Sydnie Gilbert

The girls track & field team at Chambersburg appears to be set up for a successful season.

“We have no real weak areas,” Trojan coach Chris Monheim said. “We don’t have state-caliber athletes in every event, but we should score in every event in duals, and we’re definitely strong in the sprints and hurdles.”

A year ago, Chambersburg was 4-3 in dual meets and finished third in the District 3 team standings. The Trojans open their season Tuesday at Carlisle at 3:45 p.m.

In the hurdles, senior Sydnie Gilbert and junior Bre’ya Clopper are a formidable duo. Gilbert was seventh in the district in the 100 and set a school record 15.0 in the heats. Clopper was fourth in the district in 45.68 in the 300.

Those two, plus sophomore Jacelyn Jones and senior Ariana Appenzellar, formed a 4 x 100 relay that was fifth in the district in 49.62. All of those runners also competed at states.

Shanelle Burrowes is a strong sophomore sprinter who ran 25.97 indoor and qualified for states.

Shanelle Burrowes

Monheim said, “Burrowes had a great winter. She had a breakthrough over the last year and can be one of the top girls in the conference in the sprints and jumps. She’ll score a lot of points.”

Sophomores Aniyah Jones and Tayah Warren will also help the sprint crew and Caroline Hance (sr.), Manaisha Houser (so.), Abby Oaster (fr.) and Jillian Cook (fr.) add depth to the hurdles.

Mid-distance threats are senior Natalie Aquino-Flores and sophomore Maddie Kinton.

Keira Whitehead (so.) is the top girl in distance events, and she’ll be helped by Anna DeGrange (jr.), Allison List (fr.) and Olivia Reick (fr.).

“Whitehead is starting to look really good, and Kinton, List and Reick all are loaded with talent,” Monheim said.

Keira Whitehead

The throwing events will be handled by Madison Yost (jr.) and Ashley Adams (sr.), along with Alyssa Scalia (jr.), Hannah Bucher (jr.), Madison Ogden (fr.) and Kaleah Leisher (fr.).

“Yost has improved as much as anybody I can remember,” Monheim said.

Burrowes will compete in the jumping events. So will junior Melissa Abbott, sophomore Josey Reineman and freshman Taryn Robinson. Ainslee Ackerman is slated for pole vault duty.

Monheim said, “We do have some veterans, but we also only have five seniors on the team, and that’s the smallest senior class I’ve ever had. But we probably have 45 girls in ninth and tenth grade and they have a lot of potential.”

NOTES: Monheim believes State College is the team to beat in the Mid Penn Commonwealth, and Carlisle and Cumberland Valley and Chambersburg will be chasing the Little Lions … The Trojans host the Tim Cook Invitational on March 30 and the Mid Penn championships on May 11.