McCaskey's Isabella Shertzer tries to go 4-for-4 in L-L League girls track and field (2024)

A popsicle cost three sets of push-ups. Dinner sometimes required 10 laps around the house. Little things, Isabella Shertzer called them. Little challenges.

McCaskey’s senior didn’t become the Lancaster-Lebanon League’s best 800 runner by accident. Those three gold medals, with eyes set on a fourth, were years in the making.

It started with her dad, Daniel. He was always asking for a little more.

“Other kids I talk to about it don’t really understand,” Shertzer said. “They’re like, ‘That’s terrible. My parents let me eat whatever I want.’ I’m extremely grateful. I feel like I have a base to keep those good habits at my age now.”

Shertzer discovered track and field earlier than most of her rivals. Her dad signed her up for Lancaster’s rec program around age 8 and she was competing seriously within a few years.

The 800, which felt like miles at first, quickly became her event. It was the one that seemed to fit.

Shertzer has spent most of her childhood gradually lowering the time it takes her to race two grueling laps. From 2:40 at the end of her first season to 2:27 the first time she competed at nationals at age 11 to 2:12.44 today.

That last time, recorded at the John Hay Distance Festival at West Chester in June, is immortalized on McCaskey’s record board.

“My goal now is to make it as low as possible,” Shertzer said, “so it’ll stay up there for a long time.”

McCaskey’s board is different from most schools. The names pressed with white letters into the black case provide a rough outline of L-L history. Shertzer’s 800 time sits below Nathan Henderson and above Mike Craighead. Two all-time greats.

To get on that board is a big deal. Shertzer is listed three times. She was also part of McCaskey’s record-setting 1,600 and 3,200 relay teams.

Shertzer won the 800 at the L-L championships as a freshman and no one has taken her crown. To capture the same event three times is a tribute to her durability and consistency. Going 4-for-4 is this season’s mission.

“You’re in rare air when you can win four golds in an event in the Lancaster-Lebanon League,” McCaskey coach Derek Jennings said. “She has a very good shot to do it. She has worked hard for it. She has the talent. She’s gonna be hard to beat. But nothing is guaranteed.”

Last season was magical for McCaskey’s girls, who had a once-in-a-generation collection of runners. The Red Tornado were District Three Class 3A team champions.

Shertzer is the only one remaining from the fabled 1,600 relay team that won state gold and set a league record at 3:44.80. That was the 18th-fastest time in the nation last spring.

Kamyah and Kamiah Wright have moved on to Richmond. Lucie de Syon is competing at Davidson. Shertzer, who has committed to Columbia, has one high school season left.

“It is sad,” Shertzer said. “I doubt that for the rest of my athletic career I’m gonna have a relay team that has the same dynamic we had or is as close as we were. At the same time, I’m really happy I got the chance to experience that with them.”

Shertzer will focus less on the relays and more on the 800 this season. Only three L-L runners, Solanco’s Alana Yoder, Manheim Township’s Meredith Newman and Warwick’s Ganne Way, have run that event faster. Yoder owns the record at 2:09.98.

If Shertzer can lower her time to 2:10, shaving off two precious seconds, she’ll be satisfied. Only six Pennsylvania girls were under that number last season.

Regardless of where her PR ultimately rests, Shertzer has made her mark on the league. All those push-ups and laps around the house have paid off.

“You don’t want to look ahead; you want to enjoy what you have,” Jennings said. “But the word legend and Isabella Shertzer will go hand-in-hand for years.

Just check out McCaskey’s record board. That’s where the legends live forever.