by Geoff Fox
photo courtesy of Jaime Lego
Hancock Middle-Senior High School has a new Athletic Director with long roots in Clear Spring.
During the February 21 Washington County Board of Education meeting, Jaime Lego was named the new Athletic Director at Hancock Middle-High School, effective February 24. Lego leaves her position as a math teacher at Clear Spring Middle School.
Overall, Lego has 25 years experience teaching math and coaching cross country and track and field.
In 2010, Lego was named Washington County Public Schools Teacher of the Year.
Lego is a former athlete on the Clear Spring High School Track and Field team and competed for Hagerstown Community College’s Cross Country and Track and Field teams.
After HCC, Lego earned a Cross Country/Track scholarship to Midway University in Midway, Kentucky.
Lego returned to Maryland after graduation and was hired to at Clear Spring to be the Blazers’ coach in Track and Cross Country.
“I coached 58 seasons at Clear Spring High – 25 seasons of Cross Country, 13 of Indoor Track, and 20 of Outdoor Track,” she said in an email.
In those years at Clear Spring, the Blazers won state, regional, and county championships, along with three top five finishes in the state in Cross Country.
The Cross Country team won back-to-back Boys State Championships in 2005 and 2006.
Lego said the team broke two state records in those years, one of which still stands – Josh Keyfauver’s 800m record in Boys Outdoor Track.
Indoor track produced three state champs, a team county championship, and individual state champs each year from 2003 to 2007. The team qualified for states from 2001 to 2011.
Outdoor Tack had state qualifiers from 2000 to 2011 and 2019 to 2023. From 2002 to 2010, there were individual state champs as well.
“I also had the chance to coach Mid-Atlantic all-star teams in Australia,” she said.
Lego said for the remainder of this year, she is eager to continue to learn more about the community and how she can support the coaches and athletes.
“Athletics is an extension of the work being done in the classrooms each day and I want to support our coaches as they teach life lessons such as discipline, dedication, punctuality, and what it takes to be a positive team member,” Lego said.
In meeting with the coaches, Lego found they have the same goals for Panther athletes – “we hope to use athletics to develop skills that our athletes need for life-long success,” she said.
She added they agree high school athletics are a chance to add fun and memorable experiences to the four years of high school.
“Our coaches are already doing great work and I want to help enhance their work,” she said.
Lego will be teaching classes in the middle school and hopes to help the coaches recruit athletes.
Since taking over the reigns as Athletic Director on February 24, Lego said she has felt supported and welcomed at the school.
“In my first week, I had the chance to attend a home basketball game to watch the boys and girls’ teams, support the Track and Field athletes at the State Championships, and go to the playoff games at Allegany,” she said.
By doing that, it gave Lego a chance to see the Panthers. It also helped her to figure out all of the pieces that make up the AD job.
“I am grateful that they keep answering my questions and guiding me as I try to do the best I can to serve our athletes and support our coaching staff,” Lego said.
Former Athletic Director Bill Sterner, who stepped in during late winter while the search for a director continued, set Lego up with many of the spring sports tasks completed so Lego was able to hit the ground running, she said.
Lego is a graduate of Clear Spring High School, HCC, Midway University, and McDaniel College. In her teaching career, Lego has taught at Springfield Middle for eight years and at Clear Spring Middle since 2008.
She and her husband live in Hagerstown with their two dogs Dempsey and Brooks and is a member of the Rehoboth UMC in Williamsport where she also serves in the projection ministry.
Lego is also a huge baseball fan and worked for the Hagerstown Suns for 11 years.
She credits her parents, brother, and husband as having been “such an amazing foundation as I have worked towards this over the years.”
From the time she worked on her Master’s degree in Athletic Administration, to hosting meets at Clear Spring, to helping her move boxes in to her classroom and office at Hancock, Lego said she wouldn’t have been able to do it without them.