Penn Manor's Catherine Rabatin cruised through the Lancaster-Lebanon League tournament, advancing to the finals without dropping a game. Then, at Cedar Crest on October 11, she fought from behind and defeated Manheim Township's Avery Palandjian, for the third straight time, to win the L-L League 3A singles championship 6-4, 6-2.

"She seemed a little nervous the first four games of the first set but was able to adjust her mindset to become more confident and aggressive," said head coach Amanda Pryzbylkowski. "Catherine played smart, constructed the points well, and was on her game. I am so proud of the way she was able to make tiny adjustments throughout the match that ultimately helped her win the league title again."

BOYS' SOCCER

In their last league game of the season, the boys' soccer team suffered a 3-0 loss to Warwick, leaving them with a 5-6-1 league mark.

"They have a lot of speed and combined with technical ability, shows why they are sitting on top of the league standings," said head coach Paul Taylor. "I think we had a decent regular season. There were a couple of games we lost due to simple mistakes on our part and not due to the better play of our opponents.

"We were able to score a decent number of goals this year which I was happy to see," he added. "This is a good group of guys that got along well with everyone. We will see what happens around the district to see if we are in the playoffs or not."

With nine goals and six assists, Aidan Smith was the top point getter for the Comets. Zach Erb and Tyler Hostetter followed with four goals and two assists each. In all, 11 different players found the back of the net.

GOLF

Five Comet golfers competed in the District Three Championships at Briarwood on Oct. 8 but only one qualified for states. Keegan Dings punched her ticket with a 163 two-day total, firing an 84 on Friday and a 79 one day later to finish in fourth place.

"Keegan has been so close, so we were happy to get her through," said head coach Tom Ruestle.

Maggie Eckroat's 102 missed the 89 cut.

For the boys, Jesse Shue shot a 79 on Friday to get to round two where he carded an 85, missing the 154 two-day cut. Aidan Doyle (85) and JP Radwanski (88) both competed on Friday.

"Jesse and JP are both freshman and our top two players," Ruestle noted. "This exposure will pay dividends down the road. And Aiden is a junior and keeps improving. It was a great season, and we have high expectations moving forward."

BOYS' CROSS COUNTRY

The boys' cross country team moved to 5-5 on the year with wins over CV (23-37) and Elizabethtown (22-34) last Tuesday. Jeremiah Hetrick (17:11) was eight seconds out of first place to lead the pack. Kaleb Kabakjian finished third with Aidan Gerlach placing fourth. Isaac Braegelman crossed in seventh place while Carter Vinson rounded out the top five counters with a 14th place effort.

"We had a great effort from the entire team," said co-head coach Tom Ecker. "While JT and Caleb continue to lead the team, we had strong finishes from Aidan and Isaac that made the difference."

Despite a first-place performance from Abby Ames (19:55), her first of the year, the Comets couldn't find a win, falling 22-39 to the hosts and 20-45 to Elizabethtown.

Mackenzi Nafziger just missed the top ten, placing 11th in 22:25. Bethany Hetrick (24:10) and Emma Cassel (24:12) finished 19th and 20th respectively with Zoe King (22nd, 24:25) rounding out the top five.

"Abby had one of her best races of the year to win," noted Ecker. "And Bethany posted her best race time and finish for the year."

GIRLS' SOCCER

The girls' soccer team wrapped up the regular season with mixed results, sweeping the series against Warwick with a second 2-0 victory on Oct. 7 before wrapping things up with a 3-1 loss to Ephrata last Wednesday.

"It took us some time to get going at Warwick, but we controlled play during the second half," said head coach Keith Renner. "We had numerous scoring opportunities but were only able to finish twice."

Both goals came in a span of two minutes with Lauren Stoner putting Manor on the board in the 56th minute and Carly Keene providing an insurance goal.

The league undefeated Mountaineers scored twice in the first half and never trailed. Kelly Wall's goal in the 39th minute cut the lead in half, but the hosts scored once after the break to maintain the two-goal lead.

The loss leaves the Comets on top of Section One at 9-1 with Township at 8-1 with one game left.

"Our last section title was in 2011," said Renner. "And our last district appearance was in 2014."

The Comets are currently ranked fourth in the District 4A Class.

VOLLEYBALL

The volleyball team faced the second-place team in Section One and the top team in Section Two over the last week and suffered two losses.

Manor came out strong against the Streaks on Oct. 7, winning the first game 25-19 but Township rallied to win the next three, 25-11, 25-22, 25-18.

Lezlie Nguyen put down seven kills and Cassidy McCollum (1block) added three aces to fuel the offense. Eliana Knaub chipped in with nine assists and Sophia Millhouse collected 17 digs.

In Millersville last Monday, the Bears, undefeated in section play, got 16 kills from Sydney Stewart in their 25-16, 25-15, 25-13 win over the Comets.

Nguyen's five kills were tops for the Comets. Knaub served three aces. Millhouse had eight digs and Emma Saylor distributed seven assists.

FOOTBALL

The football team gave up 40 points or more for the second week in a row, dropping a 48-14 final against Manheim Township Friday, October 8.

"We played two very good teams," said head coach John Brubaker. "But the turnovers Friday hurt. We did stop the run pretty well, but we gave their quarterback too much time to throw.

"There were some positives," he continued. "Gabe Kreider, our backup quarterback did a nice job and rushed for 67 yards and our Mr. Dependable, Erik Hinkle led us in tackles. Plus, Will Stover, Damir Wesley and Ty Washington all saw some quality action on defense.

"I think we'll regroup and get back on track. The kids keep coming to practice with a great attitude," the coach added. "It's a new week and there's new work to be done."

The Streaks jumped in front first before Eli Warfel's 44-yard burst tied the game at 7-7. Six unanswered touchdowns, however, vaulted the Streaks to a commanding lead. DeShawn Stanley's 44-yard TD pass from Kreider capped the scoring.