By Mona Steinhauer
Running the first race of the day, the Solanco lady harriers, behind Taylor Ludman's top-ten finish, brought home four medals and placed third overall in the Lancaster-Lebanon League Meet held at Ephrata Middle School last Tuesday.
Warwick capped their undefeated season with a team-low 33 points and were followed by Township (85) and Solanco (119).
The Mares had finished the regular season at 18-3 and avenged their loss to Hempfield, edging the Black Knights who placed fourth with a 163 total.
Ludman finished fourth overall in 19:24, earning her best finish at the league meet.
"Taylor ran a solid race but wasn't happy with the results," noted head coach Scott Weaver. "The surprise of the day was Vontoria Post running her best race of the season to place 23rd with a new PR of 20:55," he added. "She got out well at the start and moved six spots from the mile mark."
Also earning top-30 medal status was Rachel Cairns (28th, 21:00) and Jillian Eberly (29th, 21:02). "Rachel ran a strong race," said Weaver. "She got out well and held the same place just about the whole race. Jillian also ran well and maintained her position throughout the race."
Rebekah Linde, who placed 37th overall in 21:31, closed out the Solanco scoring. Also competing was Laura Bowman (42nd, 21:46), Brit Musselman (57th, 22:25), and Heather Tran (70th, 22:44).
"After Taylor, four freshmen filled the next four places on the team," noted Weaver. "The upperclassmen had so much positive effect on the freshmen and their growth. We had four medallists this year and three will be back."
The boys' race, a tight one from start to finish, got underway at 5 p.m. and resulted in three medals and a seventh place team effort. Cedar Crest was the clear favorite, winning with a team-low 65 but only 66 points separated first through seventh place. The Mules collected 165 points, just two behind McCaskey (163) and ten behind Hempfield (155).
"Every place meant something in this meet," stated Weaver. "I try to get across to all the teams that in invitational scoring every place in important and today it was critical."
Josh Temple was the first to cross the line for Solanco, placing 17th in 17:26 and John Ausel was close behind, grabbing 19th place in 17:27.
"Josh moved 26 places from the mile marker and was not far off his PR," noted Weaver. "John got out well and held his position throughout the race."
Isa Yuzon also earned a medal for the Mules, placing 28th overall in 17:35.
Rounding out the top five Solanco runners was Steve Linde (46th, 18:02) and Tom Whitehill (56th in 18:10).
"Steve and Tom both had rough days and tired legs in their last L-L meet," stated Weaver.
Rounding out the Mule contingent was Neil Munro (59th, 18:13), Zach Paxson (63rd, 18:23) and Ian Paxson (89th, 18:53).
"Zach, coming off an illness, moved well in the second half of the race and collected 20 runners in the last mile."
Both squads will compete in the District Meet this Wednesday at the old Parkview Golf Course, behind the Giant Center, in Hershey. Girls run at 2 p.m. and the boys follow at 4 p.m.
GOLF
Tuesday, at Golden Oaks Golf Course in Fleetwood, Amber Rohrer, in a field of 33, posted an 88 at the Eastern Regional Tournament, leaving her in a tie for 19th and missing the cut for State's by six strokes. The top 13 advanced.
Despite ending her high school career, Rohrer's 88 was the low score for Lancaster-Lebanon League girls competing. Lampeter-Strasburg's Sam Peiffer, who held off Rohrer to win the League title, was the next closest with a 93.
"I know Amber is disappointed in not qualifying for states but she can be proud of her accomplishment of advancing to Regionals for the second year in a row. She had missed most of the season with a stress fracture in her hand and has only been back playing a month or so," he added. "I know her game was still not up to her normal standards.
"Amber has plans to play golf at the collegiate level and had ended her high school career as the best female golfer in Solanco history."
FIELD HOCKEY
The hockey team, last Monday, returned to the Lancaster-Lebanon League playoffs after a rather extended absence but couldn't muster enough offense to get past defending league champ Donegal, falling short 3-0.
"From what we could find, Solanco last qualified for leagues in the 1970's," stated head coach Stacy Shelton. "And 1976 was the last time a team finished third in the section which is where we finished this year. We were a surprise this year."
The Mares, who were out shot 25-2 and out cornered 22-4, were down just 1-0 at the half.
"Our keeper, Carley Payne, had a superb game (22 saves)," lauded Shelton. "Actually, most of the team played well. I felt it was our best game yet! We definitely had them worried in the first half but we couldn't get anything going offensively," she added. "We played with determination and heart."
