Oct 1, 2002 By Jim Downey 3 min read

The Section 2-AAA title wasn’t on the line Monday afternoon and it was the second time in two days the three teams ran at Penn State-Fayette. No matter because the Uniontown girls cross country team ended the section schedule on a high note with a sweep of a triangular meet with Connellsville and Elizabeth-Forward. The Lady Red Raiders defeated Connellsville by displacement after the teams tied, 28-28, though they had no problems with the Lady Warriors by a 15-48 score. The Lady Falcons earned a split with a 15-42 win over Elizabeth-Forward.

Uniontown (6-4) finished the section schedule with a 4-3 mark. Connellsville (6-6) closed the section season with a 4-3 record with Elizabeth-Forward finishing at 1-6.

The top two places unfolded as expected with Uniontown’s Scarlett Graham winning the race in 19:56. Connellsville’s Shannon Kovack ran by herself most of the race, placing second with a time of 21:34.

“I was well rested. It wasn’t too bad,” Graham said after her second race in three days. “I feel I ran better today than Saturday.”

With the county meet on Thursday, Graham has decided not to play any soccer this week. Girls soccer games are usually scheduled on Mondays and Wednesdays.

“I was disappointed with my time,” said Kovack, who ran a season-best time Saturday at the A.J. Everhart Invitational. “It’s easier to push yourself when you’re getting pushed. I’ll aim for a good time Thursday. I’ll keep my head and keep my pace.”

The race began to develop with Graham and Kovack safely home. Connellsville took third and fourth with Molly Mullaney and Christine Salandra, but Uniontown countered with the next three in Stephanie Waggel, Sara Kovach and Candace Adams.

Brit Mancini kept Connellsville’s hopes alive by finishing eighth. Uniontown’s Arta Faye Hruby closed out the scoring for the Lady Red Raiders with Jill Monahan providing the tiebreaker in 10th place. Gina Heald was fifth for Connellsville.

Monahan is usually the second runner for Uniontown, but had to persevere through some physical difficulties to finish in the top 10. Uniontown coach Joe Everhart praised Monahan’s efforts.

“We lost our second runner, but Jill finished sixth. Even though she didn’t come in second, she was the difference in the meet. She hung in there even though she was hurting,” Everhart said.

“Uniontown ran better than us today. They ran just a little bit better,” Connellsville coach Joe Siecinski said. “Shannon was a little tired today. I think the hot weather had an effect on the runners today.

“The county meet will be an interesting meet. After the top three, four girls, I think it’s wide open. Anybody can be up in the top 10.”