Ask anyone who's run at Cooper's Lake (like the author of this article, who was there for Division III Mid-East Regionals in 2010) about the course and they'll probably mention two things: the castle and the hill in the first quarter mile of the race.
It can certainly seem taunting trying to traverse a wicked hill so early in the race, even for the veteran WPIAL runners, who see it at least once a season.
Chambersburg's Abby Yourkavitch had no problems with the hill on her first try. The junior and her team made the trip from Central PA to the west for Saturday's Slippery Rock Invitational and tamed the course pretty well.Yourkavitch took the win in a time of 19:06, winning by 19 seconds over second place. The Chambersburg team took the team win, as well, behind strong finishes from Kaylene Mowery and Cadie Klser.
Watch the girls' varsity race from Saturday above and check out the post race interview with the first place Yourkavitch below: