Brownsville distance ace Jolena Quarzo joins sister as PIAA champion

By: Paul Schofield
Friday, May 28, 2021 | 4:51 PM

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SHIPPENSBURG — Brownsville sophomore Jolena Quarzo started the PIAA Class AA Track and Field Championships on a good note for the WPIAL.

Quarzo won the first event of the meet, the 3,200-meter run, with a time of 10:30.93. Her sister Gionna won the 3,200 the last time the PIAA held the event in at Shippensburg University’s Seth Grove Stadium in 2019. The coronavirus canceled the 2020 championship.

Gionna Quarzo holds the PIAA Class AA record of 10:25.91.

“My goal was to win the race, not my sister’s time,” Jolena Quarzo said. “One time during the race I thought I could do it.”

An early slow pace didn’t help Quarzo’s bid for the record. She allowed North Schuylkill senior Cori McCormack to set the pace for the first mile. She then decided to pick up the pace.

“I was just following along,” Quarzo said. “I was going to pick it up during the second mile, but we were at a steady pace, so I decided to save my legs for the final 800.”

Quarzo later ran the 1,600 and placed fourth.

Paul Schofield is a TribLive reporter covering high school and college sports and local golf. He joined the Trib in 1995 after spending 15 years at the Daily Courier in Connellsville, where he served as sports editor for 14 years. He can be reached at pschofield@triblive.com.

Tags: Brownsville