RAY SWANSON \ Keystoner Mercer County has four girls all-state

Four outstanding girl basketball players from the Mercer County area have been accorded honors on the Associated Press Pennsylvania girls all-state high school team for 2006. Three were first-team selections and the other was a second team choice.
Garnering first-team honors were Lakeview's Sheena Aden, Kennedy Catholic's Kendra Radkowski, and Slippery Rock's Jencee Rhoads. Grove City's Julie Molloy was a second team pick.
Aden (Class AA) is a 5-9 junior sharpshooter who averaged 26 points per game while Radkowski (Class A) is a 5-11 senior. She averaged 12.3 ppg.
Rhoads, (Class AAA) is the daughter of former Mercer High School standout Bob "Posie" Rhoads. She is a 5-10 junior who averaged 21.8 ppg. Molloy (AAA) is a 5-9 senior and she hit the scoring charts with a 20.8 point-per-game average.
Notre Dame wins its all
Winning a title of any sorts is an accomplishment. What Hermitage Notre Dame School's eighth grade team did to Philadelphia-St. Andrews recently in the 2006 Parochial state basketball championship game had to be one of the major accomplishments ever contested in the annals of the event. It was like David slaying Goliath all over again.
Philadelphia entered the action bearing a perfect 46-0 record while the Vikings carried a once-beaten mark of 29-1. The Vikings, coached by Bobby Votino, were not impressed with the opposition's unbeaten record and took it to them from the opening tip-off, leading by as many as six to 10 points most of the way.
When the curtain came down, Notre Dame was still on top 50-47. It was like Notre Dame (Class A) knocking off a AAAA team in St. Andrews.
Notre Dame's only loss of the season came by way of North Hills' ninth graders, in the title game of the Mars Tournament. The Vikings almost won that one, too.
Team members included Matt Dzuricsko, Ramel Hayes, Rocky Famartino, Anthony Uberti, Eric Grasso, Jake Penn, Dante Vetica, Tyler Montgomery, and Joe Benes.
Assisting Votino with the coaching chores were Rich Vetica, Dr. Anthony Uberti, and Mike Puleo.
Erik the Great
Grove City College pitcher Erik Arnesen came up with two top-notch performances recently to share the Presidents' Athletic Conference player of the week honors with Waynesburg College's Drew Denham.
Arnesen went 2-0 on the mound. He allowed one earned run on seven hits while striking out 17 batters in 15 innings.
He posted a three-hit shutout at Bethany, then allowed four hits in eight-plus innings in a 3-1 win at Thiel.
Holiday wishes
Here's wishing you and yours a very happy, blessed and meaningful Easter holiday. May the love, joy and sentiment that exists today continue to flourish throughout our lifetimes.