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L-L Track Unsung Heroes


Covering an entire county, one loaded with track and field talent, at an event like the Lancaster-Lebanon League Championships is a challenging, tricky proposition.

And so it was again this year, particularly on Saturday, when Lebanon County competitors brought home five gold medals during the final day of the event at Hempfield High School.

As  a reporter, your story has got to be focused on the winners in a situation like this. It's a no-brainer, no further explanation required.

But unfortunately, because of that a lot of top-notch performances get buried at the bottom of the story or need to be found by digging through the results.

So, with that in mind, let's take a look back at some of the county's unsung heroes from Saturday at the L-L meet:

Destinee Holloman, Cedar Crest

She didn't win any gold, but the Falcon girls would have never managed a runner-up finish in the team standings without Holloman's efforts.

The senior sprinter/jumper was quite busy on Saturday, placing third in the 100 dash, fifth in the long jump and anchoring Cedar Crest's runner-up 400 relay team. In a league loaded with top-notch sprinters and jumpers, Holloman's work on Saturday was worthy of substantial recognition.

DeAsia Holloman, Cedar Crest

Yes, Saturday was a big day for the Holloman family, as Destinee's younger sister pitched in nicely for the Falcons as well, finishing a somewhat surprising fifth in the 100 hurdles and running the second leg on the 400 relay team.

Stanley Miller, Annville-Cleona

Lebanon County's fastest human, Miller more than held his own with the big boys in L-L sprinting, placing fourth in the 100 and 200, and 8th in the long jump. Big-time medal threat in AA at this weekend's District 3 meet at Shippensburg. Especially in the 100 dash, where he's the top seed.

Blake Thomson, Cedar Crest

Thomson was a workhorse for the Falcon boys, earning four medals while placing 6th in the 100, 5th in 200 and joining the 4 x 100 and 4 x 400 relay teams that took fourth and fifth, respectively.

Shayla Bonzelet, Cedar Crest

Bonzelet made her presence felt and then some in her L-L meet debut, like Thomson snaring four medals, in the 4 x 100 relay, 200, 400 and 4 x 400 relay. Look out for this kid the next three years.

Phil Hillesheim, Lebanon

He didn't depart Hempfield with any top 3 medals, but he did make a trio of trips to the medal stand, finishing seventh in the long jump and triple jump and eighth in the 400 dash for a Lebanon team that was led by gold medalists Derin Klick (800) and Juan Maldonado (triple jump).

Emily Peters, Cedar Crest

Peters got the Falcons big points on Saturday, placing fourth in the 800, anchoring the fifth place 4 x 800 relay, and running a leg on the seventh place 4 x 400 relay squad.

Alexis Thomas, Elco

A torn ACL cost Thomas her senior basketball season, but she bounced back to have a strong spring that was highlighted by a fourth place finish in the shot put on Saturday.

Grace Miller, Cedar Crest

Miller was overshadowed by the meet record Kristen Herr of Lampeter-Strasburg set in the javelin, but Miller was by far the best of the rest in the event, taking second with a throw of 124-1 that was 13 feet better than the next nearest competitor.

Kayla Long, Annville-Cleona, Dante DiAngelis, Northern Lebanon

Long and DiAngelis brought home the county's only pole vault medals, each placing seventh in their respective competitions. Long cleared 9-6 in the girls event, while DiAngelis' best vault was 10-9.