Halfway through the 2025–26 season, Lancaster Mennonite leads the pack — but the race for the remaining spots in the standings stayed competitive through January. Here's where every school stands.
Remember when Manheim Township was sitting pretty at the top of the standings over the holiday break? Yeah. Lancaster Mennonite remembered too.
The [LM nickname — confirm and replace] came back from break on a mission, reeling off five straight wins to reclaim first place. After an early-season draw with Elizabethtown, LM has been about as close to unstoppable as this league gets. Hempfield has stayed steady in second, picking up a win over Manheim Township along the way but running into Lancaster Mennonite — which has been everyone's problem this January. The Blue Streaks, meanwhile, have slipped to third after that Hempfield loss knocked them off the pace they set in December.
The top three are starting to separate from the field. The board point gap between third and fourth is telling the real story — and there are only a handful of rounds left to close it.
Standings — January 15, 2026
| Place | School | W–L–D | Board Pts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Lancaster Mennonite | 5–0–1 | 21.5 |
| 2nd | Hempfield | 5–1–0 | 21.5 |
| 3rd | Manheim Township | 4–2–0 | 18.5 |
| 4th | Elizabethtown | 2–3–1 | 12.5 |
| 5th | Ephrata | 2–4–0 | 12.5 |
| 6th | Lancaster Country Day | 2–4–0 | 11 |
| 7th | Penn Manor | 0–6–0 | 7.5 |
Meanwhile, down in the cellar...
Lancaster Country Day and Penn Manor opened the second half against each other on January 6th — a match with all the energy of two teams who really, really needed a win. Both teams traded early punches: Country Day took board three, Penn Manor answered on board five. CD grabbed the lead with a win on board two. Penn Manor punched back on board one. And then — finally — board four delivered the decisive blow, and the Cougars walked away with a 3–2 win. Their first of the season. Their first of the new year. They'll take it.
Country Day has since gone 2–1 out of the break, which suggests the Cougars may have found something. Penn Manor is still searching for win number one, but the second half of the season isn't over yet.
What's at stake
The title race is effectively a three-team conversation at this point. Mennonite, Hempfield, and Township are separated by three match wins — close enough that a bad week changes everything, but far enough that the bottom four are realistically playing for pride and positioning.
A few things worth watching down the stretch: several teams have new board-one players after mid-season shake-ups. Only four varsity players across the entire league are still undefeated on the season. And Penn Manor is due. At some point, they're going to get that first win — the question is when and against whom.
February comes fast. The boards don't lie.