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

1987.

It was a year in which the Chevrolet Caprice was the most expensive selling US auto ($12,510), the average cost of a new house was $92,000, and a gallon of gas would set you back only 89 cents.

It was also the year Leslie Hummer of Annville-Cleona hopped, skipped and jumped her way to a new L-L League Meet record of 37-10 in the triple jump.

That record had stood for 25 years, but this past Friday at the League Meet held at Hempfield High School, Ephrata’s Mary Witmer was the one to finally eclipse that mark.

The junior etched her own name in the L-L record books with a leap of 37-11 1/4 to win the gold.

"I knew I was going to be close to it but I had no idea I could have broken that record," Witmer said of her feat. "I didn’t know I was going to jump that far. I wasn’t really thinking about the record to be honest. I thought if I could just win the event would be good enough for me. But breaking the record is just awesome."

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

The potential was there. It was always there.

Ever since this current crop of seniors rose from up and comers to key varsity performers, Ephrata had a chance to do great things on the lacrosse field.

However, there were always two big obstacles in the Mounts’ way.

Hempfield and Manheim Township.

Those two programs, which have owned every Lancaster-Lebanon League title since the league adopted the sport, were always in their way.

Well, Ephrata began chipping away a year ago with its monumental victory over Hempfield in the L-L League semifinals. This year, the Mounts finally blew down the door.

Last Wednesday evening, Ephrata advanced to its second-straight L-L title game with a 9-7 victory over the Black Knights. Friday night at Comet Field in Millersville, the Mounts finally cleared the final hurdle as they defeated Manheim Township, 8-5, to capture their first L-L League crown in school history.

Mason Quickel, Joey Seller and Evan Hornberger all scored two goals apiece for Ephrata, which also received solid defensive play and spectacular goaltending from Brian Neff (11 saves) to knock off the Blue Streaks for the first time ever to become L-L League champs.

A year ago, the Cocalico girls lacrosse team reached new heights for its program, advancing all the way to the District Three finals and earning the first State playoff berth in school history.

Now, a year older and a year wiser, the Lady Eagles could be poised for another long post-season run.

Cocalico (16-1) kicks off post-season play tonight (Wednesday) at Warwick (5:30 p.m.) where the Section Two champions will face Section One runner-up Penn Manor in the L-L League semifinals. Section One champ Manheim Township will play LCD/Lancaster Catholic in the nightcap at 7:30 p.m. with the winners advancing to Friday’s finals at Penn Manor, beginning at 5:30 p.m.

The Lady Eagles enter play coming off their first loss of the season after falling to unbeaten Manheim Township, 18-4 on Friday. Cocalico defeated Penn Manor, 10-9 in the lone meeting of the season between the two schools back on April 27.

As mentioned above, this past Friday Cocalico met Township in a battle of unbeatens, but this one proved to be all Blue Streaks as they cruised to the 14-point win.

Ephrata's Tyler Sensenig (left) bodies a Warwick player during recent boys lacrosse action. Sensenig and the Mounts head into the post-season tonight when they battle Hempfield at Penn Manor High School. (Photo by Cathy Chapis)

After an outstanding regular season, the Ephrata boys lacrosse team enters post-season play tonight (Wednesday) looking to continue that success.

The Mounts (16-2), who finished behind only Manheim Township in the regular season standings, will look to get another crack at the Blue Streaks in Friday’s L-L League finals. First though, Ephrata must face a dangerous Hempfield squad in tonight’s semifinals at Penn Manor, beginning at 5:30 p.m.

The two teams met back on April 1 at Mountaineer Field where Ephrata posted a convincing 13-4 victory over Hempfield. Wednesday’s meeting will also be a rematch of last year’s L-L semifinals where Ephrata pulled off a 6-5 upset over the Black Knights before falling to the Blue Streaks by a 17-2 in the finals.

Township (14-4), the top seed in the tournament, faces fourth-seeded Penn Manor in Wednesday’s nightcap at 7:30 p.m. The winners of Wednesday’s games will then move on to face each other for the L-L League title Friday night at 7:30 p.m. back at Penn Manor.

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

Riding on the shoulders of his team, Ephrata track Coach John Keller (back, in purple) celebrates with his squad after the EHS girls clinched the Section Two title Monday night. (Photo by Stan Hall)

The Ephrata girls track team hadn’t won a section title since 1987. So with host Lampeter-Strasburg being the only thing standing in their way, Coach John Keller leaned on his heavy hitters Monday to bring it home.

All season long, junior Mary Witmer, sophomore Crystal Hartman, and freshman Kelly Liebl had been the top point-getters meet in and meet out. And Monday at L-S, with the Section Two title on the line, that trio delivered again.

