Varsity

For a gauge on just how important the Stotesbury Cup Regatta is to the competitors involved, look no further than Mount St. Joseph senior Dana Lerro. She says the excitement surrounding the crew's varsity eight triumph two years ago "surpassed" the once-in-a-lifetime experience she shared with her family in 2005. Lerro's father, Joe, is part owner of Afleet Alex, which after placing third in the Kentucky Derby easily won the final two legs of horse racing's Triple Crown.

Shelyna Hamilton remembers watching Charles Blank in 1980 when he coached the Edgewood girls' basketball team to the state Group 3 title. Hamilton played for Overbrook High then, and this past season, she coached the Paulsboro girls' varsity for the second year. That head-coaching position, though, was considered temporary because she is not certified as a teacher. Hamilton will get to know Blank a lot more over the next year. Two weeks ago, Blank was hired as Paulsboro's coach and Hamilton was named to coach the junior varsity and assist Blank with the varsity.

The coaching situation at Wissahickon has gone full circle. Marianne Paparone was approved as the varsity field hockey coach at a school board meeting Tuesday, athletic director Michael Daher announced. Paparone had coached the Trojans for three seasons and had a third-place Suburban One League American Conference Freedom Division finish last season. Her contract was not renewed by the school board in its summer session, and Cynthia Metz was appointed to the position Aug. 31. Metz resigned five games into the season.

A crew from Holy Spirit High in Absecon, N.J., scored a varsity eight victory in the second Manny Flick Cup Regatta of the Philadelphia Scholastic Rowing Association on the Schuylkill yesterday. Holy Spirit finished in front of the six boats in a time of 4 minutes, 45.8 seconds against a head wind on a fairly flat 1,500-meter course. St. Joseph's, 1 3/4 lengths back, was timed in 4:52.8. La Salle was third in 4:56.9. Holy Spirit also won the women's varsity eight by five lengths over Harriton in 6:07.

After an absence of 34 years, the countdown to kickoff is down to one day for Bishop Shanahan. Wearing their visiting white jerseys with green trim and black pants, the Eagles will joyfully race onto the field tomorrow night at 7 at Reading Central Catholic to kick off a new era. Varsity football is back at Shanahan for the first time since 1967. "I remember in grade school hoping Shanahan would get a football team," senior two-way tackle Sean Stolnis said. "Now it's finally here, and it's the greatest feeling.

Khavaughn "KoKo" Shannon came flying down the steps outside the locker room at Cardinal Dougherty High, screaming like crazy. "Smink! Sminky's the Man!" Earlier, in the gym, the kids in the wood-box section of stands known as the "Looney Bin" had been leaning over the railing, slapping their hands in unison against the padding and yelling, "Smink-eee! . . . Smink-eee! . . . Smink-eee!" Wait. Aren't Robert Carter, Greg Mayo, Jon Davenport and Shannon the headliners on Dougherty's squad?

Jim Auch is not done with football X's and O's, but the level of play and the amount of commitment are about to change. Auch, 57, retired yesterday after 18 seasons as Episcopal Academy's varsity coach. A math teacher, he intends to remain in the classroom for six to eight more years and maintain his association with football by coaching Episcopal's freshmen or one of its middle school teams. "I can't give it up completely," Auch said. "I've made a commitment to the school to help out. But now, if I want to take a weekend trip somewhere with my wife (Penny)

Katie Ewell feels her boat getting faster and faster, just in time for the Stotesbury Cup Regatta. "It's the biggest race of the year," Ewell, a senior at Bishop Eustace Prep, said of the annual regatta that will be held Friday and Saturday on the Schuylkill. Ewell and her teammates on the Bishop Eustace varsity eight boat hope to be in contention for a medal at the world's oldest and largest high school regatta. This year's event is expected to draw 5,000 athletes from 198 high schools competing in 925 boats.

