LH’s Monaghan disappointed in 5th-place finish
SLIPPERY ROCK – Mikie Monaghan fought the cold – the outside weather as well as a touch of the sniffles – to finish fifth Thursday in the WPIAL Class AAA Girls Cross Country Championships held at Slippery Rock University. The Laurel Highlands senior will be joined in Hershey on Saturday, Nov. 2 by a couple of familiar faces. Uniontown’s Scarlett Graham was seventh overall while Connellsville’s Shannon Kovack was 17th for their first trips to the PIAA Championships.
The Class AA field was expanded to four teams and 20 non-team qualifying runners, the same as Class AAA, and three local runners benefited from the new format. Brownsville’s Julie Kromer and Amber Jackson along with Southmoreland’s Maria Rendine all qualified for the state meet despite not finishing in the top 20.
Monaghan sprinted away from the field of nearly 300 runners to take the early lead, but West Allegheny’s Christine Taranto was close behind. Taranto pulled ahead of Monaghan before the 2-mile mark and held on for her first Class AAA title.
The second pack of Penn Hills’ Kaitlin Grimm, Latrobe’s Amy Egan and North Allegheny’s Kelley O’Brien passed the standing county champion by the final straightaway to finish second through fourth.
Monaghan is used to running in front of the field, but wasn’t feeling her best as the race progressed to finish with a time of 19:45.
“I didn’t feel great. I think I was too nervous. It wasn’t my best race,” Monaghan said. “I think today was an off day.”
Graham was elated with her time of 19:57. The senior won the county championship as a freshman, but fell on bad times as a sophomore and junior. Her resurgence in the fall was built on a strong track season last spring.
“I got a good start. I took a little while to warm up. It’s pretty cold,” Graham said.
“I like running with other girls. It helps me run faster,” Graham said of the large field. “Going up the last hill I told myself ‘All I have to do is finish this.’ I’m so happy. That’s all I wanted. I’m happy with our team today. We did well.”
It was hard to tell who was happier with Kovack’s finish, the junior or her mother. Kovack became the first Connellsville girl to qualify for the state meet by medaling with a time of 20:23.
“I’m so excited. My dad and I have come up here three straight Sundays. I have notes. I know this course like the back of my hand,” Kovack said. “I heard places. Everyone was yelling out places to the runners.
“I started this back before track season ended. I’m so excited.”
Three-time defending champion Lauren Bricker failed to gain her share of history by finishing 13th with a time of 20:13.
Rendine was 23rd overall in the Class AA race with a time of 22:04. The Southmoreland sophomore realized qualifying was going to be close and the cold weather didn’t help.
“I’d regret it if that one girl gets ahead of me and gets (into the states). I picked up two or three girls in the last mile,” Rendine said. “I like it warm. It’s harder to breath when it’s cold. I warmed up a little, but my muscles seemed tense.”
Kromer didn’t want to think about not qualifying after missing the state meet as a junior last year after qualifying as a freshman and sophomore. She finished 29th overall in a time of 22:11, two places and three seconds ahead of Jackson.
“My time was really good. This is the best I’ve ever run,” Kromer said of her season’s personal best. “I had a sense I might not medal. (The WPIAL Championship) seems like a real quick race. I didn’t have time to panic. I only passed one person in the chute after the first mile.”
Only a freshman, Jackson seemed relaxed in the biggest race of her young career.
“I wasn’t that nervous. I was more nervous yesterday. I knew I could do it. I knew I had a good chance,” Jackson said. “If I didn’t make (the states), it wouldn’t have been a disappointment. I still have three years left.”
Maxine Markfield led the Quaker Valley assault in Class AA leading seven runners into the top 20 by winning in 19:49. Frazier freshman Rebecca Leary was 37th in Class AA with a time of 22:45, just missing qualifying for the state meet by two places.
Albert Gallatin’s Rachel Karpency was 174th overall in Class AAA in a time of 23:35. Geibel Catholic’s Bethany Caldwell was 68th in the Class AA race with a time of 23:39 with Waynesburg Central’s Jessica Thompson in 119th and Beth-Center’s Rebecca White in 126th.
Mt. Lebanon won the girls Class AAA crown with North Allegheny second, West Allegheny third and Baldwin in fourth. Laurel Highlands finished 24th, Uniontown was 28th and Connellsville placed 32nd.
Quaker Valley stormed to the Class AA title with 40 points. Center was second, Mars third and Mohawk was fourth. Brownsville was 10th, Southmoreland finished 12th and Frazier placed 15th.