Honesdale hosts 26th Annual Indoor Field Hockey Tournament

HONESDALE — The inaugural spring indoor field hockey tournament at Wayne Highlands was held 26 years ago in the high school and middle school gyms.

The event was the brainchild of Hall of Fame coach Dennis Longenecker, whose star player back then was a tough-as-nails farm girl named Becca Henderson.

Henderson went on to become an All-American at East Stroudsburg University before returning home to teach, coach and start a family. After settling in at the Damascus School, she married Jason Maciejewski and eventually succeeded Longenecker as head coach of the varsity squad.

Last weekend, Maciejewski oversaw the 26th annual indoor tournament, which spanned three days and attracted 45 teams from all over the region.

“It’s such a great weekend,” Maciejewski said during final day action at the high school. “We’ve worked really hard over the years to establish a reputation and that’s really paid off. Everybody is here and having a good time. The mood is great and it’s a wonderful environment for field hockey.”

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More than 400 athletes took part in the tournament, which featured separate competitive and recreation brackets across four age divisions: High School, Junior High, Elementary, and Open.

The end of an era

Over the course of the past four years, Honesdale has enjoyed a golden age of varsity field hockey.

Under the direction of Maciejewski, the Lady Hornets have advanced to the District 2 finals four straight times, winning a pair of Class AAA championships and twice advancing to the PIAA state tournament.

Two student-athletes who’ve played key roles in this unprecedented run are Claire Campen and Jillian Hoey. Both are seniors and each captained a team at this year’s indoor tourney.

Campen is an All-State honoree and the program’s all-time leading scorer. She’ll be continuing her academic and athletic career at Monmouth University. Before she departs, though, Campen was determined to add one last line to her field hockey resume: an indoor tournament title.

“My teammates and I knew this would be our last year playing in the high school division, and wanted to make it count,” Campen said. “I’m proud to say we finally achieved our goal and became champions.”

Hoey is also a senior winding down an outstanding varsity career. She will be headed off to college in the fall with an eye toward med school and one day becoming an endocrinologist.

With that laudable goal in mind, Hoey has decided to focus on her studies in college. So, the indoor tournament could well be her last hurrah athletically … and she went out on top.

“I started participating in this tournament in sixth grade,” Hoey said. “Since then, I’ve played every year. It’s the event all HHS field hockey players look forward to. This was my last year playing and it couldn’t have ended in a better way.”

Other members of the Lady Hornet mini-dynasty who participated in this year’s tournament included: Roz Maciejewski, Roz Mikulak, Miranda Roegner, Jordan Patzuk, Lily Murray, Alyssa Czekai, Kady McElroy, Jocelyn Hnath, Addy LaBruno, Molly Diehl, Emelia Zielinski, Hailey Brady, Cailyn Bunting, Jaydan Beisner, Caitlin Brescia, Bridget Murray, Chloee Spry.

On the dais

Honesdale’s 26th annual indoor tournament got underway Friday evening and ran through Sunday afternoon.

Winners in each bracket were…

•Open Competitive Division: Not Fast, Just Furious defeated Sabotage in overtime in the championship match.

•Open Fun Division: Field Hockey Y’All defeated the Red Rockets in the final.

•Stinger Division: Paupack Bucks defeated Delaware Valley in the title tilt.

•Junior High Division: Rugrats (Valley West) defeated The Big Red Machine (Crestwood) in the championship match.

•High School Division: Queen Bees (Honesdale) defeated Black Widow (Valley West) in the finals.

•Fun High School Division: Claire’s Crew defeated Honesdale in the title tilt.

“After 26 years, this tournament has really become a labor of love,” Maciejewski said. “And it’s gotten to year 26 because of all the people who selflessly support us. It’s all greatly appreciated and gives life to our program.”

This article originally appeared on Tri-County Independent: Honesdale Indoor Field Hockey Tournament celebrates 26 years