Photo by Preston WhitcraftSenior Cole Proffitt took first place in the javelin in Manheim Central's meet against Garden Spot with a throw of 187-8.

The Garden Spot boys took the inside lane for the Section Two track and field championship on Monday, defeating Manheim Central 81-69 in a battle of unbeatens in New Holland.

With the victory, the Spartans (6-0 L-L) can clinch the crown by defeating Solanco next week. The Barons (5-1 L-L, 6-1 overall), meanwhile, finish the regular season by hosting Lampeter-Strasburg.

Mason Hepner did all he could to help the Central boys on Monday as a double individual winner in the 200 (22.9) and 400 (51.7). He also anchored a pair of first-place relays, teaming with Wade Beamesderfer, Nathanael Erk and Josh Lachman to claim the 4×400 relay (3:34.7) and then combining with Lachman, Jordan Shimer and Erk to win the 4×800 relay in 8:50.2.

But the Spartans had too much firepower in the distance events with James Martin, who took the 800 (2:05.2), 1,600 (4:43.2) and 3,200 (10:14.2), and Malik Parsons stepped up big with wins in the 100 (11.5), high hurdles (15.6) and 300 hurdles (41.8).

By: BRUCE MORGAN Record Express Sports Editor, Staff Writer

Photo by Stan HallManheim Central senior Kyle Winters (left) makes the pivot at second base as he takes a throw from shortstop Blake Reiff to get a force out on Lancaster Catholic base runner James Huber on Monday.

There is no arguing the impact that Andrew Bucher had on Manheim Central’s 10-1 start this season.

Entering Monday’s action, the junior pitcher was 4-0 with a 0.67 earned run average.

But the law of averages might have come into play a little bit on Monday.

Bucher endured his shortest outing of the season against Section Four co-leader Lancaster Catholic, lasting only three innings, as the Crusaders took an early 6-2 lead and never looked back on their way to an 8-2 win in Lancaster. Catholic finished with seven extra-base hits among their 12 knocks off of Bucher and reliever Blake Reiff, improving to 7-2 while keeping pace with Pequea Valley atop the Section standings.

"It happens — pitching’s been carrying us, so it’s going to certainly happen at times," Barons’ skipper Jason Thompson said.

By: BRUCE MORGAN Record Express Sports Editor, Staff Writer

Photo by Stan HallWarwick cleanup hitter Nikole Rottkamp slams a third-inning base hit to left field off of Conestoga Valley pitcher Nicole Allen in the Lady Warriors' 5-1 win on Monday night.

The Warwick softball team might be going in reverse.

And that wouldn’t be such a bad thing.

In previous seasons, the eight-time reigning Section One champion Lady Warriors have started the season fast, only to fizzle when they got to the post-season.

This spring, Warwick found itself at 5-4 after falling to Hempfield on Wednesday, April 10. Since that time, however, the Warwick girls have won three of their last four games, and if Monday’s 5-1 crossover win against Section Two leading Conestoga Valley and its ace pitcher Nicole Allen is any indication, they might be finding their rhythm.

"I was telling (the players), ‘Looking at our record, we needed to beat a good team. That’s a good start,’" Warwick coach Don Miller said. "We needed to start winning games and tonight was a good building block.’

By: TODD RUTH Record Staff truth.eph@lnpnews.com, Staff Writer

After falling to Hempfield last Wednesday in an early season battle of unbeatens, Warwick Coach Don Miller wanted to see a more intense and consistent approach from his team Monday afternoon in a Section One-Two crossover game at Ephrata.

Mission accomplished.

Offensively, the Lady Warriors pounded out 12 hits and took advantage of eight Ephrata errors as they scored in every frame but one. Pitching-wise, junior Tessa Eckman did the job as well, scattering five hits with eight strikeouts as it all added up to a lopsided 15-2 , six-inning Warwick victory.

"To win the section we are going to have to continue to ratchet up the intensity in how we approach game day," Miller said following the win. "This game was a good start but we need to continue to improve our preparation for the game and our execution of fundamentals. I have no doubt we have the ability to win our section, but we need to match our effort with our ability to get the job done."

They certainly did that on this day, despite a bit of a slow start.

By: BRUCE MORGAN Record Express Sports Editor, Staff Writer

If the L-L League baseball standings were any indication, then most on-lookers probably would have seen Manheim Central’s game against Columbia last Friday as an easy win.

Unfortunately for the Section Three co-leading Barons, they probably thought the same things as they played the middle innings against a Crimson Tide squad positioned in the bottom half of Section Four.

How else to explain Columbia taking a 4-3 lead in the bottom of the fourth?

"I think that woke us up, like, ‘Oh, OK, let’s play some baseball here,’" Manheim Central skipper Jason Thompson said.

Play some baseball, they did, as the Barons erupted for 10 runs over the final three frames and put away a 13-4 victory.

Then they carried that momentum into Monday’s battle against Annville-Cleona in another Section Three-Four crossover, as Andrew Bucher tossed a complete-game five-inning shutout and Colin Fry continued his sizzling tear at the plate, going 3-for-4 with four RBI’s to help lead Manheim Central to a 10-0 shutout in Manheim.

With the victory, the Barons remained in a first-place tie with Donegal atop Section Three, each with a 6-1 league record.

