Bethlehem Press

Bethlehem Catholic coach Scott McClary still feels like his Golden Hawks have room for improvement and that may be a scary proposition for opposing teams heading into the postseason.

The Hawks (17-3, 13-1) enter the final week of the regular season first place in their division and the top-seed in the East Penn Conference with games against Dieruff (3-16) and Allen (11-7) this week.

With Becahi in prime position to head into the EPC playoffs with the number-one seed and only one regular season loss, McClary is taking it all in stride.

The Pennsylvania Field Hockey Coaches Association announced their 2018 all-state field hockey team.

Liberty’s Rayne Wright made first team honors, while a pair of teammates, Sadie Abboud and McKenna Burkhardt were named honorable mention.

In total, 23 athletes from the East Penn Conference and Colonial League were named to the teams.

The complete list is below:

First Team

The District 11 dual tournament kicks off this Thursday night to officially begin the postseason run for area teams with opening round 3A action taking place at Liberty and Northampton.

Freedom (eighth seed) will open with Emmaus (ninth seed) at 6 p.m. for the right to the on top-seeded Liberty at 7:30 p.m. at Memorial Gymnasium.

The other opening round bout at Liberty features Nazareth (fifth seed) taking on Whitehall (12th seed), with the winner moving on to take on Stroudsburg (fourth seed).

The basketball spotlight of the Lehigh Valley was front and center at Bethlehem Catholic last night, as the Golden Hawks hosted Freedom in the marquee battle of the season in the East Penn Conference. With both teams battling for the top spot in the conference, Tuesday’s showdown, which happened after Press deadlines, would play a pivotal role in the league playoff race.

Freedom (15-3) saw its 11-game win streak snapped last week in a 76-59 loss to Easton, but the Pates rebounded with wins over Bangor, Dieruff and Pocono Mountain East heading into Tuesday’s tilt.

Freedom High School inducted a new Hall of Fame class on Friday, Jan. 25, before the boys’ varsity basketball game against Dieruff.

This year’s class included: Scott Tuner, Michael Lawrence, Beth (Crocus) Kondorossy, Lauretta Dezubay Harbilas and the 1973 baseball team.

A brief bio for each inductee is below:

Scott Turner was a three-time Northeast Regional champ in wrestling at Freedom. He went on to become a two-time All-American, a three-time ACC champion and a national champ at North Carolina State in 1988.

The 2018 East Penn Conference field hockey all-stars were announced and Liberty’s Rayne Wright came away as the league MVP. The midfielder has helped the Hurricanes to a 15-2-2 record heading into this week’s EPC semifinals where the Hurricanes took on Emmaus Tuesday night.

Bethlehem Catholic’s Jaleesa Lanier also earned first team consideration from the midfield, while Wright’s teammate, Sadie Abboud, earned second team honors at forward.

The entire all-star list is below:

First Team

The last time Liberty and Nazareth met at the Virginia Duals, both teams took away seven wins apiece until the Blue Eagles managed to sneak out a 27-26 criteria victory. This weekend the Hurricanes will have a chance at redemption with the EPC title on the line when they get a rematch with Nazareth Saturday night at Easton Area Middle School in the EPC Championship Day.

Saturday’s festivities will cap off one of the most memorable regular season’s in Liberty history, as the Hurricanes (14-2) will have the chance to win their first league title since 1980.

While Freedom and Bethlehem Catholic have already locked up district berths on the season, Liberty is still working its way toward that goal as they head into an important week of action.

The Hurricanes (9-6) have won four of five games and pushed themselves in good position heading down the home stretch to clinch a district berth, barring a sudden skid in the final seven games.

Bethlehem Catholic and Freedom both entered this week’s play as the hottest teams in the East Penn Conference.

The Hawks (10-2) were riding a six game win streak coming into the week, while Freedom (10-2) was winners of nine straight games.

With both teams playing in the Steel Division, it’ll make for an interesting stretch for both teams, as they take on this week’s calendar.

For the Hawks, coming together under first-year head coach Scott McClary has been all about buying in.

Jeff Karam told his wife he isn’t reading the newspapers anymore. He isn’t even sure what his future at Bethlehem Catholic will be next season. All that matters to Karam is the present situation of taking over the coaching duties of the Golden Hawk wrestling program for the recently fired Rick Thompson.

Karam, who spent the last 10 years as head coach before stepping back this season to watch his sons wrestle in college, is back in the saddle of head coaching duties as of last Thursday when athletic director Chris Domyan asked if he would step back in charge.