As the wins mount for the boys' basketball team, their season becomes more and more impressive. The Barons used victories over Garden Spot and Ephrata to improve to 16-3 overall and 9-1 in Section Two play. Those marks include four straight wins as well as victories in 11 of their last 12 games. All of that has Central perched atop not only the Section Two standings but also the District 3-5A rankings as the season's finish line draws near.

Manheim Central used a strong close in both halves to blow by Spot, 61-44, on the 26th. That included a 15-8 spurt through the second quarter, making it a 30-22 game at the break and a 17-5 game sealing run to the whistle. The Spartans did wrestle control for the third frame, trimming Central's lead down to five before the game sealing run. Trey Grube netted 21 to lead the charge.

Against Ephrata on the 31st, Manheim started slowly with a 9-8 edge after eight minutes of action. Back-to-back quarters of matching 15-13 scores stretched that lead to five-points heading into the fourth quarter. Once again, the Baron used a strong finish to seal the game, posting a 24-17 edge over the Mountaineers in the fourth for the 63-51 final. Grube finished with 11 points while Sam Witmer led the way with 16. Jackson Tracy added 12 points and Aaron Enterline another 10.

WRESTLING

As the light dims on the wrestling regular season the Barons kicked off their postseason with a trip to Manheim Township for the Lancaster-Lebanon League Championships on January 27th and 28th. Central collected 161.5 team points, putting the Barons third and just 10.5 points out of the top spot.

"They believed they could win it," said head coach Robert Eno. "They saw the opportunity and they put themselves in a position to do it with nine on the podium."

Brett Barbush fronted the group, going 4-0 in the 160-pound bracket, earning the senior a gold medal while also collecting his 100th career victory. Braxton Keiffer just missed joining Keiffer as a gold medalist, dropping only his final bout in the 114-pound bracket to snag silver.

Two of the nine medalists finished as "champions of the consolation bracket" earning Barrett Keiffer (127) and Rocco Daugherty (1859) bronze medals. Brodie Daugherty collected a fourth-place medal after dropping his consolation championship bout at 172.

The remaining four Barons all ended up seventh in their respective weight classes. Blake Fasnacht earned his medal at 107, Code Hess at 133, Logan Forrest at 152 with Noah Templin rounding out the group with a 215-pound medal.

Manheim's post season journey continued on January 31st with a trip to Wilson High School to face the Bulldogs in the opening round of the District 3-3A Team Championship. In that trip, however, Central absorbed a 59-12 loss, bouncing the Barons from the team competition. Barbush (160) and Rocco Daugherty (189) were the lone victors for Manheim, each posting a pinfall.

SWIMMING

The girls' swim team tasted victory for the first time this season, topping Conestoga Valley 57-49 on January 26th. The Lady Barons claimed two of the three relay races, kicking the meet off with a 200-medley relay win and finishing things with a win in the 400-freestyle relay. Gabrielle Fittery and Ashley Mellinger led the way with two solo wins each. Mellinger claimed the 200 IM and 100-breaststroke with Fittery taking the 100- and 200-free. Chloe Enck (50-free) and Samara Bucher (100-backstoroke) collected the final two wins.

The Lady Barons were on the other side of their January 31st meet with Cocalico, falling by a 115-37 final. Mellinger was the lone swimmer to claim an event, doing so twice, with wins in the 100-butterfly and 200 IM.

On the boys' side, Manheim found themselves on the wrong end of both finals, falling to Conestoga Valley 87-68 and to Cocalico 89-61. The Barons had three solo wins against CV with one each going to Avery Kirchner (200-free), Chase Kirchner (100-butterfly) and Ryan Moreno (100-free) to go along with a win by the 200-freestyle relay.

Another four wins came against Cocalico but all were solo events with Bryce Garber (50-free and 100-breaststroke) snagging two of them. Anderson Pilsner (500-free) and Bryce Steach (100-butterfly) accounted for the remaining two wins.

BOWLING

The bowling team inched closer to the end of their regular season, splitting matches with Lampeter-Strasburg and ELCO for a 60-38 overall record. Manheim missed an opportunity to close in on the Section Three leading Pioneers, falling by a 5-2 final instead. Ethan Howard slipped by the 600-pin barrier with his team high 603 series. Jesse Hurst (572) and Landen Statts (567) finished five pins apart while Asher Harris posted a 522 series. Hailey Kowalski finished up the scorers with a 513 series.

Manheim rebounded with a 7-0 win over ELCO on the 30th. Statts moved to the top of the team with his 617 series while Kowalski (566) and Hurst (555) finished close to each other with Ethan Howard settling for a 505. Aston Fritz stepped in to the five hole and bowled a 434.

RIFLE

The rifle team remained in a first-place tie with Manheim Township thanks to wins over Wilson and Conestoga Valley. Central had little trouble getting by Wilson on the 26th, posting a 496-484 victory. Nate Sauder and Aubrey Meyers each enjoyed perfect matches. Kyler Groff and Andrew Waddington finished one off that pace while Genna Eberly finished two off that pace.

Things were a bit closer in Manheim's 496-494 win over CV on the 31st. Eberly was the lone perfect shooter but the rest of the Baron's scoring five all finished with a 99 to secure the win. Waddington and Sauder were joined by Alexa Hoffman and Natalia Winkler to form that quartet.

GIRLS' BASKETBALL

The Lady Baron basketball team moved closer to securing a berth in the upcoming L-L tournament with wins over Garden Spot and Ephrata keeping Manheim alone in first place with a pristine 10-0 Section Two record. Meanwhile the Lady Baron's 16-3 overall mark slots them fourth in the most recent District 3-5A rankings.

Central had no trouble with Garden Spot on the 26th, cruising to a 61-17 victory. Maddie Knier outscored the Lady Spartans by herself and nearly doubled their point total with her game high 30 points. Despite the 44-point final margin the game started normally with Manheim holding just a 12-7 lead after the opening frame. Things got crazy from there with the Lady Barons posting a 13-point edge in the second and a 15-point edge in the third before closing out the game with a 12-1 final frame.

Things were a lot closer when Ephrata came to town on the 31st. So much so that Manheim needed overtime to secure the 53-49 victory. Central opened strong and held an 18-13 edge after one but the Lady Mountaineers posted a 19-9 frame heading into the break for a 32-27 lead. The Lady Barons started digging out of that second quarter hole with a 12-8 third quarter run and finished with a slim 7-6 advantage in the fourth. That made it a 46-46 game and sent the team into an extra session. Manheim claimed the extra frame, 7-3, to secure the 53-49 win. Knier netted 25 in the win while Kaylie Kroll finished with 14-points.