The Benjamin Franklin Highway, also known as Route 422, runs about 81 miles from Hummelstown, Pa. to King of Prussia, Pa., crossing five counties along the way. Just south of that is Route 322, which has been considered part of the Lakes-To-Sea Highway. That ribbon of roadway runs from the state capital of Harrisburg to Hummelstown, where it branches off its sister highway, then goes through Lancaster County and continues on to West Chester.
The area adjacent to these two highways constitute the richest vein of field hockey talent and player development infrastructure in America. The communities between the Benjamin Franklin Highway and this segment of the Lakes-To-Sea Highway have produced Division I players and coaches, national-team players, and Olympians for decades.
This year, the 322-422 corridor has stepped it up a level. You cannot throw a dart at the map of the area without striking a prominent field hockey entity. Within this region, you have large cities like Harrisburg and Reading, as well as small villages like Oaks and Honey Brook.
The high schools and the championships won in the vicinity of Routes 322 and 422 are legion: Pottstown Hill School (Pa.), Tredyffrin Conestoga (Pa.), Lititz Warwick (Pa.), Malvern Villa Maria (Pa.), Villanova Academy of Notre Dame de Namur (Pa.), Newtown Square Episcopal Academy (Pa.), Hummelstown Lower Dauphin (Pa.), Hershey (Pa.), and Palmyra (Pa.) are all highly successful programs which have been amongst the finest teams annually in America.
Moreover, the internationally-renowned W.C. Eagles club side is located about two miles, straight as the crow flies, from Route 422. in Spring City. And, lest we forget, the site of the National High School Invitational, The Proving Grounds, only about five miles from the terminus of Route 422.
This makes it obvious that the Route 322-422 Corridor is the TopOfTheCircle.com Region of the Year for 2024.
The area between Routes 322 and 422 in Pennsylvania joins a range of other geographical locations selected in past years:
2024: Route 322-422 Corridor, Pa.
2023: Loudoun County, Va.
2022: Mid-Penn Conference, Pa.
2021: Pennsylvania non-public schools
2020-21: State of Ohio
2019: Charlotte, N.C.
2018: PIAA District 3, Pa.
2017: Houston, Tex.
2016: Commonwealth of Virginia
2015: Summit, N.J.
2014: CIF Central Coast Section, Calif.
2013: VHSL North, Va.
2012: State of New Jersey
2011: Lancaster-Lebanon League, Pa.
2010: No award
2009: No award
2008: CIF San Diego Section, Calif.
2007: PIAA District 4, Pa.
2006: Winston-Salem, N.C.
2005: Louisville, Ky.
2004: Kent and Sussex County, Del.
2003: PIAA District 2, Pa.
2002: State of North Carolina
2001: Lancaster County, Pa.
2000: Cecil County, Md.
1999: PIAA District 3, Pa.
1998: State of Maryland
1997: CIF San Diego Section, Calif.
1996: Hunterdon and Warren County, N.J.
