JEFFREY REINHART jreinhart@LNPnews.com

Garden Spot senior ace Tyler Horst has picked a college.

The Spartans’ pitcher (and four-year letter-winning quarterback) will continue his baseball career at Division 1 Temple University.

He did not receive any scholarship money up front, but he said scholarship money should be available after his first season with the Owls.

“Overall, it was just a great fit,� Horst said. “School-wise and baseball-wise, I just loved the college when I visited.�

Temple competes in the Atlantic 10, and the Owls are coached by Rob Valli, who is in his third season with the program.

Temple will inherit a pitcher with a three-pitch repertoire. Horst throws a fastball – 4-seamer and 2-seamer – a circle change and a slider. He said his fastball has been topping out around 85 mph.

“I do need to get my velocity up and get better command of my changeup,� Horst said.

Horst has been working out with Lancaster County baseball guru Glenn Gallagher, the former Millersville and F&M coach. Those two get together at least once a week, and Horst said his game has improved by leaps and bounds.

“I want to be the best pitcher I can be,� he said. “My dream is to play professionally, and if the opportunity is there, I’ll go for it.�

Horst tipped his cap to the L-L League, saying the hitters in the area more than helped him get ready for his next stop.

“The L-L League is excellent baseball,� he said. “A lot of guys come out of here and go on to play in college. The competition is unbelievable.�

Horst said he’ll stay sharp this summer by pitching for Garden Spot’s legion team, and perhaps pitching in a twilight league. He reports to Temple later this summer, and will begin working out with the team in September.

“I’m excited,� Horst said. “The coaches there were very happy that I chose Temple. We’re all looking forward to the workouts in September. Hopefully I can get in there and throw in the intrasquad scrimmages in the fall and prove myself.�

Horst said he’d like to study secondary education or criminal justice at Temple.

JEFFREY REINHART jreinhart@LNPnews.com

Cleaning out an old notebook I found wedged in the bottom of my bag …

I know, I know: It’s the spring sports season. So why, then, is Reinhart writing about football? What are these football photos doing on this post? It’s May, for crying out loud.

Hey, I really like Lancaster-Lebanon League football. How’s that?

Just wanted to pass along a couple of notes about the two football teams that captured everyone’s heart last fall:

Lampeter-Strasburg, which didn’t even win its section, but won the District 3 Triple-A championship and advanced to States. What a ride for the Pioneers, who steamrolled Gettysburg in the district final and reached the PIAA Final Four before falling to Garnet Valley.

And Elizabethtown, which got off to that memorable 9-0 start before sharing the Section 2 title with Solanco, winning a first-round district game before falling to L-S in the district quarters. It was a great season for the Bears, who brought back memories of those 1980’s Jack Cassebaum teams.

Six standouts from that L-S team will be playing football at the next level. I can’t say for sure if any of their names (or choices) made the papers over the last couple of months, so that’s why I wanted to take 10 minutes, write this, and get it posted.

Justin Taylor, the reigning Lancaster Newspapers Player of the Year, is headed to Shippensburg. All he did last fall was rush for 1,648 yards and score a school-record 29 touchdowns. He was also a monster on special teams, and he booted field goals and extra points.

Taylor will be joined at Ship by rugged lineman Nick Yingst, a key cog in the trenches for the Pioneers.

Rob Zimmerman, whose ticker is always going, will play at Albright, where he’ll join another L-L League standout – Cocalico fullback Kyle Keller.

Seth Rolko, the Pioneers’ speed-blitzing end, will continue his career at Lycoming.

Home-run threat Abe Mellinger will play for Juniata.

And thumper Blair Stevens, another key cog on the line and heavy-hitter extraordinaire, is headed to Millersville to play for first-year coach Greg Colby. Read More…

JEFFREY REINHART jreinhart@LNPnews.com

Man, what a busy time of year (and next week will be even busier). I was at Lancaster Mennonite on Thursday night for the Section 2 boys’ volleyball showdown pitting the host Blazers against Garden Spot. The Spartans needed a win to force a tie (and a one-match playoff) with Mennonite. And early on, it looked like Garden Spot just might pull it off. Then the Blazers took off and won the hardware for the fourth straight year. Amazing. Here’s my story from Friday’s New Era:

With the team’s senior banquet set for tonight, and the quarterfinal round of the Lancaster-Lebanon League playoffs on tap for Monday night, the last thing Lancaster Mennonite’s boys’ volleyball team wanted to do was get stuck having to play a one-match playoff on Saturday night.

