Serra Catholic sophomore sticks with cross country, earns trip to state meet

By: Josh Rizzo
Sunday, November 3, 2024 | 11:01 AM

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Serra Catholic sophomore Emily Ruperto nearly threw in the towel on cross country.

During the summer, Ruperto hits the club swimming circuit hard. The Penn Hills resident doesn’t have much time to get ready for the start of cross country season.

“I’m all in on swimming during the summer,” Ruperto said. “This season, the transition was really tough. There was even a point where I didn’t think I wanted to do this. My times were tough, but my coach told me to trust the training and I did.”

Ruperto’s dedication to sticking to a training plan paid off at the WPIAL Class A cross country championships at White Oak Park. Ruperto qualified for the PIAA championship meet by running a time of 21 minutes 34.9 seconds.

Carlynton’s Bridget McNamara won the race with a time of 19:11.7. Ruperto said she didn’t have a strategy lined up for the WPIAL race.

“I usually try to run my own race and do the best I can at the moment,” Ruperto said. “I did have some hope that I could make states.”

Ruperto was a state qualifier as a freshman in swimming in the 200 IM and 100 breaststroke. During the cross country season, Ruperto practiced swimming three days a week at the Olympic Swim & Health Club.

Ruperto said she got involved with cross country for the first time as a freshman. She received an email from the coach at Serra Catholic because they were looking for more girls for the team.

Ruperto thought it would be a good complement to swimming and offered to try it.

Ruperto said when she first started running, her times came in around 23:30. Her personal best now stands at 21:24.

Ruperto said there was a lot to get used to.

“Definitely the straight pain that comes with running 20 minutes straight,” Ruperto said. “Using all of that energy was a big change.”

Ruperto said she is proud of the progress she’s made. Ruperto believes the confidence gained from having success will help her in the pool as well.

“I’m proud of myself for trying something new,” Ruperto said. “It motivates me for swimming as well. It shows me I can accomplish things I didn’t know that I could.”

Tags: Serra Catholic