I remember it clear as day. It was a turning point in my life. I just hadn’t recognized it yet.
I was interviewed for the sports reporter position at The Sentinel in May 2021. It was in a gazebo at Children’s Lake in Boiling Springs. I was in a suit in 80-degree weather. My nerves were enough for me to pass out, and the heat and sunlight weren’t doing any favors.
I don’t remember much from my interview. But the last question will forever stand out.
“Where do you hope to go; what do you hope to accomplish in your career?”
My answer at the time: “I would love to be a minor league baseball reporter. I’ve always been interested in that level of sports, having spent many summers at local ballparks with my friends watching games.”
You’re taught in school, in similar situations, that there’s no wrong answer. But boy, my answer couldn’t have been further off the beaten path.
Saturday is my last day at The Sentinel. We can’t see into the future, but reflecting on my answer almost four years later, I wish I could’ve told my younger self, everything you wanted, everything you dreamed of in a job was standing right in front of you.
Planting my roots
I was wide-eyed. Maybe a bit in over my head. The goal from the get was to show I cared, that I wanted to share the stories, do justice for the local community.
You all made it easy.
It was an exciting time to jump in the local ring in June 2021. Red Land baseball was making its case for the PIAA Class 5A championship. Benny Montgomery and East Pennsboro’s Michael Morales were on the doorstep of being drafted into Major League Baseball.
‘It’s a moment I’ve been waiting for my entire life’: Benny Montgomery chasing MLB dreams as Colorado Rockies 2021 first round draft pick
Kids of all ages flocked to the third-base line of Medlar Field at Lubrano Park in State College.
‘It felt like the whole world came down on me’: Michael Morales soaking it all in as Seattle Mariners third-round selection in 2021 Major League Baseball Draft
“It just really started feeling like the whole world came down on me. But also, in a way, it felt like a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders. It all happened in like three seconds.” ~ Michael Morales
The excitement spiked to unprecedented levels that fall. Big Spring football made program history. Camp Hill’s Paige Richter — unaware on her final tap in on the 18th hole at Heritage Hills Golf Resort — won the PIAA Class 2A title.
PIAA Golf: Camp Hill’s Paige Richter secures state championship
Paige Richter becomes the first Camp Hill female golfer to ever win the state crown and just the second Lions golfer overall since Jack Weaver won in 1945.
The list went on. And on. And on.
I couldn’t have asked for a better introduction. It was in this stretch, I knew it was meant to be.
The events
Watching the Boiling Springs field hockey sideline count down the final five seconds. Gracyn Catalano’s reaction when her golden goal slipped through the legs of Palmyra’s goalie and Mechanicsburg stormed Cumberland Valley’s Chapman Field.
Boiling Springs defeats Wyoming Area for PIAA Class A field hockey title
The Bubblers defeated Wyoming Area 1-0 Saturday in the Class A final to complete an undefeated season and capture the program’s first state title.
The 2022 PIAA field hockey championships were unmatched. The energy was intoxicating.
Watch Now: Gracyn Catalano’s golden goal clinches 1st state title for Mechanicsburg field hockey
Catalano’s goal with 30 seconds left in overtime gave the Wildcats a 1-0 win over Palmyra and captured the first state title in school history.
The Big Spring boys basketball team has sent chills up my spine and left me questioning, “How the hell am I supposed to write this?” To which head coach Jason Creek jokingly replied, “Isn’t that your job?”
In the final two minutes of a 2024 PIAA Class 4A semifinal, Aidan Sallie found a second gear — where, I’m still not sure — and deposited four 3-pointers before giving way to Jake Knouse’s go-ahead trey to complete an 11-point comeback at Fleetwood. The run captivated the Newville community, as sheets of maroon and gold blanketed the Giant Center seating bowl for the District 3 final and pushed the Bulldog gymnasium beyond max capacity for the program’s first-ever PIAA opener.
‘It was all about believing’: Big Spring boys basketball does the unthinkable to reach District 3 4A final
Trailing nine with two minutes left Tuesday, Big Spring rallied behind the likes of Aidan Sallie and Jake Knouse to stun Fleetwood 62-61 in the District 3 4A semifinals.
A trail of maroon and gold: Big Spring community fuels boys basketball team’s run to District 3 silver
In Big Spring’s run to District 3 4A silver, the Bulldog community supported the boys basketball program every step of the way.
