There are plenty of medals, plaques and banners hanging around Southern Columbia.
Now the softball team has a chance to add to their names to the mix.
The Tigers will play Fannett-Metal at 10 a.m. today at Penn State's Beard Field in State College, and either way the Tigers are coming home with a medal. Only remaining to be determined is what color it will be.
The softball team's appearance in the state championship game caps off a year in which Southern's football team made it to the state title game, it's boys' basketball team made the state playoffs, two wrestlers earned trips to Hershey and a number of athletes went to Shippensburg University for the track and field championships and brought home three medals.
Across the board, Southern is the most accomplished overall
sporting school in our area, a point that ruffles the feathers of many outside the district either jealous of the Tigers' success or just plain petty.
For a school with six state titles in football, a baseball state title, A wrestling state title, several wrestling and track golds and now an appearance in the softball title game, the only thing left to wonder about is whether Southern is the best small school in the state when it comes to athletics.
Every athlete in the school is aware of football's success and that has created a sense of pride, but also one of not wanting to be left behind. Surely athletes in other sports see the benefit of football's success - the large crowds, the scholarship opportunities for players, the state-wide prestige - and they want that, too.
"At practice, we were talking about how we just wanted to get to the game to get a state medal," Southern Columbia junior Mallory Tomaschik said. "To do this for softball really means something, and to be able to put our names in with all the state finalists because that's what our school is known for."
No one at Southern takes the success for granted. Everyone, it seems, uses the previous season to re-energize the winning culture.
"We've had a lot of success," Tomaschik said. "All the teams are always working hard, even in the offseason, and I think that really helps."
But this team's success isn't just based on wanting to exceed the football team's run, this is because these softball players have put in many hours dedicated to the sport.
Unlike football, where an offseason is a necessity to recuperate and lift weights, the best way to improve in a round-ball sport is repetition.
The only way to get that at a higher level of competition is through travel teams. That doesn't mean participation on a travel team is a guarantee for success, but look around at Southern's team.
Tomaschik, Kirstin Blass and Kayla Lavella all play on the same team. McKenna Lupold and Megan Chaundy play together on another team, and that's just the players Tomaschik mentioned.
"We're always playing and it's really helped us," Tomaschik said.
Stadium Location
For those of you fluent in Penn State geography, Beard Field is located behind the Intramural Building with parking to the west of Beaver Stadium making the most sense. For those of you with GPS, the intersection of Park Avenue and University Drive will get you where you need to be.
Broadcasts
Not going to the game? There are several media outlets available for you to keep track of the action from State College.
Black Diamond Sports Network will be broadcasting live on the Internet at www.blackdiamondsports.net with Tom Ryan doing the play-by-play.
For those of you away from the computer, Jim Doyle's commentary can be heard on WHLM AM 930 as well as FM 94.7 and 104.3.