By Dan Beck, PennTrackXC
Girls' Mile Run Preview
As far as head-to-head battles go, perhaps no matchup will be better at Sunday's state meet than Gabrielle Wilkinson and Marlee Starliper.
We can't start this discussion without talking about the Millrose Games, where Wilkinson, a Friends' Central senior, took the upset win over a field that included New York's Katelyn Tuohy. Starliper, a sophomore at Northern, also beat Tuohy, coming across in third place at one of the best indoor meets of the season.
Wilkinson ran 4:42.94, the second fastest mile in state history and a US#1 in her winning effort. She used a punishing kick over the final laps (she has a 2:06 800m PR) to run down the heavy pre-race favorite Tuohy and run to the victory. Starliper clocked a 4:44.97, the fourth fastest mile in state history and US#4. Both Wilkinson and Starliper will be doubling on Sunday, but they'll enter the mile first with fresh legs and this will be a battle.
Millrose was the only time the two have raced this indoor season. They are seeded about ten seconds ahead of the next closest, so it begs the question: how will this race play out? Will it be tactical favoring a kick finish (remember that both have other races later)? Will one or the other take it out hard? In a kick scenario, it will likely favor Wilkinson, but Starliper has been surprising us since a breakthrough fall in XC. What we'll say for now is don't miss this race.
Two others in this field to watch for are Savannah Shaw of Upper Saint Clair and Taryn Parks of Greencastle-Antrim. Shaw ran 4:54.48 for 1,600 meters this season, following up an outdoor season that saw her place fifth at outdoor states in the event. Parks went 4:45.81 in the 1,600 meters to win the AAA state title during the outdoor season. This indoor season, she ran a best of 5:00.55 for a full mile. Parks always races well (she has won all four of her mile races this winter), so she can never be counted out.
Among the others with a good shot at getting on the medal stand (and really, the race for the top eight is wide open) are Jessica Schneider (Academy of Notre Dame), Rylee Kopchak (Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic), Tina Capparell (Marian Catholic), and Sarah Crissman (Fleetwood Area).
Entries:
Event 7 Girls 1 Mile Run (21)
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Meet Record: 4:42.58 3/1/2014 Brianna Schwartz, Shaler Area
Name Year School
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1 Capparell, Tina 12 Marian Catholic
2 Cody, Shannon 12 Bish Shanahan
3 Crissman, Sarah 12 Fleetwood
4 Cusatis, Julia 11 St Joe Cath Acad
5 Demko, Andrea 12 Hershey
6 Divone, Sophia 11 Mercersburg
7 Gibson, Tatyana 10 Milton Hersh
8 Kelly, Jill 11 Upper Moreland
9 Kopchak, Rylee 12 Card Wuerl NC
10 Parks, Taryn 10 Greencastle-Antr
11 Rittler, MaryGrace 12 Cheltenham
12 Schein-Becker, Teagan 12 Perk Valley
13 Schneider, Jessica 11 Acad Notre Dame
14 Schuler, Emily 10 Dallastown
15 Seeger, Sarena 11 Fox Chapel
16 Shaw, Savannah 12 Upper St Clair
17 Shipon, Sara 10 Penn Charter
18 Sisson, Grace 10 Fox Chapel
19 Starliper, Marlee 10 Northern
20 Warrender, Maddie 12 Northeastern
21 Wilkinson, Gabrielle 12 Friends' Cen