Seniors gathered to celebrate their many achievements at Seniors Awards Night on Wednesday night. The school also honored 14 juniors for their outstanding abilities in various subject areas. 

The night started with the Menlo-Atherton Awards, which are chosen by M-A faculty and departments. First came awards for students in AVID, with senior Yandel Hernandez Nunez winning the Spirit of AVID Scholarship for embodying what it means to be in AVID by being hardworking and committed to continue his education. 

Next, the Computer Academy gave 11 scholarships to students going to a four-year college and four scholarships to students going to a two-year college. 

M-A also recognized students with the Faculty Departmental Awards for Academic Excellence, which ranged from art to science. One of the students who won was senior Luis Licea Fuerte for his achievements in English as a Second Language.

“It really means a lot to me because I’ve been working hard for this award and I started learning English four years ago, as a freshman. Since then, I’ve been trying hard to keep up and start to stay strong in the language and keep learning more,” Licea Fuerte said. He also won five other awards throughout the night.

One of the awards given was the Rick Longyear Enthusiast Award, which honored a student who embodied the late M-A science teacher and water polo coach Rick Longyear. The award was given to senior Lucas Selvik for his love and dedication to science and math.

“My family are always so supportive, whether in terms of academics or athletics, they gave me the support I needed to really give everything my all,” Selvik said.

The next section of awards was the Community Awards and Scholarships, which started with the 49ers Cal-Hi Sports CCS Scholar-Athlete of the Year. This honor was given to senior Trevor Cadigan for impressive work as a student athlete.

M-A also honored 16 seniors with the California Scholarship Federation Life Members for being part of the California Scholarship Federation for four semesters from sophomore to senior year, and 23 seniors for being California Scholarship Federation 100% Members by being part of the Federation for all six eligible semesters.

While dozens of seniors were honored as National Merit Commended Students for their excellent scores of the PSATs, M-A also had 15 seniors achieve National Merit Finalist status through their scores and essays they wrote for the competition. In addition, seniors Lilah Chen and Celine Chien* were awarded National Merit Scholarships based on their outstanding performance in the nationwide competition.

To end the night, seniors Mattea Harris, Haniyah Knight, Nevaeh Knight, and Tatiola Sobomehin* were given Ubuntu Scholarships. The scholarships are given to Black students who embody Ubuntu, or the idea that “I am because we are.”

“There were so many amazing awards and so many amazing students and I think that all our hard work really reflects tonight. It’s truly a privilege to be able to recognize all of these amazing students,” senior Corbin Nam, who received a Faculty Departmental award in mathematics, said.

“Everyone was being very supportive and clapping after all the awards, even for people that we didn’t know, we were still clapping. It just felt like a positive uplifting community,” senior Josh Pfistner, who won the Louis Armstrong Jazz Award, said.

*Celine Chien and Tatiola Sobomehin are journalists for the M-A Chronicle.

The House v. NCAA settlement, announced Friday night, officially marks the end of the college sports landscape that we all love and know and the beginning of a dark future for non-Power Four conference schools.

The settlement does nothing but allow the Power Four conferences to expand their powers and silence the voices of the Group of Five schools.

The main subject of the settlement is an annual cap for universities to directly pay athletes for their name, image and likeness (NIL).

However, the kicker is that the amount is based on a percentage of a defined set of Power Four athletics department revenues, with not all colleges factored in.

This means that Bowling Green and other similar schools will have to continue dealing with bigger schools spending $20 million per year, which is over half of BGSU’s operating athletic budget. This will only allow the bigger schools to justify their spending, which will continue to make it harder for the majority of smaller schools to keep up and stay competitive.

The settlement does nothing but continue to widen the gap between the Power Four and non-Power Four schools.

In addition to being able to pay athletes directly, athletes will also be able to continue making NIL deals with entities other than their respective schools.

On the surface, this sounds fair. However, there’s another kicker.

A new entity will be assigned to watch over all of the non-university NIL agreements and make sure they do not violate any rules. However, the College Sports Commission is not an initiative by the NCAA but rather a collaboration among the Power Four conferences. In fact, the top figures in the organization who have the power to make the big decisions are ACC Commissioner Jim Philips, Big Ten Commissioner Tony Petitti, Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark and SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey.

All Division I athletes who have a deal with a non-university entity for $600 or more have to report to the College Sports Commission’s system called “NIL Go,” which will then be evaluated to determine whether the deal has a “valid business purpose” and is within “a reasonable range of compensation,” whatever those terms are eventually deemed to mean. The commission and commissioners will have full power to enforce their rules, whatever they end up being, and penalize rule-breakers.

Firstly, I’m not sure if it’s possible to make the details more vague if you tried. Secondly, do any of us trust the Power Four conferences and their commissioners not to take advantage of the landscape and find loopholes while limiting the power and abilities of non-Power Four schools — I do not.

I can almost guarantee that there will be more ensuing legal battles due to the recent settlement and that this is only the beginning of the college athletics landscape being altered forever. We have officially reached the point of no return. College sports are no longer college sports — they are now the minor leagues.

