Ray Geesey Invitational returns with different location for 2023

One of the premier annual track and field events in York County is set to return Friday afternoon, with Dallastown hosting the Ray Geesey Invitational at York College. Thirteen teams from the York-Adams League will be among the 17 competing schools when action begins at 4 p.m.

The Wildcats’ stadium is part of a construction project this spring, forcing the team to spend all season competing on the road. Both the boys’ and girls’ squads have handled that adversity and posted 5-0 records in York-Adams Division I dual meets, with one more battle looming against Spring Grove next Tuesday.

Joining Dallastown in the field are Central York, South Western, Red Lion, Susquehannock, New Oxford, West York, York Suburban, Dover, Kennard-Dale, Hanover, Fairfield and York Tech from the YAIAA, as well as Central Dauphin, Donegal, Lampeter-Strasburg and Waynesboro.

Medals will be awarded to the top six finishers in each event. All track events will be timed finals except for the boys’ and girls’ 100 meters and 110/100m hurdles, which will hold trial heats to begin the afternoon. The tentative time schedule includes events from 4 to 9:20 p.m.; Dallastown will hold its senior night ceremony at 7:10.

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This spring has already featured several meets bringing together the league’s most competitive teams, from the Herb Schmidt Relays at York Suburban to the Pan Ram Invitational at Central Dauphin. Because of the quantity of local squads and the proximity to the league meet in mid-May, this one is as much of a postseason preview as any other.

Spring Grove, Northeastern, Eastern York and Littlestown will also be in action Friday at Millersville in the Cy Fritz Open. Susquehannock and Bermudian Springs are in the field for Saturday afternoon’s John Kambic Memorial Relays at Cedar Cliff.

COURT OF ORDER

The high school tennis regular season is already in the books, and the page has quickly turned to the postseason. York-Adams League boys’ tennis tournaments began Thursday afternoon and will continue through Saturday. 

Twenty-four boys in Class 2A are in a single-elimination bracket at Red Lion, while 32 boys began competition at South Western. Both tournaments held their first and second rounds Thursday, with the quarterfinals and semifinals set for Friday before championship and third-place matches at South Western on Saturday morning.

League doubles tournaments are slated for next Monday and Tuesday. As in singles, Class 3A will be at South Western for both days, while 2A will hold the first three rounds at Red Lion before the semis, finals and consolations Tuesday at South Western. 

The top three finishers in all of these tournaments will advance to districts at Hershey Racquet Club, where singles standouts will compete May 5-6 and doubles teams will follow May 12-13.

Four local teams will be in the field when the District 3 team tournament begins Wednesday. Dallastown and South Western are the No. 3 and 4 seeds, respectively, in Class 3A; the Wildcats (14-2) will host No. 6 Lampeter-Strasburg, while the Mustangs (15-1) will battle Manheim Township. In Class 2A, unbeaten No. 2-seed Biglerville will host No. 7 Hanover in a rematch from April 19, when the Canners won 3-2 to secure the division title.

Team semifinals will be held May 8 at the higher seed, with the finals set for May 10 at Hershey Racquet Club. Dallastown is the reigning District 3 Class 3A champion but is seeded behind unbeaten Cedar Crest — which beat the Wildcats 3-2 on March 21 — and Cumberland Valley.

AROUND THE LEAGUE

Rain in the York area forced some YAIAA baseball games to be halted or postponed Wednesday; some were played Thursday while others were moved further back. There’s more rain in the local forecast Friday and Saturday, although contests played elsewhere in the region may have more optimal conditions.

Some of the league’s last unbeaten teams have taken their first losses of the year in the past few days — Dallastown and Susquehannock in boys’ lacrosse, Dallastown baseball and South Western softball — but Littlestown’s softball squad has just kept rolling. The Thunderbolts improved to 14-0 (10-0 Division III) with Wednesday’s 10-0 handling of West York. They’ve got another test looming Friday, though, as Division IV leader Fairfield comes to town for a 4:15 p.m. first pitch.

Plenty of baseball teams have notable non-league games slated for Friday. Susquehannock, which has taken control of the York-Adams Division II race, is set to visit unbeaten Central Dauphin, the No. 1 team in the district’s Class 6A power rankings. Kennard-Dale will visit South Western for a non-divisional matchup, while Hanover hosts Boiling Springs in a matchup of potential Class 4A playoff teams.

York-Adams League contests in lacrosse and boys’ volleyball continue Thursday evening, headlined by Dallastown at Susquehannock in boys’ lacrosse and York Catholic at Northeastern in boys’ volleyball. In girls’ lacrosse, South Western hosts unbeaten Hershey to highlight Friday’s non-league slate.

Notable Saturday events include Central York boys’ lacrosse vs. State College; Susquehannock girls’ lacrosse vs. Twin Valley; Central York and York Suburban boys’ volleyball competing at State College’s tournament; and the Dallastown Invitational, another boys’ volleyball tournament with New Oxford among the teams in the field.