Donegal netted that opening goal with 5:21 left in the first half and tacked on two more in the first ten minutes of the second half to advance.
Friday the Mares, who qualified for Districts for the second straight season, worked a 2-1 victory over Section One's Manheim Township, seeded 19th, in the opening play-in round in Quarryville.
Solanco, seeded 14th, came out strong in the first half and put up a 1-0 score on a goal by Tricia Jackson in the 26th minute. Mary Atkins inserted the penalty corner to Katherine Ault at the top of the circle who dished a pass to Jackson.
"Township came back strong in the second half and were able to get a couple corners against us," recalled Shelton. "We had a tough time getting control of the game."
Township eventually capitalized and knotted the score in the 11th minute of the second half.
"We eventually got control back with about five minutes left to play and scored the game-winner when Michelle Breniser capitalized on their goalie going down and scored with about 33 seconds left to play," Shelton explained.
"It was tough weather conditions to play in but we came out ready to play," she added. "We are excited to face Cocalico, for the third time this season, in the next round. We know we can compete with them and we plan to show them that we never give up."
The Eagles, seeded third, defeated the Mares in overtime and again 2-0 during league play. They are coming off a 4-0 L-L League semifinals loss to Penn Manor that ended an eight game winning streak.
FOOTBALL
On another rainy Friday night, this time in Ephrata, the football team, still in contention for a playoff berth, came away with a 20-10 victory over the Mounts.
"We've played well these last two games now," said head coach Joe Pearson. "The defense is doing a phenomenal job. This is the second week in a row they've held our opponent under 150-yards."
The Mules (2-3, 4-4) led from the start, scoring points on their first possession as kicker Aaron Haines successfully kicked a 26-yard field goal for a 3-0 lead with 6:53 left in the quarter.
Solanco was denied on their second possession but scored right after that when John Fisher, who rushed for 80-yards on the night, ran 51-yards to pay dirt and pushed the lead to 10-0.
Ephrata (1-4, 1-7) got back in the game on their next series, pushing their way to a 22-yard field goal and cutting the lead to 10-3 with 7:20 left in the half.
The Mules tacked on three more points before intermission when Haines' 41-yard attempt bounced off the upright and in for a 13-3 Solanco advantage.
"Haines kicked that field goal with six seconds left in the half," Pearson recalled. "And I believe it's the longest field goal in the league to date. And it was in the wind and the rain."
The Mounts came out fast in the third quarter and drove 64-yards on six plays and cut the deficit to 13-10 with a six-yard touchdown run. But that was as close as they would get.
Solanco gained some breathing room in the fourth when Justin Zellman found Ryan Kutz (81 yards rushing) with an 8-yard pass that sealed the victory.
BJ Enck led all rushers with 126-yards on 13 carries.
"We also finished the night with a season-high seven sacks," Pearson noted. "Other defensive highlights included John Kirk's 10 tackles and one sack. Tyler Stitz, Jordan Giffing and BJ also chipped in with six sacks.
"The defense is really coming around," he added. "We're 4-4 now and are pushing for playoffs. We haven't turned the ball over for two weeks now and that's been a key. Plus we need to continue to be consistent and effective with our passing."
The Mules host Garden Spot (0-8), coming off a 34-0 loss to Cocalico, this Friday night at 7:30 p.m.
VOLLEYBALL
Though the volleyball team wrapped up the season with four straight losses, including a 3-1 final last Tuesday against Elizabethtown (25-22, 25-28, 17-25, 25-23), they were competitive against teams that qualified for the post-season. They went five games with Lampeter-Strasburg and against both CV and E-town were two points (26-24) away from taking a game from them.
"Our record (3-7 section, 5-9 overall) did not reflect the heart and determination that the team showed most of the season," said head coach Kathy Roenne. "They came a long way."
Jess Miller (3 blocks, 16 digs) and D Probst (2 blocks, 20 digs) both finished with nine kills in the loss to the Bears.
"Jess has a big heart and was a great leader as captain this year," stated Roenne. "I only wish I had her for more than one year. I will miss her on the court, and Katie Smith (3 kills) as well. She was also a senior captain who provided leadership with her calmness on the court and kept her teammates focused."
Kimmy Findley led with two aces and finished with 14 assists in the loss.
"I also played a new sophomore (Sarah Minshall) for the first time," Roenne added. "She's a setter and came off the bench with fire and determination and is a real spark plug. She had beautiful hands, fast movement to the ball and played with confidence. I am looking forward to having her next year."
