Taylor made
LH’s Schwertfeger qualifies for 3rd state championship
WHITE OAK — With five individual qualifiers and one team being eliminated from advancement to the state meet in Class 2A at the WPIAL girls cross country championships, Laurel Highlands senior Taylor Schwertfeger knew she had her work cut out for her on Thursday at White Oak Park.
In Schwertfeger’s first three seasons, the top 20 individuals that weren’t on the teams who finished in the first four earned a berth in the PIAA Championships, but that number was reduced to 15 individuals and three squads this year.
Schwertfeger was 22nd at the first mile in 6:12.4 before dropping one spot at mile two (13:37.1). She hung on to finish 23rd in 21:00 to earn the 15th individual spot and advance to her third-straight state championship meet.
“I was trying to not go too fast in the first mile, but keep that pace and push it from there,” Schwertfeger said. “I was trying to keep my eye on a couple of girls in front of me and stay with them. I tried to keep the top Belle Vernon girls in sight the whole time. They ran well today.”
The state championships will be held on Nov. 7 at Big Spring High School in Newville.
Schwertfeger and her teammates competed at the course on Sept. 26 in the 20th Annual PIAA Foundation XC Invitational. She finished 26th overall in the Class 2A race with a time of 21:14.
“I like this new course better than the one at Hersheypark,” Schwertfeger said. “It would be very cool to finish high enough to place, but it will be a tough race. There is a lot of good competition out there.”
Schwertfeger, who also plays basketball and competes in track & field for the Mustangs, hasn’t made a decision on a school, or if she will compete at the collegiate level, but will keep her options open as she finishes her final year of high school.
Laurel Highlands finished 17th in the team standings in Class 2A. Sophomore Vanesa Rosano was 67th in 22:39.7 and freshman Mariah Maciejczak was 110th in 24:07.7.
Junior Clara Cully (147th/26:32.4) and sophomore Sophia Yauger (150th/26:37.2) closed the scoring for the Mustangs.
Despite not having a state qualifier, Uniontown placed 10th overall in Class 2A. Freshman Aurora Payton led the way in finishing 51st with a time of 22:07.2.
Senior Sadie Hostetler (57th/22:21.3), sophomore Addison Caruso (59th/22:23.7) and freshman Maddie DeCarlo (62nd/22:30.4) ran in a tight pack to finish five places and eight seconds apart.
Sophomore Sorcha Best (101st/23:55) rounded out the Red Raiders’ top five.
Belle Vernon’s first-through-fifth runners finished in a spread of 1:02 to place second and qualify for the state in Class 2A with 121 points. North Catholic earned the team championship with 50 points.
The Leopards’ Brooklyn Steeber qualified as an individual with an 18th-place finish in 20:35.2. The junior has earned a trip to the state meet all three of her years in high school.
Fellow junior Lily Walsh was on Steeber’s heels in 19th place in 20:41.9. Walsh would have earned a berth in the state meet as an individual qualifier had Belle Vernon not finished in the top three of the team standings.
Sophomore Delaney Fretts was less than three seconds from qualifying as an individual after finishing 27th in 21:09.2.
Sophomore Lilah Steeber (29th/21:12.6) and freshman Raigan Fretts (38th/21:36.3) closed out the Leopards’ top five.
West Greene freshman Maggi Courtwright is state bound after placing 27th in the Class A girls race with a time of 22:07.3.
Connellsville’s Addison Lane was hindered by having to compete in the largest classification, as the sophomore was 76th in Class 3A with a time of 21:03.9. Lane’s time would have been low enough to earn a trip to the state meet if the Falcons compete in the other classifications.
Southmoreland was led by senior Cassandra Loop (142nd/26:14.6) in Class 2A.
California freshman Delaney Ridge completed the 5K (3.1 mile) course in 25:12.7 for 67th place in Class A.
Carmichaels junior Kaitlyn Kramer was 73rd in Class A with a time of 25:33.
Brownsville senior Mataia Geary was 87th in the Class A race with a time of 26:25.6.