LUCY RICCOMINI Review Staff

Local primary elections will take place throughout Lancaster county March 21 and voters will have little decisions to make when they enter the polls at this year's primaries.

Though the election is relatively straightforward, voters will notice some changes in the school board election.

Two new candidates are on this year's ballot including Todd Stewart and Richard Brenner. Stewart is running on both the republican and democrat ballot, while Brenner is running as republican.

Todd Stewart, a Denver resident, graduated from Cocalico High School and has been practicing law for 18 years. He currently works as an attorney in Harrisburg representing public utility companies. He grew up in a family of teachers and has been surrounded by education his entire life. Stewart has two children. His son attends Cocalico and his daughter attends Linden Hall.

"Linden Hall has an excellent level of expectations. It is possible to meet those goals in public schools as well," contended Stewart.

"My primary goal is to promote for the kids," continued Stewart. "We need to spend more effectively for programs for students and make sure the money has an appropriate balance."

Stewart is not endorsed by either party and is the only candidate running as both republican and democrat in the Cocalico school board election.

Richard Brenner was born and raised in Denver and lives there with his wife and three children. Brenner is employed by Susquehanna Bank Shares and is running for school board to stay active in his children's district and to serve his family and community.

"It is my way of paying it forward," says Brenner. "Serving on the school board is a very important role in the community. Education is the cornerstone of a community."

Brenner is endorsed by the republican party. For more information on Brenner, visit facebook.comrwbrennercsd.

Douglas Graybill, Michael Messner and John Lorah are also running for re-election and are endorsed by the republican party.

Voters may also notice that three seats are vacant on Denver Borough Council.

"There is a three-week window to circulate nomination petitions in February and at that point in time we did not have all the slots filled," said Barry Weaver Cocalico's Republican chairman. "But we should have a full slate of write-ins on Tuesday."

Write-in candidates will be present at the polls on Tuesday to ask voters for their support. Ten votes are required for a write in to win a seat on council.

Before voters step into the voting booth next Tuesday, here's what to expect...

Judge of the Superior Court

(vote for one)

Democrat

Joseph C. Waters, Jr.

Jack McVay, Jr.

Republican

Vic Stabile

Judge for the Court of Common Pleas

Republican

Merrill M. Spahn, Jr.

Democrat

Merrill M. Spahn, Jr.

Cocalico School Board

(vote for four)

Republican

Douglas Graybill

John Lorah

Todd S. Stewart

Michael Messner

Richard W. Brenner

Democrat

Todd S. Stewart

Adamstown Borough Council

(vote for four)

Republican

Randy O. Good

David R. Matz

Benjamin Ray Zentner

Democrat

Cindy A. Schweitzer

Adamstown Mayor

Republican

Dean M. Johnson

Denver Borough Council

(vote for four)

Republican

Christopher D. Flory

Denver Borough Council- 2 yr.

(vote for one)

Republican

Blake S. Daub

Denver Borough Mayor

Republican

Rodney Redcay

East Cocalico | Township Supervisor

(vote for one)

Republican

Douglas Mackley

East Cocalico Township Auditor

(vote for one)

Republican

Harry Eshelman

West Cocalico Township Supervisor

(vote for one)

Republican

Terry R. Scheetz

West Cocalico Township Auditor

(vote for one)

Republican

Laurie J. Sauder

Inspector of Election West Cocalico Twp.-Reinholds Dist.

(vote for one)

Republican

Jerilyn A. Yost

Gladys I. Eckenroad

VOTE

TODD RUTH Review Sports Editor truth.eph@lnpnews.com

By the time Jordan Crills took a successful hand-off from Ephrata teammate Emily Voigt for the last leg of the girls 4 X 400 relay Saturday at Hempfield, she certainly was well aware of the stakes.

"We all knew," she would say later.

What she and her teammates were privy to was the fact that if Crills was able to maintain the 30-yards-or-so lead her three partners had given her, not only would they win Ephrata's sixth gold medal of the L-L League Meet, but more importantly, the Lady Mounts would clinch their first L-L team championship in school history.

It was all on the shoulders of Crills, who came out for track for the first time in this her senior season, and she delivered like a seasoned veteran.

