Tuesday bball schedule changes

The snow just won’t stop. It’s expected to missile toward York and Adams County for another 6-12 inches by Wednesday.

Considering mother nature was no joke over the weekend, area schools have begun to shift impending games on Tuesday ahead of schedule in advance of the storm. So far, we have seven changes in the schedule — reported by GameTimePA.com staff.

·Boys’ basketball: Northeastern at New Oxford, 4 p.m. varsity start
·Boys’ basketball: Red Lion at William Penn, 4 p.m. varsity start
·Boys’ basketball: York County Tech at West York, 4 p.m. varsity start
·Boys’ basketball: South Western at Dallastown, 4:15 p.m. varsity start
·Girls’ basketball: Spring Grove at Northeastern, 4 p.m. varsity start
·Girls’ basketball: New Oxford at Central York, 4 p.m. varsity start
·Girls’ basketball: Dallastown at South Western, 4 p.m. varsity start

Expect a few more — if not all — teams to join the charge by late Monday or early Tuesday.

Lauren Beckley closing in on history

* Read today’s Evening Sun for the entire feature on Shippensburg University senior Lauren Beckley, a Fairfield High graduate, who is inching closer to an incredible record on the basketball court for the school. *

How, exactly, do you stop Beckley? Is it even possible?

“In the four years I’ve been here, sometimes we get to practice in some drills to push them a little more,” Schenzel said. “Typically I guard Lauren. And I have an inch height on her and obviously can jump a little higher. But you can’t get to her shot. She shoots it from a very high position when she releases it, which makes it tougher for teams to defend her when she’s on the perimeter.”

The most fascinating part to Beckley’s game is her versatility. She isn’t a one-dimensional scorer. She can post up and work on the low block. She can hit the pull-up 15-foot jump shot. She can hit the fallaway. And she can also go deep and nail the 3-pointer. She’s especially dangerous in transition.

Maybe the most dangerous piece to her game is her foul shooting. She simply doesn’t miss. She’s been rock solid since her sophomore year at Fairfield.

She hasn’t been worse than 75 percent for seven years. Seven years.

“She is so versatile,” Trn said. “She has the most natural instincts of knowing where people are without even having to see them. And she has great footwork around the basket. And I don’t know another kid at our level that has the fadeaway that she has. And with her long arms, it’s hard for people to get to her.”

Just how much does Trn trust Beckley?

“She has the green light from half court,” Trn joked.

* * *

BECKLEY BY THE YEARS

Shippensburg University

2009-10: 19.9 ppg, 477 points so far (9.5 rpg)

2008-09: 21.5 ppg, 581 points overall (11.4 rpg)

2007-08: 22.3 ppg, 624 points overall (11.1 rpg)

2006-07: 19.6 ppg, 548 points overall (8.3 rpg)

Fairfield High

2005-06: 23.9 ppg, 717 points overall

2004-05: 22.2 ppg, 511 points overall

2003-04: 22.3 ppg, 603 points overall

2002-03: 17.7 ppg, 427 points overall

* * *

Don’t be misguided by this glowing review of Beckley’s on-court accomplishments. She’s more than just a one trick pony.

In fact, Beckley is about as well rounded as the most distinguished college athlete. She’s successful in the classroom, where she has been named two separate times as a CoSida First Team Academic All-American.

And she has a gamut of leadership potential.

Beckley, a team captain for the past three years, has been grilled through a 10-week leadership series called “The Team Captain’s Leadership Manual: The Complete Guide to Developing Team Leaders Whom Coaches Respect and Teammates Trust.”

And in June of 2007, Beckley was one of just 356 student-athletes from around the country chosen to attend the NCAA National Leadership Conference held in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. The five-day leadership conference consisted of daily exercises and activities to provide the student-athletes with a forum to openly discuss issues that may affect them on their campuses and in their communities, while also providing them with the opportunity to enhance their leadership, communication, decision-making and problem-solving skills.