Ultimately, the settlement does nothing but continue to allow the Power Four conferences to expand their powers as we continue to head on a collision course toward a super conference, which will officially mark the death for non-Power Four schools.

Manheim Central’s boys volleyball team is simply sizzling. 

Caution: Flammable. 

There has been no slowing down the Barons over their previous five matches, which have all ended with dominating 3-0 victories. 

Three of those came in the District 3 Class 2A tournament, when Central slayed Northern Lebanon, Linville Hill Christian and York Suburban by a combined 9-0 to nab their second district title, and first since 2019.

That district crown came on the heels of Central winning its third straight Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 2 championship, before the Barons reached the league finale for the third year in a row. But after winning two straight L-L crowns, they were tripped up by Cedar Crest in the title match this time around. 

That loss has motivated Central, which has been sharp in all facets since that setback against the Falcons. Defense in the back? Check. Setting prowess? Check. Serve game? Check. Front-row play, including piling up kills and blocking everything left and right? Check and check. 

The Barons bagged a pair of PIAA Class 2A playoff wins last week, both via shutout, over Academy at Palumbo and Dock Mennonite Academy. Saturday’s victory in the quarterfinals against Dock Mennonite served as some payback for the Barons, who were knocked out by the Pioneers in the state quarterfinals in 2022. 

Central (22-1 overall) is set to square off against a familiar foe in Tuesday’s state semifinals; the Barons will clash with York Suburban for the third time this season, and for the second time in 13 days. The Barons and the Trojans will duke it out at 5 p.m. at Penn Manor in Millersville. 

Central held off Suburban 25-23, 27-25 and 25-22 in a hotly contested nonleague match back on May 5 in York. In the rematch, on May 29 in Manheim, the Barons scarfed up a 25-21, 25-17, 25-19 win for district gold.

“We’ll have a lot of confidence going into the game,” Central defensive wizard Colin Rohrer said. “You always want to be confident, and I’d say we’re pretty confident right now. As long as we can stay consistent — getting our serves in, playing good defense, hitting the ball — we feel like we can probably beat any team in the state.” 

In Central’s first encounter with Suburban this spring, Dylan Musser teed up 35 assists, Reagan Miller blasted 14 kills and Landon Mattiace had seven blocks to spearhead the Barons. 

In the district finale, Musser was everywhere with 34 assists, eight kills, five aces, five digs and a pair of blocks; Miller waffled 11 kills with 11 digs; Mattiace had 10 kills and a couple of blocks; Rohrer had 18 digs; and Weston Longenecker (8 kills, 9 digs) and Caleb Groff (5 kills, 8 digs) came up big from their outside hitter spots. 

That kind of balance has been the Barons’ calling card. 

MC-YS III will be for a spot in Saturday’s state championship match, set for 11 a.m. inside Penn State’s esteemed Rec Hall.

Central and Suburban are both 0-2 in PIAA championship matches. The Trojans bounced the Barons 3-1 in the state semifinals in 2019. 

Tuesday’s other Class 2A state semifinal is another dandy matchup, with District 10 winner and reigning PIAA champ Meadville taking on District 7 champ Shaler. 

Meadville, which features 6-foot-7 junior middle Luc Sorensen, a Team USA member and a Penn State recruit, beat Central 3-1 in last year’s state finale. Shaler won the PIAA Class 3A crown last spring compliments of a 3-0 win over Parkland — after the Titans eliminated Warwick in the semifinals.

Shaler dipped down to Class 2A this season, and finds itself right back in the state semifinals. 

Central is in the state playoffs for the eighth season in a row; the 2020 campaign was canceled because of COVID-19. Since 2017, the Barons are 15-7 in PIAA matches, with finals trips in 2018 (a loss to Northeastern York) and last spring (a loss to Meadville).

Central reached the quarterfinals in all eight trips, with semifinal appearances in 2017, 2018, 2019, 2024 and this spring. The Barons are a chiseled bunch, piloted by a veteran coach, Craig Dietrich, who knows how to steer a team through a playoff bracket. 

“It’s an exciting time,” Central middle Blake Neiles said. “We got to play in the state finals last year, and not many people get to experience that. Now we want to go back.”

It is chalk across the board in the PVCA Class 2A state rankings; Meadville is first, Central is second, Shaler is third and York Suburban is fourth. 

TRIPLE TROUBLE IN TRIPLE-A

Three of the four teams still standing in the PIAA Class 3A bracket call District 3 home. That’s pretty impressive.

Tuesday’s semifinals will pit undefeated District 3 champ Cumberland Valley against District 3 third-seed Governor Mifflin, and District 3 runner-up Central York against WPIAL kingpin North Allegheny, which is angling for its 10th state crown.

Central York, which has captured 25 District 3 and seven PIAA titles, KO’d Governor Mifflin, the Berks County champ, in the district semifinals. 

North Allegheny was tripped up by Warwick in the first round last spring, so the Tigers are plenty motivated to get back in the winner’s circle this time around. 

It is also chalk in the PVCA Class 3A state rankings; Cumberland Valley is first, North Allegheny is second, Central York is third and Governor Mifflin is fourth. 

X: @JeffReinhart77

MORE L-L LEAGUE VOLLEYBALL COVERAGE