Crills maintained the lead and broke the tape first in a time of 4:01.71, well ahead of second place Hempfield, which finished in 4:06.71.

"I was thinking about (what was on the line) when I first got the baton, but then I just kind of realized it's just a race," Crills said. "I have to run my race and I know what I can do."

The win gave Ephrata 89 team points, placing the Lady Mounts four points ahead of defending champion Hempfield, which finished with a total of 85.

Following his team's first L-L championship, Ephrata Coach John Keller fought through tears as he described what this title meant to both he and his program.

"You know when you got good athletes who step up and rise to the occasion... I just can't say enough about this team," Keller said. They just hung together all year and just didn't quit. You could have written them off today. It looked pretty bleak there for a while but I just couldn't be any more proud. Our coaches, our athletes and what we've been able to do these last couple years in the girls program... Holy smokes. I can't believe it's happening at Ephrata. I never would have dreamt it."

Making that dream possible was the weekend put together by senior star Mary Witmer, who won four golds in the meet, including the winning 4 X 4 relay in which she ran a blistering 56-second split.

Friday night, she leaped 37-1 to capture gold in the triple jump. On Saturday, she edged Garden Spot's Hannah Williams to win the 100 hurdles, finishing with a winning time of 14.68. Following that race, and in a brief but driving rain storm, Witmer blew away the competition to win the 300 hurdles in a meet record time of 42.32. That time is the ninth-fastest posted in the country this year, and best in the State.

"How can you discard what Mary did today?" Keller said. "She certainly has got the gift. And I know she's got to be super proud of that record (in the 300 hurdles), and really she did that in the driving rain."

Witmer admitted she was surprised by her time.

"I couldn't believe it," she said. "I saw that time and was like, 'oh my word, that's amazing.' I was just hoping for a 43-something, and then I looked up and it was 42. I just couldn't believe it, especially with all of the rain. I wasn't sure how that was going to affect me but I think the rain almost kind of helped me. I just like the cooler weather."

"I definitely wanted to PR this year," she continued. "I really wanted to get the fastest time in the State this year because I know there is a girl that got it earlier in the season and I was like, 'I'm going to get that record. I'm going to beat that.' And I did."

Saturday didn't start out all that great for the Ephrata girls, who trailed the Black Knights, 25-20 coming into the day. To make matters worse, in the first event of the morning, the Hempfield 4 X 800 relay team PRed (9:44.64) on its way to capturing gold ahead of the Ephrata team of Andrea Castillo, Vanessa Hurst, Jordan Carvell and Nicole Wilkerson, which finished in a time of 9:53.82.

But Ephrata got a big lift from it's team of Moriah Pfautz, Yasi Davis, Kay Liebl and Kelly Liebl in the 4 X 100 relay. That squad went out and posted a school record time of 50.19 to edge Garden Spot for gold.

"What a race that was," Keller said. "They set the school record, ran a perfect race and it just seemed like everything clicked. That just kick started everything."

Still trailing by seven points in the team standings, Ephrata needed things to fall right in the 200 and then the 4 X 400 that followed in order to have a shot at the team title.

Kelly Liebl got it started in the 200 as she held off Lancaster Mennonite's Lindsey Kreider (25.94) to win gold in a time of 25.72. This came after she had just taken fourth place in the long jump (15-11 1/2) and before the 4 X 400.

"Kelly had a tough afternoon," Keller said. 'She had the long jump, the 200 and the 4 X 4 all kind of bunched together at the end. But you know, she knew going in she had a chance. And she's a gamer. She just put it together which was huge for us."

Liebl's 200 win gave Ephrata its first team lead of the meet at 79-77, but Keller still had worries heading into the 4 X 400. Castillo, the normal lead-off for Ephrata, was ill and couldn't go. That led Keller to not only insert Voigt into the lineup, but switch Liebl from the third position to lead off.

He explained his strategy.

"My thing is you get to that race in the meet, you go get a lead," he said. "You get a lead like (Liebl and Witmer) can give you, and no one is coming back from it."

Though tired, Liebl went out and ran a 60.6 first split to set things up for Witmer.

