As far as late season swoons go you will be hard pressed to find one more painful than what the boys' basketball team is currently experiencing. The 'Bucks were a respectable 10-7 overall with a shot at making the District 3-6A tournament. Four straight losses later and the Buckskins are now 10-11 with the postseason well out of reach.

CV followed losses to Exeter Township and Warwick with a 51-49, gut wrenching setback to Ephrata on the 3rd. The gut wrenching part came as CV watched their 40-35 lead heading into the final frame evaporate thanks to a 16-9 Mountaineer surge, leading to the two-point setback. Tanner Petersheim netted a team high 21 while Griffen Rishell added 17 in the loss.

A few nights later the Buckskins made the journey to Elizabethtown and returned home with a 61-53 loss to the Bears. Eight different Buckskins cracked the scoring column but Rishell was the lone player in double digits with 15. CV was able to hold a 34-24 edge in the first and fourth quarters only to see E-town control the middle section to the tune of 37-19 to finish on top.

GIRLS' BASKETBALL

Not all wins will clinch a playoff spot, secure a championship or even propel a team to more victories but a win is still a win. When that win also snaps a five-game slide it carries just a little more weight. Such was the case for Conestoga Valley's 53-40 victory over Elizabethtown on February 7th. It did not bring the postseason any closer, but it did move the Lady Buckskins to 5-16 overall and 4-7 in Section Two play.

Despite the 13-point final margin, things started shaky for CV. Elizabethtown opened a one-point edge after the first quarter and seemed in control after extending the cushion to three points at the break. Conestoga Valley had other ideas and ripped off a 16-6 run coming out of intermission, flipping the three point deficit into a 39-32 lead. The Lady 'Bucks continued their torrid second half with a 14-8 run through the final frame for the 53-40 final. Rhiannon Henry led the way with 15 points while Erin Figart added 13 points.

The final loss in that five-game stretch came on the 3rd when CV fell to Ephrata by a 46-19 final. The Lady Buckskins jumped out to a 9-3 edge after the opening quarter, but it was all downhill from there. It started in the second where the Lady Mountaineers erased CV's lead with a 10-2 run, making it a 13-11 game at halftime. A 33-8 Ephrata blitz came after the break, leaving Conestoga Valley bewildered and with a 27-point loss. Grace Harrison topped CV's scoring with seven points.

WRESTLING

The wrestling team bounced from the postseason on February 2nd back to the regular season on the 4th. The fun started with a trip to Spring Grove on the 2nd where CV battled the Rockets in a District 3-3A consolation match where the winner advanced and the loser saw their team postseason come to a close. Conestoga Valley ended up on the wrong side of a 34-32 final thanks largely to four pinfalls for Spring Grove and only three for Conestoga Valley.

Andrew Stoltzfoos (152), Luke Needham (172) and Luke Morley (127) earned those pinfall wins, accounting for more than half of CV's team tally. Teagan Ruble opened the match with a tech fall win at 139 with Abdoul Akala adding another at 189. Nick Horton picked up the final win, posting a major decision at 107.

"Winning the Rally in the Valley Duals was a great way to end a tough week of wrestling," said head coach Trent Turner of his team's 3-0 run through the event. The week started with CV's first ever win in the district team tournament and ended with the undefeated run at their own dual tournament.

The Buckskins had little trouble with Hanover (67-6) or Strath Haven (54-15) but needed a pinfall win in the last bout to slip by Daniel Boone 32-29. Morley was the victor in that deciding match, taking all of 21 seconds to lock up the win.

Zander Rider (215) was the only other pinfall winner, but Sean Morley (107) did enjoy the six team points for his forfeit win. Bryce Bowman (133) and Needham (160) tacked on major decision wins while Akala (172) and Horton (114) rounded things out with standard decisions.

In CV's other two matches wins came in bunches, especially opposite Hanover where the Buckskins claimed 12 of the 13 bouts. Four of those were forfeit with Bowman (133), Tyler Stoltzfus (172), Rider (215) and Horton (107) getting the easy wins. Five more wins came via pinfall starting with Morley at 127 and ending with Townsen Bagley at 114. In between came Akala (189), Tal Stoltzfus (285) and Macoy Kneisley (152). Two of CV's final three wins came via major decision thanks to Miles Acosta (145) and Needham (160) with Ruble tacking on a tech fall win at 139.

Conestoga Valley's final win of the day included 10 match wins and a 54-15 final over Strath Haven. Bagley (114) and Abel Adonay (121) enjoyed back-to-back forfeit wins with Andrew Stoltzfoos (145), Needham (160), Akala (172), Horton (107) and Bowman (133) all collecting six team points with pinfall wins. Ruble added a major decision at 139, Morley a tech fall at 127 while Rider finished things up with an overtime win at 215.

It was back to a regular dual match on the 8th with CV topping Muhlenberg 43-21. Seven of the 'Bucks eight wins came with bonus points, including six that provided the six-point max. Stoltzfus (285) picked up the lone forfeit while Needham (160), Akala (172), Omar Vargas (114), Morley (127) and Acosta (145) all earned pinfall wins. Ruble accounted for the final bonus point win, posting a major decision at 139. Horton tacked on a 4-1 win at 107 to finish up the victory.

BOWLING

The bowling team finished their regular season on February 3rd, topping Cedar Crest by a 7-0 final. Josiah Casler (643), Evan Zimmerman (636) and Ryan Muckle (630) led the charge with Jason DeChristopher (494) bowling the final full series. Jocelyn Ross (350) and Mason Tardibuono (234) teamed up for the final spot, combining for a 584.

RIFLE

The rifle team closed the books on the 2022-2023 season, splitting their final two matches for a 3-11 overall mark. The Buckskins closed things out on the 7th with a 491-490 win over Garden Spot with a loss to Elizabethtown coming on the 2nd by a 494-487 final.

Sierra Land was the lone shooter to post a perfect score, doing so in both matches. Dominic Santamaria just missed with back-to-back 99s. Caleb Reiff (97), William Roland (96) and Lydia Salmons (95) finished the scoring five against Elizabethtown. Abanoub William (98), Hunter Kleckner (97) and Joys William (97) rounded out the win over Garden Spot.