Warwick's boys (12-1, 14-6) only needed one more league win to clinch the outright Section Two crown heading into last Wednesday's matchup with Conestoga Valley (1-11, 3-17) and led by Ryan Shirk's 15 points, the Warriors did just that with a 69-32 win over the Buckskins. It also marked the first section title won by Warwick since 1991.
The Warriors wasted no time in showing exactly what their intentions were by racing out to a 13-5 first quarter lead which had expanded to 36-9 by halftime thanks to a huge 23-point second quarter. Defensively, Warwick gave no breathing room to the visiting Bucks and only sent one CV shooter to the foul line while the Warriors went 10-16 on foul shots.
Both Colby Martin and Caleb Schmitz joined Shirk in putting up double digits with each scoring 11 apiece. Martin nailed two from long range, only one behind game leader Shirk who had three. Jordan Ransing (7) led the Bucks who had no answer for Warwick's fast paced offensive attack that outscored them 33-23 over the final two quarters of play. Trystan George (6), Conor Adams (6), Nolan Rucci (5), Broden Price (4), Joey McCracken (3), Ethan Minnich (3), Justin Gerhart (2), and Brock Fassnacht (1) all contributed.
On the other end of the spectrum, Warwick needed a 16-point fourth quarter to seal a four-point, 60-56 victory over Lebanon (4-7, 9-11) on the road Friday night. Leading by two points to start the final frame of a closely contested matchup, the Warwick defense held Lebanon in check, allowing the Cedars 14 in the slim margin of victory.
Shirk again led as the game high scorer with 20 points and dropped in four three-pointers as did McCracken (18). Warwick opened a small, one-point margin to lead 9-8 after one quarter of play before both offenses found their groove in the second with the Warriors posting an 18-17 advantage to lead 27-25 at the break.
Both teams matched the other in the third with each putting up 17 before Warwick was able to barely edge the host Cedars in the fourth. Three Lebanon players notched double digits, Jean Carlos Gonzalez Belen had 18, followed by Raylin Pena (17), and Isaiah Rodriguez while for Warwick, Martin (6), Schmitz (6), George (4), Fassnacht (3), and Adams (3) all added to the winning effort.
SWIMMING
For one of the Warwick swimming teams, perfection and a Section One title were on the line last Wednesday against Manheim Township while the other was looking to keep its head above water. For the lady Warriors, a chance at the top spot in the section was thwarted when the Blue Streaks, who were also undefeated heading into the meet, came away with a solid, 108-72 victory. The boys, who were 2-2 at the time, were handed a 131-42 defeat.
Both Catherine Chen and Hannah Greenway represented the lone individual wins for Warwick and played equal parts in the only relay win of the night for Warwick as well. Greenway struck first for Warwick, touching in 25.10 to nab the top finish in the 50 freestyle while Chen and teammate Maya Hartzler finished 1-2 in the 100 freestyle with Chen finishing in 55.51.
All three also held a spot on the winning 200 freestyle relay team which finished in a time of 1:43.29. The trio joined forces with Katie Jeans in claiming the lone relay win for Warwick and Chen just missed another victory when Manheim Township's Liz Perot caught her in the 200 freestyle, a race in which Chen led most of the way.
There was not much that went the way of the Warrior on the boy's side of the meet as Warwick's Oliver Lance stood as not only the lone victor, but was top finisher in two events. With none of the boy's relay teams winning, Lance won both the 200 IM and the 100 backstroke with respective times of 2:02.54 and 56.09.
GIRLS' BASKETBALL
The lady Warriors (5-8, 7-12) watched a promising season slowly slip away as they lost six in a row including a loss to Ephrata (7-4, 8-12) that knocked them out of the L-L League playoffs. Number six came on the road last Wednesday against Conestoga Valley (3-9, 5-16), although the pendulum easily could have swung in favor of Warwick in the tightly contested 42-40 defeat.
Reagan Longridge's 11 points, which included a trio of three-pointers, and Lauren Pyle's 10, with a trey thrown in as well, paced the Warriors who trailed 19-13 at halftime and then rallied late in the fourth, but fell just short. Both teams scored nine in the third to make it 28-22 heading into the final frame. In all, seven players scored for Warwick including Abby Rodgers (5), Sydney Weismandel (4), Lailani Batty (4), Tanner Armstrong (4), and Jess Williamson (3).
Lebanon (2-9, 3-16) proved to be Warwick's lucky charm as the Warriors, who trailed by five heading into the second quarter, turned it on by outscoring the Cedars 42-21 over the course of the final three frames. Led by Rodgers' 14 points, Warwick never let up on offense as well as defense, holding Lebanon to only two points in the third. Pyle added 11 and went 3-4 at the foul line for Warwick with Weismandel (8), Longridge (6), Batty (5), Emily Williamson (3), Haley Delgiacco (2), and Julia Forsythe (2) getting in on the action as well.
BOWLING
Warwick's bowling team also clinched a section title with a 7-0 sweep of Elizabethtown (62-15, 92-20) last Monday at Dutch Lanes. Warwick (75-2, 82-2) held a 13-game lead over the Bears at the end of last week with no chance of getting caught as the Warriors had two League matches remaining while Elizabethtown only had one.
Ashley Sham's 743 series led all bowlers as she rolled a 228, 236, and 279. She was followed closely by Isaac Erickson's 266, 258, and 199 for a 723. Tyler Miller (246, 229, 188-663), and Carter Snavely (204, 203, 227-634) rounded out Warwick's scoring while Katelyn Garman's 591 series led the Bears. She rolled a 202, 225, and 164 in the loss.
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