"My whole focus was to give it the best I had," Liebl said. "I was pretty beat from the 200 but I knew these girls needed me. My whole team all needed this so I just gave it all I had."

Witmer took it from there, opening up a huge lead with her amazing split.

"Hempfield was ahead of us for a brief second and then I was like, 'No. We're not having it,'" she said. "I just made it a point to get past her and just finish strong and hold the lead. I don't look back to see where they are...I just run. I don't really have a strategy."

Voigt then took over and maintained the big lead before handing off to Crills for the final leg.

"I was just thinking, 'stay relaxed,'" Voigt said. "I ran a 400 today and an hour before the run my coach told me that I was going to run in the 4 X 4. I knew I still felt good. It just finished raining so I guess that gave me a little extra energy. I felt good, especially coming off that last turn. I felt really strong and took it all the way through."

Crills took the baton and said she took some advice from her coach as she began around the track.

"I always hear (Keller) yelling at me, 'you got to go. You got to go.' That's what I kept thinking about the whole time. I knew they were coming, and (Keller) always tells us to run scared because they are running for us. They were coming for me so I just went."

Keller was impressed.

"Jordan Crills is coming on," he said. "She ran a 60-flat today. She wanted it. She really has come a long way."

Keller said he felt the key to Ephrata having a shot at the team title was to sweep all three relays. And they came close to doing just that with two firsts and a second.

"I couldn't be any prouder with what we had to do," Keller said. "I thought we had to win the relays, and out of 30 possible points, we got 28."

In the end, it was just enough.

Keller was also quick to laud the performance of the Hempfield team, which was missing one of its top point producers in junior sprinter Sarah Helgeson, who was out with an injury.

"I knew Hempfield didn't have her and she certainly would have been a huge part of their team," he said. "But, you race who is here, and unfortunately in sports, injuries are a part of it. I was just proud that we were able to come back like we did, but give Hempfield credit. I think they could have folded without a Helgeson, but they didn't. And I give their girls a lot of credit. They came out thinking lets go win one for Sarah, and they are deep and they are tough."

Ephrata had four other place-winners contribute to the team title. Thrower Crystal Hartman won a pair of medals, finishing second in the discus (112-03) and third in the javelin (119-3). Voigt added a fifth-place showing behind Witmer in the triple jump (33-0 1/2) while Carvell, a freshman, grabbed sixth place in the 800 with a time of 5:28.68.

In boys' action, Ephrata senior Carl Rowits led the way with a PR performance in the the 800. He finished in a time of 1:59.63 to earn the silver medal in that event behind only champion Austin Stetler of Penn Manor (1:58.48).

Senior Sam Wolde also claimed a medal, placing fifth in the 3200 in a time of 9:53.81.

The District Three Track Meet will be held Friday, May 17 (1-6 p.m.) and Saturday, May 18 (9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.) at Shippensburg University.

More TITLE, page B-2

TODD RUTH Review Sports Editor truth.eph@lnpnews.com

A year ago, Ephrata ended Carlisle's dreams of a District Three title when the Mounts defeated the Thundering Herd, 8-5, in the championship game at Hersheypark Stadium.

Tuesday night, in the first round of Districts at Carlisle, the second-seeded Thundering Herd returned the favor with a 14-4 victory over the Mounts.

Leading 7-4 at the half, Carlisle outscored Ephrata 7-0 in the second half to pull away and advance. Carlisle will move on to face Penn Manor in the quarterfinals which are set for Thursday at Lower Dauphin, beginning at 5 p.m.

As for the Mounts, who came a long way this season after returning just a few key players from its L-L and District Three championship team from a year ago, they close out the season at 12-8.

"As a whole I'm pretty proud of the guys," Ephrata Coach Kevin Pletz said of the season just completed. "For being an unseasoned team with not much varsity experience, they definitely stepped up and above their potential from what was projected and had some really good wins throughout the season. I'm trying to take the positives out of it. We are only losing a handful of seniors so it's going to be another good team next year."

Tuesday, Ephrata got off to a good start, thanks to junior goalie Justin Mease, who faced 15 first-half shots and saved eight.

