Dec 3, 2014 3 min read

Kelsey Potts has an uncle that lives in San Diego. So he doesn’t get to see the Mt. Lebanon junior run competitively that often. However, the opportunity arises Dec. 13 because Potts qualified for the Foot Locker National Cross Country Championships.

Potts finished eighth overall during the Northeast championships and earned a berth in the national finals to be held in San Diego.

Brianna Schwartz of Shaler won the race in 17:35, 15 seconds faster than Hannah Debalsi of Connecticut. The Colorado recruit is the reigning WPIAL and PIAA champion as well as a two-time All-American. Madeleine Davison of North Allegheny finished fourth in 17:53.6.

Schwartz and Davison have been rivals for Potts throughout her scholastic career. While she struggled to hang with the state’s best, finishing third to the duo in the WPIAL and fifth in the PIAA, Potts managed to hold on with the rest of the elite runners this time around to earn a trip to the finals.

After the state championships, where she finished fifth, Potts took a couple days off before she commenced her build up for the regional held at Van Corlandt Park in the Bronx, N.Y. After a week-long taper, she was ready to exert her skills.

“I just really pushed as hard as I could. I tried to stick with the people I knew,” she commented after the race. “I really enjoy this sport and I really wanted to give it my all.”

Potts is pleased with her performance. She clocked in at 18:01.2.

“I’m real excited,” she said. “I’ve never done anything like this before. I’m really happy.”

And, Potts is thrilled to visit her uncle.

“He’ll be able to see me run,” she said. “So I am really excited about that.”

Pennsylvania’s showing at the Northeast Meet was exciting because the state finished as the best with a score of 29 points, beating Massachusetts, New Jersey and New York.

Woodring wins

Lauren Woodring, 26, of Bethel Park captured first place in the women’s division during the Columbus Marathon. Her time of 2:41.24 qualifies her for the 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials to be held in Los Angeles. Woodring ran a 6:06 pace per mile. She finished 25th out of all 5,460 competitors, both male and female.

Boxheimer 29th

After placing 69th in her debut ACC cross country championship meet, Hillary Boxheimer of Bethel Park finished 40 spots higher this time. The junior placed 29th overall with a personal best time of 21:04.3 in a 6K race. Boxheimer missed being an All-Conference recipient by eight places, or less than 12 seconds. The top 21 runners in the field are named to the All-Conference teams. Pitt finished 14th in the women’s team standings for the championships held at Panorama Farms in Earlysville, Va. Boxheimer also took 26th overall with a 21:21 time during the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regionals held at Penn State. That was the best individual performance for a Pitt woman since 2004.