Hempfield Holds Off Ephrata

In absolute crunch time, with the game on the line and the clock winding down, when Hempfield needed a big bucket Thursday night, the Black Knights went to the paint.

There, Orianna Edmond and Lauren Moffatt delivered.

Edmond scored all 10 of her points in the pivotal second half, including a pair of money fourth-quarter lane hoops, and Moffatt scored a teamhigh 12 points, including the go-ahead bucket on a shot in the key, and the host Knights fended off Ephrata 40-34 in a nonleague girls basketball game in Landisville.

Read more ...

Title Time for Mountaineers

There was plenty of incentive for Ephrata’s swim teams when the Mountaineers hosted Elizabethtown and Conestoga Valley in a rare Lancaster-Lebanontrimeet at Ephrata recCenter on Saturday.

After all, both the Mountaineers and the Bears entered unbeaten in the boys standings and only one game separated the teams on the girls side. Wins over both Elizabethtown and CV meant Section Two regular-season titles, and Ephrata earned both those crowns by topping the Bears (105-65) and Conestoga Valley (128-60) in the boys meet and 106-64 against Elizabethtown and 140-29 versus the Bucks in the girls.

As junior Colby Simes said, repeating as sections boys champs was a major part of the discussion entering the meet.

Read more ...

Barnica Thankful for Return to Health, Bowling

There’s a noticeable hitch in Nathan Barnica’s delivery as he competes for the Ephrata bowling team.

While the sophomore’s 205 average wouldn’t lead anyone to think much of that hitch, the story behind it, and bowling’s role in his recovery, is nothing short of inspirational.

“He wasn’t able to even walk, and now he’s back and he’s rolling the ball incredibly,” Ephrata bowling coach Nick Vanderwende said recently. “It’s without a doubt the most heart-warming thing I’ve experienced in the sport.”

In October 2018, Barnica was diagnosed with acute flaccid myelitis, a disease that develops from a common virus and affects the spinal cord, causing muscles and reflexes to become weak.

Read more ...

Bears Log Another Win

Coming into the match with a league-best average of 1,012 pins per game, the Elizabethtown bowling team looked poised for its fifth straight 7-0 romp. It would have to come against Ephrata, a Lancaster- Lebanon League Section Two rival that had handed the Bears their only points lost this season.

But the Bears accomplished their mission, rolling to easy 1,066-944 and 1,189-1,068 wins in the first two games before rallying at the end to earn a 979-932 win in the third game Friday at Clearview Lanes. They won total by 290 pins (3,234-2,944).

“It was a nice win,” said Elizabethtown coach Frank Telenko, whose team is now 37-5 in Section Two (only section matches count in the standings). “I’m proud of the kids.”

Read more ...