It had been a while since Fort Cherry was in the WPIAL boys tennis team tournament.
The last time the Rangers qualified for WPIALs was more than a decade ago, in 2001.
But this season, Fort Cherry finished second in Class AA Section 5, which qualified it for the district tournament.
John D' Abruzzo's feature on Fort Cherry's Kyle Witzberger:
"There's a reason why Kyle Witzberger aims for perfection every time he steps on a baseball field.
"I really want to help this team be successful," said Witzberger, a senior catcher/pitcher on the Fort Cherry High School baseball team. "Baseball is a team sport, but it has an individual atmosphere.
"For me, I have to perform to help my team, and I'm going to push myself because I want to be able to step up when my team needs me.""
The Rangers boys track program began in 2004, but it’s been grown and cultivated well. Fort Cherry lost to Burgettstown (79-62) last Tuesday, creating a three-way tie in Section 5-AA. South Fayette was in first place, but the Lions technically are a Class AAA team. So, Fort Cherry, Burgettstown, and Chartiers Houston are sharing the Section 5-AA title this year. All three teams are on the postseason brackets for today.
Fort Cherry will be at the Freeport site today. The Rangers will compete against Freedom, Freeport, and Trinity Christian.
The Rangers have had all kinds of contributors to their wins this season, including WPIAL Class AA Honor Roll runner Sean Darragh (800-meters, 2:08.2 for No. 16).
Fort Cherry head coach Ben Maxin noted that the entire program is upbeat about having made the team postseason. “…it IS the first section title in school history in track (program started in 2004) so the coaches and kids are pretty pumped about that,” Maxin said.
Cara De Carlo's feature on Fort Cherry's Jenna Lucas:
"Fort Cherry junior Jenna Lucas has emerged as the Rangers' -- and possibly the WPIAL's -- foremost javelin thrower, but her success with the javelin is just the tip of the iceberg, so to speak.
"[Lucas] has been throwing the javelin since her freshman year," Fort Cherry coach Ben Maxin said. "Last year she finished second in the WPIAL to [teammate] Jessie Merckle."
Merckle, a senior last spring, went on to win the PIAA Class AA championship as well, throwing for a distance of 154 feet, 1 inch.
Lucas threw for 130-9 and took sixth place at last year's state championships, but her story had yet to be told. On April 6 at the South Hills Classic invitational at Baldwin High School, Lucas proved she is a worthy successor to Merckle, throwing the spear 146-1. She easily defeated the competition -- which included many athletes from much larger schools -- with the next closest competitor more than 28 feet behind."
Last Tuesday (April 9), the Fort Cherry boys’ track team had a track meet really forced all the points out of them. In the end, the Rangers beat Chartiers Houston 73-68.
“It was a nailbiter all the way through,” said Fort Cherry head coach Ben Maxin. “We knew that Chartiers Houston was going to be pretty even with us - they outscored us on the track but our field kids really came through. The jumpers and throwers really came through and gave us a win.”
Maxin continued. “Towards the end, the triple jump was going on. It went to the jumps and they said, ‘Coach, this meet is close.’”
“We had two kids jump their PRs, and we got first and second in the triple jump,” Maxin said. Justin Iskey and Brelan Skinner were the Rangers to edge the Bucs in the triple jump.
After today, Fort Cherry’s final section meet will take place against Burgettstown and Monessen. On Tuesday, April 23, Fort Cherry will face South Fayette and Brentwood.
“The boys definitely have a real shot at winning the section,” said Maxin.
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