JACKSON TWP — Sue Ennis came away from her four years on the Seneca Valley girls track and field team with many fond memories. Little did she know that she would take part in many more as a coach for the Raiders.

After earning degrees in communication arts and secondary education from Grove City College, the 1978 Seneca Valley graduate returned to her alma mater as an english teacher at the district's junior high.

"They needed someone to coach the junior high track and field team," Ennis said. "It had been started the year before as an intramural, coed sport. I had competed in high school and I volunteered to take over."

Former Seneca Valley junior high track and field coach Sue Ennis, right, talks things over with assistants Randy Huey and Ann Cheman during a meet. Ennis was the program’s head coach for 30 seasons and recently received the Seneca Valley Track and Field Lifetime Achievement Award. Submitted Photo

That was in March of 1983. For 30 seasons, Ennis led SV's junior high program, which evolved into separate boys and girls teams, helping her athletes gain confidence that many would take with them to the varsity teams in high school.

"I always told the kids that as long as they were improving, it was going to help the team," said Ennis. "We had a few teams finish .500, but we never had a losing season."

Ennis

Her contributions, which covered parts of four decades, were recently recognized when Ennis was honored with a Seneca Valley Track and Field Lifetime Achievement Award. She received the distinction April 21 at SV's Marcie Peaco Memorial Invitational. Peaco, who died in 2019, was the wife of current varsity head coach Ray Peaco.

"It was emotional for me, especially to have it happen at that meet," said Ennis. "Marcie and I worked closely together for a lot of track events over the years. I knew her most of my life."

Only two others, longtime coaches Wayne Roccia and Dan Sample, have been honored with the award.

"Sue was very good at communicating with the athletes and staff," said Bob Magerko, who served as one of Ennis' assistants for 20 years. "She was very organized and was so knowledgeable about the sport.

"She wanted Seneca Valley kids to be successful, was loyal to the program, district and community. She deserves this honor."

Teaching at the junior high was a huge advantage for Ennis.

"It made communicating with the kids on the team so much easier and helped a lot with recruiting," she said. "If I saw a kid running down the hall, as teachers, we were told to reprimand them and send them to the office, and I did that. But it also gave me a chance to see how fast they were. I would think, "They would be good in this event or that event'. It sounds funny, but I really did do that and there were times it worked to bring a kid onto the team."

Recruiting efforts proved very fruitful. When Ennis began coaching, she was working with 52 athletes. Ten years later, 235 junior high boys and girls were competing at SV.

"We'd show up to away meets with four bus loads of kids and that was intimidating for a lot of other schools," she said. "We didn't mean it that way. What it meant for us was that if you were willing to put the work in, there was a spot for you with us.

"I have a lot of good memories of our kids cheering for each other and I'm proud of that. We always wanted there to be a family within the team."

Seneca Valley annually fields very competitive boys and girls teams at the varsity level. The quality of the junior high program has greatly influenced that consistency.

"The assistant coaches and myself did a good job of building the junior high program and sustaining it, especially after other sports began to be added at Seneca Valley," Ennis said.

Ennis and her family moved from New Jersey to Lancaster Township prior to her freshman year. She joined SV's track and field team and competed in the 400 run, 4x400 relay, 100 hurdles and high jump.

"It was a great experience," she said. "My coaches were Jean Hart and Bob Harsh. It was a positive environment and very encouraging.

"I had experience before I moved here," Ennis said. "My elementary school used to hold meets and I remember in the second grade, I won a ribbon in three different events. It was 1968, an Olympic year, and I was very excited about that. I was hooked."