{"id":84591,"date":"2021-03-29T14:37:09","date_gmt":"2021-03-29T14:37:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sandbox.web.rcn.net\/rcntv\/?p=84591"},"modified":"2023-02-17T21:43:33","modified_gmt":"2023-02-17T21:43:33","slug":"84591-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/84591-2\/","title":{"rendered":"STATE CHAMPS!"},"content":{"rendered":"

The views expressed in this blog are<\/i> those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of RCN or any other agency, organization, employer or company.<\/i><\/strong><\/p>\n

It’s not uncommon for me to congratulate an individual wrestler and\/or a Lehigh Valley wrestling team for winning a state gold medal here on this blog this time of year.<\/span><\/p>\n

However, it’s been 35 years since anyone from the Lehigh Valley could congratulate a boys basketball team for accomplishing the same honor during the winter sports season.<\/span><\/p>\n

Allentown Central Catholic<\/a> became the first Valley boys basketball team since…Central Catholic did it back in 1986.\u00a0 We’ve had a few girls basketball teams bring home titles over the last several decades but many skeptics around the area thought we might never see another boys title from this area again. Fortunately, the Vikings proved them wrong and defeated Hickory High School<\/a>, 41-40, last Thursday evening.<\/span><\/p>\n

Like most teams this winter, Central Catholic had to overcome some adversity.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Their team was shut down three times because of COVID–either via state mandates or because of reported cases within their own program.\u00a0 Among their constatent scheduling issues…three times they scheduled and had to postpone their non-conference game vs. Notre Dame<\/a>-Green Pond in what would have been a match of two of the Valley\u2019s best teams (an additional storyline:\u00a0 Central\u2019s assistant athletic director is related to Notre Dame\u2019s head coach and best player).<\/span><\/p>\n

Two other times we were scheduled to broadcast a Central game–one time the game was cancelled 47 hours before tipoff, the other time, 3-\u00bd hours before it was slated to start.<\/span><\/p>\n

They also had personnel issues.\u00a0 Their biggest concern among the players was the loss of their starting center, Christian Spudnardi, for two-thirds of their season with an ankle injury.\u00a0 He recovered two weeks before the playoffs started and gave the Vikings their first 100% healthy starting lineup roughly ten days before the postseason got underway.<\/span><\/p>\n

We\u2019ll hear more on the Vikings\u2019 historic season from Central Catholic Head Coach Dennis Csensits and members of his team on an upcoming edition of \u201cRCN SportsTalk<\/a>\u201d (a number of their players also play spring sports, so we\u2019ll have to find a date that works for as many of their student-athletes as possible).<\/span><\/p>\n

This winter also gave some vindication to the Nazareth<\/a> and Bethlehem Catholic<\/a> girls basketball teams–both were alive in the state playoffs when the coronavirus took a hold of everything going on in the sports world last year and made for a premature ending on their quest for a championship.<\/span><\/p>\n

Although both teams lost before getting a chance to play in the Pennsylvania state final, at least they had a season and had the opportunity to compete for the championship without having the games pulled out from under them–as was the case a year ago.<\/span><\/p>\n

As far as wrestling, Lehigh Valley teams did well in states…although not their usual dominance that local squads normally have at Hershey.<\/span><\/p>\n

There were a few individuals who won gold medals but for the first time in several years, no school walked away with the PIAA<\/a> trophy.<\/span><\/p>\n

The reasons are both most probably tied to the pandemic.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Lehigh Valley teams have an advantage competing in one of the most prominent wrestling communities in the country.\u00a0 Because of the limited scheduling of meets, many wrestlings did not get to compete against some of the other best wrestling teams like they normally do in any other season.\u00a0 A number of schools use the motto \u201ciron sharpens iron,\u201d and facing that tough level of wrestling on a weekly basis can\u2019t help but make wrestlers better prepared for states.<\/span><\/p>\n

Furthermore, some schools gain skills by competing at outside tournaments featuring some of the best wrestlers in the country–utilizing those skills learned and applying them in state competitions.\u00a0 Because many of the nation\u2019s top tourneys were cancelled, the top wrestlers didn\u2019t have those experiences as well.<\/span><\/p>\n

Still, just to get through this winter season while staying healthy was an accomplishment.\u00a0 For the Central Catholic\u2019s boys basketball team, who persevered through all its hurdles (and had a number of nail-biting victories over the last two weeks), they captured the ultimate prize for a high school sports program.<\/span><\/p>\n

