Page 34 - PIAA District III 2022 Girls Basketball Championship Program

50 Years of Girls Championships

March 13, 2022 marks the 50th anniversary of the first ever District 3 championship for any girls sport as Garden Spot beat Carlisle
in a battle of unbeaten teams. The following year, the District sponsored its first girls championships in field hockey, tennis and
swimming. With the addition of competitive spirit in 2010-11, District 3 currently offers championships in 13 girls sports.

Years of Total Championships Most Championships (entering
Sport First-year Competition Offered 2021-22 school year)
Field Hockey 1972-73 50th 94 Lower Dauphin - 14
Tennis 1972-73 50th 73 Wyomissing - 20*
Basketball 1971-72 51st 174 Lebanon Catholic - 20
Swimming & Diving 1972-73 50th 76 Wilson - 22
Golf 1974-75 48th 56 Wilson - 6 individual champions
Softball 1974-75 47th 128 Chambersburg - 13
Volleyball 1974-75 48th 114 Delone Catholic & Hempfield - 13
Cross County 1975-76 47th 99 Chambersburg - 12
Track & Field 1978-79 43rd 86 Milton Hershey - 106*
Soccer 1989-90 33rd 63 Cumberland Valley - 16
Lacrosse 2008-09 12th 14 Manheim Township - 9
Bowling 2009-10 13th 12 Elizabethtown - 3*
Competitve Spirit 2010-11 12th 43 Cumberland Valley -11

* individual champions

Lancaster Intelligencer, March 13, 1972. 1971-72 Garden Spot Spartans Lancaster Intelligencer, March 14, 1972.
Go Garden Spot, Coach Barbara McLaughlin’s Garden Spot Spar- Garden Spot First
Beat Carlisle tans captured the first ever District III champion-
ship in any girls sports, downing Carlisle in the
By Al Benshoff, Sports Editor title game at the Harrisburg Farm Show Arena. Champions
The excerpts from Lancaster Intelligencer Sports By Al Benshoff, Sports Editor
TONIGHT, a TEAM FROM Garden Editor Al Benshoff’s coverage provide a feel for
Spot High School will try to win a District HARRISBURG—Garden Spot
Three basketball championship. Teams how the game was received by the local media. High School girls became Lancaster
have been winning District Three titles for County’s first basketball champion of
many years. But this one is different. The all of District Three Monday night at
Garden Spot team is made up of girls. the Farm Show Arena, beating Car-
This year, for the first time, the District lisle 36-28 in the finals of the District
Three Committee set up a girls tournament. Three Girls Tournament.
Some people were opposed to this idea. I Lancaster County boys have won
can imagine what place girls athletics have Class C and Class B titles, the most
in those schools. But, under no pressure recent a 1969 Class B crown for Don-
from women’s libs groups or anything like egal, but it has never won a Class A
that, the District Committee simply championship and the Class A champ
acknowledged that girls sports in high has to be considered the champion of
school had reached the place where district the entire district.
playoffs were right and normal. Sharon Howett, only a sophomore,
The district p!ayoff system has been one was the star of the game for the Spar-
of constant expansion over the years as tans but it was an Iron-Five that won
more and more sports fell under its um- the game. The Carlisle coach had
brella. This year, in District Three the girls Front Row: Colleen Foreman (Manager), Deb Brubaker bragged about her team’s condition,
made it in basketball and also in gymnas- (Captain), Bobbi Bensinger (Captain), Bonnie Klinger (Captain), but Barbara McLaughlin, the Garden
tics where the boys also were included for Wendy Jones (Manager) Back Row: Jo-Ann Weber, Rachel Spot coach, went with the same five
the first time. District Three schools are Miller, Sharon Groff, Sharon Howett, Miss Barbara McLaughlin players for the full 32 minutes.
fortunate to have a committee that is alert (Coach), Donna Piersol, Betty Youndt, Doris Good, Didi Yun- McLaughlin noted, “Those five
to the growing sports programs in the inger. Photo courtesy of Garden Spot High School. girls played all 32 minutes and they
member schools, a committee that reacts to could have played 32 more.”
this. Most Lancaster County schools have a The real story, though, was Ho-
full and varied athletic program for girls wett, McLaughlin admitted. “She’s
and now, in basketball, they get to show off tremendous, and I’ve got her two
their ability like the boys more years.” She really dominated
All of Lancaster County should be proud the game in all facets of play, finish-
of Garden Spot’s achievements so far and ing with 14 points, 25 rebounds and
wishing the Spartan Girls more success in six blocked shots. She also showed a
the finals tonight against Carlisle If Garden great ability to feed an open team-
Spot supports its girls anything like it sup- mate for an easy shot. And her older
ports is soccer team, there should be plenty teammates showed no reluctance to
of Spartan fans on hand for the 7 p.m. tip- give the ball to the young sophomore.
off at the Farm Show Arena in Harrisburg.
Intelligencer photo by Richard Reinhold
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