Twin Valley Senior Hailey Kilgore to Play Two Sports at Shippensburg
- Sean McBryan
- Sep 29
- 3 min read
Twin Valley senior Hailey Kilgore pondered what sport she might like to play in college. A standout in both basketball and track & field, she asked herself: Why not both?
Kilgore verbally committed to Shippensburg University — where she will remain a Raider — earlier this month to continue her basketball, track & field, and academic careers at the Division II PSAC school.
“Shippensburg was one of the few colleges that allowed me to do both, which I thought was a really cool opportunity,” Kilgore said. “The coaches made me feel like I belonged there. They made me feel important. Then when I met the team, they were so welcoming. I felt like I could really fit in with them.”
Kilgore's decision came down to Ship, Millersville (where she would only have run track), East Stroudsburg, and Moravian, which were the four schools she visited.
Academics were another factor as Kilgore plans to major in Early Childhood Education.
“Ship has a really good program,” she said. “They even have an elementary school on campus, which is such a great opportunity. That really pulled me in.”
On the court, she'll likely play shooting guard for longtime head coach Kristy Trn, the winningest coach in Ship history with 417 career victories, two PSAC titles, and five NCAA Tournament appearances.
Trn's roster already features plenty of PIAA District 3 flair, with recent high school standouts including Bella Chimienti (Central York), Rylee Kraft (Lancaster Catholic), and Alexis Buie (Cedar Cliff). Taja Colbert (Bishop McDevitt) and Abbie Miller (Cumberland Valley) were seniors on the team last year.
Kilgore remembers watching some of them.
“I’ll never forget watching Bella score her 1,000th point at a tournament,” Kilgore said. “Now I’m excited to be joining a team with players like her.”
Before she does, Kilgore has a great opportunity to reach 1,000 career points herself. She currently sits at 769 points, putting her well within range to become the sixth Twin Valley girl in program history to reach the mark.
“It’s definitely one of my big goals, but I don’t want to focus on it too much,” Kilgore said. “I don’t want to think only about scoring instead of winning as a team. But it would mean a lot for my whole family. They’ve put in so much time for me to get better. It would be a big accomplishment for everyone.”
She’s already left her mark as a shooter, ranking at No. 22 among Berks County’s all-time leaders in 3-pointers made with 126. Twice she’s hit seven threes in a single game, tying her with 10 others for third-most in one game, including former Twin Valley great Peyton McDaniel.
“Peyton was a huge inspiration to me,” Kilgore said. “I always went to her games and imagined myself out there. One time I even got her to sign my Croc, which I thought was the coolest thing ever.”
Kilgore's father, Jason, a longtime track coach at West Chester, has also been a driving force.
“We work together every single day,” she said. “He takes so much time to plan out workouts for me. Before every game he texts me, ‘Work hard. Discipline is everything.’ That really helps me focus. I wouldn’t be anywhere near the player I am without him.”
Twin Valley has steadily improved during Kilgore’s career from four wins her freshman year, to seven as a sophomore, to winning Berks II last season.
Kilgore scored 10.5 points per game as a freshman and the team went 4-18. She averaged 14.4 ppg as a sophomore and the team improved to 7-15. Last year she averaged 11.8 ppg as the team went 14-10 and won the division.
“I’ve definitely grown in confidence,” Kilgore said. “I’m better at getting to the basket, finding teammates, and being a vocal leader. I still want to improve on staying confident when shots don’t fall, and also helping my teammates through that. That’s my focus for this season."
The Raiders played Gov. Mifflin tough in the BCIAA quarterfinals before falling to Lower Dauphin in the District 3 Class 5A playoffs. They'll be looking to continue their upward trajectory this year.
“Just being able to stick with the same core group of girls has helped us get so much better playing together,” Kilgore said. “This year we didn’t lose many [players], so I’m feeling really confident."
She credits her coaches, family, and teammates, and especially her sister and teammate Olivia for helping her along the way. Now she has one more high school season to write the final chapter in her Twin Valley legacy before moving roughly 100 miles west to Shippensburg.