The 2013 wrestling team had a season of lows and highs. Luckily the highs came at just the right time to earn the team a share of the Lancaster/Lebanon League Section 2 championship. The team last won the section championship in 2011 and last year lost the championship to Manheim Central by one point. Back to this year . . .the team was undefeated in league competitions when they traveled to Manheim Central on January 10 to face the Barons who had just come off a loss to Conestoga Valley. Through a very tough night of close bouts with lots of ups and downs, the Barons defeated the Spartans in the final bout of the night 34-31. All was not lost with that match though. In the final match of the season Garden Spot hosted Conestoga Valley will everything on the line. CV was undefeated and favored coming into the match and the Spartans needed an upset for a piece of the title. There was a packed house on hand for this match, probably the largest crowd to watch a wrestling match in the new GS gym. The match was very close with several upsets for both teams. With two matches to go, and not many points to be had in those matches, Michael Bressi, wrestling at 220 pounds looked like he was about to get pinned when he reversed his opponent on the edge of the matt right to his back, and fought to keep him in bounds long enough to get the pin. The crowd erupted as that was enough to secure the win for the Spartans. The final score of the match was GS 32 – CV 27. The team finished third out of 24 teams at the Lancaster/Lebanon League Championship, qualified for the PIAA District 3 Team Tournament where they lost in the first round to Chambersburg, and finished second out of 13 teams at the District 3 Sectional Championship advancing 6 wrestlers to the upcoming Distriict 3 Championship.
Month: February 2013
Nick Martin is L/L League Bowling Champion
Junior Nick Martin captured the Lancaster/Lebanon League Bowling Individual Championship on February 15. Nick bowled 11 games throughout the day against the best competition in the league. He had to make it through the first two rounds where all the bowlers in the league that qualified competed to get into the semi-finals. In the semi-finals he beat a Lancaster Mennonite bowler with a score of 257 to get to the finals where he met the best bowler from Elizabethtown. Nick won that game 237 – 193 to earn the championship. Nick’s best game of the day was a 288 he rolled during the qualifier. The championship was held at Rocky Springs Lanes this year which is known to have a challenging oil pattern on their lanes. Nick said his style worked well with the pattern and he only had to use one ball the whole day which helped with his consistency.
FFA Members Win Jackets
In the last several years, if you’ve ever been to the Pennsylvania Farm show during the day on a Monday you probably noticed a lot of blue and gold jackets. But do you know why? It’s because of the FFA Mid- Winter Convention. Besides those receiving their Keystone Degrees, there are also first year members receiving their own blue and gold FFA jackets. First year members had to do several things to earn their FFA jackets including writing an essay explaining what the Greenhand Degree is and how they plan to get it as well as interview a former FFA member and find out how FFA changed their lives. And thanks to the FFA Alumni Association, this year 304 FFA members statewide were able to receive jackets. They would go to the convention in official dress, except for the jacket that they would be receiving during the ceremony. Then all of the recipients would put on their jackets for the first time together. This year the Grassland FFA chapter had three members receive jackets.
From left to right: Elizabeth Mumma. Eliot Bollinger, Katelyn Martin
FFA Citrus Sale
If you have been to the ag wing in the middle of December, most likely you smelled the citrus before you saw it. The citrus sale in one of FFA’s biggest fundraisers. We order the fruit and get it delivered right form Florida. FFA members sell fruit to their neighbors, family and friends, as well as their teachers who are often supportive of the fundraiser. All the fruit is sorted to make sure that none is rotten. Students use the money earned from the fundraiser to help pay for out-of-class events that they chapter has.
Zachary Garey is L/L League Rifle Champion
The Garden Spot Rifle teams ended the regular season with an overall record of 8-4for a second place finish in the Lancaster/Lebanon League. On February 9th the team traveled to the Lancaster/Lebanon Rifle Individual Championship at the Mount Joy Sportsman’s Club where all of the teams brought their 6 best shooters for the season’s culminating event. The Spartans finished as top scoring team, with a combined 6 shooter score of 1172 to earn the Team Championship. Junior Zachery Garey shot a 198 4c (c= perfect center shots) earning him the Lancaster/Lebanon League Individual Championship. The last GS shooter to achieve that honor was in 2005. Garden Spot placed three shooters in the top 10. Placing 4th was senior Jalisa Zimmerman shooting a 197 3c, and sophomore Julia Irvin placed 5th shooting a 197 1c. The remaining GS shooters placed 13th, 20th, and 25th out of the total 48 shooters.