So the Blazers took care of business Thursday night.

Mennonite spotted rival Garden Spot the first game before roaring from behind to grab the last three games in a row on the way to a 3-1 win over the Spartans, as the host Blazers clinched their fourth outright Section 2 championship in a row — and sixth crown in the last eight years.

Mennonite, which finished 12-0 in league games, won by game scores of 19-25, 27-25, 25-18 and 25-17.

The victory also gave the Blazers a home match in the L-L League quarterfinals, set for Monday, when Mennonite will host Penn Manor at 6 p.m., followed by another league quarterfinal pitting Manheim Township against Manheim Central at 7:30 p.m.

The other quarterfinal venue Monday is at Hempfield, which is the Section 1 champ.

The Black Knights will take on Elizabethtown at 6 p.m., followed by Garden Spot against Conestoga Valley at 7:30 p.m.

The semifinals are set for Tuesday at Penn Manor at 6 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., and the championship match will be held Thursday at 6:30 p.m. at Warwick.

This is the first year the league is spreading the tournament out over three days. Read More…

Dave Byrne was in Manheim on Thursday night for the L-L League girls’ soccer semifinals — where Conestoga Valley and Lancaster Mennonite advanced to Saturday’s grand finale. CV will be defending its title. Here’s Dave’s report from Friday’s New Era:

Sometimes, it really is the way the ball bounces.

A pair of fortuitous caroms proved to be the difference in Thursday night’s Lancaster-Lebanon League girls soccer semifinal games at Manheim Central.

In the first game of the doubleheader, Sharee McCarty’s corner kick bounced across the goal line for the game’s only score in Conestoga Valley’s 1-0 victory over Hempfield.

In the nightcap, Katelyn Vanderhoff gathered in a bouncing pass from Lisa Wingard and buried it in the net as Lancaster Mennonite eliminated Penn Manor with a 1-0 triumph in double overtime.

With their victories, CV and Mennonite earned the right to return to Central’s Rettiew Field and play for the league championship Saturday night at 7.

It will be the first appearance in 11 years for the Blazers (19-2), who won three straight league crowns from 1993-95.

Mennonite’s finals appeareance says a lot about the transition from long-time coach Vernon Rice to new coach Dale Stoltzfus.

The defense is still there — the Blazers have 16 shutouts in 21 games.

But scoring is way up; the Blazers have nearly 60 goals to date, and watching them attack Thursday night it was easy to see how.

The first half belonged to Mennonite, with the Comets (12-5-3) coming to life in the closing minutes.

Penn Manor owned the second half — and the first overtime — but it was Mennonite that twice came perilously close to the game-winner.

Vanderhoff had a goal waved off on an offsides call with 5:45 to play in regulation, and then again 18 seconds into the first OT. Read More…

Our baseball guru, Dave Byrne, put together this L-L League baseball playoff preview capsule for your reading pleasure …

LANCASTER-LEBANON LEAGUE
BASEBALL PLAYOFFS

WHEN: Saturday, Tuesday and Thursday.

WHERE: Ephrata’s War Memorial Field, Wenger Field in Fredericksburg and Clipper Magazine Stadium in Lancaster.

SCHEDULE: Saturday at War Memorial Field — Manheim Township vs. Donegal, 10 a.m.; Lancaster Catholic vs. Ephrata, 1 p.m.; Elizabethtown vs. Lancaster Mennonite, 4 p.m. Saturday at Wenger Field — Northern Lebanon vs. Hempfield at noon. Tuesday (tentatively) at War Memorial Field — semifinals at 5:30 and 7:30 p.m. Thursday at Clipper Magazine Stadium — championship, 7 p.m.

