Archbishop Carroll coach Paul Romanczuk was named the Catholic League's Coach of the Year Tuesday, when the postseason awards were announced.

In his sixth season, Romanczuk led the Patriots to a 21-2 record and an appearance in Wednesday's league semifinal, where they will face Roman Catholic.

Romanczuk wasn't the only one from Carroll to garner high honors. Junior guard D.J. Irving and sophomore guard Juan'Ya Green (pictured, left to right) were named to the league's Blue Division First Team. Senior forwards Kasheef Festus and Andre Wilburn were picked for Blue's Second and Third teams, respectively.

CATHOLIC RED
At Monsignor Bonner, junior point guard Jamal Melvin was named to the Red Division First Team. Junior guard Keefer Francis was selected to the Second Team.

INTER-AC
Episcopal Academy junior guard Omari Grier garnered a First-Team nomination. Teammate and senior guard Cory Goodman made the Second Team, and senior guards A.J. Jones and Sam Kurtzman of The Haverford School were Honorable Mention selections.

The Class of 2010 might as well be dubbed 'the class of the point guard'. As this reporter sees it, five of the county’s top-10 juniors play the point. And three more handle the No. 2 slot, which limits the number of post players to two.

Here are a few observations of Delaware County’s top juniors:
1. Tyree Johnson, PG, Penn Wood: A smart, instinctive No. 1 who can turn heads with his passing ability, Johnson, pictured, also has the ability to score in bunches (when needed).

2. Soutiri Sapnas, PG, Marple Newtown: A scoring, jumpshooting machine who is on his way to becoming his school’s all-time scoring champ, Sapnas is the focus of every team’s gameplan.

3. Maurice Nelson, SG, Chester: Like his older brother, he does a little bit of everything. Nelson has found a niche with the Clippers with his scoring (14.5 ppg).

4. D.J. Irving, SG, Archbishop Carroll: An unassuming player who looks for his teammates first, it’s a wonder how a player with that selfless mindset averages 14 ppg.

5. Jack Roberts, C, Strath Haven: His rebounding and shot-blocking skills are well advanced. His scoring touch is not there yet, but at 6-7, it is on the way.

6. Andrew Radomicki, PG, Penncrest: A gritty, hard-nosed point who does the stuff that doesn’t appear in box scores: gets everyone involved, takes charges, makes the extra pass.

7. Omari Grier, PG, Episcopal Academy: He can slash or hit a pull-up. Grier works his best in catch-and-shoot opportunities and he possesses some dangerous size on the wing.

8. Jamal Melvin, PG, Monsignor Bonner: An undersized guard who can bob and weave his way to the bucket, Melvin can also dish to his bigs if nothing is there. He is fun to watch.

9. Ben Mingledough, SF, Archbishop Carroll: Long and lean, he’s a terror on the perimeter. Mingledough has put scoring on the backburner for now because of his skills on defense.

10. Laquan Robinson, SG, Chester: A role player and a selective shooter, he chooses his opportunities wisely. On any given night, though, Robinson can go off for 15.

Others to watch: Radnor G Kyle Hammonds; Ridley C Cameron Gunter; Penncrest SG Rodney Duncan; Haverford School SG A.J. Jones; Chichester G Brian Parker; Springfield C Wally Rutecki; Glen Mills G Lavander Johns.

You don't go from a lean 171-pounder to a bulky 189-pounder overnight. Springfield's Andre Petroski knew that, so he started to hit the weights.

And he hit them hard.

"I expect to win states," said Petroski, a senior who finished fifth at that level last season. "I am ready to do whatever it takes."

Petroski is someone to watch this wrestling season, which kicked off over the weekend but is previewed Wednesday in the Daily Times.

Beat writer Jon Campbell does a great job of previewing the sport with a sneak peek at the Central League and the others. In keeping with our new preview tradition, Campbell offers his High Fives, too.

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Elsewhere in Delco
***Boys basketball: Monsignor Bonner, led by Jamal Melvin, raced past Academy Park last night. The recap of the county's other games follows the game story.
***Girls basketball: Without All-Delco Diamon Beckford, who left after the second quarter due to injury, the Royals dropped their Central League opener.
***Swimming

And then there were three.

A field of 17 Delaware County teams to make the postseason has narrowed to just three after the elimination of two local teams on Wednesday.

Class A Delco Christian lost in the district semifinals. Offering up the quote of the night was Knights senior Jake Godino, who was truly hurt by his team's loss: "I don’t know what happened," Godino said. "A loss is a loss … and we worked hard. But things didn’t work out for us."

And Jamal Melvin (pictured) and Monsignor Bonner dropped a heartbreaker in the Catholic League semifinals. The Friars tied the game with five seconds remaining, but subsequently fouled an Archbishop Ryan player with 0.8 ticks left. A la Villanova / Georgetown, this one was decided at the free-throw line.

Only three Delco teams are still playing this season: Chester will tipoff Friday with a district championship on the line; and Penn Wood and Ridley are in Class AAAA's play-back games before heading to states. As for Ridley, the Green Raiders' loss Wednesday means they can attain no higher than District One's seventh seed in states.

EVANS NETS HONOR
McDonald's All-American team was announced Wednesday, and star guard Tyreke Evans of American Christian made the cut. The two-time All-Delco averages 33.7 points, 10.5 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 4.3 steals for the Eagles (26-4).

Marple Newtown's Soutiri Sapnas brought to an end his incredible sophomore season with a record.

His Tigers fell in the first round of the District One Class AAA tournament, 65-55, but Sapnas became the single-season scoring champ in Marple Newtown history. Sapnas' 527 points in 25 games surpassed the 521 in 26 games posted by Greg Bishop.

Sapnas (pictured) has two seasons left at Marple Newtown and is sure to break even more records in his high school career.

All-Catholic Teams Announced: Six players from Delaware County schools were named to this year’s All-Catholic League Southern Division teams, which were announced Wednesday.

The only area player named to the First Team was Monsignor Bonner’s Lijah Thompson. The 6-7 junior forward averages 14 points per game for the Friars. He also leads the team in rebounds and blocked shots.

Bonner’s Jamal Melvin and Archbishop Carroll’s Kasheef Festus made the division’s Second Team. Selected to the Third Team were Carroll’s D.J. Irving and Ellis Rogers and Cardinal O’Hara’s Zach Tansey. Kudos to those guys.

Additional basketball coverage: Check out preview capsules for tonight's games and a feature story on Chester's Kevin Green-Germany, who has emerged as a consistent 3-point threat for the Clippers.