Hoops review

By now you should know that I am a big sports fan. There are so many aspects of being the pastor of Grace Church that I love and one of them is being able to get caught up in the excitement of following our athletic programs here at Lititz Christian School. Right now we are smack dab in the middle of basketball season. If you have not yet been out to see our varsity squads play, I would certainly encourage you to do so.

Our girl’s varsity squad is simply outstanding. At the time of my writing this blog (keep in mind that blogs are usually written well in advance of the date they are posted on the web) our girls stand 9-2 on the season and 5-0 in the CCAC (Commonwealth Christian Athletic Conference), giving them sole possession of first place in the east bracket of the conference. Coach Rohrer’s squad is building to have a very good chance to join the girl’s volleyball team of LCS in winning the league championship this school year.

This squad is very solid with Joanna Bitner, a very fast and steady ball-handler, running the point. The big offensive weapon of the team is junior center, Angie Rapchinski, who is skilled both inside the lane and outside the perimeter. Angie was the quickest athlete to reach 1,000 points in the history of Lititz Christian School and the all-time school scoring record is well within reach in her upcoming senior year. The team has two solid seniors in Erika Bernheisel and Ashley Fox. Both are forwards who can play a very aggressive style of defense and still add to the point total on offense. Sophomore Jenny Kupstas is one of the most exciting players to watch on the court. There are few things I find more entertaining to watch in basketball than intensity and Jenny definitely shows that. The team also has some young talent in sophomore Tanya Enk and a trio of freshmen in Karlee Carper, Nina Gundrum, and Monica Plush. This provides a solid bench for coach Mike Rohrer and his assistant, Tracy Reffeor. After this successful season, the squad will only be losing their two seniors and should be a competitive force in the CCAC for several years to come.

The varsity boy’s squad is currently in a rebuilding mode under coach Andy Brightbill and is still looking for their first varsity win since the 2003-2004 season. Through the losses, this team is improving each game and is making their opponents work for the win. Rebuilding is a difficult time-period but this team has not let down in their positive attitudes and their commitment to work hard in practice and in games. The boy’s varsity team will only lose one senior next year in forward Eric Rohrbach. They will also be picking up six or more current 8th graders who will be freshmen next year. This will allow the program to have what most winning high school programs must have which are a junior varsity and a varsity squad. A couple of next year’s freshmen can also shoot from the outside which will fill a big need in the high school program next year.

Speaking of basketball, did you catch these recent scores? The Ohio State Women’s team beat Penn State 74-53 and the Ohio State Men’s basketball team demolished Penn State 104-69!! Combine the two scores and it’s Buckeyes 178, Nittany Lions 122!