By GARRETT WENZEL

On Thursday, Sept. 14, the No. 1-ranked Penn Kingsmen Girls Soccer Team roared past the Riley Wildcats, 9-0.

The quick-strike Kingsmen offense got on the scoreboard in the third minute with a goal by Brooke VanDyck.

Just one minute later, Kristina Lynch scored to make it 2-0 Penn in the fourth minute.

The Kingsmen would then light up the scoreboard with three goals in four minutes.  McKenzie Blankenbaker, Mary Kaczynski and Maya Locognato scored to build the Kingsmen lead to 5-0.

In the 30th minute, Carly Todd score to put the Kingsmen up 6-0. Kristina Lynch scored her second goal of the night on a penalty kick to put the Kingsmen up 7-0.

Grace Szklarek followed that up with a goal to put the Kingsmen up 8-0.

Haylee Shahan wrapped up the scoring for the Kingsmen.

By BRADEN PITTMAN

Penn’s Girls JV Soccer Team shutout Washington's Varsity Team, 9-0, on Tuesday, Sept. 12.

Penn not only shutout Washington, but the stellar Kingsmen defense didn’t even allow a shot on goal the entire game.

Sydney Domal led the team with two goals. Brooke Neal, Jordan Cencelewski, Nicole Kilbourne, Hannah Shely, Allison Yergler, Addison Machalleck and Anna Todd also scored goals.

Anna de Varona led the team in assists with two, along with assists by Ellie Tuesley and Hannah Shely.

Penn placed third in the Lafayette Jeff Volleyball Tournament on Saturday, Sept. 16.

In opening-round play, Penn beat Bloomington North, 25-3, 25-12, and beat Covington, 25-22, 25-15.

No. 3 Providence beat Penn 25-16, 26-24. Penn star Ally Hickey did not play in the match due to injury.

In the third-place match, Penn Beat Homestead 25-21, 25-13.

Sophia Cruz had nine aces to lead Penn in the four-game tournament. Julia Beers and Kylee Hixenbaugh had five aces each. Alyssa Torres had four aces. Italia Fields had 34 kills and Alyssa Torres had 23 kills. Rachel Rupert and Courtney North had 13 and 11 kills respectively. Naomi Willis had 54 assists in the tournament. Rachel Hickey led Penn with 54 digs. Kylee Hixenbaugh and Sophia Cruz had 25 digs each.

By GARRETT WENZEL

The No. 1-ranked and defending state champion Penn Kingsmen Girls Soccer Team rolled past Leo (8-0) and Fort Wayne Canterbury (8-0) on Saturday in the Canterbury Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 16.

Florida State recruit Kristina Lynch score a hat trick (three goals) in each game.

Kristina Lynch scored the Kingsmen’s first two goals of the game on assists from Lauren Cernak and Lauren Hamilton. McKenzie Blankenbaker scored in the 18th minute to put the Kingsmen up 3-0 over the Lions. The next goal was scored by Kristina Lynch to wrap up the hat trick and put the Kingsmen up 4-0.

Hamilton scored her second of the game in the 45th minute to put the Kingsmen up 5-0.

In the 49th minute, Brooke VanDyck blasted in a goal to put the Kingsmen up 6-0. Carly Todd would add onto that in the 65th minute to put the Kingsmen in front 7-0. The final Kingsmen goal would be scored by Grace Szklarek in the 67th minute to help the Kingsmen seal the victory 8-0.

In the 8-0 victory against Fort Wayne Canterbury, Kristina Lynch scored three goals. Maya Lacognato, Brooke Fuller, Brooke VanDyck, Regan Hart and Mary Kaczynski scored goals. Goalie Mackenzie Wood played offense in the second half and had two assists. Sydney Egendoerfer, McKenzie Blankenbaker, Kelsi Carrico and Kayla Leady also had assists.

Penn’s Girls Cross Country Team turned in a spectacular effort at the 50th running of the prestigious New Prairie Invitational, finishing second among 32 teams in the Class AAA race on Saturday, Sept. 16.

About 2,700 runners from 105 high schools in Indiana, Michigan, Illinois and Ohio competed in the event.