HOW THEY GOT HERE: Township (18-1) ran away from the field in Section 1 to win its third section title in a row. … Section 2 champ E-town (13-6) won six of its last eight games to take its first title since 2001. … Northern Lebanon (15-4) won its second Section 3 title in three years. … Lancaster Catholic (14-5) bested runner-up Lancaster Mennonite (12-7) on the last day of the schedule to claim its third overall Section 4 title and first since 2001. … Hempfield (15-4) was runner-up to Township. … Ephrata (11-7) finished behind E-town, and Donegal (13-7) placed behind Northern Lebanon.

LAST YEAR: Solanco shocked Township, the pre-tournament favorite, in the semifinals and went on to win the L-L League and District 3 Quad-A championships.

NEXT STEP: The District 3 Tournament, scheduled to begin Tuesday, May 20.

NOTABLE: Hempfield has won a league-best seven titles. E-town is next with four while Township has won three. Northern Lebanon, twice, and Ephrata, once, have also raised the trophy in triumph. Donegal, Catholic and Mennonite are looking for their first league baseball titles. … Six undefeated pitchers will put their records on the line in the tournament: E-town’s Erick Baker is a league-best 6-0. Township’s Pat Kelley and Northern Lebanon’s Ryan Scheaffer are 5-0. Hempfield’s Mike Schusko is 4-0, while Township’s Andrew Peiffer and Mennonite’s Justin Sauder are 3-0.

Our very own Phil Glatfelter put together this L-L League girls’ softball playoff preview box. Enjoy:

LANCASTER-LEBANON LEAGUE
SOFTBALL PLAYOFFS

WHEN: Saturday, Tuesday, Thursday.

WHERE: All games at Garrett Field in Willow Street.

SCHEDULE: Saturday — Warwick vs. Manheim Central, 10 a.m.; Donegal vs. Hempfield, noon; Pequea Valley vs. Elizabethtown, 2 p.m.; Solanco vs. Annville-Cleona, 4 p.m. Monday — Solanco-Annville-Cleona winner vs. Donegal-Hempfield winner, 5:30; Pequea Valley-Elizabethtown winner vs. Warwick-Manheim Central winner, 7:30 p.m. Wednesday — Final, 7 p.m.

HOW THEY GOT HERE: Donegal comes in with the best record, going 16-0 in a tough Section 3 and winning 17 games in a row after losing its first two. … Solanco, which won Section 2, had the next best mark at 16-2, 14-2 despite dropping its season-finale to section runner-up Elizabethtown (14-5, 13-3). … Warwick (15-4, 14-2 Section 1) is riding a 13-game winning streak, outlasting Section 1 runner-up Hempfield (15-3, 13-3) and Cedar Crest, which missed the playoffs despite going 15-4, 12-4. … Lampeter-Strasburg (14-4, 12-4) won’t be back after winning the last two titles, tying for second but losing the tie-breaker with Manheim Central (15-4, 12-4) in Section 3. … Pequea Valley rolled to the Section 4 crown, finishing 16-2, 14-2. Annville-Cleona earned the final playoff spot, coming in with the worst record in the tournament, 9-10, 9-7 L-L Section 4.

LAST YEAR: Courtney Eckman tossed a one-hitter with 16 strikeouts as Lampeter-Strasburg won the championship with a 3-0 win over Cedar Crest. Leadoff hitter Amber Moyer singled up the middle for the only hit. Eckman walked just one. The Pioneers got to the final by beating Solanco 1-0 and Warwick 4-3.

NEXT STEP: District 3 Tournament. All teams with .500 or better records are eligible. Play-in games are May 16. The first round begins Tuesday, May 20.

NOTABLE: With tough-luck spectators Cedar Crest and Lampeter-Strasburg — a combined 29-8 — on the sidelines, Hempfield and Manheim Central take their place. Everyone else returns from last year’s tournament. … With L-S out, Solanco is the participating team that most recently won the L-L League title. The Mules were champs in 2005, beating Donegal 2-1 in 9 innings in the championship game. … Two of the four first-round games feature rematches: Warwick-Manheim Central and Donegal-Hempfield. In both cases, the teams that lost the first time — Warwick and Donegal — went on to win section titles. Central beat the Warriors 3-0 on March 28 and Hempfield topped the Indians 2-1 March 24. … Donegal’s other loss was a 3-2 setback against Warwick. Like the Indians, the Warriors got off to a slow start, going 2-4, including Section 1 losses to Hempfield and Cedar Crest, both by 1-0 scores. … PV’s only losses were in crossovers, both by 2-1 scores against L-S (10 innings) and Donegal. … Solanco had the league’s best overall record until losing its season finale to Elizabethtown, 4-2.

