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8- MERCHANDISER - Elizabethtown Edition - January 12, 2022 SPORTS Conestoga Valley • Donegal • Elizabethtown Garden Spot • Hempfield Lampeter-Strasburg • Manheim Central Penn Manor • Pequea Valley • Solanco MORE SPORTS PICTURES and other high school sports news at

Bears Knock Off Previously Undefeated Hempfield

BY ERIC PYLES

Many sports mantras have to do with always looking forward or not dwelling on the past but as we kick off our 2022 sports coverage, it is a good time to look back at how the Elizabethtown winter sports teams have fared in their short 2021-2022 journey.

We’ll start with the boys’ basketball team where the Bears sport a 5-4 mark with the highlight coming January 4th via a 43-38 final over previously unbeaten Hempfield. E-town needed overtime and every one of Matthew Gilhool’s game high 28 points to pull off the upset.

Thirty-Two minutes of back-and-forth action led to a 36-36 deadlock before the Bears, behind Patrick Gilhool, Braden Cummings, and Matthew Gilhool, used a 7-2 spurt to secure the five-point win. Patrick Gilhool netted half of his eight points in OT to lead the charge while 6-foot, 9-inch ‘little’ brother Matthew capped his 28-point effort with a single free throw. Cummings finished the OT scoring, picking up the final two of his four-points game.

The back-and-forth action saw Elizabethtown up 10-8 after the opening quarter with Hempfield using an 11-10 edge to control the second. E-town’s, 20-19, halftime edge disappeared completely with the Knight’s 9-7 run out of the break. The Bears were able to force OT by chipping away at Hempfield’s onepoint edge in the fourth before securing the win in the extra frame. Techeal Gonquoi picked up the final three points for E-town.

The four remaining wins came opposite Boling Springs, 54-40 on December 11th, Conestoga Valley, 62-52 on the 17th, Wyomissing, 48-44 on the 23rd and Red Lion, 51-49 on the 30th. The four losses came at the hands of Exeter Township, 59-51 on the 13th, Warwick, 55-37 on the 14th, Lebanon, 47-42 on the 21st and Hershey, 50-44 on January 3rd.

RIFLE

The rifle team has shot out of the gate with a sparkling 4-0 mark thanks to wins over Manheim Township (495-486) on December 14th, Governor Mifflin (494-488) on the 16th and Ephrata (494-489) on the 21st. The Bears were pushed to the limit in their first meet of 2022, picking up that fourth win by edging Manheim Central, 495-494, on the 4th.

BOWLING

Over on the bowling lanes the Bears are rocking an impressive undefeated season posting 7-0 sweeps over Cocalico on December 9th, Cedar Crest on the 14th, Conestoga Valley on the 17th, Manheim Township on the 21st and Manheim Central on the 22nd. Add in another sweep on January 4th, this one over Lebanon and the Bears are sporting a pristine 42-0 record heading into the back half of the season.

SWIMMING

Elizabethtown swimming has enjoyed a stellar start to the 2021-2022 season with both squads posting a 3-1 mark after thrashing Manheim Central on January 4th. The boy’s claimed a 130-20 victory while the Lady Bears posted an equally impressive 126-31 win. E-town’s other two victories, over Milton Hershey on December 10th and Penn Manor on the 21st, also came by lopsided finals. The boys blew by Milton Hershey 130-49 and Penn Manor 132-28 while the Lady Bears cruised to a 138-28 win over Milton Hershey and a 121-42 win over Penn Manor. The lone setback for both sides came on December 16th when the Bears tangled with Hempfield. The Black Knights took the boy’s meet 107-63 and the girl’s meet 111-59.

GIRLS’ BASKETBALL

Back on the hardwood the Lady Bears sit at 4-3 with the highlight of the young season being a title in E-town’s own Tip-off Tournament. The Lady Bears opened the season on the 10th by surviving McCaskey 36-32 before claiming the title one day later with a 35-22 dismantling of Red Land. A 27-20 setback to Warwick followed on the 14th but Elizabethtown bounced back with a 44-30 victory over Conestoga Valley on the 17th. The Lady Bears’ final game before the holiday break went in the books as a 50-44 loss to Lebanon on the 21st and with a 51-31 setback to Columbia in the opening game of the Northeastern Holiday Tourney the Lady Bears had a quick two game slide. Elizabethtown did right the ship in the second half of the Northeastern Holiday Tourney, blowing out Kennard-Dale by a 49-16 final.

WRESTLING

E-town wrestling has come out of the gate busy and strong, sporting a 5-1 mark with wins over Hershey and Warwick in the Warwick Duals on December 11th followed by regular dual meet wins over Lampeter-Strasburg, Garden Spot & Cedar Crest. Only the December 22nd showdown with Garden Spot was close with E-town posting a 39-29 win. The Bears had no trouble dispatching L-S on the 15th or Cedar Crest on January 4th, topping the Pioneers 53-9 and the Falcons 50-12.

The Bears busy stretch continued on the 18th with a short trip to Donegal for the Donegal Holiday Tournament where Etown came home with a fourth-place team finish. Elizabethtown missed both gold medal opportunities with Jake Rudy (160) and Hayden Haver (189) falling in their respective championship matches. Ryan Findlay picked up a bronze with his consolation championship win at 132 while both Sam Yoder (106) and Austin Reitmeyer (126) settled for sixth place. Dalton Becker rounded out the medal winners with his eighth-place finish at 172 while Wyatt Mummau (120) and AJ Bush (215) added seventh-place team points to E-town’s tally.

The Bears added another fourth-place team finish, this time at the Governor Mifflin Holiday Tournament that took place on December 28th and 29th. Once again E-town could not capture gold this time with Nathan Thomas (138) and Hayden Best (106) falling in the championship bouts. Aiden Robinson took the lone bronze, doing so at 152 while Findley (132) and Haver (189) missed their bronze shot, settling for fourth instead. Reitmeyer at 120 was the lone Bear in a fifth/sixth place match, adding valuable team points with his win and fifth-place medal while Mummau (113) and Bradley Candy (285) did the same with their seventhplace finishes. Rudy (160) and Anthony Salcedo (145) rounded out the Elizabethtown medal winners with their eighth-place finishes.

Staff photo

E-town’s Matthew Gilhool maneuvers against Hempfield’s Cole Overbough during the Bears’ 43-38 victory over the visiting Black Knights on January 4.

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Staff photo

Braden Cummings goes to the basket on Hempfield’s Miguel Pena in the Bears’ 43-38 win at home on January 4.

Staff photo

The Gilhools, Patrick (13) and Matthew, battle for a rebound in E-town’s 43-38, Section Two - Section One crossover victory over visiting Hempfield on January 4.