The Mount Lebanon Girls Cross Country team entered this season with high expectations, aiming to be one of the top girls' teams in the WPIAL with their top 10 girls back from last year. The team plans to pursue a WPIAL Team Championship this Thursday as District 7 descends on PennWest Cal. Before this season, senior Justine Meta had her own expectations to make an impact and contribute to the program's success this year. Last season, Meta was the team's number 9 runner and could not compete at the WPIAL finals, but she continued to train with the team to improve. This decision has benefited Justine this season.
She is the team's number four runner and currently holds the 16th-fastest WPIAL AAA time this season. "Last year, I was the number 9 runner. I was right on the cut-off for varsity. This year, I was looking forward to running at my first WPIAL championship and hopefully states to get the full experience of a varsity runner, and it has ended up working out so far," said Meta.
Head Coach Oscar Schutt believes Justine's incredibly upbeat attitude and work ethic has made her one of the best runners in the WPIAL. "Justine has been willing to put in the time and the mileage to mend herself into a varsity runner. In the summer, she increased her mileage and could do the runs faster than in previous years, which has certainly paid off with her decrease in times. She is the model of how to get faster times if you put in the work." explained Coach Schutt.
Meta has been able to run a 3-minute personal best this season. She gives credit to her ability to take care of herself outside of running; by getting enough sleep, fueling her body correctly, stretching every day, and foam rolling after each practice. She also credits her teammates due to the incredible atmosphere.
"All of my teammates were my inspiration to get better this season; we like to plan team bonding activities like pasta dinners and post-meet hangouts, which brings the team together more."
Coach Schutt added, "Justine also looks after the younger athletes on the team, especially mentoring some sophomores and freshmen who are on varsity or on the verge of becoming varsity like she was."
With two more meets left in the season, Justine would like to catch the eyes of a college program to continue her Cross-Country career next year at the collegiate level. "I want to continue running in college; I feel I have only been racing competitively for a year and a half and want to continue my running career wherever I go to college."
.png)
Athlete Profile
Favorite Course: White Oak Park
Cross Country Personal Best: 19:13 (Legends Meet Ohio)
2022 13th place Marty Uher Invite
2021 2nd place TSTCA JV Invite
2022 11th place Legends Meet
2022 14th place Bald Eagle Invite
2021 1st place Bald Eagle JV
Q&A With Justine Meta
Which of the three running seasons do you enjoy most?
Outdoor track is my favorite, the weather is perfect, and I enjoy running the shorter distances.
If you could race any professional athlete in a 5k , who would it be?
Kaitlyn Tuohy, it would be cool to say I was in a race with her to get the experience.
Do you have a favorite pump-up/hype song?
Fireball by Pitbull has been the team song since outdoor track, and it seems to be working.
What team or individual performance are you most proud of?
The legends meet was awesome because everyone ran a personal best and ran with a lot of confidents that day.
What is the best advice you ever got and who gave it?
My teammate Kate Mooney would always tell me "To run confidently and run beyond the circumstances because it's never going to be perfect conditions or nothing is going to fall into perfect place, you can't let it affect you and run beyond the circumstances."
