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Scott Hoffman had no idea if the Warrior Run girls were going to be ready for the District 4 track and field championships. The longtime coach of the Defenders wasn't allowed to take his team to any invitationals.
Heck, Warrior Run didn't even allow its teams to compete in tri-meets this year. So the only competition Hoffman's team really had when it ran was itself.
And while Warrior Run's corps of distance runners is as good as any in District 4, and as deep as any in the state, he wasn't sure the competition they got throughout the season truly prepared them for a big-meet atmosphere. But his girls assured him over the two days of the District 4 meet this past weekend the preparation was plenty good enough.
The Defenders took second place in the 3,200 relay on Thursday night. Alyssa Hoffman opened competition Saturday with a win in the 3,200. And Lauren Trapani captured gold in the 1,600.
"We just didn't know," Hoffman said. "The kids who are seniors were sophomores the last time we ran in this meet. Sure, they got to race each other, but they're doing it every single day in practice. We needed competition. And Thursday night was the first time we really got to test ourselves."
It's not as if Hoffman didn't know if this group was talented or not. This is the same group of girls who won the team title at the state cross country championships in the fall. This is largely the same group of girls who came into his cross country and track programs as freshmen and made an immediate impact on the district and the state.
Trapani is a four-time district cross country champion. She was the state runner-up in the 3,200 in 2019, the last time there was a state track meet. The talent has been abundant over the last four years. But so many other factors have worked against the Warriors.
The cancellation of the 2020 spring season forced the girls to find ways to work out on their own because Hoffman wasn't allowed to organize any team training. Construction of a new football stadium and all-weather track took the Defenders' home track away from them. Thankfully, Hughesville opened its doors to the Warrior Run this spring to share a facility for practice.
But through all of it, Warrior Run has still been successful, as it showed over the weekend.
"It's one thing to accomplish something, but it's more fulfilling when you have a group of girls who are putting in the work for the good of the group," Trapani said. "It's really special."
As much as there has been a focus on individual success, the group as also come to the realization it could succeed together as well. Trapani chose not to pursue the 3,200 this year, instead wanting to put more focus on the 3,200 relay with teammates Hoffman, Sage Dunkleberger and Sienna Dunkleberger.
The Defenders are the second seed for the state meet in the relay. The top seed in the event is the only team which beat it at the district meet: Lewisburg. Scott Hoffman wasn't always so sure Warrior Run would be such a contender in the event. Only Trapani is a holdover from the 2019 team which finished 10th at the state meet.
But Hoffman and the Dunkleberger sisters were all key contributors to the cross country team and have the big-race experience. Only a blistering 2 minute, 18 second final leg split from Lewisburg's Elena Malone in the 3,200 relay final last Thursday kept the Defenders from standing atop the podium at Williamsport High School. But the consolation is the time the Defenders ran in the district final was the second-best time run in the state this year in Class AA, bested only by Lewisburg's district championship winning time.
"We ran the four-by-eight at Mount Carmel and ran a 10:04, and I thought maybe this could be a thing," Scott Hoffman said. "Last week we ran on our own (at the league meet) and ran 9:49. And really, competing against Lewisburg, we learned a lot about how to get out in the race. And we're hoping that the two of us are coming down the stretch together at states and we're able to represent District 4 well."
"It was important to all of us to consider that we’d have a strong four-by-eight, and knowing we wanted to put it all in to the four-by-eight, we were keeping that in mind when I figured out whether or not I wanted to try to qualify for the two-mile," Trapani said. "We're looking forward to doing the best we can at states and maybe doing something special at states."
This was a talented group far before this season came about. It all started in junior high when they joined the cross country team. Hoffman knew there was a potential for this group of girls to accomplish something special, but he also knew that as high school rolled around different life choices may prove to be a speed bump.
But what Hoffman and Trapani have seen is a group who remains dedicated to running. Even as they couldn't get together to run, it wasn’t uncommon for text messages to be exchanged to make sure everyone was putting in the work to make this school year be a special one.
"We did a great job of running individually," Alyssa Hoffman said. "The competition we have among each other was able to get us ready. It was nice to have teammates who were there for support and to run against."
"Everyone put it on themselves to get their work done because they had the team in mind," Trapani said. "We didn't know we'd be as good as we are or as good as we've been this season. It comes down to being a little lucky that you have a group that is willing to work hard."