After a struggle to get through the District 10 championships last Saturday, Villa Maria Academy returned to the course where they were at their absolute best back in September at the Foundation Invite. Could the favorites suffer a slip up on the worst possible day?
Right away, Villa Maria did all they could to restore order into their season, and they put themselves in the thick of the race early on. After recording a DNF last week, Clare Brown was back to her old self again leading the charge for her team, while the rest of her squad followed suit, putting themselves out of danger halfway through the race. Their strong running continued through the hills and the strong front running from Quaker Valley, as they kept their top five close together through the toughest part of the race. Villa Maria were able to place their scoring five in the top 20 team place (top 34 overall) with a 57 second spread to nearly double the competition to win their first ever cross country state title with 60 points. Scranton Prep made the podium by finishing 2nd, just 5 points ahead of Quaker Valley, 117-122.
The individual race was something special for everyone to see, especially if you were a fan of Dallas. The duo of Ally Rome and Lindsay Oremus led the field running side by side throughout the entire course. The two of them were never separated, and at the final straightaway, they were neck and neck, and stayed that way until the very end. Rome (18:44) was able to snag the gold medal, while Oremus took home the silver medal, as the two completed the rare feat of finishing 1-2 for the same school in a state championship race! Mackenzie Jones of Danville led the chase pack, finishing 3rd in 19:06, District 7 champion Jade Bellotti of Uniontown finished 4th in 19:14, and Kayla Connelly of Lansdale Catholic made it two top ten finishes in two tries, running 19:15 to finish 5th.