Radnor caps dream run with District One title

WEST GOSHEN >> There wasn’t a concern from coach Brooke Fritz about her team’s focus heading into the District One championship game Thursday night at West Chester East High School.

While they were the No. 9 seed in the tournament, the Raiders were the heavy favorites against sixth-seeded Owen J. Roberts. The truth is that two of the three strongest remaining teams in the district tournament were busy competing in playback games Thursday (Garnet Valley and Conestoga) for state tournament seeding.

The third team, Radnor, handled a feisty Owen J. Roberts squad, 12-8, to capture the program’s first district title since 2012.

There was no looking past OJR, Fritz said. Not when the Raiders feel as though they were fortunate to be in the title game in the first place.

“If it weren’t the championship, there could have been a letdown. But they were so fired up,” Fritz said. “They don’t really feel like they should be here, they are overachieving and they know it. If it weren’t the championship, I would have absolutely had that fear, but because there was so much on the line and they can now say they are No. 1 in the area, there was no letting down.”

Radnor will play the District Three third-place team in the opening round of the PIAA tournament next Wednesday. The Raiders have come a long way to earn top billing out of District One, overcoming a 5-5 start and losses to Garnet Valley, Conestoga and Haverford in the regular season. But they are hitting their stride in the postseason, knocking off Conestoga and Garnet Valley in the quarterfinal and semifinal along the way.

Celebrating with the District One trophy was validation for Fritz and her players.“I think it’s awesome that this crew did it this year,” Fritz said. “Everyone kept saying that it was a rebuilding year, so it’s extra special to these guys to win it because they never accepted that title of it being a rebuilding year. “They kind of had the mindset of, oh, well we’re going to go out and play and we’re going to go out and beat whoever it is we’re playing. That’s what is so great about them, they just sort of have this workhorse attitude, almost like, ‘What’s next, coach? Where do we go and what do we do?’

“I’m really happy for the seniors. We got all of the seniors in (the game) and they’re a really tight group and a great group of kids.”

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