PTXC 10 Girls' Gold Race - Recap
Taryn Parks looked fit and fast in her 5K season debut. The Greencastle-Antrim junior went out hard (about 5:20 through the mile) and stayed strong throughout the race rolling to the win in a virtual solo effort.
The race didn't feature Marlee Starliper, as expected. The Northern junior was out sick on Saturday. But the fields were still loaded with talent. Up front, Parks went 18:08 for the victory in her first PTXC appearance. Parks said she upped her mileage a bit this summer and feels that she's in the best shape of her career at this point in the season.
Parks' time was the third fastest in PTXC's history on the Kutztown course. Only Kennedy Weisner (17:48 at PTXC 5) and Elizabeth Chikotas (18:03 at PTXC 5) have run faster.
Katherine Fedko of Hampton came from out west and put down a very strong early season performance. The senior, who also ran alone for most of the race. Fedko took second in 18:45, a career best time, despite the fairly challenging course.
Andrea Miller of Governor Mifflin led her solid team with a third place finish in 18:59, dipping under the 19 minute barrier for the second time in her career. Neshaminy's Kaylee McCullough was fourth in 19:02. Leading Loudoun Valley was Ricky Fetterolf, who took fifth in 19:14, followed closely by North Schuylkill's Cori McCormick.
Loudoun Valley, led by Fetterolf and seventh place Elise Abbe, captured the team win, narrowly defeating PA#3 Central Bucks West. LV scored 85 points to West's 92 points. Leading West was Julia Flood (11th) and got strong performances by Piper Wilson (14th) and Emmi Simon (21st). The 1 through 5 gap was just 41 seconds.
The Miller-led Governor Mifflin was third with 175 points, while Central Bucks East took fourth with 195 points. Hershey was just three points off CB East with 198 points in sixth.