Knavish takes MVP in stride
McMURRAY – Watching Kylie Knavish run is like watching water flow through a stream.
The junior from Peters Township High School has a smooth, steady pace that seems almost effortless. While those running with her labor after a while, Knavish only appears to gain momentum, putting an ever-growing distance between her and the rest of the field.
Knavish was red-hot on a cold Saturday on the way to winning three distance races and the Track Most Valuable Performer in the Washington-Greene County Coaches Track Meet at Peters Township High School.
Knavish, who transferred in from Clarkston High School in Michigan last August, won the distance races and helped the 3,200 relay team to victory as the Indians won the Class AAA team title with 162 points, 43 more than Canon-McMillan. McGuffey won Class AA with 92 points.
Knavish never trailed in any of her individual races.
“When you watch her run, you can tell she is a natural distance runner,” said Peters Township coach Justin Pinto. “There is a lot of power in that stride. She goes at the same clip, very consistent. And length doesn’t matter to her.”
Knavish won a three-second victory over Bentworth’s Carlye Moore in the 800 run, turning in a 2:26.40. She outpaced Madison Grudi of Canon-McMillan by seven seconds in the 1,600 run with a time of 5:28.10; and she cruised to an easy win in the 3,200 run with a time of 11:22.9. Teammate Chloe Grzyb was second at 11:50 and Kirsten McMichael of Ringgold took third in 12:12.
“I’ve been running since sixth grade,” said Knavish. “My parents are runners and so is my sister, Mia, who’s a freshman. Sometimes, we run together, but mostly I run with my friends. I run the Montour Trail a lot.”
Knavish has lived in three different states and two different countries because of her father’s job as an engineer with PPG. She ran cross country and track as a freshman and sophomore at Clarkston.
“There are definitely more hills here than there are in Michigan,” said Knavish. “I had to get used to the hills here.”
Knavish’s performance overshadowed a strong effort by Washington’s Alyssa Wise, who won all three sprints. Wise could have tied Knavish but the Prexies didn’t have enough sprinters available because of illness and other activities to field a team.
“I did decent, considering the weather was so cold,” said Wise. “I just wanted to come out and give it all I had.”
Wise followed up a strong performance in Thursday’s one-point loss to Waynesburg, where she swept the sprints, with another 3-for-3 effort. Wise won the 100 in 12.62, the 200 in 26.22 and the 400 in 1:01.17.
Jenna Lucas of Fort Cherry followed up her WPIAL-best effort in the javelin of 146-1 with the district’s second-best throw when she unleashed a 143-2 at the South Hills Classic April 6 at Baldwin High School. Yesterday’s throw helped her earn the field MVP.
Lucas won the javelin, was fourth in the triple jump (29-5 1/2), sixth in the shot put (29-11) and seventh in the long jump (14-10) for 24 points.
Lucas credits former teammate Jessie Merckle, who was a WPIAL and PIAA champion last season, for helping her develop into a top-flight thrower.
“She taught me a lot, and she made it fun,” said Lucas, a junior. “She cracked jokes all the time. We played games in practice, like seeing who could get closest to a certain spot. She was really helpful in meets.”
Kelsey Zaremba of McGuffey won the Overall MVP by finishing second in the triple jump (31-8), was on the 1,600 relay team that finished second (4:31.04); took third in the long jump (15-2) and fifth in the 400 (1:04.2) for 20 points.
“I was surprised I got it,” said Zaremba. “If I had to pick, I would probably stick to jumping. I’m getting better in the 400. I’m focusing on that now.”