Relive Eastern York, York Suburban District 3 basketball championships
The Golden Knights won the Class 4A boys’ title and the Trojans claimed the Class 5A girls’ title.
There was some shuffling of boys’ basketball head coaches this week.
Justin Seitz is back at Eastern York, and Seth Leonard is taking over the York High program. Both are alums of the programs they will be leading.
Seitz returns a year after resigning from the post he held for five years. In his absence, Troy Sowers led the Golden Knights to the District 3 Class 4A title.
Sowers, who led York High boys to three district titles and Spring Grove girls to one, resigned from Eastern York in April.
“I decided to retire from teaching at York High on Sept. 4, 2024 when I’m 55,” Sowers said Friday by text. “With my home being in West York [45 minutes from Eastern York] and not knowing what my new job/career would be during next season, I couldn’t commit to being available. It wouldn’t be fair to Eastern York and my players.”
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Like he said after leaving Spring Grove in 2022, Sowers was quick to point out he isn’t retiring from coaching. He said he wouldn’t hesitate to jump in if the right situation presents itself.
“I’ve made great relationships with my players this past year and will miss them. I wish them the best of luck with their new coach, Justin Seitz,” Sowers said. “I believe I will coach again sometime and somewhere that can fit into my new career and be closer at home.”
Seitz resigned after the 2022-23 season after leading the Knights to a 76-49 record with four winning seasons in the five years at his alma mater. Eastern made the district playoffs four times, the league tournament three times and the state playoffs twice under his coaching.
He was approved for the position at Thursday night’s school board meeting.
Seitz said the external issues that led to him resigning a year ago are no longer a problem.
“A lot has changed in the last year,” he said Friday. “I couldn’t see the team go through the rest of the summer league and into the fall without a coach. Now they can get in the gym.
Seitz said the relationships he’s built with the players over the years helped him sit back and enjoy last year’s district title run.
“I could be a dad,” he said, “and I didn’t have to worry about things.”
While three key players graduated from Eastern York’s district title team, the cupboard is not bare for Seitz. The Knights return Division I prospect 6-6 Carter Wamsley and Seitz’s son, Brady. Both are seniors with several seasons as starters under their belts.
Seitz said he and Brady discussed his possible return, and feel they are on the same page. They are eager to get started in this new direction.
Leonard back where it started
A stellar senior season at York High in 2004-05 earned Leonard a spot on the University of South Carolina Aiken basketball team. He stayed involved in the sport after graduation and joined Dallastown’s coaching staff for the 2019 season.
He was offered a chance to work under his college coach at a Division II school in Georgia, but didn’t want to uproot his family. A year later, he earned his first head coaching gig at Susquehannock a month before the 2022 season began.
Leonard led the Warriors to a 28-17 record and an appearance in the District 3 Class 5A tournament.
Now he is moving into Division I, the same division he coached in at Dallastown. And the division where the reigning state champions play.
Leonard was officially approved by the school board on Tuesday, a month after the same board members tabled his hiring. It wasn’t because the board didn’t want to follow the athletic department’s recommendation but because a lengthy public comment section repeatedly mentioned another applicant.
Commenters at the May meeting weren’t opposed to Leonard’s hiring, they just wanted to make sure fellow alum, and former Columbia coach, Kerry Glover was considered. Leonard was not immediately available for comment.
The job opened when Clovis Gallon, who led the Bearcats after Sowers’ resignation in 2016, took a new job in Mechanicsburg. Gallon led York High to a 116-81 record and five District 3 appearances in his tenure. They reached the state tournament three times and the league title game twice, winning in 2019.
Shelly Stallsmith covers York-Adams high school sports for GameTimePA and the USAToday Network. Connect with her by email mstallsmith@ydr.com or on X, formerly known as Twitter @ShelStallsmith.