It’s the phrase that’s etched across the back of Warren’s warm-up shirts this season, and on Saturday those words came to fruition.

When the final point was emphatically slammed down by Lydia Latimer to secure the first District 10 title in program history, a team that has been so driven and laser-focused this season let loose a wave of emotion befitting of what they had just accomplished.

“We’ve known all along that we’d be the first team to do it,” said senior Celia Chase. “Our saying this year was ‘be legendary.’ It was a driving force.”

They worked for it, they expected it and they achieved it.

Warren’s Lex Nyquist smiles as she receives her gold medal from coach Mike Dolan.

And when that moment came, there were no words needed.

“It’s pretty unexplainable, to the point where I just lose words,” said senior Trinity Wennberg.

“It’s something that causes me to jump a million feet in the air and scream as loud as I can.”

And those emotions were joyous to watch.

“It didn’t hit me until we won, then I started crying,” said sophomore Jordan Sitler.

Warren’s Julia Lobdell gets a high-five from Kadee Merenick as the starters are introduced before Saturday’s District 10 championship against Conneaut.

“Then I started crying because she started crying,” said senior Ellie Lobdell.

Added Chase: “It was a moment of excitement because it’s what we’ve worked for and have been playing for this whole season. It’s a moment of accomplishment.”

Winning championships are hard work, and this one certainly wasn’t easy, as Conneaut gave them everything they had and then some.

But late in the match, something became very obvious.

All that hard work, the hours spent physically and mentally preparing, were on display in the most important moment of the season.

‘Be Legendary,’ the mantra for the Lady Dragons all season, as it appears on their warm-up shirts. Legendary status – achieved.

Both teams played at a very high level, but late in the match, Conneaut began to show some signs of fatigue.

And as for Warren? Not a chance.

“All those hours, it just shows,” said junior Lex Nyquist. “They (Conneaut) were huffing and puffing and we heard a couple of the other girls at the net say how tired they were and we weren’t tired at all.”

Added Wennberg: “I feel like that just made us push more, to know that we had more energy then them.”

A challenging schedule also helped prepare them.

True, the Lady Dragons rolled through most of the teams in their path, but there were some stiff tests along the way.

Wins during the regular season against Corry and Cochranton, who took their turns winning the Class 1A and 2A titles respectively before Warren took the court at the House of Thrills, certainly proved instrumental.

“The close matches definitely prepared us for this one,” Nyquist said. “We knew we had to stay aggressive and keep up the intensity.”

They did all of this in front of another packed house, filled with the three F’s – family, friends and the ‘Flannel Panel.’

They all shared in this moment as well.

“It felt so good when all our parents and the Flannel Panel were cheering for us,” Sitler said.

And when the time to celebrate on the court came to a close, they were welcomed back to town in style with a police escort.

It was the perfect ending to a perfect day.

And they aren’t done yet.

Awaiting them back in Meadville on Tuesday is Central Valley in the first round of the state playoffs.

“It will be tough in states, no Warren team has ever been there before,” Chase said. “If we play our best we can go pretty far.”

And if anyone doubts that, then they just don’t know this team.

After all, they’re legends now.