2019 in review: A look at the year's top sports accomplishments from the York area
State championships, baseball history and international swimming success.
The York area saw a lot across the sports spectrum in 2019.
This story would go on forever if we listed every local athlete who had a tremendous season. So we'll keep the focus on events and accomplishments that transcend what we usually see on the local scene.
Here's a look at some of the most memorable moments and accomplishments.
Delone Catholic girls stun the state with PIAA basketball title
Who saw this one coming?
Probably nobody.
Delone Catholic girls' basketball head coach Gerry Eckenrode has said it "came out of nowhere."
The Squirettes entered the state playoffs looking like a team that could win a game or two but probably nothing more. The team had a lot going for it — a good mix of youth and experience; size and shooting — but it didn't seem to be a dominant or transcendent group. Delone lost in the YAIAA quarterfinals and the District 3 Class 3A finals after all. After missing out on those trophies, how could the Squirettes win the biggest prize?
Well, that's why they play the games after all.
More: 'The glue' of a state championship team, Delone's Riley Vingsen learned from setbacks
More: Photos: Delone Catholic shocks Dunmore 49-43 to win PIAA championship
Delone took care of business against its first two opponents (Lewisburg, Penn Cambria) and then registered its first major upset with a nine-point win over WPIAL champion Neshannock in which the Squirettes erased an eight-point fourth quarter deficit with a 18-3 run.
A victory over Central Cambria set up a championship matchup with undefeated Dunmore, a powerhouse with multiple outstanding scorers and a Division I commit at center. Consider that the Bucks beat Trinity — the team that beat Delone in the district title game — by 26 points in its state semifinal.
Most people expected the Squirettes to just be happy to be there. Most people commended the team on its outstanding run. But most people assumed they didn't stand a chance.
The Squirettes thought differently.
Like he had throughout the postseason, Eckenrode instilled a belief in his players, and they rose to the moment. The championship game was a jaw-dropping affair in which the Squirettes led from start to finish. Delone held a 23-point lead in the second half before holding off a late rally for a 49-43 victory and the program's fourth state title.
All of this came despite losing an assistant coach and a senior player during the playoff run. From seniors Bradi Zumbrum and Riley Vingsen to junior Brooke Lawyer and freshmen Camryn Felix and Giana Hoddinott, the Squirettes got contributions across the roster.
And, really, the Squirettes provided the type of David vs. Goliath story that we don't see often in high school sports. Usually at this level, the favorite with the most talent ends up winning. That Delone Catholic team proved otherwise. And it won't be forgotten anytime soon.
Delone Catholic was the only YAIAA team to win a state title in 2019. The Red Land baseball team — which featured numerous players from the 2015 U.S. Champion Little League squad — won the PIAA Class 5A title with an 8-3 win over Lampeter-Strasburg.
The York Suburban boys' cross country team took second at the PIAA championships, but finished with the same amount of points (82) as first-place Lewisburg. The Trojans took second due to a tiebreaker.
YAIAA individuals claim state gold medals
Carson Bacha called winning a state title "his calling" before his senior golf season started.
Plenty of athletes list that as a goal. Most come short. That's just the law of averages.
Bacha, on the other hand, would accomplish his greatest goal. The Central York senior capped an incredible career with a state-record performance that gave him the Class 3A state title. Bacha shot 8-under par during the two-day tournament.
The Auburn commit was the first York County golfer to win a state title since 1984 and the first YAIAA competitor to claim one since 2013.
Related: York County golfer wins elusive state title with record-breaking effort
It came during a postseason in which he also set a District 3 tournament record by shooting 10-under par to win that title. But it also came a year after he finished a disappointing 12th at the state tournament, when a severe lack of sleep the night before due to traveling back from a tournament in South Carolina threw him off his game.
He channeled that as motivation and it paid off.
"This was the last thing I thought I had to win to check off all the boxes on my high school career," Bacha said at the time. "It's pretty awesome looking back to see how I developed from freshman to senior year and how my game evolved."
The only other YAIAA competitor to win an individual state title was Bermudian Springs' track and field athlete Kolt Byers, who won a Class 2A gold in the high jump with a leap of six feet, seven inches.
Northern York's Marlee Starliper continued her incredible running career with her third straight cross country state title. The North Carolina State commit also had a terrific track season and continues to excel on the national level.
Baseball history takes place in York
It will always be a fun trivia question for baseball fans.
"When and where did the first professional baseball game with robot umpires take place?"
Answer: July 10 in York, Pennsylvania.
At the Atlantic League All-Star Game at PeoplesBank Stadium, York Revolution pitcher Mitch Atkins threw a fastball and the umpire signaled strike. But the call was actually made by a computerized radar system.
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It was the first moment of a testing period for the new automated ball-and-strikes system that's part of a partnership between the Atlantic League and Major League Baseball to test equipment and rule changes.
In the Atlantic League's first game after the all-star contest, High Point Rockers pitching coach Frank Viola — a former CY Young winner, World Series MVP and three-time MLB all-star — was ejected for arguing a call made by the computer system with the home plate umpire during a game against the Revolution.
