Towanda, Canton claim district titles

LAWRENCEVILLE - Both the Towanda Black Knights and the Canton Warriors entered Thursday's District 4 finals with one thing on their mind, bringing home a district title.

For the Warriors, a win would mean beating last year's champions, Mansfield, while the Black Knights were looking for their third straight as they met Wellsboro.

In the end, both teams proved to be on top of their game as they each brought home a championship in three games.

The Warriors defeated the Tigers 25-22, 25-22, 25-17 in the Class A final, while the Black Knights defeated the Green Hornets 25-13, 25-15, 25-15 in the Class AA final.

For the Black Knights, capturing a third-straight title was special.

"It feels great to be a three-time district champion," Marissa Mowry said. "I'm really excited. We knew we needed to get after them and stick after it to get them in three games, and we accomplished that."

"It's just very exciting; the feeling is surreal," Cassie Benjamin said. "I mean, we have three in a row. I can't believe it. We have worked hard all these years and it has paid off."

For some of the players, this was their first time bringing home a title.

"It's very exciting. I'm glad to be a part of this team," Cornell Dougal said. "My first district medal, it feels good."

While many of the Towanda players were on last year's team, this year they have taken on bigger roles.

"We won it last year, but I wasn't a big part of it, so this year feels a lot better," Tori Welliver said. "It's been our goal to get the three-peat all season. We were pumped; we were ready to go."

For the seniors on the team, the victory took on a special meaning.

"We are very excited, it feels amazing," Kalie Ritts said. "Especially now that I'm a senior, this feels great. It was a great win. We are so excited for Tuesday now."

On Tuesday the Black Knights take on Holy Redeemer at 6 p.m. at Wyalusing High School in the state playoffs, the same team that ended Towanda's year last season.

"We did not play very well last year, but we are ready to play," Kylee Sutton said. "We are a new team, we are definitely ready. Last year drives us a lot. We are really pumped to just go out and play hard."

All of Towanda's players want the chance to face Holy Redeemer again.

"We are very excited, especially since we play the same team we played last year," Alison Wickwire said. "We have a little revenge going. We expect a lot of people to come out. I'm glad we don't have to travel far."

"We are definitely looking forward to it," Benjamin said. "We have some revenge we want on them. Last year they took us down, now it's our turn."

While Towanda has claimed three straight district titles, this group is still looking for that first state win.

"It would feel great to be in the Elite 8," Mowry said. "The Sweet 16 is nice, but I think it would be great to be in the Elite 8."

On Thursday, the Black Knights came out strong from the start, looking to play well against the Green Hornets.

"We were ready to play tonight and we had the mindset of winning in three," Ritts said.

In the Class A match, the Warriors were led by Morgan Palmer with 19 points, five aces and nine digs and Katie Ward had eight points, two aces, eight assists and 12 digs.

Brianna Watkins had five points, two aces, 12 kills and nine digs and Kristin Route had four points, an ace and 13 assists.

Rachel Holmes had three points and three blocks and Cortney Tice had two points and 12 digs, while Lindsay Moyer had seven blocks and six kills and Tom Price had seven kills.

For the Black Knights, Ritts had 19 points, three kills, a block and two digs and Welliver had seven points, a kill, a block, seven digs and an assist.

Benjamin had seven points, two kills, a block, 10 digs and 16 assists and Wickwire had six points, eight kills, five blocks and six digs.

Dougal had four points, 15 kills, a block and two digs and Sutton had eight kills, eight blocks and a dig, while Katlyn Fuller had three points and five digs.

Mowry had seven digs, Jordan Werner had a point and a dig, Desi Dieffenbach had a point, Tiffany Fleming had a point and a dig, Sam Denny had a kill, Kelsey Maryott had a point and a dig and Alysha Grimes had two digs and two assists.

Canton takes on the District 3 champion on Tuesday at a site and time to be determined.