Solanco celebrates first track and field Hall of Fame class

Glenn Wimer showed up for junior high football practice hoping to become a wide receiver. His coach was a man named Art Harrington.

Every day the team was required to run two laps around the field. Every day Wimer finished first.

Harrington, still new to the area, told Wimer he could play his preferred position. But, the coach added, Wimer’s sports future was going to be cross country and track and field.

That prediction came true.

Solanco Track and Field Hall of Fame induction - [photos]

Solanco Track & Field Hall of Fame Induction on May 6, 2024.

Wimer became Solanco’s first PIAA champion when he won the two mile in 1974. Harrington had a knack for looking at an athlete and finding his or her best path forward.

Solanco celebrated its rich track and field tradition by unveiling its first Hall of Fame class prior to a dual meet against Lampeter-Strasburg at Quarryville Monday. The stadium is named after Harrington, who coached track there for more than 25 years.

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Cliff Wimer, Glenn’s late brother, was among the seven individuals inducted. They were joined by Jeff Derr, Ben Myers, Doug Bushong, Brian Good, Katie Urbine and the 3,200 relay team from 1991.

The 1970s were a golden age for Solanco track. It started with the Wimer brothers.

Glenn used to train with Kevin Regan, a teammate and neighbor. Cliff asked to join the boys on their run one day. Big brother didn’t believe little brother could keep pace. That run was revealing.

“He stayed right with us,” Glenn said. “He wasn’t even winded. The fact is we’d be running and he’d go up to the woods, come back and catch up to us.”

It was a sign that Cliff was heading toward his own great track career. He became the first to sweep PIAA titles in the one mile and two mile in the same season in 1975.

Glenn Wimer still owns the school’s 3,200 record at 9:20.8. Cliff holds the 1,600 mark at 4:19.8.

Before the Wimer brothers came along to etch their names in Golden Mules lore, there was Derr. He was the PIAA runner-up in the mile in 1967.

When former coach Craig Ausel, who helped organize the event, announced the inductees, Derr was the first name called.

Derr said he built up his leg strength by riding his bicycle everywhere. He trained by running 10 400-meter sprints in a row. That allowed him to complete a mile in 4:26 more than five decades ago.

“It’s an honor to be remembered after so many years,” Derr said. “I’m just overwhelmed.”

Myers was the best thrower on those memorable mid-1970s teams. Harrington saw Myers playing around with the discus during a practice and proclaimed him to be a thrower.

Although he didn’t know anything about the discus or shot put, Myers invested his time and energy. Once he started to enjoy some success, he took the pursuit seriously.

“Coach instilled confidence in you,” Myers said. “That was the big thing. He knew every event that was on this track or in the field. He studied them and he could teach you.”

Myers became a PIAA champion in 1975. His best throw of 160-9 remains the school record.

Solanco has produced pole vault champions through three generations. Bushong won the PIAA championship in 1978, Good was the indoor winner in 1995 and Urbine captured gold last spring.

Bushong was encouraged by Harrington to try the event because the team didn’t have any pole vaulters. It didn’t go well in the beginning. The first time Bushong launched himself, he landed in the box where the pole gets planted.

“I wasn’t any good at it,” Bushong said. “I actually was very bad at it.”

Harrington believed in Bushong and he was determined to figure it out. He set a PR of 14-9 on his way to state gold. He later competed at Shippensburg and cleared 17 feet.

“Coach had more faith in his athletes than they had in themselves,” Bushong said. “He was able to draw things out of you that you never knew you had. It helped you be more successful in everything you did.”

2024 Solanco T&F HOF — Buy Now

Jeff Derr (left) and former coach Lee Rhodes pose with Derr's hall of fame banner during the Solanco track and field hall of fame induction at Solanco High School’s Art Harrington Track Complex in Quarryville on Monday, May 6, 2024.
Mark Palczewski

Good followed Bushong nearly 20 years later. It was a familiar story. Harrington saw Good’s speed and jumping ability and thought the pole vault was the right fit.

With teammate Eric Hippensteel serving as Good’s mentor, he gave it a shot.

“You have to be a little loose upstairs to do that event,” Good said. “It has its trials and tribulations.”

There was no VaultWorX or Philly Jumps Club for indoor workouts back then. Athletes competed in the spring and put away the poles until the following season.

Good managed to clear 15 feet, which remains the school record, when he was a sophomore. His days at Solanco remain special to him.

“They really encouraged you to participate in multiple sports,” Good said. “The kids were really close. Being a little bit of a smaller school, you had a sense of family.”

Urbine, a freshman at Liberty, broke the PIAA meet record when she made it over 13-9 last Memorial Day weekend. Younger sister Annabelle, now an eighth-grader, wore Katie’s gold medal for the ceremony.

Solanco’s 3,200 relay team entered the 1991 season with huge expectations and surpassed them. The foursome of Missy Brazee, Brenda Pennell, Jodi Carter and Jen Lefever won state gold with the second-fastest time in the nation.

They were called the “Big Show” in the newspaper before the season began.

“We knew we were going to win,” Brazee said. “We were just set for that. We weren’t going to take nothing but No. 1.”

Brazee started every race by building a lead. The baton went to Carter, then Lefever before Pennell closed it out.

Carter played field hockey and basketball and had to earn her way into the top four after recovering from a knee injury.

“I was just honored to be on the team,” Carter said. “These girls had another gear. I maybe had some grit.”

They trained in all conditions. If the weather was bad, they trained inside. This induction was a reminder that their names will always be side-by-side in Solanco history.

“There’s nothing better than being part of something bigger than yourself,” Brazee said. “You’re connected. We’re rooted here. This will always be our home.”

Banners were presented to each of the athletes Monday. They’ll hang on the fence inside the stadium. More will be added in the coming years.

From the first state champion in 1974 to the most recent nearly 12 months ago, Solanco paused and remembered its golden years.