BY JEFF FALK

Kristi Costello was more than a link between eras, more than a vehicle. Not only did she maintain the excellence of Lebanon County’s most successful scholastic program, she took Palmyra Field Hockey to the next level.

Citing time constraints and concerns over managing her growing family, Costello recently stepped down as the Cougars’ head field hockey coach. A former Palmyra player and Division One competitor, Costello coached the Cougars for nine successful campaigns, during which Palmyra won a state championship, advanced to three straight PIAA finals and captured four District Three titles.

During those years, Costello’s clubs amassed an overall record of 179-39-3. But Costello’s greatest accomplishment as Palmyra’s head coach may have been to send dozens of graduates on to NCAA play, a number that is more than any other scholastic athletic program in Lebanon County.

Over the past several years, Costello and her husband Mark, who helps coach football at Lebanon Valley College, have welcomed two children to their family. Kristi Costello also teaches full-time in the Palmyra school district.

As a player in the early 2000s, Costello was a key cog in the success fostered by then co-head coaches Wendy Reichenbach and Kent Harshman, her father.

Palmyra Field Hockey

    Championship History Since 1998

Capital Division Champions of the Mid-Penn Conference: 2001 – 2009

Keystone Division CO-Champions of the Mid-Penn Conference: 2013, 2014

Mid-Penn Conference Champions: 2009

District III AA Champions: 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2011, 2013

 District III AAA Champions: 2015, 2016

1984 – ???

Pa State AA Champions: 2005

Pa State AAA Co-Champions: 2014

Pa State AA Runner-Up: 2007

Pa State AAA Runner-Up 2015

PA State AAA Runner-Up 2016