Quarzo seeks first WPIAL cross country crown

There aren’t many races Gionna Quarzo hasn’t won in her illustrious four-year career at Brownsville.
But one local title has eluded Quarzo and she’ll have the opportunity to rectify that omission this afternoon at the WPIAL Cross Country Championships held at California University’s Roadman Park.
Quarzo has finished second to Quaker Valley’s Annie Wicker each of the past two years. Wicker won in 19:18 last year, crossing the finish line 28 seconds in front of Quarzo. Wicker won gold in 2017 at Cooper’s Lake Campground in 19:15, with Quarzo coming across the line 26 seconds later.
Quarzo edged Wicker in their first district championship with the Brownsville senior finishing fifth in 20:28 and Wicker sixth just four seconds later.
The two ran in the Red, White & Blue Invitational early in the season with Quarzo finishing first in 18:05.40, Quarzo’s sister JoJo second in 18:55 and Wicker third in 19:18.
Also in the mix with the Quarzo sisters in the Class AA race is Belle Vernon junior Grace Henderson. Henderson won bronze last year with a time of 20:05 and was fourth two years ago as a freshman with a time of 20 minutes.
Brownsville junior Ashton Reposky seeks her third trip to the state meet, while Elizabeth Forward junior Bailey McLaughlin looks to qualify for her second PIAA final.
Other girls in contention for a berth into the state meet include Belle Vernon freshman Viva Kreis, Elizabeth Forward freshman Marissa Manko and junior Hannah Hebda, Ringgold freshman Charlee Leech and Waynesburg Central junior Kaitlyn Pester.
Ringgold’s Lucas Pajak had a strong showing in last week’s TSTCA Invitational held on the same Cal U course by finishing second. The junior finished seventh in the WPIAL Class AA race last year. Teammate Ethan Gamble also qualified for the state meet last year by virtue of his finishing in 15th place.
Along with Ben Daerr, Pajak, Gamble and the Rams are also a team to watch for a top-3 finish and an automatic berth into the PIAA Championships.
Laurel Highlands’ Brendan Kopich grabbed one of the final non-team Class AA berths last year and is coming off a strong run in the Tri-State Invite last week. Uniontown’s Logan Maust, two-time county champion, was in position to qualify in the district final last year, but suffered a medical issue in the final mile and was unable to finish.
California’s Makayla Boda secured the final Class A berth last year, but was unable to run in the state meet. West Greene’s Katie Lampe earned a berth on her own accord last year as a freshman, and helped the Lady Pioneers advance as a team.
The top four boys and girls teams in Class A earn automatic berths into the PIAA Championships in Hershey on Saturday, Nov. 2, as well as the top 20 non-team qualifying runners. The top three teams in both Class AAA and AA advance to the state meet, as do the 15 non-team qualifying runners.
The “cut” to qualify for the state meet in Class A girls was 33 and boys went to 34 last year. Class AA boys down to 29 runners, with the girls at 22. The top 28 boys and 27 girls advanced in Class AAA.
Medals will be awarded to the top 15 runners in each classification for boys and girls.
A $10 parking/entry charge will be collected for each vehicle at the Roadman Park lot by the football stadium. Races begin with the Class A girls at 12:45 p.m., followed by — in 45-minute increments — girls Class AA and AAA, and boys Class A, AA and AAA.