PT’s Wolk races to WPIAL title
Nick Wolk of Peters Township won the WPIAL Class AAA boys’ cross country championship title Thursday at Slippery Rock University.
Morgan Grudi crosses the finish line in 10th place during the WPIAL Class AAA girls’ cross country championships Thursday at Slippery Rock University.
Ben Baumgarner from Waynesburg Central qualified for the PIAA championships with a seventh-place showing during the WPIAL Class AA championships.
SLIPPERY ROCK – Nick Wolk is king of the castle.
And of just about every other part of the 3.1-mile wind-swept cross country course spread across the sprawling terrain of Coopers Lake in Slippery Rock Thursday afternoon.
Wolk, a senior from Peters Township and the owner of the fastest time in the WPIAL for any classification, headed toward the castle facimile that marks the final of portion of the run being challenged by Marc Magliozzi. Wolk emerged with a comfortable lead and crossed in 16:12, three seconds ahead of the North Allegheny senior, to win the Class AAA championship.
“I knew my only chance too get him was on the hill,” said Wolk. “I had to break him there. I was confident in my finish over the last 100 meters, so I wanted to break him there.”
Wolk joined a large group of local runners who qualified for the PIAA Championships, Saturday, Nov. 7 in Hershey.
Among some of the notable finishes:
• South Fayette’s boys and girls team each finished second in Class AA. The top three teams advance, which means the Lions take their full squads to Hershey.
• Morgan Grudi, a junior from Canon-McMillan, finished in 10th place in girls Class AAA with a time of 19:43 and will make another trip to the state tournament.
• Waynesburg junior Ben Baumgarner was seventh in Class AA after missing the event last year because of injury.
• Sophomore Sam Snodgrass was one of three South Fayette runners in the top 30 in Class AA and had the best finish with a fourth-place time of 17:06. Junior Aaron Pfeil was fifth.
• Hannah Kenawell, a senior, led 10th-, 12th- and 13th-place finishes in Class AA for the Lions with a time of 20:57.
• Burgettstown’s Cody Devecchio, a senior, took sixth place in boys Class A with a time of 17:12, 18 seconds faster than Washington junior Ben Heim, who took 10th and also qualified.
• Freshman McKenna Lampe of West Greene was the lone local girls qualifier in Class A with an 18th-place finish at 21:34.
But the day, and the event, belonged to Wolk.
Wolk not only had to fight off Magliozzi but also strong winds that gusted up to 20 mph on the course.
“I wanted to get out fast, then relax a little bit,” Wolk said. “I want to finish strong. This is one of the windiest days I’ve ever run in. It could have been worse. It could have been raining or a little colder. The goal was always the same: to win. My goal was to get my name on the banner in a gym (as a WPIAL champion). I realized I was running out of time to do it.”
Grudi had another steady race, crossing the midway point in ninth place and finishing 10th.
“I like my time,” she said. “I usually don’t get my PRs here. I handled the hills. Top 10 was my goal. I made it to states so I’m really happy.”
Kenawell clipped 12 seconds off her PR to finish at 20:57, even against a strong wind.
“It was a little tough coming across the straight near the castle,” said Kenawell. “The strategy was to stick behind someone and let them break it, then try to pass them when you can.”
South Fayette ran in a Class AAA section, even though they qualified for Double-A.
“We didn’t want to put a quantifier on how good we are and say we’re good for Double-A,” said coach Joe Winans. “We want to say that we’re a good team and can compete with anyone.”
So how will they celebrate?
“We’re going to eat a pizza,” said Allison Gates, a junior who was 13th.
Heim finished third at the Washington County Coaches Meet last week, and will make his second trip to the state tournament.
“The wind kept pushing me around,” said Heim, who was recruited into cross country by teammate Austin Sperl two years ago. “I had to keep fighting to keep my stride.
Lampe and her twin sister Madison ran together for part of the race before McKenna pulled away.
“I wanted to get under 21:00,” said McKenna Lampe. “I heard the hills were really steep. It was a good running day, if it was just less windy.”