From roaring Friday night lights to a brisk Saturday morning cross country race, to field hockey and soccer championships, the Warriors have been recognized all over Pennsylvania for this year’s fall high school sports.
For the 2025 fall season, the Warriors, and they have shown that they are a top school in both academics and athletics in York-Adams county. The Warriors finished with one YAIAA Championship win, one YAIAA runner up and one District III runner up. The Warriors have also won a lot of accolades voted on by the coaches in York-Adams County.
Girls Soccer
The girls soccer team was one of the stand out teams at Susquehannock this year. They finished with an astonishing record of 18-5-1. In the YAIAA competitions, the girls made it all the way to the county championship, where they fell in a hard-fought loss to Southwestern. In the District III Tournament, they lost in the semifinals to Cocalico, but had a rebound win against Donegal to clinch their spot in the PIAA state tournament. They lost in the first round game to Radnor to end a long, but overall successful, season.
The Warriors finished the season with several accolades. The Warriors’s head coach, Kelsey McCullough, won coach of the year, senior Niamh Fanning won player of the year, and seniors Emily Walker and Hayden Murdock got first team honors, as well as junior Aaisha Ndiaye and senior Julia Saidel gaining second team honors.
Senior athlete of the year Niamh Fanning feels very honored to receive her award and feels that her success came from the support given by those around her..
“I’m so grateful to be named Athlete of the Year,” Fanning said. “There lots of great girls in our division that are also very deserving of it…. Every girl on the team pushed me. Every single girl in the county pushed me, whether it was in a close game or maybe [a] not so close game. I believe I grew every game to get me where I was at the end of the season.”
Girls Volleyball
The Susquehannock volleyball team is working back to the state championships in the 90s. They finished their season with a strong 11-6 record. They made it to the YAIAA championship tournament where they lost in the first round to a strong Spring Grove team. It was enough for them to get a spot in the District III tournament, where they lost in the first round to James Buchannon.
The girls did end up with all-county accolades and one district all-star. Senior Ari Pecunes gained first team honors with senior Mackenzie Turk, senior Lilly Morton, junior Olivia Fried and junior Danica Krebs gainining second team honors. Pecunes was also named as one of the District III all stars.
Pecunes was most proud of their annual ‘Dig Pink’ game where they raise funds to fight breast cancer.
“I was happiest with the team when we played York Suburban, our Dig Pink game,” Pecunes said. “We took them to 5 and lost 15 to 12 but that was our biggest accomplishment, and we’re all super proud of how we played that night.”
Cross Country
The cross country team just missed the mark to make it to states as a team, but junior Madison Wirtz was able to make it by herself. The boys finished sixth in the county and fifth in the District III AA division. The girls finished ninth in the county and seventh in District III AA.
Leading the boys, junior Logan Trimble made the YAIAA first team all star list, while Wirtz was listed as an honorable mention for the girls all star team.
Trimble supported his teammates and encouraged them during the race ,an important part of the sport according to him.
“I make sure to cheer everyone on, especially once I’m done running, even if I’m still hurting, I’ll try to cheer everyone on,” Trimble said. “I think that’s a big motivator is just being able to see teammates that you know and practice with every day cheering you on. Also, during the girls race, I try to make it to a couple different places and wait for all of the girls and cheer for them.”
Football
The football team had a very hot start to the season, winning their first two games, but the rest of the season did not go how most expected. The Warriors finished the season 2-8, missing the playoffs.
Some of the football team’s players also received accolades. Senior Trevor Odegaard made first team, senior Donovin Jordan-Brown and sophomores Dylan Lagore and Ian Bailey made second team, and senior Ryan Simons and junior Nikolai Graham were awarded honorable mentions.
Odegaard talked about how a Susquehannock football alum, Michael Fox, has made a big impact throughout his time working with the football team.
“I would say a big role model for me, as running back, [was] Michael Fox throughout the year,” Odegaard said. “He was just a great running back. I think I learned from him as well.”
Boys Soccer
The boys soccer team finished with one of their best seasons of all time. They ended the season with a 19-3-2 record, a statement to show what the Warriors might look like in the future. The Warriors fell short to Northeastern in the semifinals of the YAIAA tournament, but it was enough to get them into the District III tournament. In districts, they went on a run all the way to the championship for the first time in history. In the district championship, the Warriors dropped a hard fought game to Conrad Weiser. In the first state game, they were eliminated in the first round by Harriton.
The Warriors also had accolades to show for the strong season. Coach Brett Maxwell was honored as coach of the year. Junior Ablov Bangura, Seniors Ryan Beckett, and Brady Derkosh were first team honors. Juniors Kyle McCarty and Conner Eckert were on the second team, and the honorable mentions were Jaden Beckett and Luke Wilson.
Senior Brady Derkosh knew he and the team were prepared for high stakes games the night before.
“I feel like preparing starts the practice before,” Derkosh said. “If we have a good practice, we know we’re going to play well. If we have a not so great practice, the game doesn’t usually go as well.”
Field Hockey
The field hockey team finished the season with a 20-2 record with an undefeated regular season. That undefeated season led them to the YAIAA county playoffs, where they made a run all the way to the championship. In the championship game, the Warriors took down Dallastown to become the YAIAA champions for the second year in a row. In the District III tournament, they lost to Hershey in overtime, leading to elimination in the quarter finals. They proceeded to not give up and won their two consolation games against Lampeter-Strasburg and Red Land to place fifth in the district. In the state tournament, they lost to Kennett to end a historical season for the Warriors.
The field hockey team received a large amount of accolades; the entire starting lineup was voted for an all-star position. Senior Cara Zapach won offensive player of the year and team captain senior Danelle Lavery won defensive player of the year. Coach Jason Mulder also was awarded coach of the year. The first team honors were given to junior Carli Kernan, junior Keirstan Holloway, senior Brooke Schabdach, junior Addison Vickers, junior Ella Wetzal and junior Joey Wilt. The Warriors on the second team were sophomores Maddie Dempsey, Piper Marzullo, and Addison Weeks.
Lavery, who is committed to play field hockey at Liberty University, felt the team’s biggest moment was when they won the first round of districts.
“Winning our first round of districts was huge for us.” Lavery said. “ That’s something I haven’t done any other year here. And the game was definitely intense. We went into overtime in the last 16 seconds with a goal from. Just that moment, our team was just, like, the energy was ecstatic. We were down 1-0 the whole game. And just coming back was something so big for us. And then winning that game just means everything to us.”
Girls Tennis
The girls tennis team just finished up a hard-fought season and ended with a championship win to show for it. They finished the season with a 12-2 record and won the Division II championship. The duo of junior and senior Mackenzie Hodge made a run all the way to the doubles county championship, but fell to Northeastern, though that wasn’t the end for Antkowiak. In the singles tournament, she won the YAIAA title, only dropping one point the entire tournament. She would end up falling to Jade Flores of Conestoga Valley in the first round of the district tournament.
Antkowiak aims to guide the team to success.
“My role is to help lead and prepare the girls for the next match and the next season,” Antkowiak said. “I also help motivate them and teach them what’s right and wrong and how to play.”
