As the days get longer and the weather warmer, the high school sporting world shifts its attention outside. Before that move goes mainstream, the majority of the Elizabethtown bowling team put a bow on its 2022-23 season, taking part in the District 3 Championship and the Eastern PA Regional Championship.

First for the Bears was a short trip to Clearview Lanes for the District 3 Championship, held on Feb. 25. A total of five Bears made the trip, but only one was able to escape the qualifying round and that was senior Zach Wentzel. Wetzel posted the top qualifying score with games of 246, 220, 235, 216 and 236, giving him a 1153 total. That dropped Wetzel into the semifinal round of the stepladder finals, where he topped the 2020 District Champion, Ayden Davis of Antietam, 205-157. Wetzel's title hunt came up just short with a loss to Middletown's Cameron Wegert in the finals.

Derek Deardorff and Mason Moore also took part in the district championship, with both missing the finals. Deardorff finished 26th with a 998 qualifying score thanks to games of 211, 192, 209, 184 and 202. Moore's 901 qualifying tally had him 38th in the final standings with games of 179, 157, 193, 221 and 151.

For the Lady Bears it was Ella Eberle and Kendra Griffie making a district appearance with Eberle narrowly missing the finals. She bowled games of 208, 194, 173, 181 and 206, putting her qualifying tally at 962, just 11 pins and two places outside the top six that earned a spot in the stepladder finals. Griffie finished 33rd with qualifying games of 163, 110, 134, 142 and 175, giving her a 724 series.

A week later the Bears split time between Leisure Lanes in Lancaster and 222 Dutch Lanes in Ephrata, taking part in the Eastern PA Regional Bowling Championships that were held March 3 and 4.

March 3 was the individual championship, with Wentzel and Eberle leading the way once again. Eberle earned a spot in the PA Bowling Championship courtesy of her 10th-place finish in qualifying. She tallied a 971 with games of 169, 220, 202, 206 and 174, putting her just inside the top 12. Eberle's regional run came to a close in the quad-singles, her 172 coming in 32 pins off the winning tally.

Wentzel missed the finals on the boys' side by just 23 pins, games of 225, 190, 211, 207 and 226 pushing his qualifying tally to 1059 and 16th place. Moore and Deardorff posted qualifying scores just 22 pins apart, but Moore's 990 slotted him 40th while Deardorff's 972 had him in 45th.

March 4 had the Bears back at Leisure Lanes to battle in the team competition. "Saturday was truly a HEARTBREAKER," said head coach Frank Telenko. "We finished in seventh place, just seven pins out, and it was tough for the kids and coaches."

Telenko was referencing his squad's 4128 tally in the team qualifying, which fell just short of the 4135 cut for the finals. "We'll remember that feeling for the next 365 days and use it as motivation for the 2023-24 season!" Telenko said.

Wentzel continued his hot streak with a team-high 641 series. Declan Lentz (597), Eberle (586), Deardorff (563) and Moore (526) rounded out the bowlers in team qualifying.

SWIMMING

While the bowling season ended for all but Eberle on March 3 and 4, the 2022-23 season officially came to an end for the swimming team. The Bears made the trip to Cumberland Valley High School for the District 3-3A Championship, where the Lady Bears finished 19th in the team standings and the boys 15th. "We had a good showing at this year's district meet," said head coach Chad Houck. "We took the largest group we ever have and placed really well overall in both the boys' and girls' meets. We had three podium finishes, which is a great reflection of the time and effort put into training this year."

Two of the three podium finishes Houck referenced took place on the boys' side. Everett Rachael nabbed one with an eighth-place time of 1:46.04 in the 200-freestyle, with Jack Ketchum accounting for the other, also an eighth-place finish but in the 100-backstroke with a time of 53.59. Morgan Conway added the third podium finish, clocking a 1:07.34 in the 100-breaststroke, slotting her eighth.

All three added one solo event each, with Rachael placing 10th in the 100-backstroke with a time of 53.83. Ketchum finished 30th in the 200-free with a 1:53.00 while Conway took part in the girls' 200-free, finishing 23rd with a time of 2:00.72.

Conway also swam as part of two relay races for Elizabethtown. Genna McDonald, Ali Fink and Tessa Cronin joined Conway for a 13th-place run in the 200-medley relay. In the 200-free relay it was Olivia Hirst who joined Conway, McDonald and Cronin to finish 14th with a time of 1:45.61.

Fink, McDonald and Cronin all took part in two individual races, with Julia Garber mixing it up in the 100-breaststroke, where she finished 23rd. Fink posted a 2:22.39 in the 200 IM, taking 24th, while her 1:03.50 in the 100-butterfly was the 25th-best time of the day. Both McDonald and Cronin took part in the 50-freestyle, with McDonald taking 27th (26.05) and Cronin 31st (26.38). McDonald added a 28th-place finish in the 100-breaststroke, while Cronin added a 28th-place finish in the 100-free to her weekend.

Back on the boys' side, the Bears put a relay team in all three races, with the 400-freestyle team of Rachael, Jared Louie, Reid Gilmore and Ketchum taking 11th with a time of 3:18.90. Trevor Nolen joined Ketchum, Gilmore and Louie for a 12th-place run in the 200-medley relay (1:42.77), with Nathan Yohn and Adam Mickievicz joining Rachael and Louie for a 16th-place finish (1:31.37) in the 200-freestyle relay.

The Bears enjoyed three more swimmers taking part in four events with Gilmore pulling the double. He placed 17th in the 100-fly (54.71) and 18th in the 500-freestyle (4:58.24). Nolen posted a 1:06.23 in the 100-breaststroke, placing him 31st. Carter Ketchum picked up the last event, finishing 31st in the 200 IM with a time of 2:10.65.

"While we fell short on having anyone qualify for states," added Houck for one final thought, "we laid more foundation for future races by competing amongst some of the best the state has to offer in District 3."