The Owen J. Roberts Girls Team enjoyed a meteoric rise to relevancy in 2022. And although the run did not end in a State Title, it concluded with the program's First Top-5 in School History (From Our Record Books). We scoured results dating back to 1997, and the team's best finish before this year was an 8th-place finish in 2017.
Last year, the squad finished 15th at States. So how did they climb the totem pole? Did they have an infusion of talent? Did a high-end transfer join the OJR contingent?
The answer is no. All seven of their starters at States returned to the squad from last year. The name of the game has been development, and it delivered the squad's first-ever District 1 Title. Earlier this year, for the first time in school history, the program also won the prestigious Lehigh Paul Short Run. The man behind the success; Head Coach Tim Marcoe.
Coach Marcoe discusses OJR Win at Paul Short
It is hard to ignore the success of the boys' and girls' teams. On the surface, the success can be credited to front runners like Liam Conway, Ally Brunton, and current runners Andrew McGonigle and Claire Zubey.
But when you take a deeper look at specific teams, such as the 2018 boy's and 2022 girl's teams, there is one person who should be credited: Coach Marcoe.
With a knack for getting his athletes to buy into the process, he has brought his teams together. Marcoe utilized the foundation former Head Coach David Michael laid and ran away with it.
Marcoe has the strengths and ability to bring out the best in his athletes, and there is no better example than Andrew Malmstrom, who earned a State medal his senior year at the 2017 PIAA XC Championships. Before that season, Malmstrom had never even run at a State Championship. Under the leadership of Marcoe, he catapulted into the Top 25 and helped move OJR to a seventh-place finish.
Under his leadership, his teams have won Four PAC titles, a District 1 Championship, and a multitude of State appearances since 2017.
The 2022 run was incredible for the OJR girls, but their success shouldn't shock anyone. The OJR teams have been brought to relevancy by Head Coach Tim Marco, and their continued success may be something we can expect, year in and year out.
Note From The Author:
As an OJR graduate, I thank Coach Marcoe for a lot of my success in athletics and my personal life. Coach Marcoe is genuinely someone for athletes to look up to and try to emulate the great things he does.