Carlisle held a 2-1 lead after one quarter, but Ephrata's Justin Hoover, who scored the first three Ephrata goals, netted the equalizer just 17 seconds in the the second to knot it at 2-2. The teams then traded scores to tie it at 3-3 before the Thundering Herd, who recently captured the Mid-Penn League championship, then scored three straight times to go up 6-3.

Ephrata's Koty Keefer got one back before Carlisle's Max Breschi, who scored six times Tuesday, put one in the net just before the half to give his team a 7-4 advantage heading to the locker room.

Unfortunately for the Mounts, that was as close as they would get as the Herd took advantage of a few Ephrata turnovers to notch three additional scores in the third to up the lead to 10-4. Then in the fourth, Carlisle poured it on with four more tallies to get the 14-4 end result.

"In the second half we started making some turnovers and mistakes that we didn't make in the first half and kind of gave them the advantage," Pletz said. "They kept the intensity up and they basically took advantage of the opportunities that they had and capitalized on them."

Mease finished with 15 saves on the night.

The Ephrata goalie was also plenty busy last Wednesday night in the L-L Semifinals vs. Manheim Township in a game played at Hempfield. Unfortunately, despite a 20-save night for the junior, the regular season champion Streaks cruised to a 12-1 victory.

Tyler Karpinski scored five goals for Township, which went on to lose a 7-6 overtime thriller to Hempfield in the finals Friday night.

The Streaks outshot Ephrata 32-10, but Mease kept the Mounts in it early. The junior goalie, despite plenty of action in his end, kept the game scoreless through the game's first six minutes before Karpinski quickly netted three goals late in the period to get the Streaks going.

Trailing 4-0 after one, Ephrata finally got on the scoreboard early in the second when Scott Gordon beat Alex Ready (9 saves) with 8:09 remaining on the clock. Unfortunately, that was all the offense Ephrata could muster on this night.

Meanwhile, Township goals by Drew Pinkerton, Davis Carr and Karpinski opened it up to 7-1 at the half, and the Streaks then put it away with four third-period goals to take a commanding 11-1 lead before coasting home in the fourth quarter.

"They were big, athletic and they put a lot of pressure on us," Pletz said of the Streaks. "Fundamentally, they played really well and we just couldn't buy a goal tonight. We had some good opportunities but Ready played a heck of a game and he made some monstrous saves at key times."

More LACROSSE, page B-3

TODD RUTH Review Sports Editor truth.eph@lnpnews.com

While Ephrata was enjoying perhaps one of its greatest day on the track Saturday, the Cocalico girls also were reaching new heights at the L-L League Meet held at Hempfield.

Behind the strength of senior Ashley Strenko, who won three individual medals, and freshman thrower Emily Stauffer, who claimed the team's lone gold, Cocalico (38 points) quietly captured fourth overall in the team standings behind Ephrata (89), Hempfield (85) and Garden Spot (61.33).

"This is the highest finish a girls team from Cocalico has ever had during my years as a coach," Cocalico Coach Ron Derr said. "I was very proud of the way our kids competed and we were thrilled to be mentioned following the names of Ephrata, Hempfield, and Garden Spot. I have been stressing to the girls all year what a good team that we have, and how competitive our section is, and they were very excited to hear how that was demonstrated when it was announced that we finished fourth. We had several setbacks and disappointments to deal with during the competition but the girls kept digging in and striving to perform well and picking each other up."

Stauffer, the top seed in the shot, won her first post-season gold medal with a throw of 41-9 1/2 during a steady rain, which easily surpassed Sunny Green of CV who finished second with a throw of 37-2.

"It is an absolute joy to have Emily on the team," Derr said. "She is establishing some amazing accomplishments this season, and I would consider her performance on Saturday to rank highly among them. It can be a real challenge to be the favorite and the person expected to do well, and she came through. Emily got to throw during one of the more challenging times of the day on Saturday when the rains were coming down, and Hempfield is also a very challenging place to throw. To come through and be the league champion is a great accomplishment."

Strenko, the leading points getter for the Lady Eagles with 15 team points for the meet, was on the entire weekend. In the high jump, Strenko tied the school record and hit her PR with a jump of 5-2. That height tied the mark posted by CV's Savannah Stauffer. However, Stauffer was awarded the gold and Strenko the silver based on fewer attempts.

