Day 2 of the LL League Boys Tennis Flight Tournaments presented by Orthopedic Associates of Lancaster is almost done.
But, rain intervened and several doubles matches were suspended. Play will resume as scheduled on Monday, April 29th at 12:30 at Conestoga Valley. The suspended doubles matches will be completed first. All doubles tournaments will be completed next, followed by singles championships and play backs.
The 2024 LL League Lacrosse Semifinals (both boys and girls), presented by Orthopedic Associates of Lancaster, are set.
And if the brackets look like deja vu all over again, it is not. The top two teams in each of the two sections in each of boys and girls lacrosse are the same. The pre-set game times for the semifinals based on section finishes have been adjusted so that fans can make the trip from Warwick to Penn Manor (or vice versa) to see both of their lacrosse teams.
The girls lacrosse semifinals will be Friday, May 10th at Penn Manor’s Comet Field. Section 1 Champion Manheim Township will play Cocalico at 5 p.m. and Section 2 Champion Lampeter-Strasburg will play Hempfield at 7 p.m.
The boys lacrosse semifinals will also be Friday, May 10th and contested at Warwick. Game times are reverse. Section 2 Champion Lampeter-Strasburg will play Hempfield at 5 p.m. and Section 1 Champion Manheim Township will play Cocalico at 7 p.m.
The finals will be Tuesday, May 14th at F&M’s Shadek stadium. The girls finals will be at 5 p.m. followed by the boys finals at 7 p.m.
The 2024 edition of the LL League Boys Tennis Flight Tournaments presented by Orthopedic Associates of Lancaster will kick off Thursday April 25th at Conestoga Valley and McCaskey.
Flight 1 Singles (AA & AAA) round of 16 and quarterfinals will be at Conestoga Valley. Flight 1 AAA features the only defending champion in Hempfield’s Cooper Lehman. Also at Conestoga Valley will be Flight 1 Doubles (AA & AAA) round of 16 matches. Interspersed amongst the Flight 1 matches will be Flight 2 singles round of 16 and quarterfinals, and the day at Conestoga Valley will conclude with the bottom half of the Flight 2 doubles round of 16 matches.
McCaskey will play host to Flight 3 (singles) and Flight 4 round of 16 and quarterfinals, Flight 3 doubles round of 16, and the top half of the Flight 2 doubles round of 16 matches.
Matches at both sites start at 8:30 a.m.
2024 Boys Tennis Flight Tournament Brackets
Action continues at Conestoga Valley on Saturday, April 27th at 8:30 a.m. Matches will be played in all flights through the semifinals and necessary playback matches in Flight 1 Singles.
Finals for all flights, and 3rd and 5th place matches in Flight 1 Singles, will be played at Conestoga Valley on Monday, May 1st at Conestoga Valley. The final session starts at 12:30 p.m.
March is National Athletic Training Month. NATM is held every March in order to spread awareness about the important work of athletic trainers. On a cold and raw weekend like this one, with (OUTDOOR!) spring sports in full swing, the LL League encourages all coaches, athletes, parents and fans to be sure to say THANK YOU to the athletic trainers that are there keeping the athletes healthy.
Orthopedic Associates of Lancaster is the presenting sponsor of the LL League. In addition to their generous sponsorship, OAL has 10 athletic trainers providing services in seven different schools across Lancaster and Lebanon Counties, and counting! Thank you to OAL and all of the LL’s athletic trainers. We appreciate you!
The 2024 Lancaster Lebanon League Hall of Fame Inductions will take place on Friday, February 16th at halftime of the League Boys Basketball Tournament Finals hosted by Manheim Township. This year’s class:
Jane Hoover, coach.
She was the doyenne of “Hooverisms.”
“Play as a winner and you will be one.”
“Play to win but play fair.”
“Sometimes you have to take a step back to get ahead.”
Once upon a time, the late Elizabethtown field hockey coach Jane Hoover was one to inspire fear in her players. She also was able to flat- out inspire them.
A physical education teacher in the Elizabethtown district from 1949-87, Hoover coached the field hockey team to 299 wins. Her teams racked up 16 section titles, seven county championships, a district crown and the 1974 state championship. She also served as tennis coach, and her teams
won 196 matches and collected 11 county championships.
Hoover, who died on February 8, 2012, at the age of 84, in 1988 became the first woman to earn the prestigious George W. Kirchner Memorial Award. And in September 2001, Elizabethtown and its Big E Booster Club dedicated the school’s hockey field in her name.
At a 2011 gathering attended by more than 100 of her former players, Hoover was remembered for her cackling laugh, and her penchant for having players run laps. Ultimately, in her own remarks that day, she credited her players for their own success: “Without you I would be nothing,” she told them. “It was you who did the winning. I was just the backseat coach.”
