What does one do for an encore after a performance like that?
In what many coaches and athletes were calling a course preview for the WPIAL meet on October 23, Brianna Schwartz of Shaler Area was in record-setting, end-of-season form at the inaugural Mack Cooper Invitational.
One of the nation’s top distance talents, Schwartz was dominant in her 2014 invitational debut, cruising to a clocking of 17 minutes, 48.8 seconds at Cooper’s Lake.
“Going into the race, I just wanted to see where I was fitness wise,” said Schwartz, who chipped seconds off her record 17:52 effort to win the WPIAL Class AAA title a year ago. “I felt good the first mile.
“I definitely didn’t want to go out too fast, so I was right around where I needed to be. I was just able to keep that for the rest of the race.”
Schwartz and Marianne Abdalah of Vincentian Academy came in as the class of the girls’ field and quickly separated themselves, reaching the crest of the signature hill on the 5,000-m...