In 1980, through 1983 Coach Harrington took a leave of absence to coach at the college level. During this time period, the teams were coached by Larry Wise and Mike Myers. During their tenure, Dan Jennings was an outstanding runner, winning the League Meet in 1983 and placing 5th at the PIAA District 3 meet. Other outstanding runners during this time period were Dan’s future wife, Theresa Rhodes and Billy McClucas.
Coach Harrington returned in 1984 to coach not only the boys team, but also the recently formed girls team.
Under Coach Harrington, the teams’ records for the remainder of the decade were as follows:
YEAR BOYS WINS LOSSES GIRLS WINS LOSSES
1984 13 8 13 5
1986 12 7 17 1
1987 17 4 19 1
1988 16 5 17 3
1989 14 6 16 2
1985 16 4 16 3
In 1984, Heather Frank had a great season, medaling both at Leagues and Districts. In 1985, the girl’s team, led by Kris Wagner, Angie Stoltzfus and Heater Frank, won the Kevin Regan Memorial Run. This was a high school invitational meet run through the streets of Quarryville to honor former SLCXC runner Kevin Regan. Although this was the final running of the high school division, the elementary/middle school division of this race is still run each year at Smith Middle School. In 1986, the girls finished 2nd at Leagues, with Connie Shepos placing 3rd, Kris Wagner 10th and Heather Frank 11th. At the PIAA District 3 meet the ladies finished 4th with Connie Shepos finishing 3rd. In 1987, the Boys stepped it up at the Lancaster Lebanon Championships, with Scott Trimble placing 5th, Chris McAndrews 10th and Alan Martin 22nd for a 5th place overall finish. That year, the girls won their first Lanscater Lebanon League Championship, sparked by Connie Shepos (1st), Kris Wagner (7th) and Loraine Hecker (14th). Connie’s victory marked the first, of many, Lancaster Lebanon League Championships titles for individual Solanco girls. 1987 was also the first year for boys and girls Junior High Cross-Country and Kelly Ryan got it off to a great start by going undefeated in league competition. In 1988, the girls again won the Lancaster Lebanon League Championship meet with the boys moving all the way up to 2nd. In 1989, the girls dropped to third place at the league meet but rebounded to finish 3rd at Districts. This was the first Solanco girls team to qualify for the PIAA State Championships where they finished 9th. At some point during the late 1980’s the team’s byline became, “We fell happy, healthy, and terrific” and their guiding principle to “run with intensity, courage, and love for one another”.