Hempfield and Manheim Township squared off in a Section One wrestling match on Wednesday, January 25 in Landisville. The Black Knights prevailed 52-24, gaining momentum with a Braden Edwards major decision at the 152-pound weight class and compiling 12 more team points on Township forfeits to gain a 16-6 lead before J.J. Plaza pinned Riley Schmidt 44 seconds into the 189-pound bout to give the Knights a commanding lead.

"I think the 152 to 172 bouts will probably decide the match," Hempfield head coach Shane Mack stated prior to the match. "Where you start [weight class] the team can start with a win and get the momentum," he added. "Sometimes you keep rolling."

The Knights rolled not only to a victory but the Section One trophy.

"We've won the section the past four years," Mack pointed out.

The Knights gave up six uncontested points at 215 only to gain them back thanks to a Caleb Mussmon pin at 285 over MT's Taylor Veilleux.

Wrapping around to the 107-weight class, Charlie Williams took six points on a forfeit only to have the Streaks' Kaedyn Williams and Kamdyn Williams post back-to-back pins at 114 and 121, respectively.

"Kaedyn and Kamdyn are two of the best kids in the state," Mack stated.

Seamus Mack notched a first-period pin at 127. At 133, Zy McCain-Murray needed only 46 seconds to pin Zach Landis. Senior Kamron Fickes wrapped it up with a pin at 139 pounds.

WRESTLING HALL of FAME

The Lancaster-Lebanon League Wrestling Coaches Association added four new members, who were outstanding former wrestlers in the league. Matt Fittery, Luke Stauffer, Austin Miller, and Eric Narkiewicz were inducted during the L-L League Championship Tournament at Manheim Township.

While Stauffer is an Elizabethtown alumnus from 2002 and Fittery wrestled in Cocalico until 2004, the other two have Hempfield ties.

Miller (Class of 2011) is the school's all-time leader in victories with 145.

"He has been coaching with us the past couple of years," Mack said. "He has a great mind for the sport of wrestling.

"Austin has been in a lot of programs and exposed to a lot of great coaching," Mack continued. "He has coached at both the collegiate level and starting recently at the high school level.

"He was a national qualifier at Bucknell and also wrestled at Oklahoma State," Mack said of Miller. "He wrestled against some of the best in the country.

"Eric has an impressive wrestling resume," Mack said of Narkiewicz, a Warwick 1999 alumnus. "We're very happy to have him. He also coached with Manheim Township for a while."

SWIMMING

Hempfield won in dominant fashion over L-L League opponent Penn Manor on Tuesday, January 24. The boys' team topped Manor 121-39 and the girls won 111-48.

"We had some excellent swims," head coach Casey Lear said. "With the league meet around the corner, I was trying to get as many automatic qualifiers as possible."

Jace Colino, Ivan Vitko, Ardan McHugh and Toby Marco combined for the 200-meter freestyle relay, winning it in 1:48.58. McHugh also won the boys' 400 free.

Marco was the anchor in the foursome that included Jackson Root, Ryan Taylor and Andrew Gates.

Gates, Taylor, Root and Kiran George had a winning time of 1:56.22 in the 200 medley relay.

Jonathan Tsang was the 100 backstroke winner.

Vitko (2:13.73) and Colino (2:22.99) were winners in the 200 freestyle and 200 IM, respectively. Tsang and Trowbridge were third and fourth with respective times of 27.29 and 27.67 in the boys' 50 freestyle.

Trowbridge won the 100 breaststroke at 1:18.53 while Maya Trowbridge captured the girls' 100 breaststroke at a 1:26.47 clip.

"Colin and Maya Trowbridge, who are brother and sister, both had some excellent time drops that will set them up for a good post-season," Lear added. "They both also dive for us, so I'm looking forward to seeing them perform at Manheim Township."

In the boys' 100 free, Root and Marco took the top two spots while Taylor placed third.

The girls' 400 free relay went to Ava Mayer, Lucy Bishop, Emily Taylor and Micah Wiglesworth at 4:30.11. The foursome of Isabelle Heisey, Caroline Schweigert, Carol Fabian and Anna Koger were close behind at 4:30.76.

"All in all, we had time drops left and right," Lear said. "It could not have come at a more important time. I'm super proud of the kids for the work they've put in. I think they're going to start seeing some results they too will be proud of."

The girls' 200 free relay went to Farmer, Taylor, Heisey and Koger (2:01.26).

Lucy Bishop was a winner in the 200 and 400 free. Wigglesworth and Taylor went 1-2 in the 200 IM while Heisey and Mayer claimed second and third in the 100 freestyle.

Mia Roettger's time of 1:22.26 and Sarah Roth's 1:22.72 earned second and third, respectively, in the 100 back.

The two squads were coming off a sweep of McCaskey the previous week with the boys winning 131-28 and the girls posting a 120-47 victory.

GIRLS' BASKETBALL

After doubling up Cedar Crest 40-20 at home on Friday, January 20, the girls' basketball team suffered back-to-back setbacks, including a loss to Manheim Township.

In Friday's win, the defense held the Falcons to single-digit scoring in each of the quarters. Sophia Ott led all scorers with 14 points. Lauren Moffatt complemented Ott with a 13-point performance.

In Saturday's non-league game at Wilson, the Knights extended their 19-17 halftime lead to 31-28 by the end of the third stanza. The Bulldogs outscored the visitors 21-9 in the fourth for a 49-40 win.

Coming away with a 10-point game was Nevaeh Ramirez. Cook compiled nine points while Moffatt put up eight.

In a high-scoring Section One game, Township topped Hempfield 65-57. The Streaks' 20-13 run in the first quarter helped pace them to victory.

Ott had a great game, scoring 20 points. Cook (16) and Ramirez (10) each scored a pair of treys.

BOYS' BASKETBALL

Hempfield improved to 7-0 in the L-L League with a 54-48 victory at Manheim Township on Tuesday, January 24. In a closely contested Section One match, each side equaled the other point-for-point in the second half. Thanks to the 26-20 halftime advantage, Hempfield held on for a win, improving to 15-2 overall.

Miguel Pena scored 18 for the Knights, drilling the basket three times from three-point range. Kamryn Lawrence came through with 13 points while Chase Calabretta added 12.

Pena poured in 17 points in a Saturday afternoon non-league battle with Central Dauphin, helping Hempfield to a 59-48 win. Once again, the 6-foot-3 senior made three treys.

Calabretta and Ben Troyer each scored 15, giving Hempfield a three-headed attack.

Less than 24 hours earlier, the Knights' 14-6 run in the first period helped them top Cedar Crest 60-42.

Pena was virtually unstoppable, scorching the net for 24 points while Calabretta and Troyer scored 12 and 11, respectively.

BOWLING

Hempfield's bowling team topped Lebanon 7-0 on Monday at Leisure Lanes. The Knights kept pace with Penn Manor atop the Section One standings at 48-22.

Priest McKenzie was consistent all day, rolling a 227, 223 and 223.