Phil Kauffman, Coach
Around Cocalico High School, “Coach K” was Phil Kauffman, former history teacher, football coach and purveyor of the Eagles’ vaunted Veer.
During a head coaching tenure that lasted from 1975 through 2003, Kauffman’s football teams compiled a record of 184 wins against 112 losses over 28 seasons, including a stretch of 33 straight league wins in 1994- 97. Kauffman — himself a 1965 Cocalico grad and varsity football, basketball and baseball player — guided the Eagles to 11 L-L section championships, nine District Three playoff bids and two district titles. He was voted L-L League Coach of the Year seven times.
Along the way, he notes he was lucky to have a large cast of hardworking, talented assistant coaches and players who made everything go.
“High school football, to me, is where the game is pure.” he told LNP in 2009, after he’d moved on to what became a 14-year stint as a color commentator for Blue Ridge Cable 11.
“College and pro football, you have got to win. High school sports are not all about wins. It should be about discipline and trying to teach the kids. Your goal as a coach is to make your kids better, so when bad things happen in life they can overcome them.”
Kauffman also credits Cindy, his wife of 53 years, and their sons, Chad and Sean, for their support and sacrifice during his overall 36 years of coaching.
Melvin Newcomer, Official
As a practicing attorney in Lancaster County for the last 45 years, McCaskey graduate Mel Newcomer likely knows a thing or six about maintaining order and resolving conflicts.
In other words, he has been particularly well- suited for his subsidiary career: PIAA official.
Newcomer began officiating at soccer and baseball games in 1976, while he was still in law school at the University of Pennsylvania, and quickly branched out into basketball. That latter sport definitely stuck. He’s been calling games — including L-L, District Three and PIAA finals — for 48 years, and plans to retire at the end of this season.
A married father of two and grandfather of six, Newcomer also served as the L-L Basketball Officials Chapter rules interpreter for 29 years.
Douglas Bohannon, AD & Coach
Doug Bohannon’s CV is, in a word, jammed. District Three chairman. PIAA Board of Directors member. Lancaster-Lebanon League president. Elco athletic director. Assistant coach in football, basketball
and track. Thirty-two years as a teacher. Certifications, honors and memberships in athletic organizations aplenty. But when he stepped away in 2022, he was able to sum things up quite succinctly.
“I guess I did a lot of stuff,’’ he told LNP at the time.
In his 25 years as the Raiders’ AD, Bohannon, also an Elco graduate, handled the grind with aplomb, overseeing the administration of up to 49 teams across 13 sports in the course of a school year.
“His organizational skills are unmatched,’’ former L-L executive director Ron Kennedy said of the man many know simply as “Bo.” “His work ethic is unmatched. He was never afraid to speak his mind, but he knew the right time to do it.’’
The LL League postseason for Bowling, presented by Orthopedic Associates of Lancaster, wrapped up with the Girls Singles tournament today.
Defending Girls Singles Champion Morgan Kline of ELCO brought home the gold again after posting the second highest score in the first round. Last week it was Josiah Casler of Conestoga Valley winning the boys singles just a few days after the Buckskins won the team tournament.
The day wraps up at Wilson in the pool for the conclusion of the LL Swimming Championships. Manheim Township’s girls and Hempfield’s boys have jumped out in front after Friday’s events.
2024 Swimming Friday Night Results
And don’t forget, Girls Bowling Singles, the rest of the Girls Basketball tournament, the entirety of the Boys Basketball tournament AND the LL Hall of Fame inductions all set for the coming week.
LL League Playoffs for winter sports presented by Orthopedic Associates of Lancaster continue this week.
Bowling starts things off on Tuesday with the team championships to be contested at Cain’s Lanes at 9 a.m.
Note that in bowling the pairing of Section Champions and Section Runners-up is not a fixed pattern but rather is done by season scoring average.
Bowling continues with the Boys Singles Championships on Friday at Dutch Lanes, also at 9 a.m. Later on Friday Swimming hits the pool at Wilson in day one of the League Championship Meet. The first event is up at 6 p.m.:
200 Medley Relay 6:00 p.m.
200 Freestyle 6:20 p.m.
200 Ind. Medley 6:50 p.m.
50 Freestyle 7:10 p.m.
100 Butterfly 8:10 p.m.
200 Freestyle Relay 8:35 p.m.
The remaining events will be contested Saturday beginning at 4 p.m.
