From missing a chance to race at state... to a state champ with a course record
Just to get to this race, Abington Heights senior Tessa Barrett had experienced pain, struggle and sacrifice.
But after she won the PIAA Class AAA girls’ championship in 17:30 on Saturday in Hershey, beating the next closest runner by 36 seconds, there was a feeling of renaissance in a sport that had taken so much away from her a year ago.
“It was the worst experiences of my life,” Barret said of last year’s District 2 race, when she secured a hairline fracture in her femur that forced her out of the rest of the postseason in 2012. “And I just felt so blessed because last year I was home crying. And now [this year] I’m online obsessively stalking PennTrack. To have the opportunity [to race again at states] was a great dream.”
Barrett, one of three Penn State state champion recruits Saturday, was so convincingly dominant, she even had room to run afterward. She barely missed a beat after crossing the finish line, first jogging over to her father, Michael, to share a quick embrace.
Then she moved on to her mother, Kathy, and then with her coach, who took her back to poop-out hill, where she cheered on remaining team members in the race. As if she hadn’t just systematically owned a race that typically punishes its competitors.
“It’s really bizarre,” Barrett said. “It hasn’t sunk in yet that this is my last high school race. I think I ended it on the best note that I could. I’m looking forward to keep running and doing indoor and outdoor track and staying healthy.”
Perhaps the energy and the nerves and the confidence all coalesced into one remarkable race. Barrett almost gapped the entire field at the first mile, passing through at an astonishing 5:07, nearly 30 seconds faster than a typical race, she said.
“I went out and there was a girl,” Barrett said of the opening stages. “I was there and then she kind of fell back. The first mile felt really comfortable. I felt pretty good. It was a little fast.”
Barrett was among a contingent of contenders for the states top crown. It included Unionville senior Courtney Smith, last year’s champion, who was the runner-up in 18:06 and Cumberland Valley sophomore Mady Clahane, who was third in 18:12.
Mount Lebanon’s Kelsey Potts was fourth in 18:12 and Shaler Area’s Brianna Schwartz rounded out the top five in 18:36.
But Barrett knew all this going in, that she would be facing a talented field.
“I knew everybody’s times and everything,” she said. “I just wanted to go in and run the best race that I could. I knew there would always be great competition at the state level. So I just wanted to see what I could do and how it was going to work out.”
Her injury of 2012 seemed like a long ago asterisk. On Saturday, Barrett was healthy, beaming and fast.
“It’s a great way to end my senior year in XC. I’m already getting excited for college,” she said.
