Author: Allan Pettit

For the first time in program history, the Kennard-Dale girls basketball program has won the Gretchen Wolf Swartz Sportsmanship Team Award. New Oxford’s boys program, which previously earned the award in 2017 and 2019, is being honored for a third time.

Kennard-Dale’s girls (5-7 in Div. II, 13-9 overall) won by a landslide, while New Oxford (8-4 in Div. II, 16-6 overall) prevailed in a closer vote over Dover, last year’s winning boys program, and Susquehannock, said Mike Heisler, president of the York Chapter, PIAA Basketball Officials.

According to Heisler, the winning programs are determined by a poll of Chapter members. At the conclusion of each regular season, the officials vote to recognize a boys and girls program after observing the season-long conduct of YAIAA players, fans, faculty, students, managers, coaches and cheerleaders from junior high to varsity. Both winning programs receive a traveling trophy in recognition of their accomplishments.

In May, members of the Gretchen Wolf Swartz Scholarship Fund Board will recognize some college-bound senior players from each team with scholarships. The Board has awarded $1.35 million in scholarships over 25 years. Those winners will be announced at a later date.

               Gretchen Wolf Swartz was a York County basketball official from 1981 to 1995. Following her untimely death from leukemia in 1997, her fellow officials created the memorial team awards and a scholarship fund to promote and honor the sportsmanship she so effectively displayed.

The Gretchen Wolf Swartz Scholarship Fund has awarded another $150,000 in scholarship dollars.

The York Catholic girls’ and Dover boys’ programs were recognized as the Gretchen Wolf Swartz Sportsmanship Team Award winners at the conclusion of this year’s YAIAA basketball season. As a result, senior players from each program became eligible to apply for scholarships. 

York Catholic scholarship winners are Katie Bullen and Mariah Shue, while Dover’s scholarship winners are Nathan Cooper, Evan Semple and Brayden Speelman.

Members of the Gretchen Wolf Swartz Scholarship Fund Board reviewed scholarship applications and interviewed the individuals before determining scholarship winners and award amounts. 

The awards are presented in memory of Gretchen Wolf Swartz, who was a York County basketball official from 1981 to 1995. Following her untimely death from leukemia in 1997, her fellow York County officials created the memorial team awards and scholarship fund to promote and honor the sportsmanship she displayed throughout her playing and officiating careers. 

At the conclusion of each season, York area basketball officials vote to honor a YAIAA boys’ and girls’ program for sportsmanship after observing the season-long conduct of players, fans, faculty, students, managers, coaches, superintendents, athletic directors and cheerleaders from junior high to varsity. Each winning school receives a traveling trophy in recognition of its accomplishments. This year’s winning schools will also receive a banner to hang in their gymnasium.

York Catholic’s winners learned about their awards Tuesday morning. Dover’s’ winners were announced Wednesday evening. The Fund has now awarded $1.35 million dollars in scholarships since awarding its first scholarships in 2001.

There’s more than one way to define “winning.” 

The Dover boys’ basketball team, which recently concluded an 0-22 season, is this year’s Gretchen Wolf Swartz Sportsmanship Team Award winner on the boys’ side. This marks the first time a Dover program has received the coveted sportsmanship honor, which has been awarded annually since 2001. Dover’s boys won by a landslide, leading all programs in both first- and second-place votes.

On the girls’ side, the York Catholic program (10-2 in the YAIAA, 16-7 overall) was recognized for a second time, having first won the team award in 2012.

The winning programs are determined by a poll of members of the York Chapter of PIAA Basketball Officials. At the conclusion of each regular season, the officials vote to recognize a boys’ and girls’ program after observing the season-long conduct of YAIAA players, fans, faculty, students, managers, coaches and cheerleaders from junior high to varsity. Both winning programs receive a traveling trophy in recognition of their accomplishments.

