A pair of league victories boosted the CV grappler's league record to 3-2, as the L-L League heads into the latter half of a season marked by schedule changes and adjustments.

On Wednesday, January 27th, CV overcame McCaskey 60-14.

Unfortunately for McCaskey, much of the night was spent in forfeits, leading to a largely uncontested outcome.

The prior weekend, CV controlled the mat from the outset of their January 23rd triumph over Penn Manor resulting in a 45-27 win.

Keaton Fischer, competing at 138 pounds, kickstarted the Bucks' success, opening the match with a pin, followed in rapid succession by falls from Luke Needham (145), and Macoy Kneisley (152) to give CV an early 18-point cushion.

"We got off to a great start," praised head coach Trent Turner. "Keaton is having a strong season so far, and Needham and Kneisley bounced back from tough losses the night before which showed some grit and growth in their wrestling as first-year varsity wrestlers."

Though the Comets rallied for a few bouts, additional CV falls came in Nathaniel Kirchner's matchup at 172, and Luke Morley at 113.

"Nathaniel Kirchner has been consistent for us. As a freshman, Luke Morley just keeps getting stronger," added Turner.

The previous evening, the Bucks visited Solanco and ended up on the wrong side of a 42-21 loss final.

After trailing 12-0, Kirchner put CV on the board with his three-point decision win, and Conrad Dillman, competing at 189, was a Buckskin highlight producing CV's lone fall of the night.

"We may be young as a team, but we're developing more strength and maturity every match," Turner concluded.

RIFLE

Wyatt Stauffer and Grady Ray provided a pair of 100s to lead the Buckskins to their first 2021 victory on January 21st, posting a 492-490 final score over Manheim Township.

Edison Stauffer's 98 and a duo of 97s from Sierra Land and Sovannary Sok rounded out the top five Buckskin scores.

CV's rifle team is a small, but tight group of 14 athletes, with only half of those shooters having experience prior to this year.

"If we get our experienced shooters to shoot his/her best every match, we should be competitive this year," noted head coach Hank Oxendine.

The tumultuous season of schedule changes, quarantines, and so much uncertainty has left every team with hurdles to overcome, the Bucks being no exception.

"Teams are finding themselves having to shoot 'double-header' matches on match day, and our lineup has been affected almost every match," Oxendine said, describing just a few of the obstacles the teams have had to overcome.

Despite all that, the recent success for the CV sharpshooters speaks to their tenacity and potential for further success.

"It is my hope that a win against a historically really good Manheim Township team will motivate our team to continue to shoot their very best and string together a few more wins," the coach added.

SWIMMING

CV swimmers found their stroke in a January 21st showdown against Manheim Central, in which both boys and girls eclipsed the Barons for a double victory.

For the boys, the night signified their first league win, a 94-61 triumph that featured a CV sweep in the individual events.

Freshman Aidan Campbell had a break out evening, registering winning times in two events, the breaststroke (1:15.23) and the butterfly (1:09.14).

Connor Ludwig also snagged first in a pair of races, the 100 free (59.36) and 200 free (2:12.4); and veteran swimmer Micah Leaman produced top times with his 5:08.7 in the 500 free and a 23.05 in the 50 free.

Claiming the final two individual events for the Bucks was freshman Sam Milheim in the 200 IM (2:38.71) and Daniel Ivanchikov's 1:01.8 in the backstroke.

Leaman, Campbell, Ivanchikov, and Milheim each swam a leg of the 200 medley for a combined 2:07.59 win, and the squad picked up a second relay victory in the 400 free (3:55.82) supplied by Leaman, Ludwig, Ashton Reese, and Ivanchikov.

During the girls' turn in the pool, Jordan Holmes' standout performance helped the Lady Bucks surge ahead to an 84-67 win.

Holmes picked up a pair of wins in individual events, backstroke (1:05.46), and butterfly (1:07.82), in addition to contributing to both of the relay wins for CV.

Kyla Pham, Anastasia Ivanchikov, and Hollyn Helsel joined Holmes in the 200 medley win (2:07.59), and Helsel, Pham, Nolt, and Holmes teamed up for the 400 free (4:31.18).

GIRLS' BASKETBALL

January has not provided the season anyone would have wanted for the Lady Bucks basketball team, but they have shown an ability to seize the moment and won both contests they have had the opportunity to complete.

COVID-19 protocols and postponements meant CV only had one game in the first half of January, a 77-65 triumph over Lebanon on January 8th.

The squad had a bit of rust to work off getting back on the court for a January 25th showdown at Donegal, but after a sluggish start, the Lady Bucks rallied to claim the contest 60-48.

With their offense taking a bit to become effective, CV trailed 10-6 after the opening period, but things started falling into place in the second.

Led by sophomore Rhiannon Henry's 15 points, the Buckskins surged ahead and by the final buzzer Rebecca Hartranft and Laela Robinson had joined Henry in double digits with 13 and 12, respectively.

Two days later, on January 27, the team expected to host Elizabethtown for a highly anticipated showdown between the top two contenders in Section Two. Unfortunately, only 16 minutes of competition were able to be completed before the Buckskins were notified of a possible COVID-19 exposure prior to the contest and were forced to postpone the game at halftime, sending the Buckskins into another quarantine delay.

BOYS' BASKETBALL

The boys' basketball team snapped a three-game losing streak with a 47-31 victory over Ephrata on January 22nd, led by a season-high 25 points by Luke Rumbaugh.

Rumbaugh drained a pair of three-pointers in addition to netting a five-of-seven performance on the line while spearheading the Buckskins offensive surge.

CV captured the first quarter lead, 15-11, and went on to outscore the Mountaineers in each subsequent quarter to further extend their margin.

Austin Wertz contributed an additional eight for the Bucks, and a total of seven Buckskin athletes netted points in the triumph.