JEFFREY REINHART jreinhart@LNPnews.com

I’m sure that headline caught your eye.

But it’s also the truth: My weight has gotten way, way, way out of control.

If you didn’t hear, we spent the last two and half weeks driving around the country on vacation, and I ate three meals out a day. That certainly didn’t help matters much.

To top it off, I’m a Type II diabetic, and I take insulin shots every day. And I pop a handful of pills (to control my sugar levels) every morning and every evening — and I’m getting pretty sick and tired of that.

So I’ve decided to finally do something about it.

I’ve ordered a popular, over-the-counter diet program, which arrived on Wednesday. I started it bright and early Thursday (and also walked on our treadmill for 30 minutes!).

Yeah, some people would call it a fad diet. But I know it works, and I know it will help me - if I stay focused and determined.

My goal? Lose about 100 pounds. Yeah, 100. That’s a lot of weight. But I have to admit: I have at least 100 pounds to lose.

What I thought I would do is post something on here, probably weekly, charting my progress. And since I’ll be posting something on my blog for all to see, I’m hoping it will keep me motivated.

So I hope you enjoy following my progress, in between reading my L-L League updates.

Consider this update No. 1 …

DATE: May 8.
STARTING WEIGHT: (wait for it) 319 (according to the scale in our bathroom, which made a funky noise when I stepped on it this morning).

That’s the heaviest I’ve ever been, and I’m doing something about it, starting now.

Wish me luck.

JEFFREY REINHART jreinhart@LNPnews.com

It’s certainly not my longest, most in-depth preview capsule of all time, but I put together this box on the upcoming L-L League girls’ lacrosse playoffs:

LANCASTER-LEBANON LEAGUE
GIRLS LACROSSE TOURNAMENT

WHEN: Quarterfinals are Friday, semifinals are Tuesday and the championship match is set for Thursday, May 15.

First-round games and semifinal games are at the site of the higher seed and begin at 4:15 p.m. — unless noted. The championship game will be at 7 p.m., tentatively set for Hempfield High School.

FIRST-ROUND GAMES: No. 8 McCaskey/Lancaster Country Day (3-9) at No. 1 Warwick (11-1-1); No. 5 Cocalico (8-5) at No. 4 Hempfield (9-4); No. 6 Conestoga Valley (6-6) at No. 3 Manheim Township (10-2-1); No. 7 Lampeter-Strasburg (4-9) at No. 2 Penn Manor (11-2), 7 p.m.

NOTABLE: Manheim Township topped Penn Manor 10-6 in last year’s title game. The Blue Streaks’ Meghan McDevitt, the reigning league player of the year and a St. Joseph’s University recruit, recently returned from a knee injury. … Penn Manor is the Section 1 champ; Warwick is the Section 2 champ. … Township, Hempfield and Penn Manor have won six of the last seven league titles, dating back to 2001. … Eight of the league’s 10 teams qualified for the playoffs. … District and PIAA playoffs will start next year.

JEFFREY REINHART jreinhart@LNPnews.com

WARWICK’S GIRLS’ LACROSSE TEAM HAS DEDICATED THIS SEASON TO FALLEN TEAMMATE LINDSAY DUNN

When I heard about this story, I simply had to drop what I was doing and head over to Warwick, where the Warriors’ have dedicated this season (and what a fine season its been up to this point for this team) to Lindsay Dunn, a former teammate, classmate and friend who was killed last spring in an automobile accident. It’s incredible what this team is doing for Lindsay, and I wanted to share that with you. Here’s my column from Wednesday’s New Era …

Becca Spengler was at home, doing some work on her computer when she got the phone call.

