Going camping
Lampe twins forgo summer fun for Army boot camp
Twins McKenna and Madison Lampe are two of the top softball players in the WPIAL. They helped tiny West Greene High School win its second consecutive state title on June 14.
McKenna had an unforgettable game, hitting for the cycle, and Madison was pretty spectacular, too, going 4 for 5.
Like many of their friends, the Lampes have gotten summer jobs before their senior year, but instead of serving ice cream or being a camp counselor, the two have gone another route.
They are serving their country. The Lampes are in boot camp. Just four days after winning a PIAA championship, McKenna and Madison boarded a plane Monday en route to Fort Jackson, S.C., where they will spend nine weeks and four days in basic training for the U.S. Army Reserves. Then, three days after arriving home, they will begin their senior year of high school.
“It’s going to be kind of intimidating, but I think I’m ready for it,” Madison said Sunday.
They’ll be two of the youngest recruits there — they turned 17 on St. Patrick’s Day — and also two of the slightest. They are only 5 feet 5, 120 pounds.
“They might not be 6-4, 240 pounds, but they pack a wallop,” said West Greene softball coach Bill Simms.
Said McKenna: “I could imagine that we’ll be two of the smallest there.”
The Lampes said they were interested in joining the military for the longest time. No one in their immediate family had ever enlisted, but they had relationships with two people who had — Sgt. 1st Class Gerald Rasmussen and retired Sgt. Maj. Paul Walker. Rasmussen is a recruiting officer who covers Greene and Washington counties and Walker is a close family friend.
Rasmussen and Walker would give the Lampes advice and answer questions they would have, but nothing could be done formally until they turned 17. At that age, individuals are allowed to enlist with parental consent.
By the time their birthday arrived, the sisters were throwing the ball around getting ready for softball season, while also beginning to get the ball rolling toward enlisting. First came a meeting that included the twins, their parents John and Stephanie, and Rasmussen.
“It was a two-hour meeting. I tried to pick it apart and find something wrong with it, and we couldn’t find anything wrong,” John Lampe said.
But there was a problem, one the Lampes became aware of the day before winning their third consecutive WPIAL Class 1A championship. The new crop of recruits would be traveling to Fort Jackson on June 11. If West Greene were to make it to the PIAA final for the third year in a row, the game wouldn’t be played until June 14 or 15.
So, Rasmussen put in a request for the Lampes to have a delayed entry. There was some fear that the request would not be granted. However, the decision was made that the twins would be able to wait to be shipped out on the 18th, whether they made the final or not.
It turns out West Greene did, and it came as no surprise that the Lampes played a big part in the win. They’ve been making a name for themselves since they were freshmen. West Greene had not experienced a great deal of athletic success over the years, but with the Lampes leading the way, the Pioneers have almost overnight become a power in softball and basketball. The softball team has reached the PIAA final three years in a row and the basketball team advanced to the WPIAL final for the first time last season. The two also run cross country and both have qualified for the PIAA championships.
“It’s amazing because nobody knew about West Greene,” McKenna said. “All of us have just been working hard. All of my teams that I’ve played on. All of my teammates. Just working really hard to get West Greene a name and put us on the map.”
John and Stephanie have seven children. The family resides in The Village of Rutan, which is about three miles from the high school and nine miles from the West Virginia border. It was on the family’s three acres where McKenna and Madison began to hone their softball skills. At the age of 3, they were already holding wiffle ball bats about the same size as themselves and sprinting around the bases. John would pitch. Stephanie would play first base. By the time they reached T-ball, they were hitting home runs and turning double plays.
This season, McKenna, the team’s leadoff hitter and center fielder, batted .571 with 31 RBIs, 56 runs scored and 35 stolen bases. Madison, who batted second and played third base, hit .527 with 44 RBIs, 50 runs scored and 22 steals.
Numerous colleges are showing interest, including Robert Morris and Minnesota. But the twins said there is a good chance they will attend Alvernia University in Reading. The school has a Yellow Ribbon program, meaning the Army will pay for any tuition costs that aren’t covered by an athletic scholarship. They are thinking about pursuing careers as nurses.
Instead of playing with their travel softball team like they do every summer, the Lampes will be busy doing lots of push-ups, sit-ups and running countless miles, just a few parts of the boot camp experience.
“We aspired to do the reserves together. We thought it would be a great thing to do,” McKenna said.
Stephanie Lampe said she had some emotional moments in recent weeks as her daughters readied to embark on their new journey, but said their decision has made her prouder than ever.
“I don’t even know how to put it into words,” she said. “They’re giving up their travel team they were with since they were young. All the fun that they could be having with their friends. And to go serve their country. I think that shows that they’re very hard working. They’re motivated and they’re selfless. I guess you can say because they put that ahead of any of the normal teenage things. They’re looking at their future is what they’re doing.”