Madelyn Sieklicki competes as a senior for the Hempfield girls basketball team. This year she is working hard to be a starter at point guard or shooting guard.
The Black Knights are building a family cohesiveness among the team and plan to improve on last year’s record. Key teams on their schedule are Cedar Crest, Manheim Township and Penn Manor. Madelyn looks to Cedar Crest as the favorite to win Section 1.
Cocalico girls basketball team is working to build on last year's 12-10 record. The Eagles lost some key scorers from last season, but have veterans returning.
Senior Corinne Fair (top photo) is back. She is one of the league's leading three-point scorers. She hit for 51 last season, averaging 9 points a game, earning second team Section 2 all-star honors.. "I've been working on my 3-point shooting in the off-season, going out and shooting with my dad." Fair's long distance shooting is expected to open some space up underneath the basket.
Scoring may get the headlines, but Manheim Township girls basketball team believes defense will be the key to its success.
Returning junior Julia Weaver (right in photo) says, "The goal is to hold teams to 28 points or under." Weaver says, "We take pride in our defense. We have a lot of strong athletes that are willing to put in the hard work to keep opponents from scoring."
Linden Hall remains a member of the Lancaster-Lebanon League only in girls tennis, where the school has found recent success -- qualifying last year for the District 3 tournament after several near-misses -- and would like to repeat the experience.
Players attending media day:
Sasha Bittner, sophomore, Lancaster
Amina Syed, junior, Lititz
Garden Spot cross country coach Traci Tempone (right) was looking to fill out roster spots as practice got underway for the season. She was hoping enough runners would try out for the team so the "Spartans can compete in the section and make a run at Districts."
You can see the excitement, clear as a wide-open soccer field, on Kayleigh Brooks’ face as she says, “It’s good to be back.”
A new coach will lead Penn Manor cross country this year. Emily Massage (right) is a former cross country runner at Millersville University. She sat down with Lancaster County Sports Hall of Fame at the LNP | Lancaster Online Media Day at the downtown offices to talk about her new role.
A team’s record doesn’t always tell the whole story.
Because when you lose nine games by just one goal, it’s easy to feel like you’re better than your 2-13-1 record from last year, says Manheim Central’s boys soccer coach Adam Bastidas (bottom, left).
The Manheim Township boys and girls cross country teams won District 3 titles last year. They are looking to set the pace again this season.
The girls teams going for a 4-peat when it comes to district gold. Coach Kevin Stover says, "We've put something in place, a consistency, an ability to adapt." Stover coaches both the boys and girls teams.
Leading the girls are Lexie Kauffman (left in top photo) and Kaila Atteberry. They talked about "the focus they need during meets."
Elizabethtown girls volleyball expects to rely on senior leadership and strong communication skills to advance farther than the first round of the District 3 playoffs as they did last year.
Players attending media day:
Janae Carden (left), senior, defensive specialist
Bailey Jones, senior, defensive specialist/libero
Incorporating the younger players into the team and getting everyone involved will be a key element to the season.