Then there are the small moments woven amid the chaos. Moments not reflected in a box score.
Seeing the Cumberland Valley boys lacrosse team, off in the distance, pause practice on a cold, windy Saturday morning to stand for the national anthem. The Big Spring student body, stretching pylon to pylon, locking hands and singing the school’s alma mater after the first Little Brown Jug victory since 2010. In the same rivalry, the Bulldog and Shippensburg football teams coming together at midfield for prayer following the unexpected death of Shippensburg teen Levi Maciejewski.
Big Spring football defeats Shippensburg to lift Little Brown Jug for the first time since 2010
For the first time since 2010, Big Spring defeated Shippensburg in the Little Brown Jug rivalry, knocking off the Greyhounds 21-7 Friday night in Newville.
‘It’s bigger than the game’: Big Spring, Shippensburg student sections come together as one maroon
Following the unexpected death of a Shippensburg teen Tuesday, the Bulldog and Greyhound student bodies used Friday’s Little Brown Jug Game as a way to honor him.
I wanted to show it’s bigger than the game. It’s everyday life.
People support. People hurt. People cheer. It creates some of life’s most beautiful moments.
Embracing me
I’m warm-blooded. I wore a hat that turned from silky white to Dijon mustard yellow. They became jokes — mostly on my social media platforms — that you all embraced.
My reputation for donning shorts and failing to wear winter jackets and gloves followed me like a shadow. The Boiling Springs field hockey team provided me hand warmers at Tulpehocken during a sub-30-degree 2022 PIAA Class A semifinal. I wouldn’t have been able to tweet updates that night without them.
The hat fought the battles of the Giant Center security. It never won — I was even asked to dispose of it in a visit to the bathroom — but it was always a valiant effort. Instead, I had to let the “lettuce” flow from time to time, a look I’ve since cleaned up thanks to my girlfriend.
Jokes aside, it was your embracement of my writing, my creativity that touched me most. You tagged me with thanks. You screenshotted articles. You clipped stories and presented them as gifts — sometimes even under the Christmas tree.
Two schools, two sports, one special night: Camp Hill’s Gaudion twins strike District 3 gold
Peter Gaudion received word Tuesday that the start of Camp Hill’s District 3 Class 3A baseball championship game had been delayed.
You elevated the importance of local sports and community ties. Through my words.
I couldn’t be more grateful.
A final thank you
I’ll still be living on the West Shore as my next chapter unfolds. I hope to enjoy Cumberland County sports from a spectator lens on occasion. It’s not a complete goodbye, rather see you later.
From subscribing to The Sentinel, to having read one story, to having scanned one graf or even one sentence, thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Confidence hasn’t always been part of my identity, but you’ve fostered that. You’ve welcomed me with open arms and gifted me the opportunity to be a small snippet of your lives. You’ve taken care of me, helped me grow in my craft and in everyday life.
One smile at a time, Chuck Luckenbaugh embodies what it means to be a Mechanicsburg Wildcat
Chuck Luckenbaugh is recognized by his infectious smile. The smile, occupying the Mechanicsburg football sidelines every Friday for the last 20-plus years, embodies what it means to be a Wildcat.
To my colleagues past and present, thank you for all the support. Thank you to Jeff Pratt and Naomi Creason for taking a chance on a kid straight out college. To Tim Gross, thank you for helping me find my way, allowing me to spread my creative wings and explore who I am and want to be as a writer.
But none of this would’ve been possible without you, the people. We can’t do our life’s work without you, and I’m forever in debt to our local athletes, coaches, athletic directors and personnel. From sideline chats, postgame interviews and quick hellos in public, I’ve cherished them all.
‘Nothing but positive’: Mechanicsburg’s Will Hummel overcomes limitations of HCU to produce on pitching mound
Will Hummel has lived with homocystinuria, a condition where the body can’t process methionine, his entire life. It’s not limiting him, especially in his senior baseball season with Mechanicsburg.
I’m eager for the next step. A bit nervous. I believe there’s more avenues to venture down, more ideas to tap into.
But I leave you with this:
Thank you for proving me wrong four years ago.
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The Sentinel’s sports department looks back on some of the top local stories from 2024, from historic firsts to unprecedented runs to championship moments.
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