A pair of distance stars accomplished a very difficult distance double -- one that hasn't been done in recent memory -- at the PIAA State Championships. Moon Area's Mia Cochran and Archbishop Wood's Gary Martin both won the 3200 meters and the 1600 meters on Saturday at the state meet.
Through the wind and the rain Cochran and Martin -- both juniors -- powered home to bring home a pair of gold medals at Seth Grove Stadium.
Cochran won a great battle with West Chester Henderson's Jenna Mulhern for the win in the 3200 meters. In the closing laps, Cochran, who sat right on Mulhern's shoulders throughout most of the race, made her move to the front and extended her lead, winning in 10:20.04.
In the 1600, Cochran went to the front a little earlier and controlled the pace, opening up a gap that no one could catch. Cochran won the 1600 in 4:51.01, over a three second victory.
For Martin, first came the 3200 win and a new meet record. The junior went 8:54.87 to break Zach Brehm's 2015 meet record of 8:55.60. Martin went to the front early on and eventually broke the field to capture the victory.
Next up was the 1600, where Martin and Downingtown West's Declan Rymer made it a two person race. Rymer tried to make his move in the final 200 meters, but Martin found another gear, holding on to win in 4:08.67.
Martin even cam back to try to pull off the unthinkable 3200-1600-800 triple. He wound up fifth in a still-impressive 1:55.45.
It was a remarkable day for these two distance talents, who still have another year of high school left to further solidify their already remarkable legacies. Check out post-race interviews with both Cochran and Martin below.