2014 PTFCA Indoor State Championship
Phil Grove's Feature Stories
Brianna Schwartz, Shaler Area (Mile champ and new AT PA Best)
Brianna Schwartz brought out the oohs and aahs from a packed house Saturday at the Ashenfelter Center. And that was just the final 10 yards of a record-breaking girls’ mile.
The Shaler Area standout battled back from a rare midrace deficit and crawled across the finish line after she stumbled and fell in the final strides of another race against the clock. Her reward – and the crowd’s – was the first of three all-time state records on the day, erasing her own Pennsylvania standard in dramatic fashion in the state meet’s first final.
“I heard the crowd roaring, I was just so excited to finish, but my legs just gave out and I just fell to the track,” Schwartz said of the memorable conclusion to her US#3 clocking of 4 minutes, 42.58 seconds. “I looked up and the finish line was right in front of my face. I think I rolled ac...
