Tyson Hayes is enjoying the ride. As head coach of the Manheim Central girls' basketball team, he has watched his team take its lumps and grow from losses last year. Now they are seeing the fruits of their labor.

The latest success came in a 48-47 home win against Lancaster Catholic on Saturday, Jan. 30. The victory is memorable, as it broke the Crusaders' 46-game winning streak against Lancaster-Lebanon League opponents.

Central's super-sophomore Maddie Knier hit a jumper with 1:25 left in the game to put Manheim ahead. Knier also had a late blocked shot to help secure the win.

After trailing 24-23, Manheim built a 37-29 third quarter lead, behind four 3-pointers in the quarter.

Abbie Reed had 13 points and Rachel Nolt added 10 in a back-in-forth contest.

"Yeah, it was a good one from start to finish," Hayes said. "Just unbelievably proud of the team; they'll have a memory that those eight can share for a lifetime.

"We consistently made plays in the biggest moments, whether it was getting a stop, hitting a big shot, or getting a rebound when we had to have it. They also never shrunk in big moments throughout the game. We kept our composure and never panicked. They are buying in and are getting better every night. It's going be a fun ride with this team."

Central beat Garden Spot, 48-28 on Feb. 3. Hayes said the team is coming into its own, fighting on every possession and buying into their roles.

BOYS' BASKETBALL

The Central boys lost to a talented Lancaster Catholic squad, 60-43 Jan. 30 in Lancaster.

Catholic led 8-7 after the first quarter and pulled away late in the second to take a 23-14 lead at intermission. The Crusaders stretched the lead in the third quarter, outscoring the Barons 25-14 behind strong defense and key rebounds that led to easy transition points on offense.

Central had open looks for three-point shots that missed and Catholic took advantage, securing the boards and taking off the other way for layups.

"We knew what we were getting into," Barons' coach Charlie Fisher said. "They never let us get into a groove. We cut it to two late in the second quarter and then they went up nine in like a blink of an eye. That really hurt. We were ready for the transition, but we ran out of gas a little bit. I wasn't thinking we'd run out of gas in the second quarter."

The Barons missed five straight three-point attempts in the third, which led to fast breaks the other direction. Fisher said they had a game plan and didn't quite follow that plan.

"That's the problem when you shot a lot of threes," he said, "if they aren't going in, it's tough to beat. I thought our guys played really hard. I thought they played aggressive. I thought they did everything right. We let it get away too soon. You have to keep it close."

Cam Eberly had a team-high 10 points, Collin Thompson and Matt Siegrist each added 6.

Siegrist hit a 3-pointer with 6:30 left in the third to make it 27-17 Catholic, but the Crusaders went on a 14-4 run to lead 41-21 with 1:40 remaining in the quarter.

The Barons bounced back to beat Garden Spot, 61-45 on Feb. 3. MC trailed 27-13 before rallying for the win. Trey Grube had a team-high 19 points. Eberly added 12 and Zachary Benner had 10.

WRESTLING

Manheim competed in a tri-meet, beating Octorara 38-32 and losing to Cocalico 60-7 Jan. 30.

Uriah Warner bumped up to 138 pounds from his normal 132 weight and earned a major decision to secure the win for Manheim over Octorara.

"He never stopped looking for points and wrestled tough the entire time," Barons' coach Billy Chamberlain said. "He never gave the kid an opportunity to be in the match."

There were some bright spots in the Cocalico loss. Brett Barbush and freshman Gabe Thomas at 106 were the only grapplers to win both their matches. Both are wrestling very well and are very coach able, Chamberlain said. At 189 pounds, Barbush gained a 10-2 major decision. As a senior, Barbush is leading by example.

"Gabe is showing the ability to listen and try new things," Chamberlain said. "Brett Barbush is a leader and is always looking to score and be dominate," Chamberlain said. "It is nice to see all his hard work paying off."

BOWLING

The Barons lost 7-0 to Cedar Crest at Canes Lanes Jan. 28. They lost game one 955-824, game two 850-762 and game three 938-658. Jesse Hurst had a match-high 613 on games of 211-215-187.

Freshman Holly Hunt rolled a 167-151-139 for a 457 triple. Freshman Landon Statts had a 139-121-152 for a three-game 412. Sophomore Hailey Kowalski had a 391 series with her high-game being a 163 and senior Cole Shontz had a 371 with his high-game being a 144.

SWIMMING

On the road, the boys swimming team lost to Lampeter-Strasburg 95-55 and the girls lost to the Pioneers 137-26 on Jan. 28. Overall, Barons' coach Heather Fittery said the kids swam well.

The 400 freestyle relay team, consisting of Bode Sipel, Owen Kupres, Paetyn Knepp and Mason Weaver posted a winning time of 4:15.01. Finn Schmidhuber took 2nd in 200 free with a good time of 2:25.52, Fittery said.

RIFLE

The Barons swept a double header, nipping Elizabethtown 870-868 in its home match and 494-486 in the away match.

At home, Anna Haldeman had a perfect 100 score. Kami Groff fired a 98 and Trevor Frey, Gabby Fittery and Nate Sauder all posted a 97. Ellie McCabe, Rodney Sauder each had 96. Kyler Groff fired a 95 and Genna Eberly notched a 94.

The way match saw Groff, Haldeman, McCabe and Nate Souder all register a 99. A new name in the top 5, Eric Kreider, had a 98. Manheim coach Steve Waddington emphasized that every score counts.

The away match went better, he said, emphasizing that they were lucky to get the win in the home match as their score was less than stellar.

"You don't normally win when you shot (that low)," he said. "This was just enough to tie this match." Forcing MC to go to its 6th shooter, who tied E-Town's sixth shooter. The same was true with the Barons' seventh and eighth shooters tying. It all came down to the ninth-ranked shooter on both teams. Fortunately, Manheim had the better ninth and final score shot in Nate Sauder.

"It is a lesson that every shot in the match might just count," Waddington said. "Anna Haldeman and Kami Groff shot well in both of the matches. Freshman Nathan Sauder has been also showing great promise along with twin brother, Rodney, and underclassmen Genna Eberly, Kyle Groff, Gabby Fittery, Riley Sauder, and Natalia Winkler. I feel they are all showing improvement."