Manheim Central came out of the blocks fast, sweeping the high hurdle and the 300 hurdle events, to capture an 87-63 victory in the girls' meet on March 29 against Elizabethtown in Manheim.

Malea Stoner finished first in the high hurdles posting a 16.2. Makenna Enck (17.4) and Abbie Reed (17.5) were second and third, respectively. In the 300 hurdles, Stoner ran a 48.2 to capture first. Elizabeth Voegele (50.3) and Enck (51.6) were second and third, respectively.

On the boy side, the Barons cruised to a 120-30 triumph over E-town. The Barons swept the 1600 and 300 hurdles. Luke Redcay ran a personal-best 5:01.4 to place first and was followed by Michael Grewenwald (5:03.4) and Cam Evans (5:12.4) who scored his first varsity points.

Kennedy shuffled his 4x800 girls relay lineup to keep some of his sprinters fresh for other events and the risk paid off. Cadence Getz, Grace Haldeman, Courtney Smith and Avery Bruckhart, an alternate relay team, gave a first-place effort, winning in 11:26.5.

"I'm very pleased with both (wins)," Kennedy said. "We knew the girls' meet would be close. I give a E-town credit; they have a very competitive team. I am proud of the way the girls stepped up. Even until the last second before the meet we were changing the lineup, scrambling girls in all different events that they were not expecting, and they responded well. A lot of kids were willing to step up and go into some other events and it paid off."

Maddie Knier had a big day in the field, winning the long jump (16-5.75), the triple jump (33-7.25), high jump (5-2) and javelin (111-7). Milian Snell (1:03.9) and Halie Mayfield (1:07.4) went 1-2 in the 400. Sarah Forrey won the 800 (2:34.3).

For the boys, Nate Reed (41.8) was first in the 300 hurdles and Landon McGalligher (42.9) was right behind him. Connor Fahnestock was third (44.3).

Redcay and his brother, Luke, had a big day. The duo joined Brady Knier and Michael Greenwald to capture the 4x800 relay (10:49). Gabe Redcay (2:13.3) won the 800. Greenwald was second (2:15.9).

Reed carried a big load for the Barons, winning three events. In addition to the 300 hurdles, he captured the 800 (2:13.3) and pole vault (10-6). Zach Witmer added three field wins, claiming the triple jump (38-7.5), long jump (19.5) and high jump (5-8). In the shot put, Landon Watson had a personal record with 46-8.25. Kade Kegarise won the javelin (156-2) and Tyler Fahnestock took first in the discus (142-1) and was second in the shot put (43-4.25).

VOLLEYBALL

The Barons started right where they left off, winning in Section Two of the Lancaster-Lebanon League. With a 25-14, 25-10, 25-18 victory over Lebanon March 30, the section win streak now stands at 37 games. Barons coach Craig Dietrich said his quad served well and Blake Wagner paced the offense with 15 kills. He added five digs and he and Jeremiah Zimmerman each had two blocks. Zachary Moyer served two aces.

Going back to 2019, prior to COVID-19, the Barons are the defending Lancaster-Lebanon League Section Two champions and the District Three champ. They lost in state semifinals in 2019. The 2020 team had a lot of returning players, but never got a chance to defend its title because of COVID-19.

The Barons haven't lost a game in section-play (37-0), a streak that is now in its fourth season.

"To be honest, it's not been brought up a lot with all the changes," Dietrich said about the win streak. "I am not sure a lot of people know that we are the last team to win a Class 2A District (Three) title. "We are just so thankful to be playing. We were poised to make a run last year and never got that opportunity."

BASEBALL

The Barons opened the season with a 9-1 win on March 26 against Garden Spot.

"It felt good for the kids to get out there and play a game that counted, after losing last season," Barons' coach Jason Thompson said. "I didn't expect them to be at their best yet, nor do I want them to, but for not playing for a year, I was pleased."

Thompson has 10 seniors, but only two with varsity experience. Cam Eberly and Colton Book are back, and both are making an impact. On the mound, Book had 12 strikeouts, one walk and gave up two hits. He also hit a two-run home run. In the lead off spot, Eberly had two hits and a stolen base against the Spartans.

First baseman Collin Thompson, the coach's son, had a two-run homer. Dylan Yoder went 3-for-4 with 4 RBIs in his first varsity game.

Manheim improved to 2-0 with a 6-5 victory over Cocalico. The Barons scored all their runs in the first two innings. Connor Rohrer started on the mound, striking out six, and walking three to earn the win. Wyatt Becker relieved him in the fifth and earned three strikeouts and walked one. Book hit a three-run home run in the top of the first.

Jason Thompson said the key to the win was Becker coming in and closing the door in the last three innings.

TENNIS

Manheim has a 6-1 record this season. The lone blemish is a loss to Wilson. Andrew Rajaratnam, David Groff and Ben Ginder are the top three singles players. Barons coach Ryan Jeckel said he mixes up his doubles lineup. So far, the pairings are working.

The Barons earned a 4-3 victory over Lampeter-Strasburg on March 30. MC trailed 2-1 after doubles, the lone win coming from Rajaratnam and Ginder beating Weston Weaver and Rowen Krantz, 8-3. The Barons won three singles matches to pull out the win. Rajaratnam won at No.1 singles 6-3, 6-1. Groff won 6-3, 6-1. The match came down to Ginder, who pulled out a thriller, beating Alex Vaziri, 6-3, 3-6, 10-7.

The key to match victory, Jeckel said, was resilience. "We made too many unforced errors against a good team," he said. "But we ultimately overcame our struggles. It was a nice team win. Every win stood out; we needed them all because of unforced errors."

MC Beat Garden Spot 7-0. Rajaratnam, Groff, Ginder and Tyler Snavely won in singles. Rajaratnam teamed with Luke Horst in doubles. Groff and Snavely and Ginder and Hunter Shoenfelt all won by 8-2 scores.

SOFTBALL

It took two years, but Janelle Haying earned her first win as coach of the Barons. Hired two years ago, Haying missed out on coaching her first season because of COVID-19. The Barons overcame a 5-2 deficit to Cocalico to earn an 11-7 victory on March 29.

The Barons led 2-0 after the first inning but trailed 5-2 going into the bottom of the fourth.

"The key was not letting the mistakes drag us down," Haying said, "but rather rallying together, fiercely batting, and bouncing back. For the first game of the season, especially after not having a season last year with COVID, I'm very proud of what the team did."

Gabby Wettig earned the win, striking out five and walking one. Maddie Moyer had the winning hit, a two-run double up the middle that platted Gabby Wettig and Emma Damon, who both singled earlier and knocked in runs in the bottom of the fourth. The Barons scored five runs and batted around in the inning. Mickey Lauver led off with a single to start the rally.