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Georgia Ealy, a Manheim Township senior, is focused on getting better. And that is a significant goal since she has been doing well thus far.

Ealy is a middle distance/distance runner for the Blue Streaks. She is coming off a fall cross country season that saw her 22nd-place finish lead Township to a sixth place at the Class AAA state championships. Talk about getting better, she was 40th after one mile, 34th after two and passed 12 runners in the final 1.1 miles.

Now in track season, she states her top team goal is to see how much her team can improve.

Elizabethtown senior Aiden Kay brings a wide array of talents with him.

On the volleyball court, his game is one of versatility. He combines positions as a setter and outside hitter. At 5-7, he is not your typical outside hitter, but a 40-plus-inch vertical allows him to be effective.

What also makes him unique is his interest in gardening. Kay finds time to grow plants like tomatoes, cucumbers, strawberries and bell peppers. This year he is expanding his gardening game into flower beds.

He finds a correlation between volleyball and gardening.

Izzy Heisey is someone who says she likes to stay busy.

Her journey will continue to stay that way next year when she will attend the United States Military Academy at West Point. There she will run for their Division 1 track program and major in cybersecurity.

In the immediate, the Hempfield senior will fill her time by competing for the Black Knights track team, working two jobs, creating fun films or vlogs with her camera, running, hiking, playing pickleball and spending time with family and friends.

McCaskey track teams have a history of excelling.  The boys and girls teams are coming off Lancaster-Lebanon League Indoor Championships. The girls finished second in the state. One of their stars is Ruby Garner-Valle, a long-distance runner who has set a school record in the 3,000-meter indoor event with a time of 9:54:49. She has her sights set on the outdoor season.

Ryleigh Warner, Ephrata High School, senior, midfielder

Q: What’s your origin story with lacrosse?

Warner: “I’ve been playing since third grade. It’s been awhile. I think my mom was like, ‘You want to play lacrosse?’ I tried it. I do that in the spring and I play field hockey in the fall. I have been playing ever since. When I was in fifth grade I met an eighth grader, Grace Willets, who really inspired me to continue playing lacrosse.”

Experience is often the best teacher.

After a year of gaining that experience with a young boys volleyball team in 2025, McCaskey is ready to take a big step forward in 2026, Coach Nate Lyons (right) says.

“We were pretty young last year. We were running with predominantly sophomores, and while a lot of the games were pretty close, they still ended up in the loss column,” Lyons recalls.

Wynne Kelley, a senior, says Garden Spot’s track and field team looks to significantly improve this season with a complement of
returners and a group of excited and ambitious younger athletes.

The Spartans will be strong in the Section 3 field events and “show-up” on the track, she says.

Wynne competes in shot, discus and javelin. Her goals are to get to Districts in shot and Leagues in discus. She plans to get 35 feet-plus in the shot and to break 100 feet in the discus. She is adding javelin this year.

When you only have one returning player who has any varsity experience, you know it might be a tough season.

That’s what happened to Garden Spot’s boys volleyball team in 2025, finishinf 0-14, or in the last spot in Section 2, with a newcomer-laden lineup.

Now, veteran Coach Ben Rutt (left in photo) is hoping last year’s tough lessons translate into a winning record, maybe even a run for a playoff spot, in 2026.

Will Newport, a senior from Hempfield is hoping this spring track and field season is one that will vault him into the record books.

Newport is coming off a strong indoor season that saw him establish personal-best pole vaults on two occasions. On March 1, at the PTFCA Indoor State Championships at Ashenfelter Indoor Track at Penn State, Newport placed seventh with his best effort to that date at 14-0. Then two weeks later at the Nike Invitational at the Armory Track in New York City, he went 14-0½” to claim sixth in the Boy Emerging Elite Division.

Nolan Ruiz, Hempfield High School, senior, midfielder

Q: What’s origin story in terms of lacrosse?

Ruiz: “I was in second grade. My one friend invited me to a fall ball thing where coaches wanted players to invite friends in hopes to grow the sport. I’ve been playing ever since.”

Q: What are some team strengths?