Quaker Valley runner fights through injuries to compete with WPIAL’s, state’s best

By: Ray Fisher
Sunday, November 16, 2025 | 11:01 AM

Previous Next

This is a story of perseverance and determination.

Quaker Valley sophomore Lucy Montagnese, much like her other family members, loves to run.

But Montagnese, unfortunately, wasn’t able to do much running during the 2025 cross country season because of a stress fracture in the second metatarsal of her left foot that she suffered in late-August.

“It was a very different season for me,” Montagnese said. “I haven’t been able to run since late August due to a stress fracture in my left foot. I spent over 60 hours throughout September and October training on the elliptical and have been in a boot since early September in order to take the load off of my foot.

“I wasn’t able to walk without pain in my foot, and so I had to wear a boot throughout the day to take stress off of that foot. I was in the boot for seven weeks leading up to the WPIAL (state qualifying) meet and maintained fitness by cross training on the elliptical or in the pool.”

Two months of recovery time — that in itself would be staggering.

“This made the season very mentally challenging,” Montagnese said, “but I was lucky enough to return to running the day before the state qualifying meet on Oct. 23.”

However, the 5-foot-6 Montagnese suffered another injury while attempting to qualify for the PIAA race.

“I came out to run the WPIAL meet and my foot was feeling much better, but about a mile into the 5K race, the course went up a hill,” Montagnese said. “My left leg had lost some strength from being in a boot leading up to the race, so when I went up that first hill, I felt a sharp pain in my left calf. It turns out I strained my soleus muscle in my calf.

“My body was not used to the impact of running. I finished that race, but it was one of the hardest things I’ve done.”

The QV athlete placed 16th with a time of 20:10.5 on the White Oak Park course. QV junior Maggie Doz, Montagnese and senior Mia Gartley crossed the finish line steps apart.

Montagnese’s calf hurt so much that once she completed that race, she couldn’t even walk for a couple of days.

“This new injury sidelined me for the week leading up to the state meet,” she said, “and to be honest, I had some really hard moments that week because it wasn’t looking likely that I would be able to run the state meet.

“During the recovery period, my dad and coach (Ron) Graf worked together to create specific elliptical cross training workouts so that I could keep training even though I couldn’t actually run. Having such a long, sidelining injury was very hard for me mentally, but my mom helped me a lot to stay motivated and focus on my goal of returning to running in time for states.”

What are more important than the legs for a race contestant?

“I returned to the elliptical and the boot for the next week and wasn’t even planning on running the state meet,” she said. “But my family, my coaches and I made a last-minute decision — literally the day before — to enter the race.”

QV coach Ryan Kelly was amazed but certainly not surprised by Montagnese’s resolve.

“Lucy’s season was definitely one of perseverance and resilience,” Kelly said. “After opening the year strong with a win at our scrimmage meet in 20:52, she unfortunately battled through a difficult stretch of injuries that sidelined her for most of September and early October. She spent several weeks focused on physical therapy and recovery, putting in a lot of disciplined work to get healthy enough to return in time for the postseason.

“Given how limited her training was during that stretch, I was really impressed but not entirely surprised that she was able to compete at such a high level by the end of the season. Her finishes at WPIALs and at the PIAA championships were incredible results considering the circumstances.”

Montagnese’s perseverance was augmented by her unshakable determination.

“The days leading up to states, I couldn’t even walk normally because my calf was in so much pain,” Montagnese said, “but I was determined to run at states, even if it meant injuring my soleus further. The only time I ran prior to states was the day before when my team did a run-through to preview the racecourse.

“My soleus definitely hurt, but I decided that I would regret it too much if I gave up racing the state meet. I am the type of person who has a very regimented pre-race ritual that I follow in the days leading up to an important race, so deciding to race the day before (at the state meet) kind of threw me for a loop, and I didn’t feel as prepared as I would’ve liked.”

Apprehension drifted into the equation for the 15-year-old Montagnese.

“I’ve had a lot of injuries from running in the past couple years,” she said. “During states, the only injury I was focused on was the soleus strain, as my foot wasn’t really hurting much anymore.”

The PIAA cross country finals took place Nov. 1 in Hershey. Montagnese’s brother Jonah finished as the state champion in the Class 2A boys race.

“My soleus muscle hurt the whole race, which made it harder to focus on the actual race, but I knew if I stopped or slowed down because of that, I would regret it after,” Montagnese said. “Directly after the race, I iced my calf and rested it for a little bit, then ended up running around again to watch my brother Jonah win his race.

“I’ve been really focusing on resting and icing in the days after states and am back on the elliptical, but my leg is finally feeling a little bit better, and I’m optimistic that I will be able to run full-time soon.”

Not only did Montagnese finish the race with an admirable 20:17 time and 26th-place showing, she also set the pace for the entire QV girls team.

“States is the hardest competition our team faces all year,” Montagnese said, “so I was scared to mess up on such a big stage and entered the race apprehensively. I went into the race with no real expectations because I wasn’t really sure how my calf and foot would hold up, especially on such a hilly course.

“The course is mentally and physically tough because it is so hilly, but I am really proud of the way I pushed through and persevered through the race.”

The QV girls secured a top 15 performance at the state meet, wrapping up 13th place in Class 2A. Eight team members qualified for the PIAA event: Montagnese, Gartley, Doz, juniors Kate Steinfurth, Rose Cline and Fiona Mikita, freshman Alexis Kempton and senior Kendra Hines.

“I’m very happy with how my race went,” Montagnese said. “and I’m really proud of how our girls team did. None of us really expected to qualify for states as a team, but it was such a fun experience, and we all raced really strong.”

Kelly couldn’t help but admire the performance of the girls team’s No. 1 runner.

“Lucy has a quiet confidence about her,” Kelly said. “She’s focused, steady, and leads more by example than by words. Even after missing multiple meets, she came back determined to help set the tone for our girls at the state meet, and her performance did just that.

“Overall, Lucy’s season is a great example of grit and maturity beyond her years. The way she handled adversity says a lot about her as both a runner and a teammate.”

Tags: Quaker Valley