2010-11 YAIAA season in review: Part 1
We did something like this last year, and it turned out to be pretty popular. So why not try it again? I've tried to pick out 10 of the top games, moments and storylines from the 2010-11 YAIAA scholastic season. What follows here is Part 1 of that list. Think I missed something? Or just want your thoughts to be heard? Feel free to chime in using the comments section. Check out the jump for the first half of the list... 10. Local swimmers shine I don't make it out to the pool much. Swimming has become Steve Navaroli's specialty, and he always does a great job covering every angle of the local scene. As usual, there were plenty of swim story lines to emerge this winter. There were a handful of state medalists, including West York's Bradley Strathmeyer (third in 100 butterfly, sixth in 500 freestyle), Dallastown's Gerard Woody (fifth, 50 freestyle) and Red Lion's Morgan Pfaff (sixth in 200 medley, eighth 100 backstroke). Then there was the inspirational story of Red Lion's Jimmy Clark, who survived two bouts of cancer to return to the pool this year as a senior. Pretty inspiring stuff. 9. Dallastown soccer wins district crown Sometimes, the biggest goals can come from the unlikeliest of sources. For the Dallastown boys' soccer team, it's most important tally of the season came from a senior defender who hadn't scored since his sophomore year. Spencer Austin's 50-yard free kick in double-overtime of the District 3 Class AAA championship skipped into the net, giving the Wildcats a 1-0 victory over Central Dauphin and the program's first district title in 14 years. In general, it was a remarkable year for Dallastown sports. Its football team was perfect in the regular season. Its basketball teams each took steps forward. It's soccer, tennis, field hockey and swimming programs were all typically strong. It seemed that no matter the sport, Dallastown was always in contention for some sort of division or district title. 8. Three straight for Northeastern volleyball Their season ended in heartbreak in State College, with a wrenching five-game loss to Deer Lakes in the state semifinals. No defeat, however, could blot out the legacy of Northeastern's boys' volleyball seniors. That group collected three straight YAIAA tournament titles, three straight District 3-AA crowns and one state championship in three varsity seasons. The high point of this campaign was likely a resolute performance in the YAIAA tournament. The Bobcats beat Spring Grove in an incredible, five-game semifinal, then topped rival Central York -- the eventual Class AAA state champions -- later that night. "It doesn't take anything away from their legacy," Northeastern coach Matt Wilson said after his team's season-ending defeat. "They were one of the most dominant teams in the state of Pennsylvania, regardless of classification. That says a lot right there." It was another fine year for volleyball in the area. Both the Dover boys and girls advanced deep into states, as did the Spring Grove boys. And of course, there was the incredible run Central York made up in State College. More on that later. 7. Red Lion loses in District 3-AAAA football title game The game itself was not much. Red Lion got muscled all over the field, in what became a 35-7 loss to Cumberland Valley in the District 3-AAAA football championship. The fact the Lions were even playing in the game, however, was impressive enough. Red Lion became just the second YAIAA team to play for a quad-A district title, and the first since South Western made the championship in 2000. Despite the lopsided loss, it was a positive step for a league that has found limited success district-wise at the Class AAA and AAAA levels. "Honestly," Lions coach Pat Conrad said after the final had ended, "I don't know how many of (our players) truly believed we could get here." 6. Britton wins state shot put title About midway through the track and field season, it became obvious that Dallastown thrower Margo Britton would be a contender at the district and state levels. She obliterated her competition locally, and breezed to shot put and discus titles at the YAIAA meet. Even when the competition got better, the gold medals kept coming. Britton rolled to a District 3 title in the shot put, and returned to Shippensburg the next week to win the YAIAA's only gold medal at the PIAA Track and Field Championships. Her throw of 44 feet, 4 inches was enough to unseat the defending Class AAA state champion, Hempfield Area's Rachel Serafin. ******************* We'll have part two of our year in review up in a day or so...