Expect some more fast times this season in the girls' mile! Northern's Marlee Starliper and Greencastle-Antrim's Taryn Parks enter not only with the state's only returning 4:50 times, but also the only sub-5 times in the state.
Starliper won the battles over Parks this fall on the XC trails, but Parks will be looking to close that gap on Starliper on the track over the mile distance. Last winter, Starliper ran to a mile/3K sweep at the indoor state meet. She dropped mile PR of 4:43 to take the win, and very nearly won an indoor national title, but faded in the final lap. Parks, meanwhile, was third in the mile at indoor states and went 4:49 at indoor nationals.
In the outdoor season, Parks got some revenge, winning the AAA state title over 1600 meters, running a 4:46 for the victory at Shippensburg. Starliper, who was coming off the 3200 meters earlier on a hot day, wound up third. Look for this pair to chase some history this season. The PA state record of 4:42.58 by Brianna Schwartz, h...