“It was a phone call you never, ever want to get,� Warwick’s senior lacrosse standout said. “You never expect that. It wasn’t easy.�

It was last June 24 – the morning after Warwick freshman Lindsay Dunn was killed in an automobile accident on her way home from work.

Lindsay ran for the cross country team and played lacrosse for the Warriors, and she lost her life just two weeks after Warwick wrapped up its lacrosse season – and, tragically, just days after her sweet 16th birthday party.

“I basically sat there in awe,� Warwick senior Megan Klinger said.

As did Marissa Talbot, Lindsay’s best friend and lacrosse teammate.

“The whole thing is just so sad,� said Talbot, pausing several times to hold back tears.

“It’s just so hard because I can’t call her. I can’t ask for her advice. I can’t play lacrosse with her. I can’t hang out with her.�

Warwick’s players have kept Lindsay’s memory alive and well this season. Every player wears a black wristband with Lindsay’s number – 3 – emblazoned in white on it. And during warm-ups, every Warriors’ player wears a specially designed pink t-shirt.

The team presented Lindsay’s parents, Joe and Diane Dunn of Lititz, with a shirt and a wristband. And the school district will be planting a tree and dedicating a bench in Lindsay’s honor in the near future.

“I started crying when I heard they were going to do all of this for Lindsay,� Talbot said, tugging at her pink shirt.

“Pink was one Lindsay’s favorite colors,â€� Warwick senior Kathryn Kirk said. “We knew she’d love that. The shirts and the wristbands push us to keep going. It’s as if she’s still a part of our team.â€� Read More…

JEFFREY REINHART jreinhart@LNPnews.com

I put together an L-L League track and field championship preview capsule for your reading pleasure. Check it out …

L-L LEAGUE TRACK AND FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS

WHERE: Hempfield High School.

WHEN: Friday at 4 p.m., continuing Saturday at 10 a.m. Friday’s finals include the boys and girls 3,200-meter run, boys javelin, long jump and pole vault, and girls discus and high jump. All other finals will be contested Saturday after Friday’s heats determine seedings.

GIRLS ON THE TRACK: One L-L runner earned a pair of top seeds – Garden Spot’s Liz Martin is No. 1 in the 100 hurdles (15.44) and No. 1 in the 300 hurdles (45.24). … In the sprints, McCaskey’s Emily Dresher grabbed the No. 1 seed in the 100 (12.25), Hempfield’s Angie Rothmiller is the No. 1 seed in the 200 (25.54), and Cedar Crest’s Courtney Harris is the No. 1 seed in the 400 (59.64). … In the distance events, Warwick’s Alyssa Grube is the No. 1 seed in the 800 (2:22.14), Penn Manor’s Lindsay Adams is the No. 1 seed in the 1,600 (5:39.24), and Penn Manor’s Meg Ecker is the No. 1 seed in the 3,200 (11:20). … In the relay events, McCaskey is the No. 1 seed in the 400 (50.33), Hempfield is the No. 1 seed in the 1,600 (4:06.69), and Warwick is the No. 1 seed in the 3,200 (9:38.31).

GIRLS IN THE FIELD: Ephrata’s Brynn Lyons earned a pair of top seeds – she’s first in the long jump (18-1) and first in the javelin (130-11 ½), where she’s out to defend her title. … Three other competitors will be back to defend their titles, and will be the top seed in each event – Garden Spot’s Angie Messner in the high jump (5-5), Penn Manor’s Jocelyn Witmer in the pole vault (12-0), and Penn Manor’s Alie Girvin in the discus (140-10). … Teammates from Garden Spot round out the final top seeds: Briana Caldwell is No. 1 in the triple jump (36-11) and Tynesha Faust is No. 1 in the shot put (39-5).

