Quince Orchard

By JENNYLYNN BROWN Staff Writer WILLIAMSPORT - This weekend's sweltering weather didn't overwhelm Civil War re-enactors camping in wool uniforms at the Cushwa Basin near the visitor center at the C&O Canal National Historical Park. It brought them closer to the true soldier experience, said Barbara Benedict of Frederick, 35, one of three privates participating in the 6th Maryland Volunteer Infantry Regiment encampment in the parking lot at 205 W. Potomac St. "The 6th Maryland were camped in this vicinity, quite possibly on this very spot from September to December 1862, We were responsible for protecting the aqueduct, the Potomac River and keeping the canal open," said her husband, Ron Benedict, 43. The infantry guarded the Potomac River to prevent Confederates from destroying dams, which would have flooded the C&O canal.

andrewm@herald-mail.com Derick Boerstler has been lifting weights, while Terrail Blair has been shedding weight. The South Hagerstown wrestlers are an unlikely duo. Not many would have guessed they'd be where they are today - the semifinals of North Hagerstown's 18th annual Hub Cup, with a pair of 15-0 records to go with their No. 1 seeds. If someone would have told them this before the season, "I wouldn't have believed them," Boerstler said. "Me either," Blair said.

BOONSBORO - Since Boonsboro's Alex Baker assisted teammate Jerica Hewett's 1,000th point just over a month ago, Hewett vowed to return the favor when it was time for Baker to join the 1,000-point club. Hewett made good on her promise Monday night when Boonsboro hosted Catoctin in its MVAL Antietam finale. She found Baker underneath the basket with 4:56 remaining in the fourth quarter and Baker fought through contact to finish the layup and the ensuing free throw made her the fourth Boonsboro girl to score 1,000 points.

Amont Hawkins finally got the result he wanted against his rival. The North Hagerstown junior scored a buzzer-beating takedown in the third period to defeat South Hagerstown's previously unbeaten Marquil Holt 5-4 in the quarterfinals of the 220-pound weight class at the Maryland Class 4A-3A West Region Wrestling Tournament at Sherwood High School on Friday night. “I never gave up,” Hawkins said. “I looked up, saw 8 seconds left, heard everyone yelling and I hit a single that I've been working on all year.

South Hagerstown boys basketball coach Kevin Naylor looked back on a pair of late-season defeats as the “attitude adjustment” his team needed. It was bad enough the Rebels had blown a 16-point lead on Feb. 8 to rival North Hagerstown, but they turned around and wasted a 17-point lead on Feb 12 in a 55-46 loss to Thomas Johnson. “We got out of sync at that point,” said Naylor. “After that, I think we quit being a team of individuals.” Enough so that South has defeated seven straight foes to reach the Maryland Class 3A state semifinals on Thursday at 5 p.m. against Centennial (19-6)

andrewm@herald-mail.com Washington County's long-standing Rebel Invitational wrestling tournament could become the Rebel Duals. At least that's what the 23rd edition of the event will be this Saturday at South Hagerstown. With only six teams competing this year, a duals format just made more sense than brackets. "Three teams (Brunswick, Handley and Central Cambria) backed out, and I didn't know that until after the season started," South first-year coach Adam Robinson said.

J.R. Lowery has gotten plenty of recognition in Washington County already. On Wednesday, he got a little love from around the state of Maryland. The Boonsboro senior was a second-team selection on the Maryland Small School All-State Football Team, as chosen by a panel of sports writers across the state. Lowery, who was The Herald-Mail's Washington County Defensive Player of the Year, led the county with 135 tackles in 2011, including 24 tackles for loss and nine sacks. He was an MVAL Antietam first-team pick as both an offensive tackle and a defensive lineman.

The 26th annual Hub Cup this weekend at North Hagerstown will be much like the previous 25 editions of the wrestling tournament - highly competitive. “That's always the goal, to try to gather a fairly competitive field,” said longtime North coach Greg Slick. “Our philosophy has always been that you get better by wrestling good guys.” There are Maryland state-ranked wrestlers in every weight class, while Waynesboro and Greencastle-Antrim will add a dose of Pennsylvania toughness to the brackets.

South Hagerstown senior Chris Collins won his battle, while North Hagerstown won another war Saturday at the Maryland Class 4A-3A West Region Wrestling Tournament at Sherwood High School. Collins was the only local wrestler to win his weight class, capturing the title at 195 pounds. North, meanwhile, won its second region championship this month, topping the 25-team field with 110.5 points. Springbrook was second (106.5) and Wootton was third (105) - the same two teams the Hubs defeated on Feb. 8 to win the 4A-3A West dual-meet title.

North Hagerstown’s 24th annual Hub Cup wrestling tournament has been all Brendon Colbert hoped it would be so far. The North freshman went 2-0 with a pair of pins at 112 pounds Friday to advance to today’s semifinals, while improving to 17-0 on the season. “I’ve watched this every year since I’ve been real little,” Colbert said. “I couldn’t wait to get here, and now I’m here. There are so many people here. It just gets me so excited, so pumped up. Hopefully I can get under that spotlight (in the finals)