She has been involved with numerous community service events with the Lady Raiders. Beckley was named the inaugural Shippensburg University Female Student-Athlete of the Year in 2008. She is seeking her bachelor’s degree in exercise science and is currently a member of the exercise science club in addition to all of her other involvements.

Yet perhaps Beckley’s most active role outside of the classroom and the hardwood is her support of the campus’s Fellowship of Christian Athletes – a semester-long commitment in both the fall and the winter. She currently serves as the Co-President of the organization.

This past summer, Beckley was one of just 15 select counselors through the national branch of the FCA and through SportsLink, a branch of Operation Mobilization (an international sports ministry organization). For eight weeks, Lauren and her fellow counselors spent time in the classrooms and the fields of Italy and the Ukraine as instructors to young children.

While the primary objective of her group was to help instruct with sports camps to the local children, Lauren served additional roles as a classroom instructor and a guide while being mentored during the trip by Fellowship of Christian Athletes national staff members as well as Operation Mobilization.

At the completion of her journey, Beckley had obtained a Level 2 certification from the International Sports Coalition that now affords her the opportunity to take her new skills in leadership and ministry training with certification to teach it to anyone in the world. *

* Additional information provided by Shippensburg University Sports Information and Interim Sports Information Director Bill Morgal.

Bring on the snow — and wacky schedule changes

It’s coming. Santa gives his regards. The snow is beginning falling.

According to weather service reports, the total snow count has the potential to reach one to two feet by tomorrow. Not surprisingly, area schools have prepared themselves.

Last night several schools rescheduled their sports landscape in response to the expected blizzard.

Here’s how things will shake out today:

Boys’ Basketball
* Hanover at Fairfield rescheduled for Thursday at its regular time.
* South Western at Red Lion at 6 p.m. today (JV at 4:30)
* Bermudian Springs at Delone Catholic rescheduled for Wednesday at its regular time.
* Biglerville at New Oxford at 5:30 p.m. today (JV game at 4:00)
* York High at Spring Grove rescheduled for Monday at its regular time.

Girls’ Basketball
* Fairfield at Hanover rescheduled for Thursday.
* Red Lion at South Western at 6 p.m. today (JV game at 4:30)
* Spring Grove at Biglerville rescheduled for Feb. 16.

High School Wrestling
* District 3 Class AAA and AA Team Tournament semifinals and finals at Milton Hershey’s Spartan Center at 4 p.m. today

Here’s a full report of the YAIAA schedule.

Kotula and Williams eye up Division I track offers

With their  girls’ track & field campaigns looming in the spring, Bermudian Springs’ seniors Georgia Williams (left) and Rachael Kotula (right) have more to think about than the average athlete.

Both have been tendered Division I scholarship offers heading into their final season. Neither has made their committment official just yet, but it seems Kotula could make her decision within the next couple of weeks, said Bermudian head coach Brooke Paxton-Shambaugh.

“Rachael, I am 95 percent sure, she’s made up her mind to attend Robert Morris,” Paxton-Shambaugh said. “I don’t think she’s signed yet. But they made an offer and put out a timeline.”

Kotula will likely make her decision in the next two weeks.

Dating back to last season, Kotula’s superlatives jump off the charts. She was a three-event starlet, excelling in shot put, discus and javelin. But it was in discus where she earned a 5th-place medal at the PIAA Class AA Championships, held at Shippensburg University.  She threw 114-0 feet, which was 10 1/2 feet below her season-best, 124-5, which she garnered at Hanover two meets before the postseason.

At the District 3 Class AA Championships the week before, Kotula collected two gold medals (shot put and javelin) and a silver (discus). And at the YAIAA Championships, she swept (javelin, shot put and discus) gold.

She was, without argument, the most consistent and prolific female thrower in the YAIAA last season. Depending on how she ends her career this year, she could go down as one of the best track & field athletes Bermudian Springs has ever seen.

But with that being said, it brings us to Williams, who was the PIAA Class AA pole vault state champion in 2009. She struck 11-feet, which was enough to earn her gold one year after she took home silver as a sophomore.

It seems one argument can’t be made for Kotula without mentioning Williams. The pair are synonomous in their success.