In May, members of the Gretchen Wolf Swartz Scholarship Board will recognize some college-bound senior players from each team with scholarships. The Board has awarded $1.2 million in scholarships over 24 years. The winners will be announced at a later date.

Gretchen Wolf Swartz was a York County basketball official from 1981 to 1995. Following her untimely death from leukemia in 1997, her fellow officials created the memorial team awards and a scholarship fund to promote and honor the sportsmanship she so effectively displayed.

The Gretchen Wolf Swartz Scholarship Fund has awarded another $150,000 in scholarship dollars.

The Susquehannock girls and Bermudian Springs boys were recognized as the Gretchen Wolf Swartz Sportsmanship Team Award winners at the conclusion of this year’s YAIAA basketball season. As a result, senior players from each program became eligible to apply for scholarships. The Fund Board divided the available scholarship dollars evenly among the two winning teams.

Susquehannock’s scholarship winners are Briley Jones and Georgiana Snyder, while the Bermudian Springs scholarship winners were Tyson Carpenter, Michael Diaz, Gabriel Kline, Austin Reinert, and Ethan Young.

The Susquehannock girls and Bermudian Springs boys were recognized as the Gretchen Wolf Swartz Sportsmanship Team Award winners at the conclusion of this year’s YAIAA basketball season. As a result, the senior players from each program became eligible to apply for scholarships. 

Members of the Gretchen Wolf Swartz Scholarship Fund board reviewed scholarship applications and interviewed applicants before determining scholarship winners and award amounts. 

The awards are presented in memory of Gretchen Wolf Swartz, who was a York County basketball official from 1981 to 1995. Following her untimely death from leukemia in 1997, her fellow York County officials created the memorial team awards and scholarship fund to promote and honor the sportsmanship she displayed throughout her playing and officiating careers. 

At the conclusion of each season, York area basketball officials vote to honor a YAIAA boys’ and girls’ program for sportsmanship after observing the season-long conduct of players, fans, faculty, students, managers, coaches, superintendents, ADs and cheerleaders from junior high to varsity. Each winning school receives a traveling trophy in recognition of its accomplishments.

Susquehannock’s Girls, Bermudian Springs’ Boys Earn Gretchen Wolf Swartz Sportsmanship Team Awards

Susquehannock’s girls and Bermudian Springs’ boys, the two YAIAA basketball programs most frequently honored for sportsmanship, are winners of the 2023-24 Gretchen Wolf Swartz Sportsmanship Team Awards.

In a vote of the members of the York Chapter of PIAA Basketball Officials, Susquehannock’s girls won for the ninth time in the scholarship award program’s 24-year history. The Bermudian boys’ program has now captured the award six times.

In May, members of the Gretchen Wolf Swartz Scholarship Foundation Board will award scholarships to some senior basketball players from each team.

Last year, the Gretchen Wolf Swartz Scholarship Foundation Board crossed the $1 million mark in awarded scholarships. Senior members of the Littlestown High School girls’ and Northeastern High School boys’ programs received a total of $135,000 in scholarship awards.

Gretchen Wolf Swartz was a York County basketball official from 1981 to 1995. Following her untimely death from leukemia in 1997, her fellow officials created the memorial team awards and scholarship fund to promote and honor the sportsmanship she so effectively displayed. 

At the conclusion of each regular season, the officials vote to recognize a boys’ and girls’ program after observing the season-long conduct of YAIAA players, fans, faculty, students, managers, coaches and cheerleaders from junior high to varsity. Both winning programs receive a traveling trophy in recognition of their accomplishments.

Bermudian’s boys, 14-8 overall (9-5 in YAIAA Division III), are coached by Jared Nace. Susquehannock’s girls, coached by Alex Fancher, are 10-12 (4-8 in YAIAA Division II).

Chase Kloster, Sam Walter and Larry Williams all received $27,000 scholarships after the Bobcats were honored for their sportsmanship.

