Compiled by Josh Schwoebel, Mars Area School District
While Punxsutawney Phil predicted six more weeks of winter, it didn’t slow down Mars Area students — who continued competing, performing, and achieving across academics, athletics, and the arts.
Middle School, 7th Grade Girls Basketball Finishes 15–0
The Mars Area Middle School seventh-grade girls basketball team completed a perfect season, finishing 15–0. Team members include Callie Bair, Alyssa Day, Emma Eriksen, Gia Ginocchi, Addy Hainan, Lila Leapline, Kylie Rhea, Avi Rocco, Talia Sanata, Addi Schaerer and Kate Sherwin.
Students Earn Regional Music Honors
Several Mars Area High School students were selected by audition to perform in upcoming Pennsylvania Music Educators Association (PMEA) festivals. Three students — seniors Kaden Ostapchenko (alto saxophone) and Carter Snyder (trombone), and junior Nathan Deemer (guitar) — were chosen for the PMEA District Jazz Band Festival held at Slippery Rock University.
In addition, four students advanced to the PMEA Region Chorus Festival in New Castle: senior Grace McMichael and juniors Glenn Jensen, Alayna Renton and Jenna Smith.
Mars students also participated in the Strings North Honors Orchestra Festival, which brings together musicians from northern Pittsburgh-area districts.
Girls Basketball Team Ends Season in WPIAL Playoffs
Mars Area High School Girls Varsity Basketball Team advanced to the first round of the 2025-2026 WPIAL Class 5A Girls Varsity Basketball Championship on Feb. 13; but was defeated 63-36 by the Indiana Area Indians.
The Lady Planets ended the regular season with an overall record of 9-12 and 6-6 in Section 3-5A.
Players on this year’s team included seniors London Ayers, Alexis Cashdollar, Cecilia Christy, Amanda Lape, Mara Lerza, and Mya Moore; junior Vivian Black; sophomores Emma Bloom, Alayna Day, Leonie Haibach, Mia Sanata and Hayden Vavala; and freshmen Meredith Lindsay, Emma Rodenbach, Isabella Schuller and Karmella Vigliotti.
Boys Basketball Team Ends Season in WPIAL Playoffs
Mars Area High School Boys Varsity Basketball Team advanced to the play-in round of the 2025-2026 WPIAL Class 5A Boys Varsity Basketball Championship on Feb. 12, but was defeated 57-46 by the Greater Latrobe Wildcats
The Fightin’ Planets ended the regular season with an overall record of 9-13 and 5-7 in Section 4-5A.
Players on this year’s team included seniors Ben Detisch, Ethan Kresinski, Nicholas Santoro, Connor Summit,Chase Thimons and Austen Wroblewski; juniors Keegan Allworth, Jacob Bridgeman, Sam Miller, Xavier Morales, Adam Petcash and Cole Spencer; sophomores Brady Brennan, Jadon Cuyar, Jackson Everhart, Andrew Kalkowski, Ryan Kuremsky, Landon Mitro and Brody Spencer; and, freshmen Kellan Garvin and Owen Lofink.
Students Selected for PMEA District Band
Several Mars Area High School students were selected by solo audition for the Pennsylvania Music Educators Association (PMEA) District Band Festival, held Feb. 4-6 at Sharon High School. Students are seniors Victoria Caringola (flute), Sydney Denk (euphonium) and Kaden Ostapchenko (alto saxophone); juniors Grace Nam (flute) and Mei Lien Mansfield (oboe); and, sophomores Dominick Najjar (trumpet) and Bailey Remler (string bass). Dr. Kate Ferguson, Youngstown State University director of athletic bands, served as guest conductor.
Elementary Robotics Team Recognized for Unity
Mars Area Elementary School’s “Martian Stack Force” robotics team earned the “Most Unified Team” award at a Unified Robotics Competition at West Allegheny Middle School.
The award recognizes teamwork and inclusion, highlighting students’ collaborative approach to building and programming their robot.
A team of Mars Area Elementary School students competed in a Unified Robotics Competition, held Feb. 5 at West Allegheny Middle School.
The “Martian Stack Force” team of fourth-graders Stephen Domski, Carly Gibson, Winstyn Hawk, River Lint, Audrey McGivern and Spencer Mundy, and third-graders Olivia Coalmer and Lee Glover, competed against 25 teams from 10 school districts.
