The following area residents were among the 505 students who graduated from Millersville University of Pennsylvania during the fall 2012 undergraduate commencement ceremony held Dec. 16 in Millersville’s Pucillo Gymnasium:

Darin Andrew Beachy, of Denver, earned a Bachelor of Science degree in social studies education; Crystal Ann Fisher, of Denver, graduated Summa Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology; and Zachary Louis Morgan, of Reinholds, earned a Bachelor of Science degree in biology.

Cocalico's Trevor Fichtorn (top) sticks Connor Pavlik of Manheim Central during the first period of their 132-pound bout Tuesday night. This was one of the few highlights for the Eagles who dropped a 67-12 decision. (Photo by Stan Hall)

Cocalico and Ephrata both suffered losses Tuesday on the opening night of Section Two action in L-L wrestling.

In Denver, visiting Manheim Central took advantage of six forfeit wins by Cocalico to key a 67-12 victory over the Eagles. Of the seven bouts that were contested, the Barons did take six of them to go to 1-0 on the season in Section Two play.

Cocalico’s lone victory on the mat came at 132 pounds where Trevor Fichtorn made quick work of Manheim’s Connor Pavlik, pinning the Manheim wrestler in a quick 29 seconds. John Fry picked up a forfeit win at 285 for the Eagles’ other victory.

Meanwhile in New Holland Tuesday, host Garden Spot earned victories in nine of the 14 weight classes to earn a 48-24 win over visiting Ephrata.

Todd Dumas earned a hard-fought 7-5 victory over Chance Norris at 126 to cut the Spartan lead to 27-21 with five bouts to go. However, Riley Eidemiller picked up Ephrata’s lone remaining win with an 8-5 win over Zac Martin at 132.

Ephrata's Sarah Haddon (22) puts in two of her game-high 22 points in Friday's win over McCaskey. (Photo by Stan Hall)

Ephrata senior basketball player Sarah Haddon’s play has been a big reason the Lady Mounts have gotten off to a great start.

And Monday night in a Section One-Two crossover game at Penn Manor, Haddon and the Lady Mounts continued that success in a convincing 53-24 victory over the Comets.

The senior forward turned in her second-straight double-double, scoring a season-high 23 points while pulling down 10 boards Monday as the Lady Mounts sprinted to a 32-10 half-time lead before cruising to the big win. Kelly Liebl added 12 points for Ephrata, which was particularly impressive at the defensive end in holding the Comets to just six field goals for the entire contest.

With the win, Ephrata improved to a perfect 2-0 in league play and 4-1 overall with its third-straight victory.

This past Friday at home, the Lady Mounts enjoyed another blow-out win, this time in a 63-36 victory over visiting McCaskey. led the way again with 22 points and 13 rebounds in the lopsided victory.

By: TODD RUTH Review Sports Editor truth.eph@lnpnews.com, Staff Writer

It took four long games but the Ephrata boys basketball team finally put one in the win column Monday night at home as the Mounts held on for an exciting 55-53 victory over visiting Penn Manor.

With the Mounts up by two in the final seconds, Aaron Hubbard blocked the potential game-tying shot to preserve the crossover win and send the fans home happy.

"It was a good hard-fought win," Ephrata Coach Jason Coletti said. "The kids played very well. To get the first win of the season gets us off the schneid. It definitely helps and keeps the kids motivated. We played very well, and we’ve played well in all of our games, except for maybe the McCaskey game which is a different story. But we played well in the other three games, and (tonight) we finally played well for all 32 minutes. We put it all together finally and we got a win. I was happy for the kids."

The Mounts (1-1 Section Two, 1-3 overall) got 14 big points from senior post player Evan Radcliffe, and continued to get production from 6-4 sophomore Nate Zimmerman, who had his second break-out game of the season, finishing with a team-high 16 points.

By: TODD RUTH Review Sports Editor truth.eph@lnpnews.com, Staff Writer

Warwick’s biggest problem through its first four games has been getting its engine started. The Warriors have fallen behind repeatedly, and because of it have been in fight and claw mode to get back in games.

Monday night in Denver, against a smaller but very athletic Cocalico team, Warrior Coach Jeff Landis saw the perfect opportunity to change things up to get an early spark.