BOYS ON THE TRACK: Just one athlete earned a pair of top seeds here – Cedar Crest’s Tom Troxell is No. 1 in the 400 (49.94) and No. 1 in the 800 (1:52.54). … In the sprints, McCaskey’s Robert Dixon is No. 1 in the 100 (10.84), and Cocalico’s Kyle Fisher is No. 1 in the 200 (22.14). … In the hurdles, McCaskey’s Bernardo Asencio is the No. 1 seed in the 100 (14.84), while Manheim Central’s Taylor Courtney is No. 1 in the 300 (38.83). … In the other distance events, Lampeter-Strasburg’s Carson Smith is No. 1 in the 1,600 (4:45.30), while Warwick’s Zach Mueller is No. 1 in the 3,200 (9:48.34). … Cedar Crest grabbed a pair of top seeds in the relays. The Falcons are No. 1 in the 1,600 (3:20.05) and No. 1 in the 3,200 (7:59.10). McCaskey is the No. 1 seed in the 400 relay (43.34).

BOYS IN THE FIELD: Cedar Crest’s Mark Manno is back to defend his discus crown as the top seed (161-8). … Quinn Staley from L-S is also back to defend his pole vault title as the No. 1 seed (14-7). And another returning champ, Annville-Cleona’s Andrew Batula, is the No. 1 seed in the high jump (6-11). … Also in the jumping pits, Ephrata’s Jordan Yarbrough is No. 1 in the long jump (22-6 ½) and Hempfield’s Ty James is No. 1 in the triple jump (44-11). … And in the throwing events, Manheim Central’s Jack Isoue is No. 1 in the javelin, while Manheim Township’s Ben Stabler is No. 1 in the shot put (52-4).

WHAT’S NEXT: The District 3 Meet is set for May 16-17 at Shippensburg University.
 

JEFFREY REINHART jreinhart@LNPnews.com

Another day, another bracket.

The L-L League girls’ lacrosse playoffs begin Friday, and here’s the bracket, hot off the presses:

QUARTERFINALS
Friday

No. 8 McCaskey/Lancaster Country Day (3-9) at No. 1 Warwick (11-1-1), 4:15 p.m.

No. 5 Cocalico (8-5) at No. 4 Hempfield (9-4), 4:15 p.m.

No. 6 Conestoga Valley (6-6) at No. 3 Manheim Township (10-2-1), 4:15 p.m.

No. 7 Lampeter-Strasburg (4-9) at No. 2 Penn Manor (11-2), 7 p.m.

SEMIFINALS
Tuesday, May 13
Higher-seeded teams will host, 4:15 p.m.

CHAMPIONSHIP
Thursday, May 15
Tentatively set for Hempfield, 7 p.m.

JEFFREY REINHART jreinhart@LNPnews.com

L-L League girls’ soccer playoffs are underway, and I was in lovely Kinzers on Tuesday night for a quarterfinal double-dip. Plenty of goals in both games, as Penn Manor topped Ephrata 4-1 in the opener, followed by Lancaster Mennonite’s 4-0 win over Manheim Township in the nightcap. Nightcap — I’ve always enjoyed using that word in sports stories. Gotta love that. Anyway, Penn Manor’s Kristi Shepps and Mennonite’s Lisa Wingard both had big nights on PV’s turf pitch (great facility, by the way). Here’s my recap from Wednesday’s New Era:

Who needs American Idol?

While Syesha Mercado, David Cook, Jason Castro and David Archuleta tried to wow Randy, Paula and Simon out in Hollywood – yo, yo, check it out, dawg – the real show Tuesday night was at Pequea Valley High School, where Kristi Shepps and Lisa Wingard took center stage in their own version of Lancaster-Lebanon Lebanon Soccer Idol.

Shepps, Penn Manor’s lighting-quick senior forward, and Wingard, Lancaster Mennonite’s jack-rabbit senior forward, scored two goals apiece, leading their teams to first-round victories in the L-L League girls’ soccer playoffs.

Shepps, a Lock Haven field hockey recruit, scored a pair of first-half goals and assisted on a third in Penn Manor’s 4-1 quarterfinal victory over Section 2 runner-up Ephrata. The Comets jumped out to a 3-0 lead, then iced the game on Olivia Pryzbylkowski’s goal with 11:30 to play.

“We wanted to score quickly, so it felt good to get a couple of quick goals because it took some pressure off of us,� said Shepps, who assisted on Rachel Hess’ goal, which gave Penn Manor a 1-0 lead with 36:45 to go in the first half.

