The girls' tennis team wrapped up a perfect 16-0 regular season.

"A lot of things have to go right for you to run the table...but our kids were locked in most nights," said head coach Kurtis Funk.

"I absolutely love this team," added Funk, "We have created a winning culture at Manheim and our senior heavy team is reaping the rewards."

The winning came in the form of a 4-1 victory over Penn Manor on the 21st and continued with a 7-0 win over Garden Spot on the 23rd, a Section Two title clinching 6-1 win over Elizabethtown on the 26th and the perfect season securing 5-0 win over Cedar Crest on the 28th.

BOYS' SOCCER

As any sports fan knows, wins are hard, and milestone wins typically take the difficulty to another level. Case in point would be the Manheim Central boys' soccer team and their 2-6-1 mark with head coach Rod Brenize on the cusp of 100 career wins but struggling to hit the mark.

The skipper sits at 99 wins after a 4-0 victory over Cedar Crest on the 21st but a 2-1 setback to Lampeter-Strasburg on the 27th kept Brenize from cracking the triple digit club.

Central saw three players strike against the Falcons with Drew Greiner pushing the lead to 3-0 and 4-0 just after the second half started. Aaron Cassel and Gabe Redcay put Manheim up 2-0 with late first half goals.

Against the Pioneers, Manheim pulled out to a 1-0 lead when Redcay found Wesley Bates in the 45th minute but Lampeter-Strasburg was able to steal the win in overtime. Dylan Smith finished with six saves.

GOLF

The golf team trekked north on Route 72 to Fairview Golf Course for the L-L Championship on September 26th. The Barons finished 9th as a team with Zach Benner and Ryan Snavely posting the top scores. Benner finished at 86 while Snavely followed one shot back with a round of 87. Cayden Schwebel carded a 91.

GIRLS' SOCCER

It was one step forward and two steps back for the Manheim Central girls' soccer team. The Lady Barons picked up their third straight win on the 21st before back-to-back losses dropped Central to 6-5 on the year.

That win came via a 2-0 final over Solanco with Lexi Wettig recording the shutout with six saves. Lizzie Voegele put Manheim up early with Abbie Reed tacking on an insurance goal just before intermission. Aubrey Myers set up the Voegele score while Katie White dished out Reed's goal.

The first of the two steps back came on the 24th via a 2-0 loss to Twin Valley while Lampeter-Strasburg handed out a 3-1 loss on the 27th for the second step back. Wettig took both losses with Mikayla Beck accounting for the score against L-S with help from Micayla Moyer.

CROSS COUNTRY

The Manheim Central cross-country team notched another big race tune-up on the 24th, taking part in the Carlisle Invitational.

"Overall, it was a solid day for our athletes. Everyone ran a season best on a fast course," said head coach Ryan Kennedy. "More than the times, I was happy with our athletes for sticking to their race plans and running tough in the second half of the race."

The result was a 66th place finish for the boys in the Challenge Race with Julie Lindberg and Jenna Moffett taking part in the 202-member Girl's Champion Race. Lindberg finished 54th while Moffett captured the 81st spot.

Carter Bruckhart (208th - 18:33.4), Cameron Evans (227th - 18:48.8) and Carson Brooks (250th - 19:16.2) led the way for the boys. Caleb Creviston (288th - 20:24.5) and Caleb Bower (300th - 21:29.80) rounded out the top five.

The Barons returned to L-L action on the 27th facing off against Garden Spot and Ephrata. The Lady Barons earned the lone win on the day, topping Spot 21-37 while falling to Ephrata, 20-37. Regan Ibach was the top Lady Baron finishing fourth. Lindberg (6th) and Moffett (9th) also finished inside the top 10.

The boys also had three runners inside the top ten with Bruckhart leading the way with a 5th place time of 18:44. Evans (9th) and Brooks (10th) completed the top ten trio, but Manheim dropped to both Ephrata (21-37) and Garden Spot (24-32).

GIRLS' VOLLEYBALL

The girls' volleyball team continues to trend up, picking up a 3-0 win over Lebanon on the 21st with a silver medal finish at the Baron Classic, their own tournament, on the 24th.

Manheim was pushed a bit against Lebanon but still managed wins of 25-18, 25-12 and 25-22 to post their fifth sweep of the season. Addy Doerschuk posted 20 assists with Natalie Siegrist tallying eight kills. Kaylee Dougherty chipped in with 10 digs and Aslin Latkovich three aces.

The Lady Barons cruised through pool play in the 2022 Baron Classic, going 8-1 against Berwick, Brandywine Heights, and Covenant Christian Academy. A win over Cedar Crest in the semifinals set up a final match with Greencastle-Antrim that went to the Lady Blue Devils, leaving Manheim to settle for second.

FIELD HOCKEY

The mark of a champion is often how you respond to adversity. For the field hockey team that adversity came on the 22nd where a 2-1 overtime loss to Lampeter-Strasburg snapped Manheim's three-game winning streak.

Central struck first with Monica Herman converting a penalty stroke in the opening quarter. Lampeter-Strasburg knotted the game in the third before securing the win in the extra period. Laci Nelson finished with six saves.

The response came on the 26th with a 4-1 victory over Elizabethtown. Nelson needed just four saves to lock-up the win thanks to a quartet of Lady Barons' scorers- Paige Garner, Kiley Hosler, Ella Brubaker, and Herman.

FOOTBALL

Five games into the 2022 season and the football team appears headed for a season-ending, first place showdown with Exeter. The Barons, after a 47-13 victory over Warwick on the 23rd, are a pristine 5-0, same as the Eagles of Exeter. The two squads close out the regular season in Manheim on October 28 where a section title could be on the line.

The Barons might have more grand goals, but they did not overlook the Warriors, racking up a 384-241 yardage edge. That was thanks mostly to Brycen Armold and his 201 yards rushing. Zac Hahn finished a tidy eight for 13 with 117 yards and three touchdowns. Those three scores went to three different players, Bode Sipel (2-36), Sonny Callahan (1-55) and Rocco Daugherty (2-14), with Jaden Weit and Hahn capping the scoring with TD runs of their own.