The Lancaster County Commissioners presented a Letter of Commendation to Warwick High School senior Emily Cameron at their meeting last Wednesday, April 10 at the County Courthouse on Queen Street in Lancaster. The commendation honored Emily for winning seven State gold medals at the PIAA Triple-A Swimming and Diving Championships throughout her high school career. The presentation included remarks from the Commissioners in which they noted how winning a state championship is an amazing accomplishment for any student-athlete, but that inning seven is rare and impressive.

On behalf of the citizens of Lancaster County, the Commissioners offered their congratulations on a job well done and stated how proud the community, classmates, school, and her family are of her and her high levels of skill, dedication, spirit, and courage. Cameron will continue her swimming and academic careers at the University of Georgia.

Photo by Preston WhitcraftWashington Boro's Crystal Burnick gives a final kick to claim the women's title in 29:46.1.

Runners and walkers who showed up at the Lititz Fire Company for the Sauder’s Easter Egg Run last Saturday got a rare treat.

Sunshine and bright skies.

A lot of years, rain — and sometimes snow — greeted the runners, but with Mother Nature cooperating for the 21st edition of the race, more than 400 participants crossed the finish line in downtown Lititz.

At the front of that pack was Lancaster 25-year-old Brad Miller, who averaged a sizzling 5:12 mile pace on his way to winning top overall honors in the five-mile run in 25:58.0.

That was less than 20 seconds ahead of runner-up Tim Getz, also of Lancaster, who finished in 26:15.3. Denver’s Adam Webber was third (26:54.0) and Lititz’s Tommy Pearson was close behind in 27:07.8.

Turning to the women, Collegeville 24-year-old Crystal Burnick claimed top honors, while placing eighth overall, in 29:46.1. Her average mile pace of 5:57 placed her well ahead of Hummelstown’s Amy Falk, who finished runner-up among the women in 31:42.4, nearly two minutes off the pace. York’s Jenny Motway was third in 34:13.0.

By: BRUCE MORGAN Record Express Sports Editor, Staff Writer

Photo by Preston WhitcraftWarwick's Braidy Weiler puts a late tag on Ephrata's Andre Good, who advanced to third on a fourth-inning fielder's choice.

Ephrata right-hander Seth Griffith is someone you would describe as a pitcher who throws to contact.

Facing a Warwick team on Monday that was averaging 10 runs per game during a six-game winning streak, that could have been a cause for concern.

Particularly if the Mounts’ offense didn’t put up some runs.

But Ephrata’s game plan worked out for them. Paul Larusso, Matt Herbener and Bobby Nye had two hits apiece to lead an attack that took an 8-0 lead and Griffith tossed a complete-game gem, as the Mounts knocked off the Warriors 8-1 in a crossover game between Section leaders in Lititz.

With the victory, combined with Conestoga Valley’s 3-1 loss to McCaskey and Solanco’s 5-1 loss to Manheim Township, Ephrata (5-1 L-L, 8-1 overall) took sole possession of first place atop the Section Two standings.

Although the Warriors (5-1 L-L, 7-3 overall) saw their win streak snapped, they still hold a one-game lead over Hempfield (4-2 L-L) in the Section One race.

Kelsea Lamphere and Valentino Gonzalez Jr.

The Manheim Central boys tennis team wrapped up the Section Two championship on Monday, shutting out Cocalico 7-0 in its league finale in Denver.

With the victory, the Barons improved their record to a perfect 10-0 as they make preparations to head into the post-season. They completed their non-league portion of the schedule yesterday (Wednesday) by traveling to Ephrata to face the Mounts.

Last Thursday against Garden Spot in a Section Two match, Chris Good, Austin King, Alastair Proud and Jeff Krueger all earned singles wins and the Manheim Central boys shut out Garden Spot 7-0 in Manheim.

Good earned a 6-4, 6-0 decision at number one singles, King was victorious 6-1, 6-4 at two, Proud picked up a 6-3, 6-1 win at three, and Krueger prevailed 6-1, 6-4 at four.

In doubles play, Good paired up with Proud to post an 8-0 blanking in the number one match. The King/Jackson Crouse had no problems winning 8-3, while Krueger teamed up with Micah Timmins to win 8-2.

The Barons were also in action last Tuesday, April 9, sweeping Lancaster Mennonite in a 7-0 Section Two victory in Lancaster.

By: BRUCE MORGAN Record Express Sports Editor, Staff Writer

Record Express file photoLuke Spang spikes the ball over the net for Manheim Central during recent action.

There is only one unbeaten team remaining in the Section Two boys volleyball standings.

Something had to give when Manheim Central played at Lancaster Mennonite last Thursday in a battle of unbeatens, and the Barons were the last ones standing.

Thanks to a big night from senior star Josiah Hershberger, the Central boys outlasted the Blazers 3-2, clinching the team victory with a 15-10 fifth-game decision. All five games (25-27, 25-18, 25-20, 23-25, 15-10) were decided by seven points or fewer.

With the win, the Barons improved to 5-0 in L-L play, one game ahead of the Blazers (4-1).

"At this point, we’re right where we want to be," MC coach Craig Dietrich said. "We’ve got a good challenging match tonight with York Suburban so we’ll see kinda what the best of the rest of District Three has out there for us."

As it turns out, the Barons handled themselves well against that challenging opponent. Hershberger finished with 16 kills and five blocks and Nate Ginder added three aces to help lead the Central boys to a 3-0 win (25-23, 25-20, 25-15) over the Trojans.