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Gionna Quarzo wins bronze in PIAA meet

By Jim Downey jdowney@heraldstandard.Com 6 min read
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Brownsville’s Gionna (left) and JoJo Quarzo show off their medals won in Saturday’s PIAA Class AA Cross Country Championship in Hershey. Gionna Quarzo finished third, while JoJo Quarzo placed eighth.

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Submitted photo

Ringgold’s Lucas Pajak displays the medal he won Saturday in the PIAA Class AA Cross Country Championship in Hershey. Pajak placed 16th in the state meet.

Brownsville senior Gionna Quarzo capped her cross country career Saturday morning by winning the bronze medal in the PIAA Class AA Championship in Hershey.

The Parkview Cross Country Course near the Giant Center was doused with rain Thursday, leading race officials to slightly alter the course.

Northern’s Marlee Starliper set the pace throughout the race to win her third consecutive Class AA gold medal in 17:10.9. The senior hit the first mile split in 5:32, just a step ahead of Greencastle-Antrim senior Taryn Sparks. Starliper pulled away in the middle of the race when she crossed the second mile split at 11:10.3, nearly 26 seconds before Parks.

Gionna Quarzo was the fifth runner to hit the mile split with a time of 5:38.1. The senior pulled into third place by the next split around 11 seconds after Parks.

Starliper’s winning time last year was 17:53. Quarzo finished sixth last year with a time of 19:30.

Parks maintained the advantage in the final mile of the race, winning the silver medal in 18:06.6. Gionna Quarzo won bronze, her best finish in the state meet, with a time of 18:18.4.

“There was a group of four of us early in the race. My goal was to stay with Taryn (Parks),” explained Quarzo. “At Mile 2, we pulled away.

“On the hills, I pushed a little more. I’m weaker on hills so I try to push on the downhills. I pushed a little at the end, but I didn’t want to lose what I had.”

Gionna Quarzo accomplished what she set out to do, adding, “My goal was to finish second or third.”

As for Starliper’s performance, Quarzo offered, “She’s just that good.”

The elder Quarzo said she had a relaxed look to the final meet of her high school cross country career.

“I went out just to have fun and trust in my training. I usually get myself so nervous I get sick. I felt really good today. It was a really fast race,” said Gionna Quarzo. “(Running in her final cross country meet) is definitely sad. But, I’ll be more sad for track.

“I know I’ll have four good years at North Carolina State.”

Quarzo will see a lot of Starliper in the future with the two committing to North Carolina State.

JoJo Quarzo placed eighth in the Class AA race with a time of 19:14.9, her second-fastest time of the season. The freshman steadily moved up in the pack, crossing the first mile split in 15th place (5:55.5) and moving up to 13th place (12:29) at the second split.

“It was a very fast pace,” said JoJo Quarzo. “I just try to focus on myself and the girls around me. There were three girls around me the whole race.”

The state course features rolling hills. As with her older sister, JoJo Quarzo feels running uphill is not a strength and adjusted her strategy accordingly.

“I’m a little slower on the hills. I try to pace myself. Then, on the flatter (stretches), I try to pass them back,” said JoJo Quarzo.

JoJo Quarzo was pleasantly surprised with her finish, saying, “It’s really awesome. I didn’t expect to get (in the top 10). I thought 15th. It’s really cool.”

Belle Vernon’s Grace Henderson missed the medal stand by 10 places and 13 seconds, finishing 35th in 20:18.2. The junior placed 33rd last year in 21:01.

Ringgold freshman Charlee Leach was 86th in 21:08.5, while Belle Vernon freshman Viva Kreis placed 142nd in 21:59.9.

“It was a lifetime PR (personal best),” Leach said of her time, adding, “I really don’t get that nervous. I focus on things (in the race). My goal time was to break 21 minutes, but I’m happy with that time.”

Ringgold junior Lucas Pajak managed to hold after a fast start for 16th place in the Class AA final, crossing the finish line in 16:44.5. His first split was 5:01.5 in 19th place and moved to 17th at the second split in 10:44.

“The course was very muddy,” said Pajak. “The first mile was pretty fast. There was not much (mud in the first mile). There were so many runners. They drew me in. It was so fast.

“I definitely tanked a bit around 1½ miles. I kept giving myself motivation. You can do this.”

Pajak had enough left in the tank for a strong finish.

“In the last 1,000 (meters), I picked it back up. It’s a long straightaway,” said Pajak.

The medal is Pajak’s first, running in his second state meet.

“Today was crazy. I can’t believe I ran 16:44.5. I ran 17:09 in the PIAA Foundations race (on the same course earlier in the season),” said Pajak.

The Rams’ Ethan Gamble finished 49th in 17:15.7 and Ben Daerr was 67th with a time of 17:29.4.

Uniontown senior Logan Maust finished 39th with a time of 17:04.6. He fell short of the medal stand by 14 spots and 24 seconds. Laurel Highlands senior Brendan Kopich was 59th with a time of 17:20.4.

California junior Makayla Boda finished 107th overall in the girls Class A championship in a time of 22:25.0. Boda crossed the first mile split in 89th place with a time of 6:10.0, but slipped to 102nd place at the second split with a time of 13:54.8.

Our Lady of the Sacred Heart senior Haley Hamilton cruised to the girls Class A gold medal with a winning time of 19:19.9. St. Joseph’s Catholic won the Class A team title with 93 points.

South Fayette won the girls Class AA title with 62 points. Moon’s Mia Cochran won the Class AAA crown in 17:53. North Allegheny won the team title with 137 points.

Winchester Thurston won the boys Class A team crown with 113 points. Penns Valley’s Colton Sands and Brendan Colwell, both juniors, finished 1-2 with Sands winning in 15:56 and Colwell second in 16:05.

Lewisburg Area and York Suburban both finished with 82 points in Class AA with the Lewisburg Area boys winning the team title on criteria. General McLane’s Dylan Throop won the gold medal in 15:57.1.

Mt. Lebanon’s Patrick Anderson powered his way to the Class AAA gold medal with his winning time of 15:25.6. Downingtown West won the team title with 65 points.

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