Girls' One Mile Run Preview
The stage is set for another battle in the mile between two of the state's greatest of all-time, Marlee Starliper and Taryn Parks. Last winter, the pair met in an indoor nationals duel for the ages with Parks taking the national title by the slimmest of margins. Then outdoors, Parks once again took the win in the 1,600 meters at the state meet.
Starliper returns to the indoor state meet after choosing the USATF Indoor Championships last year. There's no conflict this year and Starliper will chase a pair of state titles, the first of which coming in the mile. The Northern senior got the advantage on Parks earlier this season when she ran to a convincing Millrose Games victory in the mile, breaking Parks' all-time state record with a time of 4:37.76, the fourth fastest indoor high school mile time ever.
Parks, of Greencastle-Antrim, was third in that race, running a still-wholly-impressive 4:44.98. Starliper enters as the big favorite, but Parks has a knack for stepping up on the big stage and one can't expect her to go down without a fight. Parks ran to the state crown last winter in 4:53.48. Both will be doubling back in events later, so it remains to be seen how that will affect the overall shape of the mile. This will, of course, be one of the meet's premiere races.
It's likely Starliper and Parks will break away from the rest of the pack, but there is still an abundance of talent in this field that will be racing for medals. Friends' Central's Lydia Russell will be a factor near the front. She ran a best of 5:01 this season and has run sub-5 before. She's a talented racer, who will be right up there for a high finish.
The same goes for Emily Carter of Bethel Park. After successfully running four events at last week's TSTCA Championships, the junior is set for the state meet. Fourth at indoor states last year, she has a season best of 5:03, but she did run 4:53 (after winning the 3,200) to take third behind Starliper and Parks in the outdoor state 1,600 this past spring. She will be right in the mix for a high placing again on Sunday.
After that, there's tons of depth with Carnival winner Caryn Rippey of Wilson, Katie Locker of Elizabethtown, Gianna Labbiento of Sharon, and Claire Zubey of Owen J. Roberts. It's a deep field and it's certainly possible that a number of medalists could come out of the first of the two sections.
Event 7 Girls 1 Mile Run ============================================================ =================== Meet Record: 4:42.58 3/1/2014 Brianna Schwartz, Shaler Area 5:20.73 SGQ State Guideline Name Year School ============================== ============================== =================== 1 Breuninger, Arielle 11 J.P. McCaskey 2 Carroll, Margaret 11 Northeastern 3 Carter, Emily 11 Bethel Park 4 Clarke, Allyson 12 WC East 5 Cubbison, Kylee 10 Mifflin County 6 Flannery, Reagan 12 Dtown West 7 Gilpatrick, Lizzie 12 State College 8 Kiser, Camryn 9 Chambersburg 9 Krautzel, Marcella 12 Unionville 10 Labbiento, Gianna 11 Sharon 11 Lloyd, Kiersten 12 Red Lion 12 Locker, Katie 12 Elizabethtown 13 Murphy, Maggie 9 Mt St Joseph Aca 14 Parks, Taryn 12 Greencastle-Antr 15 Rippey, Caryn 10 Wilson (3) 16 Russell, Lydia 12 Friends' Cen 17 Sisson, Grace 12 Fox Chapel A 18 Spears, Karsyn 10 Seneca Valley 19 Starliper, Marlee 12 Northern 20 Zubey, Claire 9 O J Roberts