Saucon Source (https://sauconsource.com/author/rief/)
You never know what you’re gonna get when the Saucon Valley Panthers and neighboring Southern Lehigh square off against each other in competition. On Wednesday, the Spartans and Panthers battled lacrosse style. The Panthers came out swinging, but it ended up as a tale of two halves.
For the past few years Saucon Valley Athletics has provided an opportunity for middle school students in seventh and eighth grade to participate in organized soccer. The team is co-ed with boys and girls typically competing together against most of the other Colonial League schools. This year however, with COVID concerns, only Saucon, Bangor, Catasauqua, Salisbury and Northern Lehigh are fielding middle school teams. After missing last year because of the pandemic, the Panthers have a talented bunch of participants and are off to a pretty good start.
The Saucon Valley High School softball program hosted the Salisbury Falcons in a softball showdown Monday. The Panthers and Falcons laced up their cleats to hit the field on Saucon’s campus and treated the fans to a very entertaining competition. It was a rollercoaster ride between the Panthers and Falcons.
Saucon Valley and Southern Lehigh squared off on the baseball diamond in another spirited competition between the cross-creek rivals. The 2-2 Panthers played host to the 5-1 Spartans on a chilled and cloudy Wednesday afternoon. It wasn’t a great day for baseball, but it was a great baseball game.
The PIAA 2021 spring sports season is off and racing after missing the 2020 due to COVID. The Panther women had a great day last Tuesday as they swept both the Bangor Slaters and the Catasauqua Rough Riders. On the men’s side, Saucon Valley split with a win over the Roughies, but falling to the Slaters. Tuesday was also a record-setting day as senior Matt Chaikowsky set a new Panther school record by running the 1600m run in 4:23!
The Saucon Valley high school girls lacrosse team started red-hot on Saturday morning jumping out to a 3-0 lead over the Southern Lehigh Spartans. Sophomore Sophie Engelhardt got the Panthers on the scoreboard first with an unassisted goal only a minute into the contest.
It was a slightly watered-down setting at the Steel Club on Sunday as the Saucon Valley Wrestling Club celebrated another season of success. Missing from the annual event were the members of the youth program who, due to COVID concerns, had their Valley Elementary Wrestling League (VEWL) season cancelled. Nonetheless, those present relived and rejoiced with another memorable year of wrestling success.
It wasn’t quite an NFL combine, but there were definitely some similarities. The Saucon Valley athletic fields were overrun this past Saturday morning by approximately 120 energetic youngsters in grades 1-6. Their purpose was to show off their football skills under the watchful eyes of the Saucon Valley youth football coaches. Saucon Valley Youth Sports with the help of Coach Brad Trembler and his Saucon Valley high school players are working together to sponsor a spring youth flag-football league.
In a tell-tale sign of Spring, the Saucon Valley campus is now buzzing with athletic activity. It has been a long time coming for PIAA Spring sports as the 2020 season was cancelled due to COVID. Hopefully, COVID concerns are kept in check and these student-athletes can experience a full season of competition. Last season high school student-athletes were robbed of their spring sports season.
The Saucon Valley wrestling program was well-represented at the conclusion of the 2021 PIAA state wrestling championships. And, all three powerful Panthers that placed in the tiring tournament are underclassmen, with an awesome opportunity to get back up on the Pennsylvania podium again next season. Sophomore Jake Jones (172) along with juniors Ty Csencsits (189) and Dante Mahaffey (215) each ran the COVID era wrestling gauntlet to claim their respective medals in the 2021 PIAA state wrestling championships on Friday at the Hershey Giant Center.