Lebo’s Potts wins Central Catholic Invitational
Kelsey Potts coasted to victory during the Central Catholic Invitational held at Schenley Park in Oakland. The Mt. Lebanon junior won the Girls’ A Division race in 18:15.7, outdistancing her closest opponent, Abby Yourkavitch of Chambersburg, by 51.7 seconds.
The showing puts Potts on good footing as she enters the peak season of competition. The race served as one of the tune-ups for the WPIAL championships set for Oct. 23 at Cooper’s Lake in Slippery Rock and the PIAA championships set for Nov. 1 on the Parkview Cross Country Course in the Hershey Giant Center Complex.
A three-time district and state qualifier, Potts finished fourth at last year’s PIAA finals with an 18:31 time. She took third in the 2013 WPIAL championships.
Despite Potts’s performance, the Lebo ladies settled for second in the team standings. Chambersburg won the Class A Division by a slim margin. The Lebo ladies are two-time defending WPIAL champions. They finished third last year in the state.
Claire Dougherty finished fifth and Sadie Saxton ended up eighth for the only other Top 10 finishers for the Lebo ladies.
North Hills, North Allegheny and Peters Township rounded out the top five finishers in the team standings. Chloe Grzyb led the Lady Indians by securing sixth place overall in the individual standings.
In the girls’ Class B Division, Bishop Canevin finished third overall (94 points) behind champion Beaver (51) and Allderdice (77). For the Lady Crusaders, who were WPIAL runners-up last year, Becca Volz garnered the silver medal with a 19:59.9 time. Rylee Kopchak from Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic won the race in 19:51.2.
Mary Olivia Philbin finished fifth for the Lady Crusaders. She clocked in at 20:12.2
Nick Wolk was the top finisher among area men runners. He secured sixth place overall with a 16:30.4 time and helped Peters Township to a ninth-place showing in the Division A standings. North Allegheny won the title, ahead of second-place North Hills and third-place Central Catholic. Bethel Park finished eighth overall.
Jeff Van Kooten from Central won the race in 15:52.3 followed by Hunter Wharrey from North Allegheny and Jacob Heinauer from North Hills.
In Division B, Canevin finished 10th as a team. Beaver took the title with 42 points.