Selinsgrove was the dominant hockey team in the area last fall. Given that understatement, it's no surprise that the Seals dominate The Daily Item Field Hockey All-Star Team for 2009.
The Seals, who ran through the Heartland Athletic Conference Division I schedule undefeated before cruising to their fifth consecutive District 4 Class AA title, put five players on the first team and four on the second team. HAC-I runner-up Mifflinburg placed three players on the first team, while Shikellamy had two.
Greenwood, Lewisburg, Midd-West and Milton were also represented on the 14-player first team.
Selinsgrove, which reached its first PIAA Class AA championship game during a spectacular 23-2 season, placed four seniors and a junior on the first team. Senior forward Hope Burke led the area in scoring by a wide margin, with 35 goals and 22 assists as the top point producer with 92 (two points for a goal, one for an assist). Senior midfielder Ashtin Klingler finished with 12 goals and 17 assists, while senior back Gina Kellett produced three goals and seven assists.
Another Seals back, junior Haley Kerstetter, was a defensive stopper and had one assist, while senior goalkeeper Amber Wendt was outstanding in cage with a save percentage of 91 percent. Wendt produced 68 saves against 75 shots through the state final, which Selinsgrove lost 1-0 to Lehighton on a controversial penalty stroke in overtime.
Mifflinburg, which went 15-4 in falling to Selinsgrove in the D-4 semifinals, is represented on the first team by Samantha Brininger, Maria Caruso and Brad Catherman.
Brininger, a senior back and HAC-I first-team selection, had three assists. Catherman, a junior forward-midfielder with breakaway speed, led the Wildcats in points with 11 goals and 16 assists. Caruso, a senior forward, produced 10 goals and four assists while working the left wing of the front line.
Shikellamy's two big guns -- Terra Hall and Chelsea Miller -- again made the first team in their senior seasons. Hall was a force at center-mid, producing 16 goals and two assists, while Miller led the Braves with 22 goals and 16 assists for 60 points.
Greenwood stellar junior forward Autumn Pellman was the runner-up to Burke in area points, finishing with 63 points on 28 goals and seven assists. She also led the Tri-Valley League in points with 49, based on 21 goals and seven assists in 14 league games.
Lewisburg junior midfielder Rachel Sumfest led the Green Dragons in points with 14 goals and eight assists, while Midd-West junior midfielder Carli Furgison was the Mustangs' go-to player with nine goals and sevens assists for 25 points.
Four-time HAC-I all-star Gabrielle Seibert, a senior midfielder for Milton, rounds out the first team.
Selinsgrove placed four players on the Daily Item all-star second team, including junior forward Paige Bordner, senior back Lauren Markley, junior midfielder Candice Smith, and junior forward Ashley Youngman.
Line Mountain placed three players on the second team, including junior midfielder Kelsey Lagerman, senior midfielder Hope Martz, and junior forward Courtney Scott.
Shikellamy's two second-team selections include senior forward Sam Balonis and senior back Joie Burns.
Other Daily Item second-team all-star selections include: Southern Columbia senior forward Jenna Carl; Greenwood junior goalkeeper Anna Heggenstaller; Lewisburg senior forward Hannah Jones; Mifflinburg junior back Abby Nolan; and Midd-West senior back Emma Shirey.
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Selinsgrove field hokey team puts five on all-star first team
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