Wissahickon

Along the Wissahickon, a favorite haunt of nature lovers, spring arrives in many ways. Warmer days and greener trees have walkers and joggers hurrying to the trail. And spruce-up efforts pick up. Yesterday's high of 58 was but a breath of spring, however. Colder weather approaches.

Jason Carter, a 6-foot-2 junior forward, has transferred from La Salle High to Wissahickon and will be eligible to play basketball immediately for the Trojans. Carter, the son of 76ers assistant coach Fred Carter, will begin classes at Wissahickon today. "It was a situation where things didn't work out, basketball-wise and school-wise," Jason Carter said of La Salle. La Salle entered yesterday's game against North Catholic with a 4-12 overall record. The Explorers, three-time defending Catholic League North champions, were 1-7 in the league and buried in eighth place.

Once Melanie Frye gets going, it's difficult to stop her, Wissahickon field hockey coach Lucy Gil said. In overtime Thursday, Cardinal O'Hara found that out when Frye sprinted the length of the field before setting up the goal that gave the Trojans a 2-1 victory at Bonner-Prendergast in the first round of the Class AAA state tournament. The junior forward brought the ball out of the defensive zone and passed three defenders by outrunning them before dishing a pass to senior forward Emily Gallagher for the winner.

Charles Christine, Wissahickon school board vice president and one of the leading conservative voices in the district, has decided not to seek a third term on the board. Christine's decision came less than two weeks after Mary Claghorn resigned her seat on the board, citing family- and work-related reasons. A third board member, Mary Stoebenau, chose not to file for re-election. Stoebenau and Christine represented Lower Gwynedd on the board, which also serves Ambler and Whitpain.

Wissahickon overcame a 12-point deficit after two matches Friday to defeat host Pottsgrove, 39-33, in nonleague wrestling. With Pottsgrove leading by 27-24, Patrick Fennell (170) and Eric An (182) recorded consecutive pins to put the Trojans ahead, 36-27. After a pin by the Falcons' Jared Ludy at 195, C.J. Virtu (220) secured the win with a 6-1 decision. Pins by heavyweight Patrick Finn and 106-pounder Kylif Underwood had given the Falcons the early 12-0 lead. Contact the Rally staff at rallysports@phillynews.com , or follow on Twitter @RallyInq.

Emmitt Hunt threw for three touchdowns Friday night as ninth-seeded Coatesville eased past visiting No. 16 Wissahickon, 42-21, in the District 1 Class AAAA football quarterfinals. Chris Jones hauled in a pair of Hunt's touchdown passes as the Red Raiders rolled to a 21-0 lead at the half. Dan Murphy's 1-yard rumble in the third put Wissahickon on the board, but Coatesville stormed back with a pair of touchdowns to secure the win. Daquan Worley also added a pair of touchdowns as he scored in the first and third quarters to boost the Red Raiders.

Just minutes into the game, Neal Guaglianone was cradling his hand to his chest, looking to be in some serious pain. The junior forward for the Wissahickon boys' soccer team temporarily seemed incapacitated, even telling his teammates he wouldn't be able to take a throw-in. Luckily for the Trojans, Guaglianone wasn't seriously injured, as his long throw-ins provided a plethora of scoring opportunities against Suburban One League American Conference opponent Cheltenham. His throw-ins also assisted on two goals as the host Trojans won, 4-0, Tuesday.

Although Wissahickon and Upper Moreland didn't end up sharing the title, they did delay the outcome for two days. After falling to the host Bears, 47-46, Wednesday evening, Wissahickon defeated visiting Upper Dublin, 63-43, Friday to win the Suburban One League Freedom Division crown outright. Wissahickon (17-5, 11-3) could have clinched the championship with a win over Upper Moreland (17-5, 10-4). But the Bears remained in contention behind an 18-point contribution by junior guard Toby Fisher and 12 points from senior center Brian Schoonmaker.