Doug Randolph, a former Media High standout, will have a homecoming of sorts next winter. Randolph, 45, has been named head basketball coach at Penncrest High, replacing Jim Wilson, who resigned for personal reasons last spring. "I'm really looking to the challenge," Randolph said. "It will be nice to return to my old home and see if I can put together a winning team. " Randolph enjoyed quite an athletic career at Media High before moving on to Delaware State, where he lettered in football, baseball and basketball.

La Salle coach Joe Parisi used to schedule a baseball game the day after the school's senior prom, just to give his underclassmen and junior varsity players some playing time. But this year, the seniors pulled a fast one on the coach. With a game scheduled Saturday against West Catholic, Parisi was forced to go with his younger players because his seniors were resting up from a prom - Gwynedd-Mercy's. Using a team of underclassmen and junior varsity players, the Explorers lost to West, 5-2, in a nonleague game.

Caught up in the major high of a triumphant ride in the varsity eight, Mount St. Joseph Academy coxswain Erin McElroy lunged forward and into the arms of stroke Dana Lerro. Seconds later, as McElroy had taken a quick break from calling out directions, the Legacy crashed into an abutment of the Columbia Avenue Bridge. "I guess we were all kind of in the moment," senior second seat Rose Ehrlich said. McElroy endured some light ribbing - and, as is tradition, was tossed in the drink by her teammates - at the end of Saturday's 86th Stotesbury Cup Regatta.

For a gauge on just how important the Stotesbury Cup Regatta is to the competitors involved, look no further than Mount St. Joseph senior Dana Lerro. She says the excitement surrounding the crew's varsity eight triumph two years ago "surpassed" the once-in-a-lifetime experience she shared with her family in 2005. Lerro's father, Joe, is part owner of Afleet Alex, which after placing third in the Kentucky Derby easily won the final two legs of horse racing's Triple Crown.

Katie Ewell feels her boat getting faster and faster, just in time for the Stotesbury Cup Regatta. "It's the biggest race of the year," Ewell, a senior at Bishop Eustace Prep, said of the annual regatta that will be held Friday and Saturday on the Schuylkill. Ewell and her teammates on the Bishop Eustace varsity eight boat hope to be in contention for a medal at the world's oldest and largest high school regatta. This year's event is expected to draw 5,000 athletes from 198 high schools competing in 925 boats.

Rowing CITY CHAMPIONSHIPS 1,500 meters on the Schuylkill. BOYS' RACES Lightweight double: 1, Malvern Prep, 5 minutes, 18.54 seconds. 2, Montclair, 5:22.50. 3, St. Joseph's Prep, 5:25.91. Lightweight four: 1, Mons. Bonner, 4:59.87. 2, Father Judge, 5:00.43. 3, Christian Bros., 5:07.08. Lightweight quad: 1, Malvern Prep, 4:51.17. 2, Roman Catholic, 5:02.35. 3, St. Joseph's Prep, 5:04.63. Lightweight eight: 1, St. Joseph's Prep, 4:24.

Baseball NONLEAGUE Don Bosco Prep 5, Gloucester Catholic 3 Rowing CITY CHAMPIONSHIPS 1,500 meters on the Schuylkill. BOYS' RACES Lightweight double: 1, Malvern Prep, 5:18.54. 2, Montclair, 5:22.50. 3, St. Joseph's Prep, 5:25.91. Lightweight four: 1, Mons. Bonner, 4:59.87. 2, Father Judge, 5:00.43. 3, Christian Bros., 5:07.08. Lightweight quad: 1, Malvern Prep, 4:51.17. 2, Roman Catholic, 5:02.35. 3, St. Joseph's Prep, 5:04.63.

Chris Oakley is all arms, legs, and potential. The St. Augustine Prep junior has pitched four varsity innings in his career but already has committed to the University of North Carolina on a baseball scholarship. "They see that frame and see how he throws and they think about where he's going to be in two years," St. Augustine coach Mike Bylone said of the interest by some of the top college programs on the East Coast in a pitcher who has yet to make an impact at the varsity level.