The team earned the “Most Unified Team” Award. The award is presented to the team that best exemplifies the principles of unity and equality, ensuring that all members are equally involved in the project.
“This team award recognizes the teamwork, effort, and dedication that every student has contributed along the way, and it truly magnifies all of the hard work that has gone into this season so far,” says Colleen Hinrichsen, team coach. “It was clear that our students truly did everything together—from choosing a team name and team color, to designing the logo, to building the robot in sections.”
To prepare for the competition, the students were tasked with building a fully functional robot; kept an Engineering Notebook to document their progress; and worked together to develop strategies for the competition, says Hinrichsen. Karen Banze, gifted support teacher; Ashley Campbell, learning support teacher; and Lauren Klein, social worker, served as assistant coaches.
Sponsored by VEX Robotics and the Special Olympics, the VEX Unified Robotics Competition brings together students of diverse abilities in a competitive, yet collaborative environment, while developing their skills as communicators, engineers, problem-solvers, and more.
The team will next compete on Friday, March 6, at Hopewell Area School District; and on Thursday, April 16, at South Fayette School District. For more information, contact Hinrichsen at (724) 625-3161.
Students Compete in ‘Equations’ Academic Games
Several Mars Area School District students competed in the Academic Games League of America (AGLOA) Equations academic competition, held Feb. 4 at Slippery Rock University.
In the Grade 5-6 Division, the team of sixth-graders Jack Baumgartel, Alexander Chernykh, Bennett Kreit, Landon Lewis and Ashrith Muppala tied for fourth place out of 48 teams. Additionally, sixth-graders Jack Baumgartel, Landon Lewis and Maximus Veneziano went undefeated.
In the Grade 3-4 Division, fourth-grader Edison Thiry went undefeated.
Other participants included sixth-graders Asher Detore, Constance Miller, Ellie Spaulding, Adalyn Stuber and Maximus Veneziano; fifth-graders Noah Bergdahl, Lukas Fecich, Jessica Li, Jane Lyons, Angelo Navari, Everly Northrop and Pranshu Thakkar; fourth-graders L.J. Crawford, Brady Gaab, Carly Gibson, Winnie Hawk, Kiya Kier, Avery Kreit, River Lint, Avery Mendicino, Oscar Mulvaney, Dean Newkirk, Isaac Sedei and Juliette Wagner; and, third-grader Arshiv Balajiv, Olivia Coalmer, Josh Johnston, Silas Mahan, Lincoln Phillips, Ryland Roberts and Shreeya Sridharan.
Equations is a game of creative mathematics that challenges players to apply their knowledge and ability and to develop new skills. The annual competition is open to students in Grades 4-12 at Butler, Lawrence and Mercer county schools.
For more information, contact Tomianne Anderson, gifted teacher, at (724) 625-2601 or visit https://agloa.org/equations/.
#bethekindkid Apparel Available for Purchase Online
Mars Area School District, in cooperation with JAM Enterprises, is taking orders for #bethekindkid t-shirts and other apparel online at http://shieldsembroidery.tuosystems.com/stores/marsbtkkc26 through Monday, Feb. 23. (Orders will be shipped during the week of March 16.)
All students are encouraged to wear their #bethekindkid t-shirts every Wednesday throughout the school year, as part of the District’s #wearthemwednesdays initiative. For more information about the #bethekindkid movement, visit https://bethekindkid.net.
Cheer Team Competes in National Championships
Mars Area High School’s Competition Cheer Team joined in the 2026 UCA National High School Cheerleading Championships, held Jan. 30-Feb. 1 at Walt Disney World Resort (Orlando, Fla.). In the Small Varsity Division II event, the team took 14th place in the Semifinal Round (Group C/D). The team placed fifth in the Preliminary Round (Group C). In the Small Varsity Division II Game Day competition, the Planets received 18th place in Semifinals. The team took fifth place in the Preliminary Round (Group A)
Team members include seniors Riley Carrel, Josie Dressen, Gianna Goodman, Liv Hanna, Allie Lefcakis, Marina Missos, Paige Nicholson, Maddy Osterman, Bella Staines, Avery Symchak, Teagan Tumulty and Addy Vargo; juniors Emlyn Kasperowicz and Teegan Painter; sophomores Lily Becker, Lexi Lefcakis, Aliana Spagnolo andAbby Stevenson; and freshmen Sophia Lapina and Lainy Vargo.