Time will tell if the system is adapted by Major League Baseball. Regardless, it will always be a story that began in York.
Spring Grove's Hali Flickinger finds success on world stage
Becoming an Olympian in 2016 was an enormous accomplishment for swimmer Hali Flickinger.
So was finishing seventh in the 200-butterfly at the Rio games.
But those feats look like just the first chapter in the Spring Grove grad's story.
Flickinger has spent the past two years establishing herself as one of the top swimmers at her events in the world.
This past July, she took silver in the 200-meter butterfly with a time of 2 minutes, 6.95 seconds at the FINA World Swimming Championships in Gwangju, South Korea. While a huge accomplishment, Flickinger can likely do even better. Her time in the final was actually slower than her times in the preliminary (2:05.96) and the semifinal (2:06.25).
More: One of the top programs in the country: York YMCA Swimming
More: Photos: Hali Flickinger swims at 2019 World Swimming Championships
She entered the World Championships with 2019's top time in the world in the women's 200-meter butterfly at 2:06.40, which she swam at the FINA Champions Swim Series in Indianapolis in July.
There's no doubt Flickinger has solidified herself as a contender for a medal in the 200 butterfly at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.
The 2020 Olympic Team trials for swimming are June 21 to June 28, 2020 in Omaha. A number of York County swimmers have qualified for the trials.
Local pitcher immediately dominates college softball
When Courtney Coppersmith was at Central York, it almost seemed unfair that other high school players had to try to hit against her.
That type of dominance almost never continues when a high school star joins the college ranks.
Well, Coppersmith was the exception.
In her freshman season at UMBC, Coppersmith immediately established herself as one of the best NCAA Division I pitches in the country while becoming UMBC's first All-American. Her statistics and list of accomplishments were so jaw-dropping for a first-year college player they still seem to defy logic.
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More: York County softball pitcher already dominating at the Division I level
In her 43 pitching appearances and 32 starts, Coppersmith went 21-14 and tossed 229.1 innings, 342 strikeouts, 29 complete games and 14 shutouts with a 1.62 ERA.
She tossed five no-hitters including a perfect game and racked up school and conference accolades on a weekly basis. She also got better as the season went along, going 4-0 with a 0.50 ERA during an America East Tournament title run that sent UMBC to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2002.
Coppersmith was named American East Conference Pitcher of the Year and UMBC's outstanding female Athlete of the Year.
Off the field, she won a Jackie Robinson Breaking Barriers essay contest for detailing her battle with depression throughout her freshman season.
Coppersmith wasn't the only York County native to earn All-American honors as a college freshman. West York grad and U.S. National Team gymnast Trinity Thomas earned All-America first-team honors for all-around, uneven bars and floor exercise, and second-team honors for the balance beam her first year at Florida.
Chance Marsteller caps career with All-American nod
The Kennard-Dale legend said throughout his senior season at Lock Haven that his goal was to win a national championship.
One slip during his final run at the NCAA championships prevented that from happening. But the four-time PIAA champ still left college with two All-American nods and his highest finish yet.
Marsteller finished third in the country at 165 pounds this past spring, a year after he finished fourth. He went 6-1 at the 2019 NCAA Championships in Pittsburgh with his only loss coming in the quarterfinals by pin to Wisconsin's Evan Wick.
More: Chance Marsteller's stunning rally earns third place at NCAA Championships
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He beat three of the four highest ranked wrestlers in the stacked weight class to take bronze. That included a rematch with fourth-ranked Wick in his final match, which Marsteller won 6-5. He also beat No. 1 seed Alex Marinelli of Iowa and No. 3 Josh Shields of Arizona State.
While he never won a national championship, Marsteller put together quite a college career after nearly losing it to off-the-mat problems a few years ago.
Marsteller returned to York County in January when Lock Haven wrestled Arizona State at Red Lion High School in the inaugural "Rumble in the Jungle" match.
While it won't be easy to accomplish, Marsteller has Olympic aspirations. In April, he took second at the Marine Corps U.S. Open Senior National Freestyle Championships in Las Vegas at 79 kg (174 pounds).
High school athletes reach new heights
Again, this would go on forever if we mentioned every standout season.
But there were plenty of athletes who enjoyed great success this year.
The local wrestling wrestling scene was particularly exciting.
Stewartstown's Tiffani Baublitz won a national championship at 152 pounds in women's freestyle wrestling at the prestigious Fargo tournament. Her Adams County counterpart, Gettysburg junior Montana DeLawder, also won a national title at 112 pounds.
At the high school level, Central York heavyweight Michael Wolfgram capped his remarkable career with a third straight District 3 Class 3A title, the third straight year he entered the PIAA tournament with an undefeated record. He took third at states. Adams County had its own remarkable wrestler in Biglerville 106-pound freshman Levi Haines, who went 40-1 with his only loss coming by 5-4 decision in the Class 2A state title match.
Let's see what a new year brings.