Cross country isn't a popular sport at District 7's Neshannock High.
But that hasn't kept junior Kacey Gibson from putting the school on the Pennsylvania cross country map.
The race - 1/2m, 1.25m, 2.1, 2.7, the win in 17:59
Gibson is just one of two runners, girls or boys, who run cross for her school. On Saturday she made up for that deficit by capturing the 2A girls title at the PIAA championships. And she did it in record setting fashion, running 17:59 to set a new course record on the host Hershey Parkview cross country course.
"She's an extremely talented young lady," said coach Dave Antognolli. "I feel very fortunate that she's here. She's just a dedicated, hard-working no-nonsense kid who ran in the summer and did everything I asked her to do. But what really comes through is her talent."
Antognolli is a teacher at Neshannock and is the one who talked Gibson into trying out for the sport her freshman year. He's also her only training partner.
"He convinced me and I quickly took a strong liking to the sport," Gibson said.
She finished third at states her first year, but suffered through a bad race last fall to finish 43rd.
"I blame myself for that," Antognolli said.
He explained that unlike some runners, Gibson hadn't developed the healthy eating habits necessary to sustain her training and racing and had begun to lose weight during the season. Antognolli emphasized that she didn't have an eating disorder, she just didn't know which foods were best for a runner to eat.
Since he was running with her every day it was difficult to notice the weight drop, he said, and by states she had lost about eight pounds. After running with the front pack through a mile or so, Antognolli said she went into oxygen debt and faded.
"I'm just so happy she came back and trained hard," Antognolli said.
She did more than just come back.
Gibson put in her hill work and planned to run a smart race, both of which turned out to be key on Saturday when she took down defending champ Carly Seymour of Central Cambria. Seymour is also a junior and finished two seconds back.
"Coach and I formed a strategy that was to attack the hills," she said. "I felt confident with a half mile to go and with 400 left I relied on my kick."
Gibson may not have had a team to celebrate her win with, but Antognolli said Neshannock's principal and superintendent made the trip (the school is located near Pittsburgh) to see the junior race.
Now they will have to decide if they will travel to New York City because Gibson plans to join much of Pennsylvania's other elite runners at the upcoming Foot Locker Northeast Regional championship.