was the type of year where history was going to be made for Panther softball, and that’s what made the 2025 postseason so exciting.

NEB needed to beat Wellsboro in their regular season finale to pull out an NTL Small School title, doing so in a back and forth contest.

Then, in their playoff opener, they eked past Sullivan County (4-1) to reach the District IV, Class A finals.

It was there they started to find their stride. 

They jumped out 3-0 in the first inning against Bucktail, eventually beating them 9-0 to claim their first district title in seven years. 

Kelsea Moore and Makenna Callear combined for the shutout, as Moore fanned nine, while Callear struck out three of the four batters she faced in the ninth to close things out.

The seniors led things as they 11-for-24 with eight runs scored, and 7-RBI on the afternoon.

Their reward was a home state playoff game where the 12th graders got to have one final send-off in style playing behind the high school.

They pounded District III champ Greenwood 17-2 in three innings, with Callear striking out five of the 12 batters she faced.

At the plate NEB went 15-for-28 as Kiarra DeLancey (3-for-4) and Moore (3-for-4) both had 3-hit outings.

Then came the fireworks.

Walk-offs don’t happen that often but when they do they’re almost always special.

This one was no different as NEB edged Dock Mennonite 4-3 thanks to DeLancey’s hit that drove in Izzy Kapr in the bottom of the seventh to propel the Panthers to the state semifinals.

NEB jumped out 3-0 after three but Dock rallied to tie things up in the fifth.

Moore and Callear combined again, with Moore going five innings to strikeout eight, while Callear struck out two in the final two innings.

Orissa Gardner (3-for-3) was perfect from the plate, while Callear (2-for-4) also had a good day. And defensively NEB was perfect in their first time playing on a turf field.

That set up an equally thrilling match-up against then undefeated Claysburg-Kimmel, which came into the game 27-0.

NEB had run into a hard ceiling in state semifinals in the past, and the odds looked long in this one, but the Panthers were determined to have a different outcome.

Both teams dug in defensively, with neither team scoring until a 2-out, 8th-inning Hannah Berger hit brought in DeLancey to pull out a 1-0 win.

Moore went the first six innings in the circle, striking out five, while Callear went the final two innings, striking out two.

They flashed the glove again this game, with Ava Lambert making the game saving catch as she ran down a ball in centerfield to keep the contest scoreless.

That brought to the PIAA promise-land, Nittany Lion Softball Park against a hard hitting Union team.

That’s when midnight struck for the Panthers as Union’s hot bats were too much to overcome.

Still, it was a run like any other for NEB, and a strong send off for their talented senior class.

“I am beyond proud of the girls,” said NEB coach MaKaylah Leljedal. “It was so great to be a part of the team who has made it the farthest in school history. It was amazing to see the community come through and support us; it was such an amazing atmosphere.”

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