Butler’s Christian Sequete closed 2017 in style.

The senior wrestler earned a tournament championship at 182 pounds late last week at the Southmoreland Holiday Classic, pinning Hollidaysburg’s Mason McCready in the third period of the title bout.

After receiving a first-round bye, Sequete scored the first of five takedowns against Valley’s Brandon O’Sullivan just 13 seconds into a second-round bout, paving the way to a 14-3 major decision.

Sequete then pinned North Star’s Levi Sheeler in the third period in a quarterfinal bout and prevailed with a tight 2-0 decision over Beth Center’s Dominic Fundy in the semifinals.

The Golden Tornado had several other wrestlers place at the event. They included: Clayton Dressler (8th at 106 pounds), Colton Spohn (5th at 120), Steven Green (6th at 132), Jack Codispot (3rd at 145) and Justin Stewart (5th at 160).

Seneca Valley senior Louis Newell placed second at the prestigious Powerade Tournament, held at Canon-McMillan High School.

In the 120-pound championship bout against Canon-McMillan’s Logan Macri, Newell gained the first advantage with an escape in the second period.

Macri answered with an escape of his own late in the third, then scored a takedown less than a minute into overtime to earn the title.

Also placing for the Raiders was Alejandro Herrera-Rondon, who scored a pair of upsets and finished sixth.

Girls Basketball

Mars made 10 of its 12 free throw attempts in the final quarter to help close out a 45-39 win over Shaler at the Titans’ holiday tournament.

Lauren Wasylson was 9-of-11 from the stripe and led the Planets (6-3) with 15 points. Tai Johnson added 14 points in the victory.

Neshannock 50, Slippery Rock 32 — The Rockets trailed 24-10 at halftime and could not recover at the Farrell Tournament.

Freshman Maryann Ackerman paced Slippery Rock with nine points while senior Jenna Heitzenrater tallied seven rebounds and five steals.

C.W. North Catholic 73, Kiski Area 33 — The Trojanettes jumped out to a 22-2 lead in the first quarter and were never threatened by the Cavaliers at the Shaler Tournament.

Dani Short scored 17 points for CWNC (7-0), Cassie Foster had 15 and Kari Karanikos scored 14 points with four 3-pointers.

Hopewell 47, Freeport 46 — The Yellowjackets let a 26-15 halftime lead slip away in this narrow loss at the Riverside Tournament on Friday.

Freeport (3-5) was led by Jenna Manke (17 points) and Madeline Clark (10).