PT’s Wolk runs to 4th place at PIAA Championships
HERSHEY – Ever since Nick Wolk ran his first 5K at 6-years-old, he’s been searching for the secret to running. It took Wolk until his senior year at Peters Township to figure it out, but the answer has been right under his nose the whole time: Just keep running.
Wolk finally earned that elusive first state medal Saturday at the PIAA Class AAA Cross Country Championships held at Hersheypark’s Parkview Course. He placed fourth in 15:53 and finished behind state champion Jake Brophy of Central Bucks East, who clocked a 15:39, as well as Downingtown West’s Jaxson Hoey (15:40) and Josh Hoey (15:49).
It was a strong way for Wolk to end his career after finishing 126th in 17:39 as a sophomore and 46th in 16:47 last season.
“I realized that I was running out of time. I didn’t have the excuse of just being a sophomore,” Wolk said. “This year has been all about a philosophy change. There is no formula to get better. You just have to do the work. I stopped looking for secrets and put in the miles instead. It’s as simple as you think it is. You’ve just gotta run.”
Those miles paid off. Wolk said the key to Saturday’s race was going out conservatively enough to have enough energy to ride the hills and eventually finish the race.
He admitted he was ready to throw in the towel on the final downhill.
“I was ready to give up on the last big downhill,” Wolk said. “But I knew I wouldn’t be OK with myself if I did that. Plus, I didn’t want any of the District 7 guys beating me today.”
South Fayette had boys and girls teams competing at the Class AA meet. The boys – who got their scoring from Aaron Pfeil (16:26), Sam Snodgrass (16:32), Michael Cusick (18:02), Colin Dunn (18:09) and Michael Hasis (18:16) – took sixth. The girls – led by Allison Gates (20:20), Maria DeCello (21:00), Hannah Kenawell (21:20), Lexi Palmer (21:39) and Sydney Lerda (21:55) – placed 10th.
Waynesburg junior Ben Baumgarner, who placed seventh in the WPIAL Class AA meet, earned another seventh-place finish at states with his time of 16:26.
Burgettstown’s Cody Divecchio ended his career with a PIAA medal after placing 13th in 16:54 during the Class A meet.
Trinity freshman Jackson McTaggart made his PIAA debut and placed 76th in 17:42 during the Class AA race.
Washington’s Ben Heim, fresh off a 10th-place finish at the WPIAL Championships in Class A, clocked a 17:42 to finish 41st at states.
Canon-McMillan junior Morgan Grudi, who placed 10th at the WPIAL girls meet in Class AAA, clocked a 19:54 to place 68th.
West Greene freshman McKenna Lampe recorded an 83rd-place finish in 21:40 during her first try at the Class A meet.