Williams has offers from Division I schools, too, but Paxton-Shambaugh says the senior is undecided on her intentions after high school.

Her best vault was at Hanover when she lifted for 11-6. And through the season, she was consistently around 11-feet. She was also the YAIAA Champ (11-feet) and the District 3 Class AA champ (10-9).

“She’s keeping her options open,” Paxton-Shambaugh said.

One interesting trend that also evolved last season was Williams versatility. She began to blossom outside her go-to event. The Eagle starlet also was a very competent triple and high jumper, who eventually captured gold in the triple jump at the District 3 meet (36-5 1/4) and silver in the high jump (5-0).

On Feb. 13 Kotula will compete in an indoor track & field invitational at Lehigh University. With a good showing, Paxton-Shambaugh said, the senior could potentially qualify for the state indoor meet, which is set for March 6 at Penn State.

Maxine Bentzel will sign with Temple on Wednesday

When Maxine Bentzel broke 15-seconds in the 100-meter intermediate hurdles at the YAIAA Track & Field Championships last spring, it officially put her on the map.

Big-time college coaches soon took notice.

And the whirlwird recruiting process will officially end today as Bentzel will sign her National Letter of Intent to join the Temple University Owls next year on a partial track and field scholarship.

“I’m really excited to have the opportunity to compete at the Division I level,” Bentzel said. “Running at Temple has been a goal and dream of mine since last year. I’m really excited that it’s finally happening.”

She was one of two Spring Grove athletes who announced their intent to sign for collegiate scholarships. Katie Holtzapple, who will attend Towson University, will sign her letter Wednesday according to Spring Grove athletic director Jake Slagle.

Wednesday marks the beginning of an open signing date period for high school athletes who competed in football, field hockey, track and field and cross country.

Bentzel was was the YAIAA 100-meter intermediate title holder in 2009 with a time of 14.9 seconds and was third in the 300-hurdles, recording a clocking of 47.31 seconds.

She also took home a fourth-place finish in the 100-hurdles during the District 3 Class AAA Championships at Shippensburg University and qualified for the PIAA Championships.

It was in the big meets where Bentzel showed her true talent, Spring Grove head coach Tim Conaway said.

“She knows her bread and butter are the bigger competitions,” Conaway said. “The invitationals. Counties, districts and states. Those were the compeitions that she really sets her goals for. That’s where she wants to do well.”

At Temple, where she will be trained by head coach Eric Mobley, Bentzel will be asked to hone her skill even more in the 100- and 400-meter hurdles.

Still, she hopes to become more versatile during her time at the north Philadelphia school, which competes in the Atlantic 10 Conference and has an enrollment of about 36,000 students.

“I want to be able to contribute to the team and compete at the Division I level, Bentzel said. “Eventually, I’d like to be a National qualifier.”

Academically, Bentzel will study broadcast journalism at the school and one day hopes to land a gig inside one of the biggest media markets in the country.

“I think it’s actually a great fit for her,” Spring Grove track coach Tim Conaway said. “Based on everything, she was looking for a school with her major and one where she could compete at a high level. And Temple has both. They have a great track and field program. And I think she’s going to do really well down there.”

Conaway thinks her collegiate future is in the 400-hurdles.

“If you combine her quickness and her endurance and strength, I think she’s very tough to beat,” Conaway said.

The Jake Myers File

South Western senior Jake Myers will make an official commitment to play football for Bloomsburg University on Wednesday, months after he helped lead the Mustangs to their best campaign in three years.

In spearheading a defense that was near the top of the YAIAA in several categories, Myers was one of the league’s finest inside linebackers. He piled on 139 total tackles (11.6 average), which ranks 20th in the state of Pennsylvania according to MaxPreps.com.

He also recorded a team-high five sacks, had four interceptions and two pass deflections.

Oh, and he also pitched in with kicking duty, punting six kicks for 208 yards, which averages out to 34 yards per boot.

