Hurried from the locker room, Craig Weaver Sr. first appeared confused. Upon turning the corner, his faced reddened.

First came a big smile, then happy tears welling up. There stood all the Muncy players holding gold balloons counting out the numbers 6-0-0. Weaver already was feeling good after the Indians won a hard-fought game Saturday at rival South Williamsport.

Learning the milestone he just reached and seeing how happy the players were helped him experience pure joy.

Weaver became the first Lycoming County girls’ basketball coach to reach 600 wins Saturday as Rosie Zalonis scored 19 points and Muncy fought off South, 32-30. Weaver knew it was a big win, but he was one of few in attendance who was unaware of the history being made.

“I had no idea. This is a big surprise. They kept this is a pretty good secret,” Weaver said. “None of this could have happened without the quality of kid that I’ve had the opportunity to coach. It’s about all the great athletes I’ve had the pleasure to coach.”

“We knew it was coming up. It made it better because he couldn’t look forward to it because he had no idea it was coming,” Zalonis said. “We’ve all been really excited and kept winning some games to get as close as we can and as soon as we can. Seeing his reaction was really nice. I was really happy seeing him so happy.”

That Weaver did not know he was upon 600’s doorstep says a lot about what keeps him coaching year after year after year. It’s not the wins but developing players which really motivates him.

Name a sport and Weaver has likely coached it over the last 50 years. That includes both girls’ and boys’ basketball, tennis, golf, football, baseball and softball where he helped Montgomery reach the 2010 Class A state championship.

Weaver has coached tennis since the 90s, building powerhouses at Montgomery and Hughesville, but still is probably most recognizable for his girls’ basketball success. Averaging more than 16 wins per season, he led Montgomery to four district championships before helping Hughesville reach its first two district finals last decade. Weaver has since guided Muncy to consecutive district championships for the first time ever, as well as its inaugural state quarterfinal appearance two years ago.

It has been a successful journey, but also a rewarding one. Not knowing he was at 600 wins makes sense because it’s always been more important to Weaver that he not succeed, but rather his players do.

“If the girls are successful, that’s what means the most. The best part is we’re teaching these kids life skills,” Weaver said. “It’s seeing the girls, any athlete, be successful. It’s seeing them embrace the hard work and growing that is so rewarding.”

This Muncy team seems the perfect landing spot for a coach who demands all-out effort. The past two championships and this season’s 15-1 start is a reflection of both the countless hours the players have put into basketball and how relentless they play each time on the court.

Weaver arrived five years ago at Muncy, preaching hard work, determination, commitment and stifling defense. His teams have embraced all those qualities and both coach and players have made the other better as a result.

“He is really tough on us, but we needed that when he came to Muncy. We needed discipline and structure and he came ready to bring that for us,” Zalonis said. “He came here to push us to be our best and use our strengths and identify our weaknesses and work on those weaknesses. He really made us fundamentally sound players.”

Weaver often operates on what Green Bay Packers players once called “Lombardi Time,” when legendary coach Vince Lombardi established them as a dynasty throughout the 1960s. Basically, if one arrives a few minutes before practice or game departure, she is late.

What Weaver loves about this team, is that they almost always beat him to practice and the bus. If he is there 15 minutes before practice commences or the bus leaves, the players have are there 30 minutes beforehand.

Teaching the Xs and Os is one thing, but instilling that ferocious desire to excel into his players which has really brought out this program’s best the past three seasons.

“This group, not because of their record, is extra special because of their desire. There is something neat, something different. They are willing to work, they’re willing to watch film … they’re just willing,” Weaver said. “They’re absolutely awesome. That commitment; that dedication is so special.”

“You can tell by watching. If you get in the game, you’re going to give it your all because that’s his expectation,” Zalonis said. “He sets his expectations high for us and it’s always a goal to meet those expectations and then we get wins and seasons like this and it really pays off.”

It certainly did again Saturday.

South (8-8, 4-2) pushed Muncy (15-1, 5-0) harder than any Mid-Penn West Division opponent has the past two seasons and almost handed it its first division loss since 2024. The Mounties turned a seven-point second quarter deficit into a 13-11 halftime lead, clawed within twice in the fourth quarter after Muncy had gone up five and made it earn this win the hardest way possible.

On a day Muncy delivered Weaver his 600th win, it did so by embracing all the lessons he has taught since first putting a whistle in his mouth.

