Westmoreland County Senior Spotlight: Greensburg Salem’s Ashlan Price

By: Anthony DiFilippo
Monday, September 25, 2023 | 10:29 AM

In Westmoreland County, there is no cross country program like Greensburg Salem’s.

The program was headed for 35 years by Steve Snider, who died in February 2022.

While Snider was with Greensburg Salem, the team captured a state title in 1993 and a pair of WPIAL championships in 1993 and 1994.

Steve’s son, Nathan, now coaches the Lions.

Senior runner Ashlan Price appreciates having been coached by both.

“Being able to say I was coached by not only (Nathan Snider) but also the late Steve Snider as well is an honor,” Price said. “I can fully and wholeheartedly say they both know exactly what they’re talking about when it comes to running.”

Price definitely has taken some of that coaching to heart.

At the Red, White & Blue Invitational at White Oak Park on Sept. 9, she finished with a time of 20 minutes, 47 seconds, which beat her time from last year by 20 seconds.

There was one specific change to which Price attributed her improved time.

“Coach Snider talked to me and a few others at the end of track season and asked what our thoughts were about upping our mileage,” Price said. “I thought it was a good idea, so we started running further every day than we normally would.”

Breaking the 20-minute mark has been one of Price’s goals since she started running.

While she runs in the summer and fall, she also does plenty of running in the winter when she plays small forward on the Golden Lions basketball team.

Price was part of a Lions team that went 14-9 last year.

The urge to return this winter — and to become a team capable of making a playoff run — is apparent.

“Hungry is an understatement,” Price said. “We owe it to the coaches and other teams to have a successful season, and we are certainly all excited.”

It can be argued that Price is one of the best conditioned players on that Greensburg Salem squad, and cross country is a huge part of that.

“Cross country especially helps me for basketball because the only breaks I get during a basketball game are timeouts,” Price said. “I need to be able to run up and down the court for a long period of time.”

Price has not decided where she is going to college yet, but she is planning on playing basketball and being on the pre-medicine track.

Price took some time out of her busy week for a Senior Spotlight Q&A:

How did you get started with cross country?

I got started in eighth grade because of the late Steve Snider. He inspired me to start running, and I have stuck with it ever since.

Why are Greensburg Salem’s cross country teams consistently good?

I think the main thing that makes our teams consistently good is because we have people who are mentally tough. I truly think our team faces adversity and hardships unlike any other team. We are taught that we work too hard during the offseason to not put our 100% in everything we do, which each year proves why we are a successful team.

Does cross country help you once basketball season comes around?

I do believe I am a very athletic individual, and I do think that cross country helps a lot towards that. Once in-season workouts roll around for basketball, it isn’t as hard for me to be running and doing our conditioning drills like it is for other people on the team, just because I’ve been running since July consistently.

What are expectations like for the basketball team this year?

We do have the majority of the team back. The expectations are to do better in the section play part of the season than we did last year. We are striving towards a possible section title, although some other teams are as well.

What is one thing that people may not know about you?

One thing people don’t know about me is I am almost always watching some type of sports on my computer. Whether it’s basketball, football or baseball, I’m always watching some type of sporting event.

Tags: Greensburg Salem