The YAIAA had a contingent of alumni that posted season-best marks on the Millersville University track and field teams during the Marauders' outdoor season.
York Suburban grad Derrick Bass, shown carrying the ball for the Trojan football team, had a terrific spring for the Millersville track and field team.
Finish reading 'Millersville track standouts' »Well another college year has come and gone, yet once again it is time to salute York College women's basketball coach Betsy Witman for the outstanding job she does on and off the court.
Witman's team closed the 2007-08 hoops campaign with a school record 19 wins, but the Spartans' accomplishments far from stop there.
For the fourth time in five years the York College women finished in the top 10 nationally academically -- an amazing and under-appreciated achievement.
(UPDATE: You can now read the Daily Record's version of this compelling story here.)
Zach McLain, a 2005 Dallastown High School graduate who was a two-time Daily Record/Sunday News all-star diver while competing for the Wildcats, is the subject of a lengthy new article on ESPN.com.
Normally, that would seem like a pretty sweet accolade for an athlete.
In McLain's case, however, it was a hellish -- and ultimately inspirational -- journey that led the national media to focus on his story.
McLain broke four vertebrae in his neck and suffered a huge gash in his head while diving at a swimming hole near his grandparents' cabin in Wellsboro, Tioga County, in July 2007. But, amazingly, just six months after the accident, McLain returned to competition for the U.S. Military Academy at West Point's diving team.
"It's a story of victory in the sense of an individual who was dealt a challenge of life," Army diving coach Ron Kontura told reporter Adam Rittenberg for the 1,600-word story.
McLain's tale was also told by The NCAA News in February.
Back in the end of May I got a chance to get caught up with a classy local athlete I had the privilege of getting to know fairly well during his senior year.
West York grad Tyler Real just completed his freshman year at Shippensburg University, where he was a member of the indoor and outdoor track and field teams.
Real was the 2007 YAIAA Division B boys' track Athlete of the Year after winning the District 3 championship and placing third in the state in the 110 hurdles as a senior at West York, where he was also was a standout on the football team.
The former Bulldog was on hand at the PIAA championships hosted by the university, where he was lending a hand in the starting blocks as shown in the photo.
This spring, a pair of YAIAA alumni completed standout seasons for the Shippensburg University baseball team.
Biglerville grad Ashton Taughinbaugh and Kody Kibler of New Oxford were became solid contributors on the Raider team that finished wiht a 39-26 record.
Taughinbaugh hit .337 in 33 games and drove in a respectable 21 runs. He also picked up seven walks and struck out just 10 times during his sophomore season.
Kibler made eight appearances on the mound as a freshman this season, including two starts. He posted a solid 3.46 earned run average and went 1-0. He struck out 10 batters in 13 innings and was a part of three combined shutouts.
Also on the Raiders was South Western grad Jesse Smith, a freshman who played in 13 games. Smith hit .133 (2-for-15) and drove in three runs. The former Mustang will likely see his average jump with more playing time.
Three former YAIAA players were a part of the Penn College baseball team that won the PSUAC championship in May.
Central York grad James Craft (catcher) and Hanover alum Doug Sponseller (pitcher-third base) were members of the squad that posted a combined fall-spring record of 31-13.
The main cog on the school from Williamsport was likely Mark Shaffer, a sophomore who graduated from South Western.
Shaffer went 11-1 as the team's top pitcher and threw a complete game in the 3-1 title game victory over Penn State Beaver on May 1.
Two YAIAA alumni recently completed their junior seasons of NCAA Division I softball at the prestigious Bucknell University.
Ashley Beans of Hanover and West York's Katie McDonald saw plenty of action for the Bison, who finished 23-29 on the season.
Bean started 48, mostly in center field and appeared in two other contests, hit .286 with 10 doubles, two triples and two home runs.
She led the team with 24 walks and stole five bases in six attempts. Her glove was superb too. She made just three errors in 80 chances.
York College had another solid school year on the field, but the Spartans really showed their prowess in the classroom during 2007-08 by placing 175 student-athletes on the Capital Athletic Conference all-academic list.
Student-athletes must earn a 3.20 grade-point average for the entire school year to be included.
For the third time in four years York led the CAC in number of berths on the all-academic squad and with 42.5 percent of its 412 athletes across 19 conference championship sports ranks the school second behind St. Mary's College, which posted an impressive 55.6 percentage of academic standouts.
Anyone who wants wonders how tough NCAA Division I athletics is can look no further than Liberty University, where former South Western softball standout Tiffani Smith just completed her freshman season.
The four-time YAIAA all-star, who is likely regarded as one of the best pitchers the league has ever seen, pitched in 31 games this spring for the Flames, including 20 starts.
For the full story, click here.
Maffett went 10-2 for the Eagles this year, striking out 127 hitters and only walking 29.
"I think it's an excellent choice," said Maffett's head coach, Dave Orwig. "I think it's a very strong academic school and the baseball program is (NCAA) Division I."
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