Congratulations Vikings!<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of RCN or any other agency, organization, employer or company. It’s not uncommon for me to congratulate an individual wrestler and\/or a Lehigh Valley wrestling team for winning a state gold medal here on…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"Yoast SEO Relevanssi index exclude","inline_featured_image":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-84591","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-the-sportstalk-shop"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nSTATE CHAMPS! - ATVN<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"STATE CHAMPS! - ATVN\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of RCN or any other agency, organization, employer or company. It’s not uncommon for me to congratulate an individual wrestler and\/or a Lehigh Valley wrestling team for winning a state gold medal here on...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/84591-2\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"ATVN\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-03-29T14:37:09+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-02-17T21:43:33+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Chris Michael\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Chris Michael\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/84591-2\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/84591-2\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Chris Michael\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/6aba8df7f74bf50b72426776afd0067a\"},\"headline\":\"STATE CHAMPS!\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-03-29T14:37:09+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-02-17T21:43:33+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/84591-2\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":717,\"commentCount\":0,\"articleSection\":[\"The SportsTalk Shop\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/84591-2\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/84591-2\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/84591-2\\\/\",\"name\":\"STATE CHAMPS! - ATVN\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2021-03-29T14:37:09+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-02-17T21:43:33+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/6aba8df7f74bf50b72426776afd0067a\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/84591-2\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/\",\"name\":\"ATVN\",\"description\":\"Local Programming & Astound Digital Cable, Internet & Phone Services\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/6aba8df7f74bf50b72426776afd0067a\",\"name\":\"Chris Michael\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"\\\/atvn\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2014\\\/11\\\/Chris-Michael-Sports-Talk-Shop-Author-Image1.jpg\",\"url\":\"\\\/atvn\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2014\\\/11\\\/Chris-Michael-Sports-Talk-Shop-Author-Image1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"\\\/atvn\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2014\\\/11\\\/Chris-Michael-Sports-Talk-Shop-Author-Image1.jpg\",\"caption\":\"Chris Michael\"},\"description\":\"Chris handles play-by-play for RCN sports events, including baseball, football & basketball games and produces\\\/hosts the station\u2019s 60-minute live call-in show. Among Chris\u2019s other responsibilities include reporting on local news & sports stories, conducting \u201cTake 5\u201d interviews with community and political leaders, producing commercials, voiceovers and promos; and generating blog entries and videos on the internet. Click here to listen to the weekly Sports Talk podcast.\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/author\\\/rcntvchris\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"STATE CHAMPS! - ATVN","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"STATE CHAMPS! - ATVN","og_description":"The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of RCN or any other agency, organization, employer or company. It’s not uncommon for me to congratulate an individual wrestler and\/or a Lehigh Valley wrestling team for winning a state gold medal here on...","og_url":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/84591-2\/","og_site_name":"ATVN","article_published_time":"2021-03-29T14:37:09+00:00","article_modified_time":"2023-02-17T21:43:33+00:00","author":"Chris Michael","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Chris Michael","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/84591-2\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/84591-2\/"},"author":{"name":"Chris Michael","@id":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/#\/schema\/person\/6aba8df7f74bf50b72426776afd0067a"},"headline":"STATE CHAMPS!","datePublished":"2021-03-29T14:37:09+00:00","dateModified":"2023-02-17T21:43:33+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/84591-2\/"},"wordCount":717,"commentCount":0,"articleSection":["The SportsTalk Shop"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/84591-2\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/84591-2\/","url":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/84591-2\/","name":"STATE CHAMPS! - ATVN","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/#website"},"datePublished":"2021-03-29T14:37:09+00:00","dateModified":"2023-02-17T21:43:33+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/#\/schema\/person\/6aba8df7f74bf50b72426776afd0067a"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/84591-2\/"]}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/","name":"ATVN","description":"Local Programming & Astound Digital Cable, Internet & Phone Services","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/#\/schema\/person\/6aba8df7f74bf50b72426776afd0067a","name":"Chris Michael","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"\/atvn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/Chris-Michael-Sports-Talk-Shop-Author-Image1.jpg","url":"\/atvn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/Chris-Michael-Sports-Talk-Shop-Author-Image1.jpg","contentUrl":"\/atvn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/Chris-Michael-Sports-Talk-Shop-Author-Image1.jpg","caption":"Chris Michael"},"description":"Chris handles play-by-play for RCN sports events, including baseball, football & basketball games and produces\/hosts the station\u2019s 60-minute live call-in show. Among Chris\u2019s other responsibilities include reporting on local news & sports stories, conducting \u201cTake 5\u201d interviews with community and political leaders, producing commercials, voiceovers and promos; and generating blog entries and videos on the internet. Click here to listen to the weekly Sports Talk podcast.","url":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/author\/rcntvchris\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84591","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=84591"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84591\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":84594,"href":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84591\/revisions\/84594"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=84591"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=84591"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=84591"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}