Students Perform with Strings North Honors Orchestra
Numerous members of Mars Area High School and Mars Area Middle School orchestras attended the Strings North Honors Orchestra Festival, held Feb. 12 at North Hills High School.
Students are senior Avery Varrenti (violin 2); junior Lila Schrecengost (violin 1); sophomores Emily Chadwick(violin 1), Alyson Mazurek (violin 1), Lexi Riner (viola), Kyri Whirlow (bass); freshmen Nayell Echeverria (violin 2), Alston Hung (cello), Solomon Wolf (violin 2); eighth-graders Mackenzie Allshouse (bass), Riley Edler (violin 1), Jack Llewellyn (bass), Noelle Papik (bass), Wyatt Starkey (violin 1), Leah Trosan (viola) and Ainsley Veazey(violin 1); seventh-graders Levi Cope (violin 2), Hannah Nam (violin 1), Seth Pedicone (viola), Kaylen Ralph(violin 2), Kristin Sadhu (violin 1) and Lily Stephans (bass).
The annual Strings North Honors Orchestra Festival brings together students from Pittsburgh’s northern area school districts, including Deer Lakes, Hampton, Knoch, Mars, North Hills, Quaker Valley, Riverview and Shaler.
Students Participate in Junior Theater Festival
Several Mars Area School District students took to the stage with Jeter Backyard Theater at the 2026 Junior Theater Festival, held January 16-18 in Atlanta, Ga.
Students included Mars Area Middle School eighth-graders Teagan Clawson and Megan Schaffner; and Mars Area Centennial School sixth-graders Lydia McKim, Sadie Rhoads, Callie Schaffner, Mackenzie Schnur, Hadley Sichlerand Zoey Szelong. The students, along with their fellow Jeter Theater performers, was awarded Excellence in Pod, an award that recognizes the group with the highest score in their assigned adjudication group.
The Junior Theater Festival, which celebrates the achievements of young people in musical theater, welcomed 141 student groups, representing 31 states and nine countries. For more information, visit https://jeterbackyardtheater.com/.
Special Education Workshop Set for Feb. 26
Mars Area School District’s Special Education Department will offer a Special Education Parent/Guardian Workshop, at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 26, at the District’s Administration Office. Teresa O’Brien, behavior analyst, will present “What is Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA)?” To RSVP, e-mail akopac@marsk12.org by no later than Thursday, Feb. 19.
Tickets On Sale for “The Wizard of Oz”
Mars Area High School will present The Wizard of Oz on March 13 and 14 in the high school auditorium.
Reserved tickets are $15 and available online. The production features a large student cast and crew and is expected to draw strong community attendance.
Book Fair, Career Day & Parent Workshop
Families also have several upcoming events to note:
- The Elementary School PTO will host a Spring Scholastic Book Fair from Feb. 17–20
- Centennial School is seeking speakers for its May 1 Career Day
Kids of Steel Team Forming
Elementary students in grades K–6 are invited to join the district’s Kids of Steel running team, culminating in the Chick-fil-A Pittsburgh Kids Marathon on May 2.
Open House & Spirit Dance at the Middle School
Mars Area Middle School will hold:
- Open House on Feb. 19
- Winter Spirit Dance on Feb. 20
Middle School to Host Family Bingo Night
Mars Area Middle School Student Council will sponsor a Family Bingo Night for elementary students (Grades K-4) from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 17.
Activities will include bingo, raffle baskets, prizes, refreshments and more. Tickets are $5 per person and include a strip of three (3) bingo cards for six (6) games. Extra cards and daubers will be sold at the door.
Tickets may be pre-ordered online at https://forms.gle/gzRSzkTndV6uKCL57 through Friday, Feb. 13. Note: Families may purchase a maximum of two (2) adult and four (4) child tickets. No tickets will be sold at the door.
Checks (made payable to “Mars Area Middle School”) may be turned in to the child’s homeroom teacher at Mars Area Elementary School and Mars Area Primary Center.
For more information, call (724) 625-3145.
As always, The 228 Times will continue to share updates from across Mars Area schools — from the classroom to the stage to the court.
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