The Comets improved to 2-0 in Section One with a tight 8-7 nod at Conestoga Valley Thursday, March 30.

Benedict Flinchbaugh staked the Comets to an early 4-2 advantage, scoring twice in the first quarter. That proved to be the difference as the Bucks, with three goals and one assist from Jeff Fisher, outscored the visitors 5-4 over the final three quarters.

"They returned a lot of experience and Fisher is one of the most talents attackmen we will face this season," said head coach Connor Rowe. "We had Kyle Schmidtke match up with Fisher and he did a terrific job limiting him. Kyle led the football team in tackles and is a great example of a multisport athlete and is as physical as they come. I am proud of the player he is becoming."

Flinchbaugh finished with four goals. Williard Smith added two and both Eli Warfel and Ayden Hoin scored one each. Mikey Hollister and Grant Bradburn added assists. In goal, Nick Hollinger made some crucial saves and finished with 15 on the day.

"Nick stepped up, as he has always done in big moments since his freshman year," said Rowe. "He's only a junior but has been very impactful to our program.

"We have dealt with a lot of adversity so far this season with some of our most talented seniors going down with injuries," he continued. "We were down three key pieces against CV, but the guys rallied, and young faces stepped to the plate. To be 4-1, with the adversity we've faced, is a great spot."

At Township Tuesday, the Comets fell behind early, 5-1 in the first quarter, and never regained their footing in an 18-6 loss to the Streaks.

Seven different Streaks contributed to the offensive punch while just three Comets found the back of the net. Flinchbaugh scored a hat trick, Englert scored twice and added two assists, while Grant Bradburn (1g, 1a), Aidan Gerlach (1a) and Willard Smith (1a) rounded out the scoring.

BASEBALL

The Comets moved to 4-0 with an 8-4 non-league win at Conestoga Valley Friday, March 31.

The visitors pounded out 12 hits and took the lead for good with a four-run first inning. They extended the advantage with three more runs in the fifth.

Trevor Adams led with three hits, but it was Grant Fry's two-hit day that played three runs. Stuart Spencer also collected two hits and two RBI.

Brayden Eckert picked up the win on the hill, allowing two runs and three hits over four innings, striking out five. Fry and Christopher Hubbs pitched in relief and combined for five strikeouts, one walk and surrendered two hits.

On Monday they opened Section One play with a 5-3, come-from-behind win over Cedar Crest. The Falcons took a 2-0 lead in the third on four hits. The Comets got their bats going in the fifth, scoring three runs on three base hits, a double and Grant Fry's steal of home plate.

Crest went back in front in the top of the fifth by one and the Comets scored twice in the bottom of the sixth to finish on top.

Stuart and Cole Miller each collected two hits and one RBI while Cole Zink, one hit, and Billy Riggs were credited with the other two RBIs.

Bryce Avery struck out nine and gave up nine hits over 4.1 innings of work. Fry pitched 2.2 innings in relief and struck out two and scored two.

The Comets broke a 1-1 first inning tie with five runs over the next six innings and defeated McCaskey 6-1 on Wednesday. Brayden Eckert allowed three hits and one run over six innings, striking out five. Christopher Hubbs pitched one inning in relief.

Manor racked up 11 hits on the day with Trevor Adams going 3-3. Peter Skiadis, Isaac Braegelmann (3RBI) and Zink added two hits each.

TENNIS

The Comets picked up its second one-point non-league win with a 3-2 result at West York, Friday, March 31.

Seth Clark and Vijay Chatha picked up a 6-4, 6-2 win at No. 1 doubles while G Shirley and Aidan Karlow made it 1-0 with a 6-0, 6-1 result. Securing the team win with a 6-0, 6-4 singles victory was PJ Fahey.

Will Steltz put forth a strong effort at No. 2 but fell short 6-7 (5-7), 2-6.

The Comets were coming off a 7-0 loss against Cedar Crest.

GIRLS' LACROSSE

The girls' lacrosse team wrapped up its non-league season with a perfect 6-0 mark with Saturday's 9-6 victory at Central Dauphin. Joelle Kroesen tallied three goals and dished a pair of assists while Erin Shipley also scored a hat trick with one assist as the Comets broke a tied score at halftime with a strong second half.

"The biggest key to winning was adapting from each other's trials and errors," said head coach Anneli Starry. "We made the changes and kept the momentum in our favor."