Staff Report

The Gretchen Wolf Swartz Scholarship Fund awarded three scholarships worth $27,000 each to senior members of the Northeastern boys’ basketball team Tuesday night at the school’s annual awards presentation. With the presentations, the foundation has now awarded over $1 million in scholarships to York-Adams League boys’ and girls’ student athletes.

Chase Kloster, Samuel Walter and Larry Williams each received a Gretchen Wolf Swartz scholarship, bringing the total amount of scholarships awarded by the fund to $1,050,000 since its first two scholarships — each for $1,000 — were awarded in 2001. In the years since, a total of 109 students have been recognized for exhibiting valuable life traits such as honesty, integrity, cooperation, respect, courage, teamwork, and discipline.

Northeastern’s boys and Littlestown’s girls were recognized as the Gretchen Wolf Swartz Sportsmanship Team Award winners at the conclusion of this year’s York-Adams League basketball season. As a result, senior players from each program became eligible to apply for scholarships. Members of the Gretchen Wolf Swartz Scholarship Fund Board reviewed scholarship applications and interviewed applicants before determining scholarship winners and award amounts.

Littlestown girls’ seniors Rebecca Lanahan and Celi Portillo also earned $27,000 scholarships from the foundation.

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Kloster, Walter and Williams all played key roles for head coach Jon Eyster’s Bobcats this season. Northeastern went 8-14 overall and 4-8 in Division I with plenty of close calls along the way. Kloster led the team in scoring with 11 points per game, while both Walter and Williams were also regulars in the rotation.

The awards are presented in memory of Gretchen Wolf Swartz, who was a York County basketball official from 1981-95. Following her death from leukemia in 1997, her fellow York County officials created the memorial team awards and scholarship fund to promote and honor the sportsmanship she displayed throughout her playing and officiating careers.

At the conclusion of each York-Adams basketball season, York area officials vote to honor a boys’ and girls’ program for sportsmanship after observing the season-long conduct of players, fans, faculty, students, managers, coaches, superintendents, ADs and cheerleaders from junior high to varsity. Each winning school receives a traveling trophy in recognition of its accomplishments.

Rebecca Lanahan and Celi Portillo each earned $27,000 scholarships from the Gretchen Wolf Swartz Scholarship Foundation

Staff Report

The Gretchen Wolf Swartz Scholarship Foundation awarded a pair of $27,000 scholarships to senior members of the Littlestown girls’ basketball program last Thursday night at the school’s annual academic and athletic awards presentation.

Rebecca Lanahan and Celi Portillo each received a scholarship Thursday, bringing the total amount of scholarships awarded by the foundation to $969,000 since its first two scholarships — each for $1,000 — were awarded in 2001.

The Littlestown girls and Northeastern boys were recognized as the Gretchen Wolf Swartz Sportsmanship Team Award winners at the conclusion of this year’s York-Adams League basketball season. As a result, senior players from each program became eligible to apply for scholarships.

Members of the Gretchen Wolf Swartz Scholarship Fund board reviewed scholarship applications and interviewed applicants before determining scholarship winners and award amounts.

Littlestown struggled with participation numbers and finished 2-20 overall and 1-11 in York-Adams Division III this season, but players and coaches continued to keep spirits high throughout the winter. Portillo was one of the league’s top scorers, averaging 12.5 points per game, while Lanahan gave the Thunderbolts an important veteran presence through the season’s ups and downs.

The awards are presented in memory of Gretchen Wolf Swartz, who was a York County basketball official from 1981-95. Following her death from leukemia in 1997, her fellow York County officials created the memorial team awards and scholarship fund to promote and honor the sportsmanship she displayed throughout her playing and officiating careers.

After each York-Adams League basketball season, York area officials vote to honor a boys’ and girls’ program for sportsmanship after observing the season-long conduct of players, fans, faculty, students, managers, coaches, superintendents, ADs and cheerleaders from junior high to varsity. Each winning school receives a traveling trophy in recognition of its accomplishments.

Northeastern’s scholarship winners will be announced Tuesday, May 30.