At the beginning of this year, I introduced you to Sue Butz-Stavin, who has shepherded the Emmaus field hockey team for 47 years and whose teams have racked up numbers that seem almost inconceivable.

Well, Butz-Stavin’s young charges have just finished another successful season - successful by anyone’s assessment except perhaps hers and her girls. They were 25-1 (19-0 in winning the East Penn Conference championship), but they lost the PIAA District 3-A semifinal game to Wilson of West Lawn (Berks County) 2-1 in the final four seconds of their match.

In the state final, Wilson lost to Lower Dauphin, 3-2 in double overtime. This was the seventh state title for Lower Dauphin - impressive, yes, but Emmaus has twice as many state crowns - 14.

The defending state champions are not accustomed to losing. It is not expected and it is not accepted, although, as we all know, all streaks must come to an end at some point.

When they do, it’s a great time to take stock of what this incredible run has meant to the East Penn School District in Lehigh County.

During her long tenure of teaching and coaching the Green Hornets, her teams have amassed a record of 1,041 wins, 83 losses and 35 ties, or an off-the-charts 90%.

Most schools consider field hockey one of those “minor” sports, but when your high school is nationally ranked year after year, it gets a lot of attention, as it should.

Playing for an elite program such as the one at Emmaus requires not only skill and competence but also a willingness to put in the time, perseverance and dedication to elevate the competitor’s game to an extraordinarily high level.

When a program such as this is responsible for a ton of trophies and local, state and national recognition, it is disrespectful to categorize it as just another extracurricular activity.

It was just a year ago that Emmaus won another state 3-A championship with a perfect 28-0 record. This was their second in a row of the 14 overall and unmatched by far in state history.

Emmaus had won 69 straight games before its loss to Wilson. It was in the state semifinal game for the 13th consecutive time since 2010. The Green Hornets record since 2015 is 203-4 (a winning percentage of 98).

Along the way in the glorious history of this program, Emmaus has won 39 East Penn Conference championships and 34 consecutive District 11 championships, its 37th overall. The phrase I used in the previous column was “otherworldly.” Jaw-dropping comes to mind, too.

The team was ranked eighth in Pennsylvania this year even ahead of Wilson despite losing to the Bulldogs and 30th nationally. East Penn Conference runner-up Easton placed 20th statewide in the final poll.

Along with the accolades because of her teams’ accomplishments, Butz-Stavin has been getting significant national attention. She has been National High School Coach of the Year and Lehigh Valley Coach of the Year. She is also among the inductees into the first class of the District 11 Sports Hall of Fame.

Her strategy is basic: Have passion for what you do, commit totally to excellence and a goal to improve constantly, stay focused on the prize.

As the “winningest field hockey coach in America,” her success story is chronicled in the book of the same name by Heidi Bright Butler.

Nearly a year ago, the Butz-Stavin’s story was highlighted in a personality profile piece on the NBC Today show by commentator Harry Smith.

Once graduated, her players make their mark on college programs. This year, for example, two University of North Carolina seniors, Madison Orobono and Meredith Sholder, both Emmaus graduates, were defensive standouts in the Tar Heels’ 2-1 win over defending champion Northwestern in the NCAA Division I championship game last week.

Will Butz-Stavin, who will be 70 next year, step down as the Green Hornets’ legendary coach? She has said that as long as her health and that of her husband’s hold out, she’s there for the girls, but acknowledges that this can change in an instant.

It should be noted that longevity runs in her family. Her great-grandmother, Sarah DeRemer Knauss, was said by the Guinness Book of World Records to have been the oldest person in the world when she died at age 119 on Dec. 30 1999, at the Phoebe-Devitt home in Allentown, just two days short of living in three different centuries.

By Bruce Frassinelli | tneditor@tnonline.com