The girls' basketball team may have missed their ride on the postseason express but that did not stop the Lady Buckskins from working to affect others looking to extend their season. CV did just that on February 5th with a 40-35 victory over Ephrata, messing with both the Lady Mountaineers district seeding as well as their L-L playoff slot.

Despite the outcome, Conestoga Valley started slowly leading to a 15-12 Ephrata advantage after one. CV posted a 10-8 edge in the second only to see Ephrata storm out of the break, stretching the lead back to six at 31-25 with one quarter remaining. CV, behind Taylor Hehnly (12-points), ripped through that final frame 15-4 to steal the five-point win.

The euphoria from that win was short lived as CV fell to Lebanon by a 62-31 final on February 8th. Hehnly netted 14-points in the loss, but CV was unable to counter Lebanon's 40-9 edge in the second and fourth quarters.

BOYS' BASKETBALL

For the boy's team, it was the same win-loss scenario with the Buckskins topping Ephrata, 61-53, on the 5th and falling to Lebanon, 70-47, on the 8th. As with the Lady Buckskins, CV started out slow against Ephrata, leading to a 19-6 Mountaineer advantage in the opening stanza. From there Conestoga Valley went into overdrive, outscoring Ephrata 38-17 over the second and third quarters, flipping that 13-point deficit into an eight-point cushion. A 17-17 run through the final eight minutes kept CV's lead at eight for the 61-53 final. Austin Wertz (21-points), Griffen Rishell (15-points) and Cameron Swinton (11-points) all reached double figures in the win.

Against the Cedars it was just Swinton (15-points) and DeMajh Salisbery (11-points) reaching double figures. That resulted in Lebanon controlling three of the four quarters and sending CV back to Witmer with a 23-point setback.

WRESTLING

With the start of the individual wrestling postseason just off the horizon, the CV wrestling team spent February 5th at home, hosting 'Rally in the Valley' to serve as one last big tune up for the postseason. The day went well with wins over Dover and Waynesboro countering a loss to Strath Haven in the championship match, leaving the Buckskins with for silver on the day.

Thanks to six forfeit victories, CV had little trouble with Dover, posting a 58-11 opening round win. Those easy bonus points were not there in CV's semifinal bout, so the going was much more difficult, but the Buckskins still posted a 39-23 win over Waynesboro to earn a spot in the title match. That match went to Strath Haven by a 41-18 final, giving the championship to the Panthers.

Trent Ruble and Keaton Fischer led the way with three wins each. Luke Morley was the only other undefeated wrestler, winning his only match. Seven different Buckskins finished the day with a 2-1 mark starting with Payton Peace. Luke Needham, Abdoul Akala, Nathaniel Kirchner, Jonathan Lopez, Josue Marente and Mukhammed Karayev all joined Peace in the two-win club.

RIFLE

The rifle team completed their 2021-2022 campaign with losses to Manheim Central on February 5th and Elizabethtown on February 8th, putting the Buckskins final record at 5-8.

CV managed one perfect shooter in each loss with William Roland posting the 100 in the 499-486 loss to Central while Grady Ray enjoyed the perfect round in the 496-488 loss to E-town. Ray (99), Emily Russell (97), Edison Stauffer (95) and Ivan Shrom (95) rounded out the top five against the Barons. Shrom (98), Roland (98), Sierra Land (96) and Joys William (96) completed the scoring five against the Bears.