According to local historian Chuck Langerman, Mike Berry, a 1980 graduate of Cheltenham High School, is one of the greatest cross-country runners in Panther history. In 1979, he won the Suburban One League championship and went on to place second overall in the PIAA state meet that year.

A few years after graduation, Berry returned to his alma mater to serve as an assistant coach with longtime cross-country head coach Tom Sexton. His coaching career and his life were cut short by a tragic car accident on February 20, 1986. Berry was only 23 years old.

To honor his memory, Coach Sexton and Berry’s teammates started the Mike Berry Memorial Run, held annually the Saturday after Labor Day at the Panthers’ home course in Curtis Arboretum.

Each year, CHS cross-country alumni return home to race the current team and donate to the Mike Berry Fund. Alumni have raised over $35,000 in scholarship money, which is given annually to the recipient of the Mike Berry Award. The scholarship was established to reward a top CHS senior cross-country runner who best exemplifies Berry’s competitive spirit. 

“Mike was great to coach. He hated to lose, had a wonderful sense of humor, and was a loyal teammate,” Coach Sexton, who recently retired after guiding the harriers for 50 years, said. “He would always submit his ego for the good of the group. Mike loved to have fun, and there was always laughter around him.”

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