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Top seed Mid-Atlantic will take on CNB in title contest in YMCA final

YMCA Alumni Semis

By Nate Ritchey 4 min read
Mirror photo by Nate Ritchey Sydney Lear was named the recipient of the 2026 Brooke Zimmerman Memorial Award on Tuesday evening in the Blair Regional YMCA Alumni Division. The award is given to a player that demonstrates the same character, sportsmanship and respect for others that Zimmerman displayed throughout her life. Zimmerman was a graduate of Williamsburg High School and later played on Williamsburg’s Alumni team, which continues to participate in the Y summer league today. A memorial fund was established in Zimmerman’s name to inspire future generations of athletes. From left: Tyler Zimmerman, Kamden Detwiler, Natalie Houtz, Don Zimmerman, Sydney Lear, Shannon Lear and Brad Lear.

HOLLIDAYSBURG -- The top two seeds in the Blair Regional YMCA Summer League Alumni Division found themselves in close games down the stretch in semifinal action.

Top seed Mid-Atlantic Sports faced a tough The Pickled Pimp team, the fourth seed, but used a run in the last 10 minutes of the second half to pull away, and hold on, for a 50-43 victory.

"All of us have been playing together at some point throughout high school and college," Mid-Atlantic Sports Ali Hatajik said. "So, just knowing we have trust in each other -- they have my back and I have theirs."

No. 2 seed and two-time defending champion CNB Bank trailed by double digits to third-seeded Dirtworks in the second half, but used tough defense and a 3-point barrage to climb all the way back to earn a 54-48 win.

"We're just really competitive," CNB Bank's Lanie Wilt said. "A lot, if not all of our girls, played in college. So, all of us have that competitive spirit."

Sydney Snyder buried a pair of back-to-back 3-pointers that put Dirtworks out in front by 12 at 45-33.

However, CNB Bank tightened up its defensive pressure and knocked down four shots from long range as part of a 21-3 run to end the contest.

Darcy Gressler got CNB going with five straight points to close the gap to seven (45-38).

Dirtworks got three points back when Snyder made 1-of-2 foul shots after a technical was called on the CNB Bank bench.

Leah Johnston delivered a pair of her own free throws to stretch the Dirtworks lead back to 10 at 48-38.

CNB Bank reeled off the final 16 points of the evening as Wilt buried back-to-back triples.

Wilt found her groove in the second half as she connected on four from downtown and totaled 16 of her game high 20 points after the break.

Megan Smith, who ended with 14 points, followed Wilt's trifectas with one of her own to pull CNB within one at 48-47.

Rachel Gehret's offensive rebound and stickback around the 2:30 mark gave CNB Bank the lead for good at 49-48.

"We were just working through things trying to figure out what was working, and trying out different things," Wilt said. "We were switching back-and-forth with defenses to try and get in their (Dirtworks) heads and mess them up, and it worked. Our shots weren't falling at the beginning, but they started fall when we needed them to."

Snyder's 15 points led Dirtworks, while Hannah Johnston totaled 13.

In the opening semifinal of the alumni division, the Pickled Pimp grabbed a 36-33 edge following a deep trey from Jenna Norton and a layup by Lilly Gerwert.

Hatajik scored inside before Pickled's Clark hit a pair of foul shots to give them back the three point edge at 38-35.

Hatajik immediately showed off her outside touch by delivering a 3-pointer to knot the contest then followed that up by converting the second of two foul shots to give MAS the lead for good at 39-38.

McKenna Weimert hit a pull-up to give Mid-Atlantic Sports the 41-38 lead, but a bucket by the Pickled Pimps' Sienna Kirsch got her team as close as it would get the rest of the way.

MAS recorded the next eight points as Brooklyn Barron and Sydney Lear tallied four apiece.

Lear led all scorers with 16 points, while Hatajik ended with 12.

Meanwhile, Jenna Norton's 11 points fronted The Pickled Pimps.

"We beat them (The Pickled Pimp) twice (in the regular season), so we knew they were going to be coming for us hard," Hatajik said. "We kind of let it slip away a little bit, but we were an to come back with that trust in each other."

THE PICKED PIMP (43): Eyer 2 0-0 5, Norton 4 0-0 11, Gerwert 2 0-0 5, Kirsch 1 3-4 5, Clark 2 2-2 7, Haralson 2 2-4 6, Clapper 1 1-1 3. Totals: 14 8-11 43.

MID-ATLANTIC SPORTS (50): Hatajik 4 3-6 12, Lane 0 1-2 1, Nguyen-Moore 0 0-0 0, Weimert 3 0-0 6, Barron 2 2-2 6, Lear 5 5-6 16, Hileman 3 1-2 9. Totals: 17 12-18 50.

Halftime: Mid-Atlantic, 26-233. 3-point field goals: The Pickled Pimp 6 (Norton 3, Eyer, Gerwert, Clark); Mid-Atlantic Sports 4 (Hileman 2, Hatajik, Lear).

DIRTWORKS (48): Snyder 5 1-2 15, McCracken 1 0-0 5,,Shetrom 0 0-0 0, Cannistraci 1 1-1 3, H. Johnston 5 2-2 13, L. Johnston 3 2-3 9, Irvin 1 0-0 3. Totals: 16 6-8 48.

CNB BANK (54): Kaack 2 1-2 6, Lee 0 1-2 1, Gehret 3 0-0 6, L. Wilt 7 2-2 20, Smith 5 1-2 14, Gressler 2 0-0 5, McDowell 1 0-0 2, Nardozza 0 0-0 0, Lantzy 0 0-0 0, Hopsicker 0 0-0 0, C. Wilt 0 0-0 0. Totals: 20 5-8 54.

Halftime: Dirtworks, 23-21. 3-point field goals: Dirtworks 8 (Snyder 4, McCracken, H. Johnston, L. Johnston, Irvin); CNB Bank 9 (L. Wilt 4, Smith 3, Kaack, Gressler).

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