Monday, March 16, 1987 The Philadelphia Inquirer 5-M Back injury ends high school career By Matt Schuman Special to The Inquirer If Owen Hibberd's high school career ended in storybook fashion, Alfred Hitchco*ck must have been the author. The Conestoga 112-pounder's glorious career concluded in most inglorious fashion on Saturday as he was carried from the HersheyPark Arena floor by stretcher after his semifinal match in the 1987 Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association Class AAA Wrestling Championships. "Something like this happens, it puts things in perspective," Conestoga coach Al Wolstenholme said. "You don't care about anything else but Owen's Hibberd, who placed fifth at 98 pounds in the 1986 state meet, started the 1987 meet Friday night by overwhelming Shaler's Mike Heinl, 8-0. That put him in Saturday morning's quarterfinal round, in which he manhandled Kevin Stein of Dallastown, 7-1.
Next up was unbeaten Joey Wildasin of South Western, who would prove to be Hibberd's last high school opponent. Hibberd led in the early stages of the match, but Wildasin came back to assume a 43 lead late in the third period. With less than 10 seconds left and Wildasin on top, Hibberd made one last, desperate attempt to escape and tie the score. It failed, and both wrestlers fell heavily to the mat, believing the match was over. Wildasin stood up and hoisted his fists toward the ceiling in celebration, then realized that two seconds still remained on the clock.
At that point, he pounced on Hibberd, inadvertently striking the Conestoga grappler squarely in the lower back with his knee. For several tense minutes, Hibberd barely moved as medics, PIAA officials and Wolstenholme gathered around him on the mat. Finally, Hibberd was placed on a stretcher and carried to the medical room for closer examination. The crowd's response could best be described as nervous applause. "I was on my stomach, and I thought I heard a whistle the end of the match).
He must have heard the same thing I heard because he got up and was holding his arms over his head," said Hibberd, who still had an ice pack strapped to his back long after the end of the match. "I started to get up, and I must have been about four inches off the mat. That's Special to The Inquirer LLOYD FOX Owen Hibberd of Conestoga (top) holds down Mike Heinl of Shaler during a match at states. when he saw it wasn't over. He jumped on me, and I just wasn't ready for it.
"There was pain, a lot of pain. I hurt my back in a car accident last summer, and I ended up spending time in the hospital because of it. The problem was in the same place, so this must have aggravated it." Wolstenholme said, "I remember looking at Owen and seeing tears in his eyes. As tough as he is, to see tears in his eyes, well, I just knew he was in tremendous pain." Even though Hibberd was unable to walk without pain after the injury, he wanted to compete in the consolation rounds. Wolstemholme, however, would not hear of it, and Hibberd was forced to forfeit a pair of consolation bouts and settle for sixth place.
"I'm disappointed that it ended this way, but life goes on," said Hibberd. "I gave it my best shot, and I thought I wrestled pretty well before I got hurt. So, overall, I have to be satisfied." Hibberd ended the season with a 33-4 record (including the two forfeits). The only wrestlers to beat him on the They hustle and shoot their way to court fame A variety of top-flight athletes made the recently completed girls' basketball season a successful one on the Main Line. Here is a look at the top 12 players in the -area.
Nina Alston, Conestoga. According to Conestoga coach Karen Marley, "there's nobody better at what she does" than Alston, who did everything but wash the Pioneers' uniforms over the last four years. As a senior, Alston played small forward as well as both guard spots. She also was named the Central League's Most Valuable Player as Conestoga (16-7) advanced to the second round of the District 1 playoffs. "Nina does everything well," Marley said.
"The only problem was, at times, she was a little above the high school level and her teammates couldn't keep up with her." Alston finished as Conestoga's alltime single-season and career-scoring leader and topped the Pioneers in scoring (17.8 scoring average), steals, assists and blocked shots and was second in rebounding. Bloomsburg and Textile are vying for Alston. Sue Bieber, Upper Merion. Strength and durability carried this 5-8 guard-forward into the Upper Merion record books and enabled the Vikings (16-7) to reach the second round of the District 1 playoffs. Bieber, an all-Suburban One American Conference selection, scored 15 points per game this year and placed second (rebounds and steals) and third (total points and assists) on Upper Merion's all-time lists.
"When Sue's smooth, she's a real threat," UM coach Jim mat were Wildasin and North Penn's Dan Finnacchio, who edged him in the Southeast Regional finals. The only other area wrestler to qualify for the state meet was Upper Merion junior Tony Rolli (155), who lost his first two matches and was eliminated. Rolli ended the season at 26-10-1. "It was Tony's first time up here, the first time he's been exposed to this kind of atmosphere," Upper Merion coach John Lute said. "But it was a valuable experience, one I'm sure will pay dividends next By Pete Schnatz Special to The Inquirer "She's got the stamina to play every minute of every game." Bieber has narrowed her college choices to Ursinus and Delaware, where she hopes to play basketball and softball.