Myers, an Evening Sun All-Area First Team Defensive pick, was a feature player for 10-2 South Western. The 6-foot-2, 205-pound linebacker was one of the main reasons why the team reached the second round of the District 3 Class AAAA playoffs, where they eventually lost to Penn Manor — he had 20 tackles in the game, a season-high.

“He’s pretty excited,” South Western head football coach Don Seidenstricker said on Tuesday. “He felt good about the coaches, the situation he’s coming into and what his prospects are up there.”

Myers was fielding interest from other Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference schools such as East Stroudsburg and Kutztown. And for a brief time he was interested in attending Lafayette College, a Division I Championship Football Subdivision school.

In Bloomsburg, Myers will enter into a program that went 8-3 this past fall and barely missed earning an NCAA playoff bid.

“They’re an established program,” Seidenstricker said. “They have played in the national title game on one or more occasions. They usually find themselves in the playoff picture. They’re one of the better schools in the PSAC.”

West York standout Brandon Real is also a member of the Huskies.

High School Athlete Signings

The National Letter of Intent signing date for football, field hockey, track and field, soccer, cross country and water polo (we have so  many of those programs around here, don’t we!) is set for tomorrow. And in advance of this period, a few of our athletes in the Hanover area have already made their decisions. Below you will find each athlete broken down by their sport of choice.

Keep in mind that I don’t have every athlete’s decision on my radar just yet. Over the next several days I’ll try to track down as many as I can. Through the week, I’ll try to update the signings with some information about our athletes.

Track and Field
Temple — Maxine Bentzel, Spring Grove

Football
Bloomsburg — Jake Myers (right), South Western

Field Hockey
Shippensburg — Brynn Seidenstricker

Basketball
Eastern University — Ben Connor, Hanover

Baseball
Temple — Matt Hockenberry, South Western
Millersville — Kurt Seiders, South Western
York College — Colin Porter, South Western

Tennis
Bloomsburg — Natalie Greenholt, South Western

Soccer
Shippensburg — Derrick Roy, Spring Grove
Gettysburg College — Tyler Shaffer, Biglerville
John Carroll University — Theo Guillory, Gettysburg
Towson University — Katie Holtzapple, Spring Grove

Katie Holtzapple (above) was our 2009 All-Area Player of the Year. As a junior, she helped guide Spring Grove (14-7, 8-4-0 YAIAA I) to a District 3 Class AAA playoff berth, where the Lady Rockets lost to Mechanicsbrug 2-1 in overtime. The impressive forward tallied a team- high 23 goals — third highest in the area — while dishing out four assists. She will continue her career at Towson University under three-year head coach Greg Paynter. The Tigers went 7-11 in 2009, including a 3-7-1 mark in the Colonial Athletic Association

Cross Country
Undecided — Michael Beegle, Gettysburg

Swimming
Louisiana State University — Andrea Staub, Delone Catholic

Wrestling
Undecided — Tanner Small, Delone Catholic

Updated District 3 picture for Hanover area bball

This week the operative word is crunch. Tuesday will begin a critical week-long stretch for a number of teams who are hoping to land into the District 3 playoffs. We have a couple teams on the outskirts and others who need to keep their momentum heading into the postseason. Below, we have the principles.

Boys’ Outlook
Class AA — No. 3 Hanover, 13-4, 6.24; No. 4 Delone Catholic, 12-6, 6.06
Thoughts: Hanover has the opportunity close out the season with five straight wins, starting with tomorrow’s visit to York Tech. Delone, meanwhile, has Littlestown, Bermudian, New Oxford and York Suburban. A relatively decent schedule, which should put them at 15 wins heading into districts. Also: Hanover should reach the league playoffs as they are expected to win the IV Section title.

Class AAA — No. 1 Eastern York, 18-0; No. 2 York Suburban, 17-1; No. 24. Bermudian Springs, 6-11; No. 25. Littlestown, 7-11.
Thoughts: It’s a perilous road for the Eagles. It looks like 21 teams might get in, but Bermudian would need to win at least four out of five to keep it close and would have to beat AAA foes in Suburban and Kennard-Dale to amp up their district points. Not impossible, but next closest thing to it. It’s a similar story for Littlestown.