Please take careful note of parking and spectator restrictions at Wilson due to ongoing construction:
Information on parking and entering the buidling during the construction at Wilson HS
Event Schedule and Spectator Limits
Also on Saturday the LL League Rifle Champions will be determined at Conestoga Valley starting at 9 a.m. and the Girls Basketball Quarterfinals will be played, hosted by Section Champions.
The first Orthopedic Associates of Lancaster LL League Champions of 2024 have been crowned at Manheim Township, playing host to the 30th Annual Boys Wrestling Tournament and First EVER Girls Wrestling Tournament
Ladies first: it was McCaskey that was the first ever Girls LL League Champion in the tournament promoted by River Rock Academy.
And it is appropriate that those Red Tornadoes were the first champions as they were the first sanctioned girls wrestling team in the state of Pennsylvania. Another first: Journie Rodriguez of McCaskey was the first Jonathan E. Mitchell Outstanding Wrestler. Cleona O’Brien of Hempfield notched three firsts: first girl to win a bout, first girl to win a championship, and first winner of the Most Falls Least Amount of Time Award.
2024 Girls Wrestling Champions | 100 | Hattie Mack, Hempfield |
 | 106 | Yenyia Terry, Manheim Township |
 | 112 | Journie Rodriquez, McCaskey |
| 118 | Addison Horner, Hempfield | |
 | 124 | Cleona O’Brien, Hempfield |
| 130 | Liana Samuel, McCaskey | |
 | 136 | Kaliea Timko, McCaskey |
 | 142 | Anisa Orr, Penn Manor |
| 148 | Kylie Mays, Hempfield | |
 | 155 | KoriElle McMillion, Warwick |
| 170 | Ytzel Figuerero-Rivera, McCaskey | |
 | 190 | Jurelys Peguero, McCaskey |
| 235 | Brooklynn Ayala, Penn Manor | |
| Most Falls Least Amount of Time | Cleona O’Brien, Hempfield | 4 in 10:08 |
| Jonathan E. Mitchell Outstanding Wrestler | Journie Rodriguez, McCaskey | |
| Team Champion | McCaskey | |
| Complete Results | |
The Boys tournament was once again promoted by long time promotional sponsor LAW
Conestoga Valley came away with the team championship. More firsts: that is the Buckskins first LL League Boys Wrestling Championship. They were led by the Shorty Hitchcock Most Falls Least Amount of Time award winner Luke Needham. Kaedyn William of Manheim Township was just the 7th ever 4 time champion and brought home the Kenneth W. Ober Outstanding Wrestler award.
| 107 | Sam Wolford, Northern Lebanon | |
| 114 | Kaedyn Williams |
| 121 | Aaron Seidel, Northern Lebanon | |
| 127 | Francis Burke, Elizabethtown | |
| 133 | Barrett Keiffer, Manheim Central | |
 | 139 | Seamus Mack, Hempfield |
| 145 | Gavin Badger, Lancaster Catholic |
| 152 | Kyle Deisley, Hempfield |
| 160 | Luke Needham, Conestoga Valley |
| 172 | Abdoul Akala, Conestoga Valley | |
 | 189 | JJ Plaza, Hempfield |
 | 215 | Noah Templin, Manheim Central |
| 285 | Tal Stoltzfus, Conestoga Valley |
| Shorty Hitchcock Most Falls Least Amount of Time Award | Luke Needham, Conestoga Valley | 5 in 8:44 |
| Kenneth W. Ober Outstanding Wrestler Award | Kaedyn Williams, Manheim Township | |
| Complete Results | |
Wrestling typically kicks off the calendar year for LL League Championships presented by Orthopedic Associates of Lancaster, and 2024 is no different.
A new wrinkle: this year the LL League will crown the first GIRLS WRESTLING Champions. With the PIAA now sponsoring girls wrestling, the former River Rock Academy Challenge is now officially the LL League Girls Wrestling Championships, still generously promoted by River Rock Academy.
2024 is a milestone year for the Boys Wrestling as well: this will be the 30th edition of the LL League Boys Wrestling Championships. LAW is back again as the promoting sponsor.
Manheim Township’s Arena is the venue as wrestlers take the mat on January 26th and 27th. Six mats will cover the hardwood and boys wrestling will begin at 4:30 p.m. on the 26th with girls to follow later. As the boys brackets are whittled down to the size of the girls brackets, boys and girls will be side by side using all mats. Friday night boys will wrestle until 8 wrestlers are left in the bracket. Girls will bring 6 wrestlers to Saturday.
Wrestling on Saturday starts at 11 a.m., still on 6 mats. Semifinals and all consolation matches will be contested, then it will be down to 2 mats as girls and boys finals are contested side by side.
Blue Ridge Cable will once again broadcast the finals live, and PCN will replay the finals at 9 p.m. that evening.