Lord Alfred Tennyson was surely not thinking about high school basketball when he penned his famous literary line... "Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all," but the general theme of the statement still applies to the Manheim Central boy's and girls' basketball teams. Both squads ventured into PIAA-5A playoff territory following their stellar regular seasons, unfortunately their stints were short lived.

The boys, courtesy of their 22-6 mark and District 3-5A runner-up finish, were able to stay close to home for their battle with Mars, the sixth-place team out of District 7, playing at Manheim Township HS. That proximity to home did not matter as the Fightin' Planets took control early and finished Central's season with a 61-49 victory.

That early control led to a 15-10 cushion after the opening frame with the margin extended to 12 points, 33-21, at the break. The Barons were able to hang close to Mars in the third and fourth quarters, playing even-up over the final 16-minutes, but the damage had already been done, leaving Manheim on the wrong side of the 61-49 final.

Trey Grube tallied a team high 18 points, finishing his stellar Manheim Central career with 1,794 points. Aaron Enterline chipped in with 14 as the only other Baron in double digits. Zachary Benner (seven points), Sam Witmer (four points), Collin Neiles (two points), Jackson Tracy (two points) and Chase Book (two points) rounded out the scoring.

The story was the same for the girls except the Lady Barons, after finishing as the fifth seed out of District 3, hopped on a bus for a four-hour ride. That trek took them to Gateway HS in Monroeville, PA where they faced Oakland Catholic, the runner-up out of District 7. Central struggled out of the gate, allowing the Lady Eagles to take control with a 19-9 run through the opening quarter. Things deteriorated in the second with Oakland Catholic ripping through the frame on a 29-11 run, pushing Central's deficit to 48-20.

Oakland Catholic kept the pressure on through the third quarter, posting a 13-6 edge that extended their lead to 35 at 61-26 heading into the final stanza. Only then did the Lady Eagles let up, which allowed Manheim Central to post a 13-4 advantage, setting the final at 65-39.

Maddie Knier netted a game high 27, pushing her to 2,054 career points, most in Central's history and the eighth most points in Lancaster-Lebanon League history. Payton Snyder added six points while Kaylee Kroll (three points), Abbie Reed (two points) and Laken Zeiset (one point) rounded out the offense.

WRESTLING

The two remaining members, Brett Barbush and Braxton Keiffer, of Manheim's wrestling team saw their season and high school career come to a close with their participation in the PIAA-3A Championship held March 9-11 at Hershey's Giant Center.

Barbush competed in the 160-pound bracket, working his way to an eighth-place finish, his 2-3 mark for the tourney putting his season tally at 43-7. Barbush opened his run by pinning Jimmy Spindler of Pittston Area HS just before the final horn. He was no match for West Allegheny's Shawn Taylor, dropping their quarterfinal tilt by a 21-6 final. Barbush extended his season a bit longer by picking up a win in his first consolation match, topping Connor Wetzel (Shikellamy) by a 5-4 count. That proved to be Barbush's final victory as a loss to Franklin Regional's Gavyn Beck put him in the 7th/8th place match opposite Gavin Pascoe of Perkiomen Valley. Pascoe earned the win and seventh place medal that came with it, leaving Barbush as the eighth-place finisher.

Keiffer's time in Hershey was significantly shorter. The senior dropped his first two matches, bringing his season to a close with a 34-10 mark. Keiffer had a bye in the preliminary round, setting him up for a first-round battle with Franklin Regional's Tyler Kapusta. Keiffer hung close but ultimately fell by a 3-2 final. The tough times continued in the consolation bracket where a second one-point loss, this one a 1-0 final to West Allegheny's Caiden Harbert, brought Keiffer's Manheim Central wrestling career to a close.