Margaret Dever, Cardinal O'Hara. This 5-6 senior provided much more than leadership for the Lions (10-11) this season, earning a spot on the allCatholic South squad with a special talent. Dever can play anywhere on the court. "Margaret's very versatile," O'Hara coach Mimi Coleman said. "She played off-guard but could handle the ball and go to the boards equally well.
I wouldn't hesitate to put her at strong forward because of her strength." Ursinus, Widener and Spring Garden are college possibilities for Dever, who averaged 12 points and 5 rebounds per game this season. Lynn Dougherty, Archbishop Carroll. The Patriots' 5-9 junior forward overcame a lot to become the Catholic South's co-Most Valuable Player (with Melissa Pantalone of Archbishop Pendergast). With 426 points (17- points-per-game average) and 224 rebounds, Dougherty led Carroll (16-9) to the Catholic South title and a chance at the league championship. But she has to overcome her youth to attain total fame.
"There seems to be a bias (in the coaches' voting against giving it to underclassmen," Carroll coach Annie Troyan said. "She would have won outright, except one coach voted Lynn to the second team. Now she has something to work for next season." Tonya Evans, Friends' Central. Although she will be remembered, more for her tennis ability, having earned a full scholarship to Northwestern, Evans also left her mark on the basketball program. The senior point guard led Friends' Central (14-5) in assists and steals, finished second in scoring (14.4 average) and powered the Phoenix to a 14-5 record and a spot in the league title game.
"Tonya has been one of the top athletes in the Friends Schools League for four years," Phoenix coach Tim Beach said. "In fact, in the last three years we've lost just two league games with her out there." Illness cut Evans' season short, and of the five games she missed, Friends' Central lost three. Amy Frietick, Villa Maria. The ViMacats (20-5) claimed their third consecutive Catholic Academies League championship, with much of the scoring coming from a trio of senior guards. But without the 5-9 Frietick in the pivot, Villa may have been weakened considerably.
"I was surprised that our offense was geared toward the perimeter," Villa coach Kathy McCartney said. 'And because of the scoringl, Amy didn't get much recognition." Villa's junior forward quietly dominated the middle, as Frietick led Villa in scoring (15.4) and rebounding (12.0) before injuring her arm in the title game. Kirsten Kepner, Lower Merion. As a four-year starter, this 5-7 sharpshooter totaled 1,174 points to become the all-time leading scorer in Lower Merion history and help the Aces contend for the Central League title each season. "Fundamentally, Kirsten is the best player I've, ever said.
Lower Merion's Dennis Dool. "Not too many players have the dedication to the game that she showed; her work ethic made her stand apart from the Kepner, who averaged 14.9 points per game this season as the Aces (15- 10) advanced to the District 1 playoffs for a second consecutive year, is being sought by Vermont and Boston University as a shooting guard. Trish McDonough, Notre Dame. This sophom*ore point guard had an advantage over her opponents every time she stepped on the court she's a natural lefthander. "Being lefthanded helps because she can blow past people the first couple times down court," Notre Dame coach Bobbi Cabrey said.
"Before the other coach realizes that she's lefthanded, Trish has already taken command of the game." At 5 feet, 9 inches, McDonough also boasts impressive size for a ballhandler. The Notre Dame playmaker averaged 9 points and 5 assists per game, helping the Irish (16-6) offense feature a different high scorer almost every game. Rachel Miller, Akiba Hebrew Academy. The Cougars' senior forward became the first girl in Akiba history to pass the plateau, and Miller also led the team (16-8) in four categories: scoring (17.3), rebounding, steals and assists. But the 5-8 Miller will forgo basketball to pursue her soccer career in college, at Colgate.
"Rachel realized that her future wasn't in basketball," Akiba coach Dave Pelton said. "She's a super goalkeeper but she was also a vital part of the basketball team the last two years." Tricia Schafer, Haverford High. The high-scoring (15.1 points-pergame) Fords' forward is headed to Drexel to continue her basketball career, the only question is whether she can make the switch to the backcourt. "I'm sure she'll make the transition to shooting guard," said Haverford coach Dick Hamilton. "She brought her scoring average up 5 points from last year, so I don't foresee any problem with her scoring" in college.
Schafer, 5-8, helped the Fords (9. 14) open their league season with four consecutive wins and was named to the All-Central team (9-14). Charlotte Sumner, Shipley School. For leading Shipley (5-17) in assists and scoring (14.0 average) and ing as a co-captain, this senior guard was selected the team's most valuable player. "Charlotte's one of the school's best athletes and she showed a lot of dedication to the basketball team," Shipley coach Marsha Herb said.
Sumner has been accepted to Princeton and intends to play field hockey and lacrosse for the Tigers. Tara Warrington, Episcopal Academy. Although Warrington led Episcopal (6-8) in scoring (10.2 average), rebounding and steals, her coach was most impressed by the senior forward's attitude. "Because she's such a good athlete, she responds well to coaching," Episcopal's Maude Kent said. "We really relied on her a lot this year and she didn't shy away one bit." Warrington, who will attend Lafayette to play field hockey and lacrosse, finished as the second-leading scorer in Episcopal's five-yearold program..
