BY CHRIS MANNINGNorthern Tier Sports Report
Down to the top 10 for the 2024-2025 sports season with gutty performances, and excitement on the softball diamond.
10. NEB’s Anaiah Kolesar finishes race to give her team a league title: All season long Kolesar had been struggling to finish her 5K races before passing out. During the regular season, though, it hadn’t come back to hurt them in the team standings.
However, in the final dual meet of the year they were running against Wyalusing and their tight pack, meaning Kolesar had to be at her best in order to assure NEB kept their Small School crown.
The Rams led early, running in the top three, but NEB slowly reeled them in. It looked like Kolesar might not finish as she stumbled down the stretch, but she was able to finish before collapsing, taking second overall as they she broke up Wyalusing’s top two.
The Panther pack did the rest as NEB pulled out a 25-30 win to keep their divisional crown.
9. Towanda girls cross-country claims NTL Large School title: With an infusion of youth the Towanda girls’ dominated the running scene in the NTL this year.
They went undefeated in dual meets, and continued that dominance into the NTL Coaches’ Invitational.
“I’m very pleased with the way our team has grown, and continues to grow,” said head coach Mike Maurer.
Their closest dual was a 23-32 win over Wyalusing, and their average margin of victory was 19-38. The only thing that kept them from states were Lewisburg and Danville, who were second and third at the PIAA Championships this year.
They were led by state qualifier, sophomore Izzy Larson, who came in fourth at districts, and was five spots away from a state medal.
Flanking her most of the year were freshmen Kenzie Brown, and Mary-Kate Eberlin, along with sophomores Leila Cobb, and Angie Tavani. Veterans Dixie Brown and Hannah Pretty rounded out their top seven.
8. NEB volleyball repeats as District IV champions: Despite key losses the Panthers kept rolling in 2024.
They opened the year with a 14-match winning streak, beating all their teams in four sets or less. The wins included district finalists Troy (3-1) and Canton (3-0, 3-1), along with playoff teams NPL (3-1), Loyalsock (3-1), CV (3-0), and Williamson (3-1).
They also swept Mountain View (3-0), the team that ultimately ended their season in states.
After a bit of a bumpy end to the season they took care of business in the playoffs, sweeping Galeton (3-0) and Canton (3-0) to claim the Class A title a year after winning the Class AA championship.
Abby O’Connor (313 kills) and Toni Herb (309 kills) led things at the net while Kiarra DeLancey (443) paced their defense. Kelsea Moore (495 assists) ran the offense, while they also got big performances from Abby Chobot (121 kills) and Zaelea Lane (199 digs).
“We’re incredibly proud of what our team has accomplished this season,” NEB coach Vanessa Perez said.
It also marks the end of an era for NEB as their entire rotation graduates. However, in two years on the court they won the program’s first divisional and district titles, then repeated the feat as seniors - quite the legacy to go out on.
7. A wild season on the softball diamond in the NTL: Every game was a battle during the NTL softball year, with Athens, NP-Liberty, Troy, Towanda, and Wyalusing duking things out in Large School, while NEB, CV, and Williamson battled for the Small School title.
Athens eventually came out on top of Large School, but not without their fair share of close shaves. They split with NPL, while pulling out single digit wins over Troy, Towanda, and Wyalusing to earn their title.
Towanda lost 2-0 and 3-2 to the Wildcats, Troy fell 5-3 and 1-0 to Athens, and Wyalusing lost 18-4 in their opener, but then made them sweat in their second meeting, falling 3-1.
Area teams were able to take out their frustrations on NP-Liberty, who’d dominated the league over the past few years. Troy, Towanda, and Wyalusing all split with them, getting wins over them the second through the divisional schedule.
Towanda lost 6-3 in their first meeting with the Mounties, but then won 4-2 in their second. Troy lost 3-2 in their first meeting with NPL, but then won 4-2 in their second.
The Rams fell 9-2 in their opener against NPL, but then won 4-2 at home.
Against each other Troy split with Towanda (W 8-6), L 6-4) and Wyalusing (W 17-0, L 8-4), getting them the first time through, while the Knights and Rams got revenge in the second go around.
Towanda had their rivals’ number this year, sweeping Wyalusing (4-2, 2-0) in their two meetings.
On the Small School side it took NEB until their regular season finale to claim the divisional title, pulling out a close win over Wellsboro (7-6).
The Panthers split with Williamson (L 4-0, W 12-7), but were able to sweep CV (13-2, 2-1), which proved to be the difference maker for the league championship.
The success carried over to the postseason for many of the teams. Athens and NEB won district titles, Troy reached a district final, while Wyalusing and NP-Liberty were in semifinals. Towanda lost in the opening round to eventual finalist Hughesville, while Williamson fell to Troy in their district opener.