Grace Gerner, Catherine Rabatin and Jarliah Ferko also scored.

In goal, Brooklynn Ayala collected eight saves.

The Comets were coming off a 17-6 league win over CV Thursday, March 30. A 12-2 run through the first half set the tone. Kroesen racked up a season-high six goals and dished one assist. Shipley scored five times while Rabatin (2), Gerner, Mia Jones, Jarliah Ferko and Swanson rounded out the scoring.

Ayala and Mackenzie Nafziger combined for eight saves in the win.

"We have solid team defense and amazing goalies," stated Starry. "And yes, Joelle and Erin lead in scoring but our entire attack and midfield are all threats. We are very balanced, and our assists are higher than last year's totals by this point already."

That win streak crashed to a halt in a 22-2 April 3 loss to Township. Shipley and Kroesen were held to one goal each while Nafziger recorded six saves in goal.

SOFTBALL

The softball team put together back-to-back shutouts over the last week, blanking Lancaster Catholic 7-0 to wrap up the non-league season and then holding off Cedar Crest 8-0 in the season opener Monday, April 3. Wednesday they added a 13-1 win over McCaskey.

Julie Bowmaster pitched a no-hitter against the Falcons with eight strikeouts while Jordan Bailey (2 RBI), Amelia Trout (3 stolen bases) and Regan Soboleski (2 RBI) each had two hits as did Kylie Lamborne who led with three RBI.

The Comets led 3-0 after four innings but took control with a four run fifth, highlighted by back-to-back doubles by Kira Green and Bailey.

Manor gave up one run in the top of the first against McCaskey but quickly took control, scoring seven in the bottom half en route to the five-inning victory. Bowmaster struck out seven, walked one and surrendered two hits in the win. She helped her cause at the plate, going 2-3 with a double and a 2-run homer in the second inning.

Trout's grand slam accounted for Manor's four run third.

Green (3-3), Maddie Mitchell (2-2) and Bria Booth (2-3) contributed to Manor's 14 hit effort.

TRACK

The Comet track teams opened the 2023 season with a home meet against Hempfield on Monday, April 3. Both teams suffered identical 86-64 losses but were highlighted by some strong performances. Foremost was Trevor Schneider's effort in the high jump. The senior, who cleared 6-5, tied Troy Murray's school record set in 2000.

Also in the field, Wyatt Kauffman won the discus and was second in the shot put while Jason Andro posted top leaps in both the long and triple jumps.

Also picking up two wins each was Jon Osman in the 100- and 200-meter dashes and Drew Lebo who commanded the high and 300 hurdles.

The girls' team also won eight events with seven coming in the field. GG Moenga, Trinity Mowery, and Sylvia Moenga swept the shot put and Maddie Whited, Cassidy McCollum and Alyssa Jones did the same in the javelin. Whited also won the triple jump.

Mikayla Weaver won the high jump and Jayden Coble was tops in the discus, with Moenga taking second.

Securing Manor's only win on the track was Jireh Ellis with a 17.5 in the 100 hurdles.

VOLLEYBALL

The volleyball team posted mixed results over the last week, grinding out a 3-0 win over Wilson on the 31st before dropping a tough 3-2 league loss to Cedar Crest last Tuesday.

The Comets, behind eight kills by Harry Whited, held off Wilson 27-25, 25-20, 25-22. Wyatt Rohrer distributed 23 assists, Elijah Julian recorded six digs, Roman Keefer put up one block and Andre Weaver served up a pair of aces.

Against the Falcons, Manor opened with a 25-17 first set win before the visitors needed two extra points for a 27-25 edge to tie things up. The Comets responded, winning the third set 25-21 only to see Crest come back, again, winning 25-14. They pulled away down the stretch, 15-12.

"Right now, we are struggling to maintain consistency into the fifth set," explained head coach Chris Telesco. "That has hurt because we could've only had one loss at this point as opposed to four, but we are certainly building character through all of these four and five set matches."

Wyatt again was on the receiving end of Rohrer's 36 assists, putting down 14 kills. He, along with Reece Andreychek, served one ace. Luke Thomas (2 blocks) and Garrett Cortez (10 digs) also contributed.

"I felt like the first and third sets against Crest were the best we've played this season," said Telesco.