He inserted Austin Myers, a quicker player, into the starting lineup, and the Warriors reaped the rewards. Warwick did enjoy a better start, and eventually took the lead for good in the second quarter. And although the Warriors couldn’t extend the lead much beyond six until the final minute, that start keyed an eventual 52-42 win.

"We tried to get the blood flowing a little quicker, and I think it paid dividends," Landis said following the win.

All Myers did was score a season-high 17 points to lead the Warriors (1-1 Section One, 2-3 overall), and helped his team be more productive and efficient at the offensive end with a more patient approach.

By: BRUCE MORGAN Review Staff, Staff Writer

Kristen Boyer (24) of Cocalico goes up strong against Warwick defender Greta Weidemoyer during Monday's exciting win in Lititz. (Photo by Preston Whitcraft)

Between them, the Warwick and Cocalico girls combined to shoot 49 foul shots Monday.

The Lady Warriors thought they should have had two more at the end of the game.

Trailing by one in the final seconds, Meredith Michel and Morgan Haines both got rebounds underneath the basket and were denied. Warwick’s coaches and players believed they were fouled, but the officials’ whistles remained silent.

And with that, the Lady Eagles’ comeback from an 11-point deficit early in the fourth quarter was complete, as they held on to beat Warwick 43-42 in a nail-biter in a Section One-Two crossover game in Lititz.

"We knew it was going to be tough coming in here. (Warwick) hadn’t won and they battled us last year," Cocalico coach Tony DiMatteo said. "We knew they wanted to win at their place and it took our girls awhile to match their intensity. That fourth quarter, we did."

By: JOHN CRAWFORD Review Correspondent, Staff Writer

The Neighborhood Santa program wouldn't have been possible without the help of area volunteers, pictured here with Santa himself at Applebee's in Ephrata. (Photo by Stan Hall)

The Neighborhood Santa Program hosted 35 needy children at the Applebee’s restaurant in town for breakfast and to meet with Santa. All the children received toys and other gifts donated by local civic groups, businesses and individuals. About 20 other children will receive gifts that will be delivered to their families.

The program originated as an outreach project of the Ephrata Police department and was run by Tom and Paula Shumaker.

"This actually started as the Cops for Tots program," explained Ephrata Mayor Ralph Mowen. "The police department did it for several years and then it got large enough that the two officers who were doing it had a family and it became too much for them."

Joel Fenstermacher, the manager at Applebee’s, recalls hearing about Cops for Tots just after arriving in town.

We continue to gather photos for our next It’s All About You section. The theme is Holiday Traditions. Deadline for submissions is Dec. 28, and your photos will be published in our Jan. 9 edition.

Send your high-resolution jpegs to Andy Fasnacht at afasnacht.eph@LNPnews.com. Photos can also be dropped off at our Ephrata office or mailed to P.O. Box 527, Ephrata, PA 17522.

When submitting photos, please include all necessary identifications and your contact information (in case we have any questions). Submitted information should include names of those in the photos, your local connection, where and when the photos were taken, and identity of the photographer.

Please limit submissions to three photos per family.

A Tuesday morning vehicle accident on Smokestown Road resulted in the death of a Denver-area boy, and Cocalico High School students are now grieving the loss of a classmate.

As of press time Wednesday morning, East Cocalico Township Police had not released the names of any of the accident victims, and investigating officers were unavailble for more information. However, it was confirmed that counseling sessions regarding a fatality were taking place at the high school.

Principal Chris Irvine declined to identify the student until the information was officially released by police, but he did say a large group of grieving students were meeting in the school library to share memories of a beloved classmate.

"He was a wonderful kid," Irvine said. "Right now, the kids are supporting each other."

Police did release a report that stated a two-vehicle crash occurred in the 300 block of Smokestown Road in East Cocalico Township Dec. 18 at 7:30 a.m.

A vehicle traveling west at an unknown speed lost control in a curve and fishtailed into the oncoming lane, striking an eastbound vehicle. The driver and front passenger of the vehicle that lost control were ejected. The driver of the other vehicle was extricated from her vehicle by Denver Rescue.