Shenango senior captures second WPIAL Class A cross country crown

By: Paul Schofield
Wednesday, October 28, 2020 | 10:35 PM

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Shenango senior Carmen Medvit captured her second WPIAL Class A cross country championship Wednesday by breezing to a victory at White Oak Park.

Medvit broke away from Greensburg Central Catholic junior Corinn Brewer and the rest of the field coming up the hill at the one-mile mark. She ran a 19:10.

Brewer, who tried to set a quick pace early, finished a distant second at 19:54.

Medvit won her first title in 2018, but a medical condition during the 2019 championship at Cal U forced her to pull out. Many runners suffered during the 2019 race because of the warm temperatures, including Brewer, who was able to finish 11th.

It was much better weather for the runners on Wednesday, cool and damp.

“This was a dream of mine, since I started in junior high, to win this race,” Medvit said. “This is definitely feels better than my first title because it’s my senior season. The course was a little muddier, but the weather was beautiful.”

Serra Catholic senior Maya Poziviak was third in 19:57 followed by Shady Side Academy freshman Chelsea Hartman in fourth at 20:07 and Winchester Thurston sophomore Cyd Kennard in fifth at 20:17. The other individual state qualifiers were Northgate junior Lydia Valeriano in 20:13 and Aquinas Academy freshman Alexis Abbett in 20:25.

Only seven individuals in Class A and one team qualified for the PIAA championship Nov. 7 in Hershey.

Mohawk won the team title and was led by freshman Natalie Lape, who placed seventh overall in 20:23. Mohawk finished with 56 points. Our Lady of the Sacred Heart was second with 110.

Medvit said she was concerned a little because Brewer started out quickly. But once she got comfortable with the pace, she took over.

The boys race was a much closer battle won by Winchester Thurston senior Patrick Malone in 16:28.

He edged out Riverview senior Mason Ochs, who ran a 16:29.

Winchester Thurston, which won the team title with 67 points, also had the third and fourth place finishers — Lance Nicholls and Gus Robinson.

“It felt nice to have people with me,” Malone said. “Last week (at the Tri-State Track Coaches Association meet), I ran more conservative, and it was a different kind of race. There were a few guys with me that pushed me along. It was amazing that we had two guys finish third and fourth. I like being pushed. It’s hard to run a race by yourself.”

The other six individual qualifiers were Riverside senior Colby Belczyk, who was fifth in 16:41, Greensburg Central Catholic freshman Nick Szekely in 16:43, OLSH senior Finn Sweeney in 16:44, Shenango senior Christian Maxwell in 16:45, Eden Christian sophomore Sean Aiken in 16:58 and Shady Side Academy senior Adam Lauer in 17:00.

“The funny things about winning is that I’m joining two families,” Malone said. “One being the Winchester Thurston champions, and we have a few of those, the other being my own family, which has won a few WPIAL individual championships of our own (sisters Mary, Margo and Shannon). Now I feel I’m part of the family.”

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: Shenango, Winchester Thurston