Speed Racers: Lady Hornets Capture NTL Track Championship

By: Ed Weaver  /  May 9, 2026  /  Photo: Ed Weaver

The Wellsboro Lady Hornets broke a 10-year run by Athens by winning their first NTL Track & Field championship Friday afternoon.

Wellsboro scored 145 team points to secure their first team title since the 2014 season. The Lady Hornets were the last team to win the girls' team crown before Athens went on their run.

"I knew from the beginning of the season that this team was special," said head coach Elizabeth Hoover. "After a few easy wins, I was confident that we were on our way to a championship. Then last week, I decided to score the NTL with where our PRs placed us. To my surprise, a team we didn’t see in the regular season had us beat. I waited until practice that day to let the girls know we weren’t going to win the NTL so easily. Today, I asked these girls to give it their all - and that is exactly what happened! We had girls finish higher than their seeded places. We had girls make districts with their new PRs. No one was sitting down. If they weren’t in an event, they were cheering on their teammates! They truly won as a team today! I am so proud of everything they accomplished!"

The Lady Hornets had a 41-point lead over eventual runner-up Towanda when the track events concluded, with the high jump and shot put yet to be scored. 2nd and 3rd places by Towanda in the shot put, and a 2nd place in the high jump, closed the gap, however Wellsboro's dominance in the track events carried them to victory.

Towanda (126.83) finished 2nd, Athens (101.33) was 3rd, Williamson (76) took 4th, and Wyalusing (69.5) rounded out the top 5.

The duo of juniors Piper Hoprich and Lauren Kosek were responsible for a combined 68 team points. Both had three 1st place finishes and were on the 2nd place 4x400m relay team.

Hoprich cruised to wins in the 100m (12.14) and 200m (25.04). Sophomore Luna Moyer added a 3rd place finish in the 100m (13.04) and a 4th place finish in the 200m (27.15). Senior Sophia Yoder (27.48) also chipped in a 5th place finish in the 200m.

Freshman Kaci Kosek (1:05.71) was 7th in the 400m with sophomore Bella Hawn (1:07.96) and freshman Lilly Sprouse (1:12.68) in 11th and 17th. Lauren Kosek swept the distance events, taking the 800m in 2:23.16, the 1600m in 5:16.74, and the 3200m in 11:42.32.

Freshman Olive Twoey (17.82) and sophomore Jennifer Belz (17.88) finished 5th and 6th in the 100m hurdles, sophomore Isla Twoey (47.48) won the 300m hurdles while sophomore Piper Perry (52.16) Olive Twoey (52.47) were 6th and 7th.

Sophomore Lauren Gehman (4-ft, 6) took 6th in the high jump, Isla Twoey (16-ft, 2.75), senior Kristina Belz (16-ft) and freshman Dillyn Patt (15-ft, 5.75) finished 4th-6th in the long jump, and Isla Twoey (33-ft, 4.5), Gehman (33-ft), and Kristina Belz (32-ft, 5) were 3rd, 5th and 7th in the triple jump, respectively.

Junior Ellie Largey and senior Megan Mosher both cleared 7-ft to tie for 5th in the pole vault, sophomore Katie Whitney (82-ft, 1.5) finished 7th in the discus, junior Sienna Zengerle (85-ft, 6) took 8th in the javelin, and Whitney (25-ft, 6.25) was 11th in the shot put.

The Lady Hornets won the 4x100m (50.48), finished 2nd in the 4x400m (4:20.85) and were 6th in the 4x800m (11:53.07).

The team will be back in action next week in the District IV Championships at Milton on Thursday and Saturday.