Even basketball teams that shoot 79 percent from the field in the first half cannot find a spot on a gymnasium floor to hide from York Catholic. Wissahickon found that out the hard way last night in a 67-64 loss to the Fighting Irish in the PIAA Class AAA semifinals at Reading High. Even after the Trojans (28-2) hit 15 of 19 first-half shots, York Catholic (31-2) was within two points. Sparked by its aggressive defense, York Catholic took the lead early in the fourth quarter and went on to dispatch the District 1 champions from the playoffs.

Springfield (Montco) and Wissahickon posted a pair of shutout wins to advance in the PIAA field hockey playoffs, but Hatboro-Horsham's season ended on a shutout last night at Harry S Truman High School, in a tripleheader that marked the opening round of the state tourney. Springfield, the District 1 champion, got a goal from Jess Riley with three minutes to play to nip a stubborn Pequea Valley, 1-0, the District 3 third-place team in Class AA action. District 1 Class AAA champion Wissahickon got a pair of goals from its sophomore sensation, Katie O'Donnell, as it dominated in a 4-0 win over Cedar Crest, the No. 4 team from District 3 in the larger schools' classification.

Dylan Protesto scored three goals and dominated the faceoffs Tuesday afternoon as 14th-seeded Penncrest squeaked by No. 19 Wissahickon, 6-5, in the first round of the District 1 boys' lacrosse tournament. A junior midfielder, Protesto showed why he is one of the region's top faceoff players as he won 13 of his 15. Casey Brown sealed the win with eight saves, and Zach Kruzel, Will Manganiello, and Ethan Trust scored once each. Brooks Melvin and Tommy Monaghan had two goals each for visiting Wissahickon.

Brittany Startzel hit a two-out, RBI single in the top of the ninth inning Friday to lift Upper Dublin to a 2-1 victory at Wissahickon in a Suburban One American softball matchup. Ana Cubit led off the ninth with a walk, then pinch runner Gianna Tino advanced to second on a sacrifice before scoring on Startzel's single. Upper Dublin had broken a scoreless tie in the top of the sixth. Ashleigh Sharp led off with a double and scored on a Rachel Hyman suicide-squeeze single. Wissahickon answered in the bottom of the seventh with an RBI triple by Donna Intintolo to send it to extra innings.

Friends' Central's Aaron Ross threw a no-hitter against Germantown Friends on Friday, picking up a 10-0 victory in a Friends Schools League baseball showdown. Ross struck out eight and walked two in his first career seven-inning no-hitter. Ross has feasted on Friends Schools competition, compiling a 4-0 record in the league. The latest win came against second-place Germantown Friends, which was 5-2 in the league entering the game. Friends' Central is in first place with a 7-0 record.

The Wissahickon school board approved an elementary redistricting plan Monday night, realigning boundaries to deal with declining enrollment. The vote came and went with no comment from the board, ending several months of vitriol and a long series of public-input sessions. The debate peaked in January, when the board voted to close Ambler's Mattison Avenue Elementary, the district's smallest campus and the only one serving kindergarten through fourth grade. Parents pleaded to save the school, which is within walking distance for most families and has had moderate success serving a large population of English-language learners.

As twins, Alison and Shannon Taub already have plenty in common. They added a couple of more things Saturday. The Council Rock South sophomores each cleared 5 feet, 2 inches in the high jump, combining to set a meet record at the Central Bucks West Relays. Council Rock South also set a meet record in the pole vault. Amanda Benninghoff vaulted 12 feet, combining with teammate Kate Hirthler to vault 22 feet and establish a new meet standard. Those were just two of the records to fall Saturday.

Donna Intintolo reached on a two-out error to keep the seventh inning alive, and Wissahickon cashed in Thursday afternoon by dropping Springfield (Montco), 4-3, in a Suburban One American softball game. After the error, Brittany Gelman stroked a triple to score Intintolo for the walk-off win. Emma Goodrich posted the win. Also in the Suburban One: Kristyn Marinelli went 2 for 3 and drove in the game-winning run to lift Central Bucks South at North Penn, 3-2. Michelle Holweger went 2 for 3 for North Penn.