She added a distant third-place finish behind Ephrata's Mary Witmer (14.68) and Garden Spot's Hannah Williams (14.93) in the 100 hurdles with a time of 16.00. By the way, in the prelims, she broke the school record in that event with a time of 15.85.

Strenko also placed sixth overall in the long jump (15-9 1/2) to complete an outstanding meet.

"Ashley had a fantastic weekend," Derr said. "Ashley almost always has a smile on her face but she is a tremendous competitor and has really shined at the league meet the past two seasons."

In addition to the above-mentioned athletes, several others earned medals for the Lady Eagles. They included: Marissa Gingrich, who claimed a bronze medal with a third place finish in the 800 (2:19.48); Rebecca Grube, who took fifth place in the discus with a throw of 106-8; Megan Gingrich, who earned a sixth-place medal in the triple jump with a leap of 32-4; and the girls 1600 relay, which included Carrie Sensenig, Marissa Gingrich, Megan Gingrich and Janelle High. they placed fourth in a time of 4:08.54.

On the boys' side, Cocalico won three medals on the weekend, including a pair of silver medals, to finish in 11th place with 17 points.

Senior Shea Evans started things off Friday with a solid second place performance in the high jump. Evans jumped 6-4 to earn the silver behind McCaskey's Tyree Ballenger, who won the gold with a jump of 6-6.

"Shea has been so consistent this year, and currently he is really jumping with a lot of confidence," Derr said of Evans. "I was extremely happy with his performance on Friday. I have spoken often with the team about the quality of our league so they know how special it is to have a chance at being league champion in an event. It was also great to see Shea come to the meet Saturday, despite not competing in any events, to support the rest of the team."

Perhaps the biggest hyped event prior to the weekend was the boys javelin event where Manheim Central's Cole Proffitt and Jhett Janis of Cocalico would go head-to-head. Two of the top throwers in the State, Proffitt prevailed on this day with a throw of 204-1 to win the gold. Janis, who earlier this year uncorked a throw of 204-6, struggled to a second place finish with a throw of 176-4.

Cocalico's Spencer Moser also competed in the event but placed seventh with a throw of 157-9.

"Friday night was not one of the better javelin nights for us," Derr said. "There are a lot of technical aspects to having a great javelin throw and both the guys had their struggles."

The final medal of the weekend for Cocalico was earned by the 4 X 100 relay squad, which placed sixth with a time of 44.27.

The District Three Track Meet will be held Friday, May 17 (1-6 p.m.) and Saturday, May 18 (9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.) at Shippensburg University.

More CHS GIRLS, page B-2

TODD RUTH Review Sports Editor truth.eph@lnpnews.com

Ephrata could actually see the light at the end of the tunnel Monday vs. Manheim Central in the first round of the Lancaster-Lebanon League Baseball Playoffs at Manheim Township.

Behind pitcher Brandon Miller, who breezed through five innings, scattering just three hits during that span, the Mounts led 2-0 with just six outs to go.

Unfortunately for Ephrata, a Mountaineer miscue opened the door for a Manheim rally in the sixth, and it was all the Barons would need to get things going.

And by the time those six outs were finally recorded by Ephrata, the Mounts were staring at a stunning 7-2 setback that knocked them out of the tournament in the first round for the second-straight year.

The Barons, meanwhile, advanced to Tuesday's semifinal round to face Lancaster Catholic, which defeated Warwick by an identical 7-2 verdict Monday. The finals are slated for Thursday night at Clipper Magazine Stadium, beginning at 7 p.m.

"We are always disappointed when we don't get it done in the post-season," Ephrata Coach Adrian Shelley said. "But we lost to a good team. (Manheim Central) deserved it tonight. They earned it."

The Baron bats woke up, big time, after Ben Bomberger's sharply hit ball to third took a bad hop on Ephrata's Ethan Sipe, and Bomberger reached first safely to lead off the sixth. Manheim would go on to score three runs in the inning to take a 3-2 lead before tacking on four key insurance runs in the seventh.

