Monaghan, Fillies place first in FCCA Cross Country Meet
The top three places were pretty much preordained as girls from the seven county schools toed the starting line Thursday afternoon at Penn State-Fayette. The top three fell right into place at expected in the Fayette County Coaches Association Meet, but there was a high spirited race behind the three to see who would finish in the top 10 and earn all-county honors.
Laurel Highlands retained the team title with 35 points. Uniontown was second at 70 with Brownsville finishing third with 78. Connellsville was fourth and Frazier was fifth. Albert Gallatin and Geibel Catholic did not have a full squad.
As expected, Laurel Highlands’ Mikie Monaghan set the pace, winning her third consecutive title in a stellar time of 18:51. She led a strong contingent of Fillies home with three teammates earning all-county honors to take Laurel Highlands to the team title with 35 points.
Monaghan is used to being out front by herself with the familiar environs of Uniontown’s home course adding a certain amount of comfort.
“I know how to deal with it now. I look at the course in segments, about 15 or 20, and try to get there as fast as I can. I try not to think about the other runners,” Monaghan said. “I listen for my splits. I was a little fast at the mile. I relaxed. I didn’t want to slow down. I wanted to hit my pace.
“It’s a great feeling winning the third championship in a row. I really wanted it. I broke 19 minutes so I got both my goals today. I wanted our team to win. It makes it so much better.”
After winning the county title as a freshman, Uniontown’s Scarlett Graham fell way back as a sophomore and junior. Her second place finish in 19:47 was well received considering her problems.
“I was running for time,” Graham said after it became apparent she was to finish second. “I was happy today with my time, but I wanted to better my PR (personal best) of 19:35. I’m so happy. It’s a good feeling (to finish second).”
Connellsville junior Shannon Kovack was also in “no man’s land” back in third place. The junior finished in a time of 20:49 for her best county finish.
“The separation was too big. My time was good. When no one’s pressuring you, you have to keep pushing it,” Kovack said. “I like to start fast, especially with so many runners in the WPIAL finals. I wanted to get out and was able to do that today.”
Evans was behind the lead trio, but had a cushion herself with a fourth place finish in a time of 22:08. She was very pleased with her performance as a sign the work is starting to pay off.
“I’m really pleased with myself. I knew I wanted fourth. Scarlett, Mikie and Shannon are so strong. I’m accomplishing so many individual goals. Now it’s starting to come together,” Evans said. “I’m proud of our team and I’m proud of Mikie.”
LaPresta started at an easy pace with Evans in the first mile, and then began to move through the pack to finish eighth in a time of 22:33. After finishing 11th the past two years, the spot on the all-county team was greatly appreciated.
“I was 11th the past two years and I wanted the top 10 this year. Finishing so close made me want this more,” LaPresta said.
Molly Mullaney was sixth and Christine Salandra was seventh to give Connellsville three all-county performers. Only a second apart, the two Lady Falcons were able to feed off each other as the race progressed.
“Christine helped me. I pushed it up the last hill,” Mullaney said of holding on to sixth.
“I really wanted to make all-county. It’s my last race here,” said Salandra, a senior. “I’m so happy for Molly. My sister was here from college. It was nice having a little push with my sister and mother.
“This is the year I actually liked cross country. Being a senior, it was my last race and that’s a big deal. I did what I could.”
Soft-spoken Rebecca Leary let her legs do the talking. The Frazier freshman finished fifth in a time of 22:23 to be the only Class AA runner in the top 10.
“I pushes me when I have to run with someone. I just want to pick someone off in front of me,” Leary said.
The finish for the final spot on the all-county team was fast and furious, so much so the race directors had to go out to the hundredths of a second. Uniontown’s Jillian Monahan edged Laurel Highlands’ Rachel Perry who in turn slipped in just ahead of Brownsville’s Julie Kromer for the final all-county berth.
Monahan gutted out an injured knee in the Section 2-AAA finale against Connellsville on Monday. She felt a lot better as she earned all-county honors for the second consecutive year.
“I knew who was going to be in front of me. I run better with bigger groups. I knew I was 11th coming up the final hill. I moved ahead about halfway on the last straightaway.
Rachel Karpency finished 16th for Albert Gallatin with Bethany Caldwell placing 23rd for Geibel.