“We faced adversity. We were down, things weren’t going our way but we found a way to keep plugging away and working and it paid off for us,” Weaver said. “You’re going to face life struggles and if you keep plugging away and chipping away, good things are going to happen.”

That was the case in the fourth quarter when Emma McCormick drilled a clutch 3-pointer which put Muncy ahead, 26-21 with 1 minutes, 40 seconds remaining. It remained so when Zalonis and older sister Anna went 6 for 6 at the foul line in the last 49.4 seconds. The Indians needed every one of those points because South kept battling back, literally fighting to the finish with Carly Quimby draining a last-second 3-pointer.

Reaching 600 is impressive no matter how it plays out. But Muncy winning how it did might have made it feel even more special.

“Knowing this was the game we could get his 600th win and that it also was one of our big league games, we just wanted to keep playing hard,” Rosie Zalonis said. “We were up, they were up, we were up and it was back and forth like that. I think we really dug deep tonight and pulled through with the win.”

South did all it could to postpone the 600 celebration. The Mounties doubled their point total from the first time these teams played last December and played one of their best games against a team leading the district in fewest points allowed.

South countered Muncy’s spirited effort with its own gritty determination and it made for an entertaining battle in which neither team backed down. The Mounties scored the first half’s final nine points to move in front but Rosie Zalonis split the defense and found Alexis McKeta early in the third quarter to put the Indians ahead to stay. That the lead never grew to more than five shines a light on how hard-fought the game was.

“Them playing as hard as they did is exactly how we want them to play. They started to believe it,” South coach Jaquan Masteller said. “Being able to see and buying into what we’re trying to do, you can see the confidence rising a little bit. We went through a little bit of a valley, but they realize let’s buy in and let’s do this as a team. It’s very exciting.”

That goes double since South features just one senior. That senior, Ella Moore, played a marvelous game as well. The team’s point guard scored a game-high 14 points, grabbed seven rebounds, dealt four assists and made four steals. Moore scored six fourth quarter points, going through two defenders to make it 28-25 before finding Ivy Minier inside for a basket which pulled South within 30-27 with 10 seconds remaining.

Rosie Zalonis, however, stopped the comeback there, hitting two more foul shots and finishing 9 of 10 at the line, adding five rebounds.

“Ella does a bit of everything for us,” Masteller said. “She runs our offense, she runs our transition, she finished through a lot of contact. She’s our leader.”

Quimby, Maddie Reidy and Abigail Holbrook all grabbed four or more rebounds and Coco Kline played sensational defense against Muncy leading scorer Ava Eyer. South did not get the win, but the way it played could point to wins going down the stretch.

Muncy is seeking to continue building as well. The goal now is getting win No. 601. The goal is simply earning the next win, period and doing all one can to make it happen.

The Indians embracing that belief Saturday not only gave Weaver his 600th win but also offered quite a tribute–even before the post-game surprise.

“It’s not easy,” Rosie Zalonis said. “It’s not easy work to be as successful as I think we are, but everyone on this team thinks it’s worth it, otherwise we wouldn’t be here.”

“We practice to play a perfect game but that’s not going to happen. I understand that,” Weaver said. “You don’t play the perfect game, but you play to win and these girls play to win. We’re trying to perfect everything, but in the end it’s about digging deep and doing what they just did today.”

MUNCY (32)

Ava Eyer 1 1-2 3, Rosie Zalonis 4 9-10 19, Anna Zalonis 0 5-7 5, Emma McCormick 1 0-0 3, Alexis McKeta 1 0-1 2, Rachel Paulhamus 0 0-0 0, Hailey Ganoe 0 0-0 0. Totals 7 15-19 32.

SOUTH (30)

Ella Moore 4 6-8 14, Carly Quimby 2 0-0 6, Abigail Holbrook 0 0-0 0, Ivy Minier 1 0-0 2, Maddie Reidy 2 0-0 4, Brielle Borgess 0 0-0 0, Coco Kline 2 0-0 4. Totals 11 6-8 30.

Muncy 8 3 11 10–32

South 4 9 6 11–30

3-pointers: Muncy 3 (R. Zalonis 2, McCormick); South 2 (Quimby 2).

Records: Muncy 15-1, 5-0 Mid-Penn. South 8-8, 4-2.