Girls Blue Race Recap - PIAA Foundation Invitational
Marlee Starliper did more Marlee Starliper things on Saturday.
The Northern senior topped the course record in a quasi-workout. She tempo'd the first mile before really working the middle hills. Starliper hung with the pack early and then broke free to runaway with the win, her second victory of the season, following up her PA No. 1 all-time from two weeks ago. Starliper came across in 17:40, four seconds better than Aislinn Devlin's course record set back in 2016 at the state meet. It's, of course, a Hershey PR for Starliper, who will look to return to win her third straight AA crown in November.
It was a big day for the Northern squad as a whole, which earned the team title with76 points. That was three points ahead of South Fayette. The Polar Bears from Northern saw big races from Madison Saltsburg (12th) and Allie Engle (13th). South Fayette, meanwhile, looked strong with 79 points and a 1 through 5 spread of just 54 seconds. Lauren Iagnemma led the way for SF with an eighth place finish in 20:21.
Lewisburg Area was third with 135 points and Holy Redeemer was fourth with 160 points.
Cori McCormick of North Schuylkill continued her strong start to her junior season. She placed second in 19:04, once again running solo for most of the second half of the race. Crestwood's Molly DeMarzo clocked an impressive 5K PR, running 19:30 for third place (55 seconds faster than her state meet time from last season). Sharon's Gianna Labbiento was fourth in 19:37 as she continues to get strength back. Lake Lehman's Abby Paczewski was fifth in 19:49, running yet another strong race in the opening month of her senior season.