O'Toole and Fitzgerald battle at 4,000 meters. (Photo by James K. Wood)
Slippery Rock Pix by James K. Wood
Mount Lebanon's James O'Toole is getting familiar with racing Ian Fitzgerald. He stayed with the state 3200 champion past 4,000 meters until getting gapped. Fitzgerald finished in 16:09 to lead his team to a surprisingly easy win over O'Toole's Mount Lebo squad by a score of 34 to 115. In girls AAA, Indiana's Marissa Umbel played a waiting game, letting Penn Hills sophomore Katie Grimm build a small lead, before reeling her in to win by 24 seconds in 19:26. Missing senior Amy Ruffolo, soph Kelley O'Brien was asked to step up. She did, going 20:08 to finish 3rd and lead her North Allegheny team to a 102 to 118 win over Mount Lebanon. In boys AA, Eisenhower took all comers behind Grant Allen's 2nd place 16:47. Brian Soder was never challenged, going 16:18 for the win for the Harbor Creek senior. In girls AA, Erin Cranmer-Hart, a Slippery Rock senior, travelled the layout in 19:54 for the individual win while leading her team to the title by nine points over General McLane.