Class AAAA — No. 4 York, 16-3; No. 10 Central York, 12-5; No. 11 Red Lion, 13-5; No. 29 Spring Grove, 8-11. Also: No. 34. Gettysburg, 6-12.
Thoughts: First-year head coach Ryan Luckman has the Rockets playing very well. And it looks like his squad has the best chance at slipping into the district playoffs. That is, if they can beat Red Lion, William Penn and Central York — as you can see, all three are listed above Spring Grove — to finish out the year. Best of luck, Coach.

Girls’ Outlook
Class AA — No. 2 York Catholic, 16-2 7.00 pts; No. 3 Delone Catholic, 15-2 6.88 pts, No. 7 Biglerville, 6-12; No. 12 Fairfield, 4-14.
Thoughts: One reason Delone is behind York Catholic in the district is because they played one out-of-state game. But in the long haul, it’ll help the Squirettes case for hardware. It was one of those size-up games and it certainly went in Delone’s favor. The Squirettes have a difficult schedule to end the season, though. They have the Lady Irish on Friday in Round 2 of the series. They have New Oxford one day later and then playoff hopeful Kennard-Dale on Tuesday.

Class AAA — No. 1 West York, 18-0; No. 9 Kennard-Dale, 10-7; No. 19 Eastern York, 9-9; No. 21 Bermudian Springs, 10-8; No. 25 York Suburban, 7-11.
Thoughts: The magic number is 22 in Class AAA. York Suburban will need to win its remain games to keep pace with the chase. But all Bermudian Springs really needs to do, after Monday’s win over York Suburban, is to take one more game. At .500, the Lady Eagles are almost a sure-bet to be in the postseason. Then again, they’ll be on the low looking up. Still, it’s better to be in than out. And at this point, the Eagles are in. As for West York, they look unbeatable.

Class AAAA — No. 1 Red Lion, 17-1; No. 14 New Oxford, 13-5 7.11 pts; No. 15 Spring Grove, 13-5 7.11 pts; No. 17 South Western, 12-6 7.00 pts; No. 25 Gettysburg, 8-9 5.94 pts. Also: No. 28 Central York, 7-10.
Thoughts: It’s a loaded Class AAAA field, that’s for sure. New Oxford has four games left, starting with Tuesday’s tussle against class-leading Red Lion. Games against York, Delone Catholic and Central York will follow. It’s safe to say, the final four games for New Oxford present perhaps the most intriguing plotlines out of any area team in the YAIAA. The Colonials could struggle and teeter between the just-ins or could finish the season with an incredible boom, lifting their position into the top 10 of the field. It will be no less than extremely interesting starting Tuesday. As for Spring Grove, its road is a little less demanding, outside of a date with Cumberland Valley on Saturday. And heading over to South Western, the real winners over the past two weeks, they have three games left, one against class-leading Red Lion, and two others against Central York and Dallastown. The Lady Mustangs should be a safe bet for district play. Gettysburg just misses this year, unless they beatplay outrageous games against Carlisle, No. 2 Mechanicsburg and No. 5 Lower Dauphin.

Hanover gets taste of reality

more about “Eastern rolls past Delone“, posted with vodpod

In this video shot by York Daily Record’s Matt Goul, the Eastern York boys’ basketball team rolled past Delone Catholic 66-46. In the loss, Mark Staub and Brandon Noel both had eight points for the Squires.

CM– Hanover’s 48-35 loss to York Catholic on Friday was a crucial turning point this season.

Where are the Nighthawks exactly heading? Is their landmark campaign slipping away? Does the loss of Shea Staub undercut what this team has accomplished so far?

It’s a time for serious retrospection for head coach Nathan Myers and Co. The question might be: Can this team get back its swagger?

For sure, something will be answered heading into the team’s final five games, a stretch that will see Hanover play five straight sub-.500 teams in York Tech, Fairfield, York Country Day, Bermudian and Biglerville — all teams Hanover should beat.

