Post 56 of 100 of Brad’s Tiny World Scribefire Challenge.
Woodrow, Miller repeat as Conference champs
Hannah Miller, left, led the field to the cross-country title.
By RICK WEAVER, rweaver@indianagazette.net
Published: Friday, October 17, 2008 10:28 AM EDT
MARION CENTER – Alex Woodrow did not want a repeat of last year’s Heritage Conference meet. The diminutive Marion Center sophomore made sure of that, besting defending champion Max Penrose of Laurel Valley by 19 seconds en route to the boys’ championship on Thursday at Marion Center Community Park.Laurel Valley junior Hannah Miller became the first athlete to win three successive conference cross country championships, winning the girls’ race in 19 minutes, 49 seconds. She defeated Homer-Center’s Alyssa Taddie by 39 seconds.
Woodrow, the two-time Indiana County Invitational champion, won the 3.1-mile race in a personal-best 17 minutes, 7 seconds. Unlike last season, when he looked back over the final 50 yards and wound up losing by less than a second to Penrose, Woodrow left no doubt as to how the race would play out or conclude.
Woodrow stalked Penrose over the first mile. Once they traveled a ¾-mile stretch through the woods for the first time, Woodrow made his move.
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“We went up the hill and I could tell he was slowing down a bit,” said Woodrow. “Hills will really tire you out. I just started up the hill and got closer and closer. And when we came to the downhill (portion) I kept up the same momentum that I used uphill and I blew by him.”“It’s nice to see all that work paying off,” Marion Center coach Chris Peters said. “He was able to run a smart race and a gutsy race there at the end.”
Penrose admitted he started out too quickly.
“I started a little bit faster than I probably should have,” said the Laurel Valley senior, who won the 2007 boys’ championship after Woodrow fell short in a lunging attempt to nip him at the finish line. “And then I struggled to hold that pace.”
Miller had little difficulty outlasting Taddie, the talented Homer-Center senior who placed third at least year’s conference meet.
“Down the hill at the entrance I thought, maybe, she might come up against me because she’s a better sprinter than me,” Miller said.
Miller set and kept a comfortable between herself and her nearest rival, however.
“She has really a good stride and she keeps pounding it out,” Taddie said.
Marion Center won both team championships, the fifth time the Stingers have pulled the Heritage sweep. Woodrow led four Stingers among the top 10 as they amassed 43 points, seven fewer than Blairsville and 14 more than Laurel Valley.
The Stingers also continued their stranglehold on the girls’ championship, placing four in the top 10 and totaling 38 points, 18 better than Homer-Center. Marion Center is the only school that has won the girls’ team championship in the nine years the conference has staged its championship meet.
“The team race is what the sport is all about. And we love getting first place,” said Peters. “It’s two races in one. You want the first place and you want the first place for the team. We approach it as a team sport and they run as a team all year long.”