Penn’s Girls placed second with 153 points. Valparaiso finished first with 97 points.

The Kingsmen Girls competed in a field that included one third of the Top 25 teams in Indiana.

“On a hot day, the strength and depth of the Lady Kingsmen shined through,” Penn Girls Cross Country head coach Michael Clements said. “Every day at practice they rise to the challenge which I present them and I’m excited that they are starting to see the hard work pay off with success on some of the biggest cross country stages in Indiana.

“We were extremely competitive at every position, including our sixth & seventh runners beating several scoring runners from other teams, which was huge for us today,” Clements said.

“A big theme of ours is being adaptable, both in life and running, and today our pack adapted phenomenally to some tough conditions and stellar competition.”

Penn’s Lauren Frank placed 16th overall with a time of 19:30.8. Dani Spring was 25th (19:57.3), Brooke Neal was 27th (19:58.7), Ellie Jankowski was 40th (20:20.6); and Riley Keppler was 45th (20:28.9).

Valparaiso also won the Boys Class AAA race with 88 points. Penn was seventh with 217.

Colton Shail was Penn’s top runner with a 28th-place finish (16:46.2). Curtis Cornell placed 34th (16:51.1), Matt Long placed 45th (17:01.9), Chandler Neal placed 46th (17:04.5) and Chad Piatt places 64th (17:22.9).

Penn’s Girls boasted the top two runners in the Girls JV race, which had more than 500 runners. Reagan Hoke was first (20:59) and Haley Makowski was second (21:06).

Penn High’s Girls Golf Team earned the Penn Sectional Championship on Friday, Sept. 15.

It was the ninth Sectional Championship in a row for the Kingsmen, and the 19th in program history.

Penn’s Lyvia Li earned medalist honors with a 77.

Grace Szklarek of Penn was second with an 81.

Abbey Hamilton shot a 90 for the Kingsmen.

Ryen De Toro finished the Knollwood course with a 101.

Kate Burnett rounded out the Kingsmen effort with a 123.

By DORIAN CLAYTON

The Penn Boys soccer team beat South Bend Riley, 7-0.

Jeffrey Harper and Phillip Hartland scored two goals each for the Kingsmen.

Hayden Carnine, Alex Karamitsos, and Sammy Atkins each put in one goal.

Goalkeepers Evan Mercurio and Eric Baker with the shutout victory.

Assists were made by Micah Craig, Sammy Atkins, Colin Stahl, Aron Janko, and Ryan Hague.

By JEFFREY HARPER

Penn’s Volleyball Team beat Warsaw, 3-0, on Monday, Sept. 11. The Kingsmen posted winning scores of  25-16, 25-14, 25-20.

Alyssa Torres led the Kingsmen with 12 kills, followed by Italia Fields with 10 kills and Rachel Rupert with 9 kills.

Naomi Willis led the team in assists with 27.

Rachel Hickey hustled for 18 digs, followed by Kylee Hixenbaugh with 12 and Julia Beers with 11.

Penn Varsity Volleyball defeated South Bend Clay 25-6, 25-10, and 25-5. The Kingsmen improved to 16-1.

Molly Pooler was dominant with 9 kills. Courtney North had 6 kills and Amari Torain had 5.

Naomi Willis was a key contributor to the three victories with 32 sets.

Julia Beers, Sophia Cruz, and Rachel Hickey were amazing on defense with a total of 47 defends between them. Cruz had 25, Hickey had 12, and Beers had 10.  

Students in the Penn High School Medical Interventions Class performed an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), which is used to diagnose disease by detecting antibodies.

The Medical Interventions Class, taught by Courtney Porter, is part of Penn’s Bio-Medical Sciences pathway. 

Penn is the first large, comprehensive public high school in Indiana to achieve the Indiana Department of Education full Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) certification.

Penn’s STEM Academy is the only full STEM-certified program in the “School within a School” model in Indiana.  

According to the Indiana Department of Education, Full STEM Certification is awarded to schools or programs that demonstrate a commitment to providing high quality STEM programs in the areas of science, technology, engineering and math, while preparing students for success in the 21st century. 

Penn is now one of 19 STEM-certified programs or schools in Indiana.