Well, that was different.
After coasting to consecutive titles at the PIAA State Championships in Class A the last two seasons, Vincentian Academy's Marianne Abdalah saw something different the third time around: a race.
Still, the junior pulled out the win in a sprint to the finish with Country Day of the Sacred Heart's Emma Seifried. In 2013 and 2014, Abdalah won both state meets by 54 seconds. This year? Only discernable by photo. Abdalah is three for three in state championships for her career, winning her third straight in a much different fashion. She might agree that this one is the sweetest.
Seifried tried and tried, but she couldn't break Abdalah in the hills.
"It was close basically the whole race," Abdalah said. "We were going back and forth. She would go really fast up the hills and I would catch her at the crest of the hill."
"I tried passing her on the hills and holding her off, but I think I started that too soon, so she was able to hold me off," Seifried, who was runner-up to Abdalah last year, said.
Abdalah was worried about Seifried's kick, which she saw on the track in the spring, but she knew there was one thing she couldn't allow herself to do: look back.
"I had the urge to look behind me, but I knew that I just had to kick as fast as I could because even if I looked back for a second or slowed down, she would have beaten me," Abdalah said. "I had to give my best, keep moving forward and take the win."
Both runners broke the 19-minute mark on Hershey's course. For Seifried, although there is surely some disappointment in getting second again, she was happy to run under 19, clocking in at an 18:50. She'll get another crack at beating Abdalah next year, as both runners will be returning.
For the champion, she knows the quest for a fourth title will likely be even tougher. She will enjoy her crown for now, but that target on her back will grow even bigger heading into 2016.
"It's fantastic. It's a great thing to put on a college resume," Abdalah said of her third state win. "But I know next year being a senior and going for my fourth title, everyone is going to want to beat me. I have to come in with my best and hopefully pull out the win next year as well."