The Lady Barons are playing their best basketball right now. They increased their record to 13-4 with a 42-30 victory over Garden Spot at Doe Run Elementary on Feb. 1.

Manheim coach Tyson Hayes challenged his girls and they responded.

"I challenged our girls on the defensive end to get stops and we did," Hayes said after the game. "(We) rebounded really well and got a lot of deflections."

Maddie Knier had a team-high 24 points, Kaylie Kroll added 10 and Abbie Reed had seven. The Barons led 18-6 after the first quarter and were up 24-12 at halftime.

Central beat McCaskey 68-49 on Jan. 30. Knier, who averages 23.1 points a game and is the L-L League's leading scorer, had a game-high 26 points. Rachel Nolt had four 3-points and 18 points. She now has 28 treys on the season. Reed added 12.

The Barons are ranked fourth in the district in Class 5A.

BOWLING

Manheim rolled past L-S 2,674 to 2,478 and secured a 7-0 victory at Cain's Lanes on Jan. 27. The Barons were paced by Landen Statts, who had a 563 on games scores of 256-150-157.

Ethan Howard had a 182-146-219 for a three-game 547. Jesse Hurst had a 546, Holly Hunt a 530 and Hailey Kowalski registered a 488.

"The key was making spares," Barons' coach Alan Sides said. "We've been working on that, and they've been making a substantial amount of them. We say just make a strike or a spare and don't worry about what's going on our score sheet or the other team."

WRESTLING

It was a great showing by the Baron grapplers at the 28th annual Lancaster-Lebanon League wrestling tournament at Manheim Township High School. Central, which brought eight guys to the tourney (four were seeded in the top eight) placed seven individuals. The team finished sixth out of 23 teams.

Manheim came home with two runners-up in Uriah Warner (132) and Brett Barbush (172).

Rocco Daugherty took fourth at 189. Ryland Fittery placed fifth at 285. Braxton Keiffer was sixth at 113-pounds. Frosh Brodie Daugherty (145) and junior Logan Forrest (160) came in eighth.

There was also the River Rock Challenge held at Leagues. This was an all-girls showcase event that ran simultaneously. There were six schools represented. Taylor Bloom finished in 3rd place for the Barons.

"I can't say enough for the way they competed," Barons' coach Quint Eno said. "We had a great showing. Everyone contributed."

Eno said it started at 106 pounds where Luke Gibble earned points and Tyler Groff got a forfeit win at 215.

Rocco Daugherty avenged an earlier loss this season to his opponent from Garden Spot, but pulled out what Eno called smart, intelligent wrestling in a 4-3 win this time. Daughtery had a tough draw, losing to the No. 2 seed, but then won the next five matches to make it to the third-place consolation match, where he lost.

Logan Forrest, who was unseeded coming into the tournament, but scoring off a leg attack helped him place eighth. Fittery got fifth, despite not being 100 percent. "He wasn't feeling well," Eno said, "but he leads by example and has a heart of gold."

Keiffer fought through two difficult matches in the consolations but suffered an injury and took an injury default for sixth.

Warner is a great story. He's missed most of the season with an injury but is back and wrestling well. He earned falls in his first two matches and a 10-3 decision in his third. He lost to the top-seeded wrestler from Solanco in the finals. Brett Barbush, seeded No. 2, got a pin and tech fall in his first two bouts and a major decision in the semifinals.

RIFLE

Manheim shot well, but Elizabethtown shot better. The Barons needed a win at E-town to create a tie in the section standings. The Bears pulled out a 499-494 victory. The Bears marksmen secured four perfect targets.

Central had Anna Haldeman, Caleb Creviston 99, Gabby Fittery 99 and Kryia Martin 99 scores. Nate Sauder shot a 98.

"We were around our average," Barons' coach Steve Waddington said. "Unfortunately, on Thursday we needed to be better than average. It is hard to beat a 499. E-town shot really well. That pretty much clinches the title for them."

The Barons recovered to beat Wilson 494 to 485 on Feb. 1. Haldeman, Ellie McCabe, Sauder, and Kyler Groff each had 99 scores. Genna Eberly registered a 98.

SWIMMING

Lampeter-Strasburg beat the Manheim boys 89-49 and the girls 103-58 on Jan. 27 at Lititz Rec.

The Lady Barons were first to the wall in the 100 medley and 200 freestyle relays, as well as in the 50 free, 100 backstroke and 100 breaststroke. Chloe Enck, MaKenna Enck, Raegan Nissley, Olivia Faulhaber and Gabby Fittery were big winners for the girls.

The swimmers will now prepare for the league meet at Wilson on February 11-12.

BOYS' BASKETBALL

Collin Thompson hit five 3-pointers and the Barons cruised to a 60-51 victory over Spring Grove on Jan. 27. Tied at 20-20 at halftime, Central pulled away. Thompson (19 points) and Judd Novak (17 points) highlighted the offensive attack. Trey Grube added nine.

Thompson was hot early, hitting three treys in the first. Barons' coach Charlie Fisher said Thompson was able to get open and his teammates found him.

Fisher said Collin Neiles did a nice job rebounding and helped with the flow of the offense. Late in the third the Barons went on a run and took a 10-point lead in the fourth.

"We went to our zone and it gave them a little problem," Fisher said. "We didn't rely on 'three ball.' If it is working, we are tough to beat, but we have to find other ways to score."

Fisher also complimented the play of Jackson Tracy.

"He's a sophomore and he's been great," Fisher said. "He is a difference maker. He went from no minutes to starting on varsity."

The Barons lost a tough game at Garden Spot, 56-51 on Feb. 1.

"We played 31 minutes of good basketball," Fisher said.

After leading by seven early in the game and up two at halftime, the Barons fell short down the stretch. Fisher said his squad had the ball late and took some quick, questionable shots.

"Garden Spot did what they needed to do to win the game," Fisher said. "We couldn't make the stops when we needed to, and they (Spot) made shots and free throws."

Grube had a team-high 20 points, Novak added 12 and Connor Fahnestock netted 10.