LebCo Male Athletes of the Week: Ben Stohler & Leo Tirado (Week Ending January 14, 2024)

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Ben Stohler

On January 13th, ELCO competed in the LVC Indoor Track & Field Invitational. At the end of the day, they left Annville with a lot with which they could be pleased. Among the best performances was that of senior Ben Stohler, who won the Long Jump with a leap of 19’9” and also took silver in the Triple Jump with a 38’8”. This outstanding mid-winter performance in the jumping pits earned him the respect of our readers, who selected him as a LebCo Male Athlete of the Week.

When Stohler saw an opportunity to join the Track & Field team as a way to work on his speed for his main passion, Soccer, he was drawn to the Sprints. After some convincing, he decided to try the jumps. He was immediately hooked. During the outdoor season, Stohler’s best measurement in the long jump was 19’5”. He also added triple jump to his events with only two meets remaining, just missing Leagues with a best of 40’10.5”. According to Coach Holly Hartman, the ELCO jumps coach, the way the season ended was a disappointment for Stohler because, as she recalled, “he knew he was only learning the event and needed another opportunity to ‘show his newly discovered talent.’”

Hartman talked about what last season meant for Stohler’s preparation coming into his senior year: “He got bit by the jumping bug and went to a summer meet to continue to work technique. Now, after a great soccer season, he is back at it and continues to focus on preparing for a spectacular senior spring season.”

Dedicated to putting in the work to get better, Stohler has shown that he is ready to take his skill to the next level. This is even while wearing sneakers during the indoor competition. By the end of the indoor season, he is hoping to break 20’ in the long jump and use the experience as a “springboard for the spring season” when he will be able to wear his spikes again every meet.

Though a dedicated athlete, Stohler is also known for having a friendly personality. Hartman described him by saying this: “Although Ben knows when he needs to work hard, he also loves to entertain our team. He is definitely a funny character and is loved by all of his teammates and coaches.”

When he’s not at practice, Stohler enjoys playing video games. His favorite game is NBA 2K, which, of course, comes with a level of competition.

Stohler also grew up in a household that understands athletic competition and what it takes to be the best version of yourself in competition. His father played Soccer for ELCO. Also, a great uncle of Stohler’s was a member of the 4x100m team from 1984 that still holds the ELCO school record.

After high school, Stohler would like to go to college and pursue a career in business. He’s not certain if his athletic career will extend beyond his time at ELCO.

While Stohler has time to decide if he wants to continue into the collegiate athletic realm, he is quite certain about what he wants to do by the time he competes in his last meet as an ELCO Raider.

We wish him the best of luck in making sure that the final meet is sometime in late May.

Leo Tirado

During the week of January 8th, the Cedar Crest Falcons went 3-0 and defeated Manheim Township, McCaskey, and Wilson. In the game against Township, Crest faced a 17-point deficit going into the 4th quarter before charging back to win it in double-overtime. In that exciting win, Leo Tirado Jr. scored 16 points, including four three-pointers. Over the course of the three games, the senior averaged 12 points per game and provided solid guard play that helped the Falcons achieve a perfect week. These collective performances caught the attention of the LebCoSports.com voters, as they selected Tirado as a LebCo Male Athlete of the Week.

While the scoring numbers are impressive, especially on a team that distributes the ball with great efficiency, the points are far from being everything that Tirado brings to the table. In addition to averaging double-digit points in those three games, he provided great perimeter shooting, totaling eight three-pointers. He averaged five rebounds, two assists, and three steals in the victories. Here is look at some of the game film that he posted from those performances: Tirado Highlights.

On the offensive end, Tirado has the ability to change the pace of the game with his speed and overall court awareness. However, he also takes a lot of pride in his work on the defensive end.

Coach Tommy Smith said of Tirado, “He is a very capable scorer but takes pride on the defensive end. The bigger the assignment on defense, the better Leo plays.” Because of that, Smith has usually given him the opposing team’s best guard to defend.

For Tirado, it’s all about doing whatever the team needs him to do. Smith spoke to Tirado’s overall skill: “Leo is a very skilled athlete that plays the best in the biggest games.”

Tirado and his Falcon teammates have in their sights the goal of playing in some of the big games. They entered the season with hopes of winning the Lancaster Lebanon Section 1 Championship, the Lancaster Lebanon League Championship, and challenging for the 6A District 3 Championship. Outside of a couple of hiccups, they are proving that they may be putting themselves in a position where they can do more than just hope it works out in their favor. Currently, the Falcons hold an overall record of 10-3 and are 5-0 in Section 1 through the first half of the league schedule.

Tirado is a three-sport athlete for Cedar Crest. In addition to being a sprinter and jumper on Coach Bare’s Track & Field team in the Spring, Tirado was also a key member of the Football team that qualified for Districts this past season. That team played with purpose as they worked to honor the memory of “Big Mike” Rivera, something Tirado and his teammates are still doing on the basketball court.

Regarding legacies, Tirado points out that his father, Leo Sr., was a star athlete for Cedar Crest in the nineties. While it is true that his father and uncle, Tony, were athletic standouts, it is something that Leo Jr. greets with playful skepticism. Tirado says of his father, “Every once in a while, someone brings up how good he was, but I still don’t believe it.”

In the future, Tirado hopes that people will tell his kids about him as well. Whether or not his children will have the same reaction is something that he might want to think about. However, as a high school senior, he will have some time before he can worry about that dilemma.

For now, Tirado is focused on continuing his solid effort on the hardwood. He is also currently weighing options for college, where he is looking to keep playing basketball. He would like to graduate with a degree in sports management/business.

Tirado and his teammates have a lot of basketball left to play this season. If all goes according to plan, many of those games are not yet on the schedule. We wish Tirado and the Falcons the best of luck in extending their season as long as possible.

Photo Credit: Rachelle Isgriggs

Read about this week’s Female Athletes of the Week: Qynne Demler

For a full list of this week’s nominees, check out: Athlete of the Week Voting: January 8 – January 14

Previous Winners

Micah Gray (Week of 12/4)

Elisha Slabach (Week of 12/4)

Aaron Seidel (Week of 12/11)

Ashton Kriss (Week of 12/18)

Daryan Rodriguez (Week of 12/18)

Riley Clinger (Week of 1/2)