Myers is the type of coach that keeps his thoughts in-house, yet there’s no question he’s anything but content with the way his team responded against York Catholic on Friday.

A win against the Irish could have proved a final statement in a season in which the Hawks finally shrugged past an opponent that regularly flattened them in previous years.

Even in Hanover’s very successful term last year (15-9), they still lost the Division IV battle and were left on the sorry end of an 0-2 series against the Irish.

And that was only part of a bigger problem. Hanover didn’t finish the second half of the season strong. It went 1-5 during one six-game stretch, falling to 11-8 before finishing on a three-game winning streak.

Myers, it would seem, doesn’t want the same history to repeat itself.

So Friday was a turning point. It was the biggest statement game in what could still turn out to be Hanover’s best campaign in over 15 years.

The question now becomes: Is Hanover going north or south?

Knights are truly golden standard: If I’m Jim Dooley, I’m not really worried after a loss to Eastern on Friday night.

The Golden Knights are 18-0. They have two NCAA Division I prospects in Austin Tillotson and Andrew Nicholas — both juniors.

They also have a guy in senior guard Nathan Bollinger who could either go on to play at a championship-level Division III school or a very good PSAC school. And let’s not forget Luke Barto, an unheralded and often lynchpin figure for this team. He grabs boards, hits shots and gets high praise for being the resident “tough guy big man” on a team with a melting pot of shifty guards.

One huge advantage for Delone is the fact they play in Division III. Some might say it’s unfortunate having to face two teams — Eastern and York Suburban — with superb resumes and talent.

A more rational coach like Jim Dooley would say it’s a blessing in disguise. In Eastern and Suburban, the Squires are facing two state-ranked teams who lead their district class (AAA), respectively, and who have a viable chance at claiming postseason hardware.

There’s no question. Playing those two teams twice a year means more good than harm.

Antonelli reaches 1,000 points for her career

CM — It came as little surprise to anyone inside the New Oxford gym Thursday night, but for senior forward Julia Antonelli, she had no idea.

No idea she was inching close to 1,000 points for her career in the fourth quarter of the Lady Colonials game against Dallastown, in which they won 63-54, snapping a three-game losing streak.

No idea that she had scored 21 points by the end of the third quarter and finished with 30, a season-high, for the game.

She scored her 23rd point of the contest early in the fourth quarter before it was stopped for a brief moment of recognition. She received a standing ovation and afterward, the game ball.

That cluelessness, doesn’t it make you appreciate her a little more? She knew the record was agonizingly close. Only, you had to see her play this game.

She had no idea where she was at in the grand scheme when it came time to top off the 1,000th point. She was playing out of her mind.

She had a singular goal, really.

She wasn’t worried about dropping a filthy amount of points or breaking into the elusive 1,000 point club. She was worried about the game. She was concerned about snapping the Lady Colonials out of the funk they were in, no doubt their worst of the season.

Antonelli is the kind of player that coaches dream of, mostly because of her talent, but also because of her attitude and swagger.

She’s confident and brash, yet doesn’t have a hint of arrogance. At certain times she slows the game down for New Oxford when it’s speeding out of control. She’s that floor leader, a general, the kind of player that seems to step up in the moment.

“I guess I feel like I have to be confident because I’m the leader out there,” she said. “I like that. They trust me with the ball and I like the ball in my hands.”

New Oxford head coach Brandon Horick holds respect for Antonelli on a number of levels and believed her hard work paid off.

“I guarantee it’s special for her,” Horick said. “I told her when I was out there that every one of these applauses she deserves. It feels good to see her get that. And she deserves that. She deserves the recognition that she gets.”

Through 16 games — she missed two due to injury — Antonelli is averaging 18 points per game. She’s 84-for-107 from the free throw line, which averages out to nearly 80 percent.

Thursday night she admitted she’s looking into college basketball. She isn’t certain where or for who she wants to play for, but she thinks she’ll be able to play in either Division II or Division III.

My pick? I think she should go to Kutztown University, who’s 13-5 overall and 4-1 in the PSAC. Then again, I’m biased. That’s my alma mater.