Witmer won four events on the day while Liebl chipped in with three individual victories and ran anchor on the first-place 400 relay team. Hartman added a pair of wins as the Lady Mounts closed out the regular season at 7-0 in league play to capture the section crown with a 101-49 victory.

By: BRUCE MORGAN Review Staff bmorgan.eph@lnpnews.com, Staff Writer

Brittany Hasson didn’t get credit for it, but the Warwick senior was certain that her shot off the inside of the post in the first half found its way over the goal line.

"It was actually in, and I was mad, so I wanted to get another one," Hasson said.

With the Lady Warriors still locked in a scoreless tie with Cocalico in the second half of an L-L League playoff quarterfinal game, Hasson did indeed bury one that counted. Senior Tori Kramer also added a second-half tally and the Section Two runner-up Lady Warriors knocked off Section Three champ Cocalico, 2-0 at Comet Field in Millersville.

"We asked them (at halftime) to make two adjustments," Warwick Coach Mike Logan said. "We asked them to hold the midfield a little bit better and they did a really good job of that. And we said, ‘You’re really creating in the final third, but we haven’t taken an outside shot,’ and both goals were scored on outside shots. Two major adjustments turned the game around in the second half."

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

Ephrata's Paul Larusso digs in during a recent game. Larusso and the Section Two champion Mounts will open post-season play Saturday at home when they face Section Four runnerup Pequea Valley, beginning at 4 p.m. (Photo by Dennis Bicksler)

Ephrata baseball is traditionally know for being scrappy, fundamentally sound, and relentless.

It had been the formula to five section titles and two league crowns titles in the previous nine seasons under head coach Adrian Shelley. And it is why the Mounts have earned the right to hang yet another banner on the outfield fence at War Memorial Field this season.

Last Wednesday in Denver, the Mounts clinched the Section Two title with a 13-3, six-inning victory over host Cocalico.

The Mounts (14-2 Section Two, 16-4 overall) took control in the middle innings, plating eight runs over the third and fourth, which was more than enough for starting pitcher Brandon Miller, who allowed six hits and just two runs in five innings of work for the victory.

Miller also led the Ephrata offense, going a perfect 3-for-3 with three RBI. Parke Martin added three hits as the Mounts wrapped up their third section championship in the last four years.

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

Whatever the reason, Ephrata did not look the poised, talented team most picked to win it all when defending League champion Manheim Township came to town Thursday night with first place on the line.

Township was the team with the extra bounce in its step, took advantage of 10 man down situations and walked out of Mountaineer Field with a 10-9 victory.

"We just didn’t play up to our potential," Ephrata Coach Kevin Pletz said of the loss. "We had all of those man downs and that didn’t help the situation either. But overall, it wasn’t our best game by any means. I don’t know if it was a little bit of an intimidation factor or we just didn’t come out to play. Either way, we just didn’t get it done."

That’s the bad news.

The good news is Ephrata has a very good chance to see the Blue Streaks again come playoff time, which by then Pletz hopes to rectify what went wrong Thursday.

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

It’s the first week of May and the Ephrata High School baseball team is playing its best baseball and closing in on another crown.

What else is new?

The Mounts took a huge step toward that goal Friday night with a big 13-3 victory over second-place Solanco at War Memorial. Ephrata got even a step closer Monday night with an 11-0 win at home over Lebanon, a victory that clinched an L-L playoff berth.

With three games to go, including Wednesday’s tussle vs. Cocalico in Denver (4:15 p.m.), Ephrata (11-2 section, 13-4 overall) maintains a commanding three-game lead over the second-place Mules (8-5, 12-5). The Mounts’ magic number sits at one, and they can clinch their sixth section title in 10 years with a win Wednesday at Cocalico.

"We are getting after it right now," Ephrata Coach Adrian Shelley said following Friday’s win. "You trust that they are going to come through when there is more on the line, and you see this team right now is really starting to pick it up."

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

Cocalico's Shannon Hoeveler (2) and Kathleen Lawver (4) celebrate a goal during a game earlier this season. Tuesday afternoon, the Lady Eagles made history, winning the school's first-ever soccer section title with a 2-1 clinching win at Donegal. (Photo by Michele Walter)

Cocalico is officially off the soccer championship schneid.

The Lady Eagles girls’ team took care of that in a big way Tuesday afternoon at Donegal. Needing a win to clinch the first soccer section championship of any kind in school history, Cocalico jumped out to a 2-0 second-half lead Tuesday and held on for an eventual 2-1 victory and the Section Three title.

Kathleen Lawver scored what turned out to be the game winner, burying a headed cross from teammate Brooke Burkholder with 15 minutes to play.

And then it was time to celebrate.

“It’s a pretty cool feeling,” Cocalico Coach Dan Hogan said of the championship following the big win. “It’s really neat to see how happy the girls are because they knew about the history. That’s what makes it cool to see how proud they are to be the ones to finally break that barrier.”