Author: Andy Sandrik

Have you ever been angry before? That was a silly question. Of course you have. As long as there are sports, politics, and money in the world, the human species will always find something to get fired up about. So the real question here is: How do we handle that anger? Do we devote an entire afternoon to feuding with a stranger on Facebook? Yell at our kids with such ferocity they’ll be talking about us in therapy 30 years from now? Put the pedal to the metal on the highway? There is so much negative energy to stave off…

While most kids have their minds set on baseball and soccer at this point in the spring, a sizable group of Franklin County wrestlers battled hard last weekend to ensure their season runs until May. Waynesboro, Greencastle, and Chambersburg all sent competitors to last weekend’s MAWA Western Region Tournament in State College. The Top 4 wrestlers at each weight — including a group of 18 from the Local.News area — have punched their tickets to the Middle Atlantic Eastern National Championships, set to be held on May 6-7 at the Wicomico Civic Center in Salisbury, Md. Chambersburg crowned two Western…

 When you’re a top-level high school athlete making the jump to Division I college sports, both pressure and expectations are going to be higher than ever before.  Taryn Parks, a former PIAA champion runner for Greencastle-Antrim, is not only answering the bell for the North Carolina Tar Heels, she’s thriving in the spotlight. One year after winning the ACC Indoor Championship in the mile, Parks has done it again, defending her conference championship with a time of 4:39.36. Since the big win, Parks has returned to the outdoor track scene and has competed in one invitational so far this spring.…

There are so many things that can bring joy to a runner. We go nuts when we run a PR, and we’re in awe when we take in the scenery from the top of a mountain. There are some of us who chase that mythical “runner’s high,” while others just want to justify an extra cheeseburger once in a while. But I think for me, the greatest feeling in this sport is when my mindset and actions have a positive influence on another person. Even though I’m not the fastest guy on the race course, I feel so much value…

All of the hard drills and late nights in the wrestling room. All of the bruises and blood. All of the drives to tournaments hours away from home. It’s all for this moment: States. Youth and junior high wrestlers from all across the Local.News area didn’t shy away from the bright spotlight. As a matter of fact, they shined. Competing at two state tournaments — the Keystone State Championships and the PJW Youth State Championships — wrestlers from the area landed a combined 12 spots on the awards stand. Waynesboro, Greencastle, and Chambersburg were all represented with state placewinners, with…

In just a few short weeks — Pennsylvania weather permitting — I’m going to be back out doing what I love to do: Working outside. Whether it’s mowing, trimming, digging out a bush, or power-washing a house, I get so much satisfaction from spending an entire day out in the sun. It’s just something about working in the peaceful embrace of nature while the rest of the world labors inside an office cubicle, that makes me spring out of bed in the morning. Of course, I’d be lying if I said this type of work was easy. Sometimes the heat…

When it comes to junior high wrestling, the stage doesn’t get any bigger than 1st Summit Arena at Cambria County War Memorial in Johnstown: The home of the PJW Junior High State Championships. Chambersburg’s talented squad sent four of its 11 state qualifiers to the medal stand, with 252-pounder Frank Barrientos leading the way with a third-place showing. After getting knocked out of the championship bracket in the Round of 32, Barrientos put together some kind of run in the wrestlebacks, winning seven straight matches to climb to the third spot on the podium. Barrientos totaled nine matches against state-caliber…

Madison Matta, the 136-pound grappler called the “pin master” in Lock Haven country, now has a few more titles to add to her name: State champion, regional runner-up, and national qualifier. Matta, from Waynesboro, has been a trailblazing sledgehammer for the Lock Haven women’s wrestling program, which recently completed its second season in existence this winter. Matta has been in the lineup every step of the way, compiling a 19-8 record with 13 pins this season. In this week’s College Corner, we’ll take a closer look at back half of Matta’s season, which includes runs through the Pennsylvania Women’s Collegiate…

It’s the thrill of victory that draws me in, and the hatred for losing that drives me to become the very best. I’m not talking about any particular game or sport here, either, just competition in itself. I don’t care if we’re on the basketball court shooting a game of H-O-R-S-E, or playing for keeps at the poker table, I’m going for the finishing blow. Pool? Cornhole? Bowling? Sign me up, because I’m in it to win it. It’s almost kind of nuts how loud I’ll shriek at myself for committing an unforced error in tennis, or how long I’ll…

It’s complicated enough to host just one wrestling tournament. There are registrations to file, volunteers to recruit and manage, and brackets to create. It’s quite a bit of work. But when presented with the option of hosting a tournament, the Waynesboro youth wrestling program asked: Why not two? It was an ambitious plan, but Indians youth coach Brandon Beltz and Co. pulled it off last weekend, successfully hosting the CPYWL Southern Qualifier on Saturday, before regrouping on Sunday to run the CPYWL Novice Tournament. Waynesboro was not only a quality host, its wrestlers also turned in outstanding efforts on the…