Photo Galleries of 11/6 PIAA State XC Championships @ Hersheypark
AAA champ Katie Thaeder leads
Unionville to their first-ever title in XC.
To hear the coach tell it, the seniors deserve credit for team leadership. To hear the top senior tell it, the freshman deserve the credit for doing the work. To hear others tell it, Unionville defines team. This team has been built from the ground up over eight years. They have senior leadership from not only varsity runners Katie Thaeder, Kat Beck and Sam Schneider, but from Megan Marshall, Celia Tang, Meg Steller and Amy Miskiewicz, as well. With three freshmen in the varsity mix, leadership is what makes it work. Coach Mark Lacianca says the younger kids "feed off what the older kids are doing." #1 runner and state champ Katie Theader says her credit goes to the 'kids' on the team, "because they didn't have to follow our example, but they did. Everyone did. When you have 27 girls who care and are willing to work, good things happen. We're an example of that."
The good things are the individual and team state titles. And they weren't just wins, they were dominating wins. Individually, Thaeder took the lead at the top of the first hill into the wind. "My plan was to not go out too fast, and it worked out I went out at the pace I wanted." Lacianca says Thaeder was somewhat surprised that the lead was there so early, but she was on pace, so she took it. Thaeder said there was never a point where she tried to get away from people. "It just happened." Those people were closing toward the end. Her parents sometimes yell that other runners are going faster to motivate her. Well, this time, so did everyone else. "I have never run so hard for the last 100 meters. I didn't know where that girl was, but I really wanted this."
The team win by 111 points solidifies Unionville's rank as the #3 team in the Northeast, and one of the top in the US. The spread was an impressive 1:05. They beat some qualify teams, including formerly ranked Parkand, 2nd; West Chester Henderson, with an impressive 55-second spread, in 3rd; and NE#9 Allentown Central Catholic in 4th. Unionville followed their usual plan which has each girl running their own pace, getting place checks along the way. At a mile, they were tied with Allentown Central Catholic. At two miles, they were 112 points up on Henderson, with Parkland 114 back. And they only lost three over the final 1.1 miles. Lacianca said he was especially proud of the way the team handled the whole weekend. "I really had no fears."
Also in the race, a big pile-up between the start and the point where the course narrows led to some recalculation of plans. One of those caught in the fall was Haverford senior Julia Somers. She rallied for 33rd place in 19:58, but had hoped for much higher. Meet officials had ruled that the fall was far enough after the start not to warrant a recall.
