The boy's and girl's lacrosse teams have been busy during their first week back in action with each squad squeezing in three games. Unfortunately, all six ended up as losses for Elizabethtown starting on March 26th. The boy's dropped their game with Lampeter-Strasburg by a 15-5 final while the Lady Bears fell 14-1 at Carlisle. Sam Azzalina and Elijah Poulos netted two scores for the boys with Jacob Wivell picking up the final goal. Hailey Mertz accounted for the lone girl's goal.

Three days later both teams battled South Western with the Lady Bears making the trek to Hanover while the boy's enjoyed a second straight home game. The result was a 10-2 loss to the visiting Mustangs for the boys while the Lady Bears came home after falling 20-2. Brooke Horst joined Mertz as goal scorers for the girl's while Sawyer Smith picked up both goals on the boy's side. Joseph Zink finished with 20 saves while Jordyn Gutshall stopped eight Lady Mustang shots.

March 30th sent the Lady Bears on the road for their third straight game but this time only a short drive to Neffsville to face Manheim Township. The Lady Streaks sent E-town home with an 0-3 record thanks to a 24-0 final. Gutshall finished with 11 saves.

With the Lady Bears on the road, the boys found themselves at home again, falling to Township by a 14-2 final. Azzalina and Smith scored once each with Zink stopping 13 shots.

TRACK

After the yearlong COVID hiatus, E-town spring athletes are back to practicing and competing.

For the track and field team that meant a season opening trip to Manheim to battle the Barons in a Section Two showdown. The Bears came home with losses on both sides, 120-30 for the boys and 87-63 for the Lady Bears. "I expected a little bit of it," said head coach Derrick McDonald, "but was counting on a couple of better performances in a couple areas. Our team got shell shocked but overall, there were good performances, I was expecting a little bit better but that is where we are right now. We will be better."

McDonald pointed to low numbers on the boy's side as the main reason for the loss. With fewer athletes then normal, the Bears managed just one victory that came from Owen Dommel, Caiden Herr, Zach Verghese and Juan Lopez combining for a 47.0 in 400m relay.

As the 87-63 final would indicate, the Lady Bears picked up a few more victories with Genevieve McDonald leading the way. The sophomore turned in winning performances in the 100m and 200m and anchored the 400m relay to a winning time of 52.3. Adyson Haak, Olivia Anson and Lily Heistand joined McDonald in the relay win. Madeline Quinn made her usual appearances atop the 1600m and 3200m results while Katlyn Snyder (shot put) and Anson (discus) finished off the events wins for E-town.

VOLLEYBALL

The boys' volleyball team kicked off their 2021 season on March 26th, falling to Northeastern, before putting their season on pause due to COVID issues. The Bears are slated to get back to action on April 9th opposite Garden Spot.

E-town dropped that season opener by a 3-0 count with losses of 25-15, 25-22 and 25-22. Rudy Woitas led the way with 15 kills and five blocks. Josh McCoy matched those five blocks while Bill O'Connell added four digs to help the 'D'. Dylan Shepherd collected 18 assists while Bryan Murray capped the offense with two aces.

SOFTBALL

Diamonds might be a girl's best friend, but the E-town softball team has found it difficult to spend quality time with their favorite diamond, the softball kind. The Lady Bears posted a 5-inning, 10-run rule victory over Palmyra on March 26th but had their next game, a March 31st tilt with Ephrata pushed back due to rain.

Kristin Geesey claimed the win over Palmyra allowing four hits with three strikeouts and just one run allowed. Jess Zimmerman and Brooke Bryan tallied two hits each while splitting two RBIs. Megan Gray matched those two RBIs thanks to three hits, including a home run.

TENNIS

The boy's tennis team has been super busy in the month of March, hitting the courts six times in just over two weeks. After shaking off a 5-2 season opening loss to Donegal, the Bears have ripped off five straight wins, including back-to-back shutouts over Garden Spot and Warwick.

"This has been an exciting season for us," said head coach Brenda McBride. "We have some very strong teams yet to play, but I couldn't be more proud of these boys."

McBride mentioned the mental side of the game in talking about the team's 6-1 win over Hempfield on March 29th that stretched their winning streak to five games. "To see our younger players grow and mature in their mental game right before our eyes is very gratifying," said McBride.

McBride was able to enjoy two separate doses of gratification with both Steven Dupler and Hayden Musser wining their singles matches in three sets. Dupler rebounded to beat Carson Weigle 7-5 and 10-8 after dropping the opening set 1-6. Musser followed the same script in his match opposite Trent Meyers, dropping the opening set 3-6 before bouncing back for a 6-1, 13-11 win. Trent McBride and Jack Nyveldt claimed the remaining two singles wins, topping Alex Cooke and Eric Jordan respectively. McBride and Dupler teamed up for one of the two doubles wins while Nyveldt and Musser claimed the other.

Elizabethtown's remaining victories have come opposite Lebanon, and Cocalico plus the two 7-0 wins over Garden Spot and Warwick. Add in the Hempfield win and the Bears sit atop the Section One standings along with Penn Manor and Cedar Crest.