Brenna Campagna’s frustration kept growing as her team fell behind. Manheim Township was a rising field hockey power. On this day, the Blue Streaks weren’t playing like one.
“Can I say something?” Campagna asked coach Jess Shellenberger during a team huddle.
The answer was yes. Of course she could. The senior was a two-time captain. Someone who competed so hard and invested so much her teammates had no choice but to listen.
The moment remains striking nine months later. Campagna usually led by example. This time she led with her voice. She let everyone know this effort wasn’t good enough.
“That was the first big team we played that season,” Campagna said. “I was like, ‘Go out and try as hard as you can.’ If you fail, that’s much better than running away from the ball and being scared.”
Township was trailing Palmyra 2-0 when Campagna gave her speech on Sept. 21. The game ended in a 2-2 tie. Campagna pulled the Blue Streaks even with a penalty stroke with 40 seconds left.
That was the catalyst for a season of firsts. First Lancaster-Lebanon League championship. First District Three Class 3A championship. First trip to the PIAA final.
It started with a few inspired words against Palmyra.
“That moment was huge for her,” Shellenberger said. “She used her influence over that group, put the team on her back and said, ‘Let’s freaking do this.’ That’s the player she was from that point forward.”
Campagna, one of LNP | LancasterOnline.com’s three finalists for Female Athlete of the Year, became an All-American in the center midfield. Township only lost twice last season, including a 1-0 heartbreaker against Emmaus for state gold.
After the long bus ride home from Cumberland Valley that day, with the runner-up trophy riding shotgun, Shellenberger asked the 10 seniors to stay behind when the rest of the team was dismissed. The second-year coach thanked them with tears in her eyes.
“Look what you did,” Shellenberger said. “You put this program on the map.”
Campagna was vital to Township’s emergence.
Manheim Twp.’s, Brenna Campagna, left, and twin sister Calli Campagna on Tuesday June 25, 2024.
Twin power
They were born 45 minutes apart. Calli arrived first. Brenna took her time before joining her sister. That was a sign of things to come.
“She came into this life on her own terms,” said Shannon Campagna, the girls’ mom, “and she has lived on her own terms.”
Even though they’re not identical, they’ve always had a shared identity. People confuse them for one another. Even college recruiters sometimes mixed up their names. They were always teammates in field hockey and lacrosse. Even their athletic mannerisms made it difficult to tell them apart.
Brenna wore No. 2 and put her hair into a bun. Calli wore No. 3 with a ponytail and a braid. That’s how they differentiated themselves from a distance. They were best friends from the moment their sports journey began. From the day they were born.
“It’s been so fun to experience this with someone right by your side the whole time,” Calli said. “To a lot of people, we’re just the twins. It’s cool to be identified with her and all of her successes.”
Eventually, they had to choose their sport of the future. The one they were going to play in college. Calli picked lacrosse. She’s headed to the University of Cincinnati. Brenna picked field hockey. She will play at Wake Forest.
As soon as they selected different paths, they knew they were going to be separated. The longest they’ve been apart is four days. That will change when Brenna leaves on July 7. She tries to keep that looming reality out of her mind.
“It’s one of those late-night thoughts that you have,” Brenna said. “I’m not going to see her for months at a time. I think it’s time we became our own individual selves.”
They’ll text constantly. They’ll try to FaceTime every day. They’ll watch each other’s games on a livestream. They’ll remain connected in every way they can.
The Campagnas have five children who were standout student-athletes. Trey, the oldest, was followed by Ashlyn and Garrett. By the time the twins reached middle school, they started to realize their family was special. Teachers often asked the twins about their siblings.
“We’re the last ones,” Brenna told them with a smile. “Don’t worry.”
Brenna excelled in lacrosse and helped the Blue Streaks reach the PIAA semifinals last month. A loss to Conestoga in double-overtime is all that prevented the sisters from playing in two state title games in the same school year.
The bond between the twins was evident on and off the field. They weren’t like other teammates. They were closer.
“They definitely had a connection that’s different from most players,” said Coleen Parmer, Township’s girls lacrosse coach. “A sixth sense where they knew where the other person was. It’s like they don’t even need to talk. They know the other one is there.”
JEFF REINHART | Sports WriterBrenna understands what Calli is thinking. She can read her sister’s body language. So much of who they are is the same.
When the lacrosse season ended, it was the end of their shared journey. The finality washed over both of them in the ensuing days. No more No. 2 and No. 3 wearing the same jersey. No more bun and ponytail.
They realize how fortunate they were to have this expereince. They’ve occupied the same friend group. They’ve played for the same high stakes. They’ve been handed the same wonderful gift: a chance to be great together.
“Every night I’m still going home with Calli,” Brenna said. “It’s like the party never ends. I’m always with her. I’m never bored. I’m so lucky to have her. I wish everyone could have that.”
Manheim Twp.’s, Brenna Campagna, a 2024 female Athlete of the Year finalist, on Tuesday June 25, 2024.
1-2-3 Township!
There were seven medals hanging from Brenna Campagna’s stick. Four golds from her district titles on her left and three silvers from her state final appearances on her right.
Those were all that could fit into the photo. A plastic grocery bag filled with gold medals from league championships sat on a nearby desk. It’s hard for anyone to have a more successful career in team sports.
Brenna was a captain in the fall and the spring. Her teammates voted her into those roles.
“I was only lucky enough to coach her for a year,” Parmer said. “But, man, I’d coach her in anything. Brenna thrives in pressure situations. It doesn’t matter the sport or if it’s academics. She knows how to work hard to achieve tough things.”
Campagna did whatever she was asked. She changed field hockey positions from center-mid to center back as a junior at Shellenberger’s request. She moved back to the midfield this season and was the focal point of the attack.
Township scored 116 goals. Campagna had a team-best 20 with 15 assists.
“This year she was the one,” Shellenberger said. “If you were scouting Manheim Township, you had to respect Brenna Campagna. There’s no question what a force she was in the middle of the field.”
Campagna won the Brackbill Award given to the L-L League’s top scholar-athlete. When she asked for recommendations from Shellenberger and Tom Rutledge, her history teacher, she started to consider her place in the school’s history.
The All-American is one of the best field hockey players to wear that blue and white uniform. She’ll be a candidate for Township’s Hall of Fame someday.
“I never really thought about myself like that,” Campagna said. “This is what I love to do, so I’d go out and do it. It touched my heart that people see me that way.”
A leader, a champion and one of the best athletes in the L-L. Brenna carved out her own identity.
