Cheltenham girls race away to 4th straight AAA title at District 1 Championships

CALN >> Four in a row, and counting.

“We’re gonna do it again next year,” Cheltenham coach Kelly Jensen said happily, moments after the Panthers posed with their fourth consecutive District One Class AAA trophy.

The Panthers were so strong this weekend at Coatesville Area High that there’s little reason to think their district magic won’t continue.

And as far as the immediate future, the Panthers look primed to defend their state title in Shippensburg next weekend.

“The main thing is everybody’s healthy,” Jensen said. “And we have everybody going to states that we want going to states, and everybody ran and competed really well.”

The Panthers surely knew the way to the medal stand at rainy Coatesville.

On Saturday, sophomore Madison Langley-Walker was a double winner in the triple jump and the 300-meter hurdles, the 4×100 relay team of freshman Bria Barnes, sophomore Brielle Lewis, sophomore Alexis Crosby and junior Chanel Brissett took the gold, and Brissett hurdled her way to victory in the 100’s.

Asked what the team title meant to them, Brissett said: “Everything. We are so eager. We feel like we have to get it. With the work that we do, I think that we will.

“Our freshmen are ridiculous. We’ve always had a way to develop them fast. Our team is just phenomenal, and I am just so proud to be a part of this team.”

The Panthers excelled in just about every area in compiling 105 points. Closest to them was North Penn, a balanced team in its own right, which finished with 54.

“We’ve got a thrower going, we’ve got a distance runner, just a lot of really good things going on, all across the board,” Jensen said.

And the best may be ahead.

“Next year, we’re gonna be stronger,” Jensen said. “Basically, we’ll have everybody coming back. We have a lot of freshmen and sophomores.”