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Notebook: Elliot Diehl, York Suburban take momentum to YAIAA tennis tourney


York Suburban's busy week began with a YAIAA Division II tennis title on Tuesday and continues Friday with the league singles tournament.

This time of year has been kind to the Trojans, who won their first team championship since 2012 and now send their top two players on a mission to replicate last season's postseason success. Elliot Diehl is the defending YAIAA Class AA singles champion. He beat teammate Michael Peck in last year's final before the duo went on to claim a doubles crown.

They will first enter a 32-player field that begins Friday at Red Lion. The league's Class AAA tournament also starts Friday, but at South Western with Dallastown's John Schmitt and Red Lion's Sam Innerst — last year's finalists — as the top two seeds.

Related: Complete list of the pairings for the YAIAA tennis tournament

Both league tournaments have a similar look toward the top, and Diehl brings a shortened backswing into his title defense.

"You would think taking your racquet back farther, you'll hit harder," Diehl said, "but using your legs and footwork is more important."

His father, Craig Diehl, addressed this by having him take swings with his back close to a brick wall or fence — whatever the Diehls could use at home or a tennis court. If Elliot tried to uncork a deeper windup, his racquet clashed with the brick or fence before the execution.

"It was a transition for him," coach Mark O'Reilly said. "You would think for a fairly accomplished player, it would come easily."

It does now. If the singles tournaments hold to form, Diehl and the other top seeds will be at South Western on Monday for the finals. The following two days next week bring the league doubles tournament, where O'Reilly thinks Diehl and Peck thrive.

"Call it chemistry or whatever, but I think they both just settle down together," O'Reilly said.

Diehl doesn't disagree.

"With singles, all the pressure's on you," he said. "Sometimes that can get to a player, but Michael and I keep each other in line."

However, Diehl cautioned "it's fair game" if they meet again in the singles final.

Records fall

West York senior Andrew Moyer is busy dismantling some of his school's track and field records. After breaking the school pole vault record three times, he set a new West York triple jump mark of 43 feet, 7 3/4 inches Tuesday in his first time trying the event.

"It was amazing. He is quite the athlete but in a way looked like a he had triple jumped forever," said Susquehannock coach Steve Stough, whose squad opposed West York that day.

Moyer's leap still finished second to Susquehannock's Tyler Buckley, a senior who jumped 43-11 3/4. If you're wondering, Buckley broke the Susquehannock school record April 14 with a 44-6 1/2 jump against Eastern York. Buckley broke a 30-year-old mark set by Rich Graziul.

With Gettysburg and its pair of standout triple jumpers, Kobe Wansel and Rayvaughn Dillard, now in the YAIAA, the league is loaded for the event. Last year's league champion, Deshaun Horton of William Penn, also is back.

"We have so many vastly superior triple jumpers in this league right now, it's crazy," Stough said.

A number of school track and field records fell last week, mostly on Saturday at Shippensburg's Jack Roddick Invitational. Here are some of them:

• Senior Amari Johnson, who hasn't run the last few years, broke Dallastown's 400-meter girls' record Saturday in Shippensburg. She clocked a time of 58.51.

• York Suburban freshman Grace Tyson set a new girls' pole vault record with a height of 10-3.

• Kennard-Dale junior Maddie Ferner broke two distance records, eclipsing the 1,600 mark Saturday at Shippensburg and the 3,200 Tuesday in a dual meet. Both former records belonged to Ferner's cross country coach, Karen (Streett) Graham.

Coincidentally, Ferner started running for Graham last fall during the Rams' league, district and state jaunts, along with senior Kayla White and junior Caitlin Salomon. The fall trio are competing this spring with Ferner.

"I think it got all of them excited for track," coach Kevin Christman said. "We try to get all of our kids, if they're not doing anything in the fall, out for cross country. It gets them ready for the indoor season and then outdoor."

Ferner's new record times are 5 minutes, 11.41 seconds in the 1,600 and 11:21.1 in the 3,200. Christman said he expects more records to fall around the area with rising temperatures.

Back in black

Anyone attending Tuesday night's Eastern York at Northeastern boys' volleyball game is encouraged to wear black in support of Bobcats junior Marcus Josey, who was diagnosed two weeks ago with acute lymphocytic leukemia. Josey played football and basketball at the school and is friends with numerous members of the boys' volleyball team.

Early State College trip

Speaking of Northeastern, the Bobcats are among a number of boys' volleyball teams headed to State College on Saturday for its annual tournament. The State College Invitational features 16 teams, including Northeastern, Central York and York Suburban.

The tournament is significant because it represents an area where all Pennsylvania programs hope to be by season's end: Penn State for the PIAA championships.

This regular-season tournament comes a week after Central's Koller Classic and will include state powers, such as Ambridge and Pennridge.

Next weekend, Dallastown hosts its own tournament that will include 10 local teams.

Contact Matt Goul at 771-2045.