Following Sipe's error, Blake Reiff's bloop single to center placed runners at first and second with nobody out, and brought clean-up hitter Colin Fry to the plate.

Fry drilled a Miller offering off the top of the fence in left field for a double to bring Bomberger home with the first Manheim Central run, and Andrew Bucher, with runners at second and third, followed with a double to left-center to plate both runners and put the Barons ahead to stay.

After Eberly retired the Mounts in the sixth, the Barons then put it away, sending 10 men to the plate to tack on four extra runs.

The Barons chased Miller, who allowed four runs and seven hits with three strikeouts in six-plus innings, after Dan Wiederrecht was hit by a pitch with one out in the inning. With Ephrata reliever Seth Griffith now on the mound, Wiederrecht then stole second before moving to third on a wild pitch. He then scored on Bomberger's bloop single over the drawn-in infield.

Bucher, pinch-hitter Chad Zunich, and Eberly all later delivered RBI singles to knock in the final runs for the Barons.

"First of all, (Miller) is a heck of a pitcher so I knew it was going to be tough today," Barons' skipper Jason Thompson said. "I honestly didn't think we'd put up seven but once we got the zero off the board I think our guys got confident. His pitch count was up so we knew he was going to tire at some point. And I give credit to our guys. They just stayed in there and battled."

And the flood gates seemingly opened following the error to start the fateful sixth.

"They put the ball in play and we got caught in an in-between hop at third," Shelley said. "And then we got kind of caught on a ball that fell in no-man's land. They fisted one in. Brandon didn't miss many locations today but we missed one (on Fry's hit). Manheim battled, and were able to up and down the lineup, at key times, put the ball in play."

Baron pitcher Trey Eberly was impressive throughout, scattering six hits while striking out 11 and walking just one batter for the complete-game victory. The one walk, which occurred with two outs in the seventh, was key because it kept runners off the bases and helped neutralized Ephrata's bread-and-butter, which is it's running game.

"Part of the reason I went with Trey is knowing that he doesn't walk many guys," Thompson said. "We worked on their offensive stealing a ton in practice and were prepared for it. It's a credit to these guys, prepping in practice, and getting ready for it. Trey is quick to the plate which helps out our catcher as well."

Shelley said he knew his team would have to hit to get to Eberly, who walked just two batters (in 26 innings) all season prior to Monday.

'Well we knew that heading into the game that he wasn't going to give us any freebies," Shelley said. "And we knew that every single at bat was going to be challenged. We were either going to have to figure out a way to get the ball in play and force them to make some miscues or flat out get hits. When we did get hits and runners we were trying to be as economical with them and efficient with them and try to get in scoring position as quickly as possible, just to see if somebody else could make something happen."

For the most part, that didn't happen.

Ephrata (15-6) did break out on top 1-0 in the third when Paul Larusso laced a two-out triple to the gap in right center before Matt Herbener singled him home for the game's first run.

The Mounts' Miller then gave his team a 2-0 advantage with a lead-off home run to right to start the fourth, and all signs pointed to an Ephrata victory.

Unfortunately for Ephrata, the Barons didn't oblige.

Blake Reiff, Fry, Bucher and Eberly all had two hits each for the Barons, who collected 10 hits over the final two frames and 13 for the game.

Larusso and catcher Colin Albright each had two hits to lead Ephrata's six-hit attack.

Ephrata, the sixth-ranked team in the District power rankings heading into Tuesday, is now off until Monday, May 20 when first-round District play begins. The Mounts should get a home game, but must try to figure out their offensive woes if they plan to go very far.

"We've got to find a way to sure up the lineup so that we don't have as many holes," Shelley said. "That's making it tough for us because it forces you to take a look at every single runner and try to move them, and try to make things happen almost unconventionally. Right now, unfortunately, we can't sit back and let the bats speak for us, and that's hard because there are certain situations in a game that call for that. You can only steal so many bases and sacrifice bunting becomes giving away at bats...It really makes you analyze every base runner you get."

"We should at this point of the season have a little bit better of an approach, but unfortunately we don't. We got almost a week now to go to work and try to get that fixed."

More BASEBALL, page B-2