The 2013 State Games of America were held in the Hershey area August 1-43. Tryouts for the youth field hockey team for the Blue Mountain Region, which included Berks, Schuylkill, Lebanon and Lancaster Counties were held in May and June.
The Blue Mountain 1 team was comprised of the following girls: Amanda Beck from Donegal, Lauren Blackwood from Kutztown, Isabella Bressler from Schuylkill Valley, Jessica Davis of Oley, Emma DeBerdine from Penn Manor, Rachel Gantz of Hempfield, Peyton Halsey from Exeter, Briana Harsh of Penn Manor, Alivia Klopp from Tulpehocken, Eden Marco from Hempfield, Adrienne McGarrigle of Warwick, Nicole Shank from Palmyra, Olivyah Vanek of Kutztown, Katelyn Yoder of Hempfield, and Kiley Yorchak from Hempfield and coaches Brittany Troutman and Randi Boyd of Millersville University’s field hockey team.
The Youth Blue Mountain 1 team went 4-0 through pool play to earn a spot in the semifinal game. The girls scored 22 goals and recorded four shutouts. The team suffered a 1-0 loss in the semifinal game to the Pocono Region team.
This tough loss was followed by a 1-0 win against the Nittany Region for a bronze medal. The Blue Mountain Region had two other field hockey teams which received medals. The Scholastic (11th and 12th grades) age group received bronze medals and the Junior (9th and 10th Grades) group received silver medals.
