Friend, Gerber earn state medals
Uniontown senior Julie Friend capped her remarkable cross country career Saturday by finishing seventh in the girls Class AA race at the PIAA Championships held in Hershey.
Teammate Julie Gerber, slowed earlier in the season with a foot injury suffered during track season, also earned a spot on the medals podium by finishing 19th overall.
Friend finished in 19:32, and was the top runner from District 7 (WPIAL). Gerber completed the state championship course in 19:52.
Adair Gennocro finished first in the Class AA race in a winning time of 19:00.
The Lady Raiders made a strong showing as a team, finishing eighth with 259 points. Palmyra won the team title with 91 points, finishing three points ahead of Dallas.
Friend was fourth for team scoring and Gerber was 12th. Also figuring in Uniontown’s final total were Rachel Diamond (71, 21:31), Jade Bellotti (81, 21:45), Paige Tibbe (91, 22:13), Alexis Wivell (96, 22:27), and Katie Burgess (121, 23:29).
Uniontown’s Brady Guthrie was the top local finisher in the boys Class AA race, finishing 40th overall in a time of 17:19. Teammate Nate Edenfield was 69th overall with a time of 17:37.
Laurel Highlands’ Justin Kostelnik did not have the finish he had hoped for in his last cross country race, placing 138th overall in a time of 18:08.
“Getting sick right before the race didn’t help,” explained Kostelnik.
“I was running, but felt fatigued. After the first 1½ miles, I felt I was going nowhere.
“I had more to give and it didn’t happen.”
Though his finish fell short of what he hoped to accomplish, the total experience of running in the state championship was memorable.
“It was great. At the start, the flag starts to rise and it got so quiet. The flag dropped, and there was so much chaos,” said Kostelnik. “Everyone got out so fast. I didn’t want to go out too fast, but if you don’t, you get stuck in the back.
“I was running with the best runners in the state. This was my last chance, and I didn’t do well. But, I wouldn’t trade that for anything.”
Big Spring’s Vinny Todaro won the title in 16:00, four seconds ahead of North Schuylkill’s Brendan Shearn. Pottsgrove won the team title with 96, edging Grove City by three points.