Five Ashland High School girls represented the track and field program on the national stage last month at the 2026 New Balance Nationals Outdoor Championships at Franklin Field in Philadelphia, headlined by a 4x800-meter relay team that placed 21st overall and shattered the school record after already setting a meet record at the Division 4 state championships. The quartet ran a personal-best 9:25.08.

Seniors Madeleine Callahan, Ava Dittenhafer and Sadie Gilhooly teamed with junior Sophia Warnetski to make up the relay, while freshman Leah Dittenhafer qualified individually in the freshman 400-meter hurdles, giving Ashland five representatives at the country's premier high school track and field meet.

"They definitely improved over what they did last year," said assistant coach Emily Reily, who oversees the team's middle-distance and distance runners. "At New Balance, they set the school record, which was great, and they ran faster than they had at the state meet. They really peaked at the right time. They just had an incredible season."

The same four relay runners raced together at every stop of the postseason, from the Division 4 state meet to the Meet of Champions to nationals in Philadelphia, and their record-setting run in June capped a stretch in which the group kept getting faster at exactly the right moments.

Warnetski, the relay's anchor, also qualified individually for the championship 800 meters at nationals. Her breakout season steadily gained momentum throughout the year. She qualified for both the individual mile and the 800 meters at New Balance Nationals Indoor over the winter, then carried that momentum outdoors. At the Division 4 divisional meet, she ran down Northampton's anchor over the final 75 meters to help Ashland set a meet record, splitting 2:13, a personal best at the time. She topped that at Franklin Field with a 2:12 in the championship 800 meters, another personal best.

"As a coach, almost the toughest thing with her is reining her in and making sure she doesn't do too much and burn herself out, because she always wants to be doing more," Reily said.

Leah Dittenhafer, meanwhile, reached New Balance Nationals during both the indoor and outdoor seasons in the 400-meter hurdles, a rare accomplishment for a freshman. She medaled at the Division 4 state meet and qualified for the Meet of Champions outdoors before advancing to the freshman national meet in Philadelphia. She finished in a time of 1:08.73

"She's the kind of kid that we love to have on our team," Reily said. "She works hard, she always wants to be doing more, she's just a good role model for the team."

Reily said what stands out most about this group isn't just the times on the clock.

"They're just great kids. They're fun to be around, they're great to coach, they're such hard workers, and they push each other," Reily said. "If one of them is having a down day, the other ones will bring her along. As a coach, they make it easy."

Reily, who has coached Ashland's middle-distance and distance runners alongside John Brinegar since 2021, said the program's goals extend beyond winning races.

"We're trying to make them into better runners, and we obviously want to win as a program," Reily said. "But they're going to graduate, and we want to help them be better people. The lessons they learn about hard work and leadership and balancing their time, that's the stuff they're going to carry forward in life."

Although the graduation of Callahan, Ava Dittenhafer and Gilhooly marks the end of one of the program's most successful relay groups, Ashland's performances at New Balance Nationals showed the future remains bright. With Warnetski returning after a breakout junior season and Leah Dittenhafer already making an impact as a freshman, the team is well positioned to continue its success.