“We started putting some passes together, we figured out where everyone was, and we started connecting,� said Shepps, who made run after run into Ephrata territory as part of Penn Manor’s new 4-3-3 offensive scheme, which features the Comets’ speed attack.

Meanwhile, in the nightcap, Wingard scored one goal in each half, including a nifty breakaway with 37:37 to play in Mennonite’s 4-0 win over Section 1 fourth-place finisher Manheim Township.

Katelyn Vanderhoff and Katherine Zell added goals for the Blazers, who dodged a plethora of bullets in holding off the Blue Streaks.

“Felt good to get those goals,� said Wingard, who will continue her soccer career at Messiah College.

“Both balls were placed perfectly for me. All I had to do was finish.�

She did – twice. Wingard’s first goal, a laser beam from the top of the 18-yard line, was set up by a sweet slip pass from Kelsey Gorman, who will join Wingard at Messiah. Read More…

COCALICO GRAD DANA SENSENIG IS IN LINE TO PLAY FOR THE U.S. WOMEN’S FIELD HOCKEY TEAM LATER THIS SUMMER IN THE OLYMPIC GAMES IN CHINA 

Our sports editor, Keith Schweigert, put together an awesome piece on Cocalico grad Dana Sensenig, who is thisclose to qualifying for the U.S. Women’s Field Hockey Team, which will compete in the Olympics later this summer in China. Here’s Keith’s feature from Wednesday’s New Era:

She stands just a step away from the pinnacle of her sport, but Dana Sensenig remains as humble as ever.

The 2003 Cocalico grad is a member of the U.S. Women’s Field Hockey Team. Two weekends ago, she helped the team earn a berth in the 2008 Summer Olympic Games by winning a qualifying tournament in Kazan, Russia.

It’s the first time the U.S team has qualified since 1996, when it earned an automatic bid as the host nation. The Games were held in Atlanta that year.

USA’s best showing came in 1984, when the team took the bronze medal.

Though the final roster for this year’s Games won’t be set until next month — when the 24-member squad will be pared to 16 for the trip to Beijing, China — Sensenig seems like a shoo-in to make the cut.

A reserve midfielder on the U.S. squad, she scored two goals in the qualifying tournament — including the decisive goal in a 3-1 semifinal victory over Netherlands-Antilles.

But Sensenig isn’t assuming anything. She doesn’t want to tempt fate by acting like her spot on the final roster is secure.

“I don’t want to get overconfident,â€� she said this week, while relaxing in the dining room of her family home outside Denver. “I like to think there’s a chance that I won’t get on the team, so I don’t lose my perspective.â€� Read More…

JEFFREY REINHART jreinhart@LNPnews.com

Lampeter-Strasburg High School will host a vigil and spaghetti dinner in honor of Ryan Weitzel on Tuesday, May 13, on campus inside the L-S football stadium in Lampeter.

The dinner is set for 6 p.m., with a vigil for Ryan, the late L-S student/athlete who recently lost his battle with cancer, to follow at 8 p.m.

Tickets are available two ways:

You can call the L-S high school office at 464-3311.

Or you can send an email to: livestrong.candlelightvigil@yahoo.com.

The spaghetti dinner is by donation.

Candles are $5 with all proceeds going to the Lance Armstrong Foundation. Candles purchased at the vigil will be $7.

JEFFREY REINHART jreinhart@LNPnews.com

More brackets for your viewing pleasure, this time from the L-L League girls’ softball playoffs, which begin Saturday.

Here’s the official bracket, with records through Monday’s games:

QUARTERFINALS
Saturday, May 10
At Garrett Park in Willow Street

Section 1 champ Warwick (14-2, 15-4) vs. Section 3 runner-up Manheim Central (12-4, 15-4), 10 a.m.

Section 3 champ Donegal (16-0, 17-2) vs. Section 1 runner-up Hempfield (13-3, 15-3), noon.

Section 4 champ Pequea Valley (14-2, 16-2) vs. Section 2 runner-up Elizabethtown (13-3, 14-5), 2 p.m.

Section 2 champ