Mounts clinch Section Title

There were some very interested bystanders Monday afternoon at Dutch Lanes for the match between Conestoga Valley and Cedar Crest.

Several members of the Ephrata High School team were there with a keen interest in the outcome. That’s because CV needed to earn five points in its match against the Falcons to clinch the Section Two title. If the Buckskins failed to do that, Ephrata, which closed out the regular season Friday, would be section champs.

As it turned out, and much to Ephrata’s delight, Cedar Crest came through in a big way as the Falcons earned a 5-2 victory over CV.

The Mounts, who were down 12 points in the standings with three matches to play, caught and passed the Buckskins, finishing with 64 points to 62 for CV.

It is the first Section Two title for five-year Ephrata Coach Bryan Dissinger.

“It was an exciting match to watch,” Dissinger said Tuesday of the CV-Cedar Crest tilt. “It looked like Cedar Crest lost it but then their anchor bowler, a girl, made a split, and that ended up winning it. We just went outside and celebrated…we were just congratulating each other…it was awesome.”

As stated above, Ephrata made up a lot of ground on the Buckskins in the last two weeks. In fact, the Mounts went a perfect 21-0 over those final three matches to put themselves in position.

And things worked out.

“With the freshmen that we had and the two guys that we had back, Jared (Bigley) and Ian (Wettlaufer), I thought we’d be a solid team that should have a chance to win it. Then we had a couple kids get sick … we really didn’t have our full lineup most of the year so it was kind of a struggle. But the kids really put it together at the end of the year, and it was enough.”

Dissinger called the section title a “total team effort.”

“This team is unlike other teams where we’ve had some exceptional bowlers,” he said. “I don’t have the superstars this year. We are just solid from top to bottom, and that wins matches. If your superstars don’t bowl well, you don’t win.”

Up next Ephrata will advance to the L-L League Team Championships, which will be held next Tuesday at Cedar Lanes [directions]. The Mounts will face Section Three runner-up Lampeter-Strasburg in the Quarterfinals, beginning at 8 a.m. The semifinals and finals will follow that same day.

• Prev