Valotta leads Plum cross country teams into promising season

By: HSSN Staff
Friday, September 7, 2018 | 7:25 PM

Angela Valotta didn’t have the performance she had hoped at last year’s WPIAL Class AAA cross country championships on the Cooper’s Lake course near Slippery Rock.

She had run a 27 ^th -place time of 20 minutes, 43 seconds at WPIALs as a freshman in 2016 and secured an individual trip to states.

But she slipped to 56 ^th (21:03) last October and fell short of her goal of a repeat appearance at the PIAA championships.

“I really want to make it back to states,” Valotta said. “There’s a lot of good competition out there, but I’ve run well at WPIALs before.”

The setback from last year, coupled with better fortunes this past spring on the track, she said, has fueled her motivation and also her optimism.

She also said there are good vibes for the girls team overall, which is young but is showing its talent in the early portion of the season. A number of other runners also are back after competing at WPIALs last year.

“We have a lot of fast freshmen that we think will be good this season, too,” Valotta said.

Valotta now is battling through right ankle and foot injuries, but she said the issues are not serious, and she should soon be back running at full speed. The injury slowed her a bit at the season-opening Gateway Invitational, but she was able to take 17 ^th (23:23) in the girls varsity race.

First-year coach Adam Molinaro said when Valotta is 100 percent she can make her mark in Class AAA.

“I was able to work with her in track, and from watching her, she grew as a great competitor and runner,” Molinaro said. “She did great in any event we put her in. We just want to keep building on that. She knows where she needs to be for her training, and we’ll see what happens.”

The Plum girls and boys varsity squads were slated to face Woodland Hills on Wednesday in section competition. The meet was to be contested past the deadline for this week’s edition.

The Mustangs will test their mettle Saturday at the Kiski Area Invitational and also are looking forward to the section championship meet Oct. 3 at Northmoreland Park near Apollo.

Every member of the girls team that competed at WPIALs last year is back, including seniors Sydney Shanter, Samantha Johnson and Madeline Monick; juniors Kacie Persia and Jill Tishko; and sophomore Jillian Durst.

Sophomore Livia Paoletti is a first-year runner at Plum after moving to the district from a school in New Jersey.

Molinaro said freshman Ashley Persia, who also is battling ankle issues, is expected to be one of the team’s top runners.

Freshmen Sydney Anderson and Alex George also hope to contribute to the varsity squad. George was Plum’s second varsity girls finisher at the Gateway Invitational.

On the boys side, junior Robert Hankinson is hoping to be healthy this year after he battled through knee, hip and back injuries in his sophomore season. He was able to compete at WPIALs last year, and he’s expected to be one of the top runners again for the Mustangs.

“Robert also had a great track season, so we want to keep building off that,” Molinaro said.

Molinaro said the top seven for the boys is solid, and what order they will be in is yet to be fully determined.

“There’s been a lot of great competition so far,” he said. “But it’s still early.”

Junior Justin Mascilli finished 100 ^th at last year’s WPIAL meet and hopes to improve on that mark this year.

Fellow junior Mike Cooley, another veteran of WPIAL championship meets, is working his way back from injury.

Sophomore Will Brewer also returns after competing at the 2017 WPIAL championships, and junior Jesse Cook is expected to be in the mix, along with freshman Ethan Jones and juniors Miles Tush and Carson Hawk.

Tush, a first-year runner for Plum, led the Mustangs with a sixth-place finish in the boys JV race at the Gateway Invitational.

Freshmen Vince Citarno and Sam Schone, Molinaro said, hope to challenge for varsity positions as the season progresses.

Michael Love is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Michael at mlove@tribweb.com or via Twitter @MLove_Trib.