Lebo’s Mangan shines at PIAA championship
A split second separated Molly Mangan from a PIAA championship but the Mt. Lebanon junior is not complaining that her medal in the 300-meter intermediate hurdles was silver rather than gold.
“I’m not going to dwell on what could have been especially since I ran one of the best races in my life,” Mangan said.
Mangan lowered the school record further when she clocked a personal record time of 42.86 and placed second in the race held May 26 at Shippensburg University.
“In a race like the intermediates, the difference is small. It comes down to the last three hurdles. You can maintain speed or take it up a notch. It’s who can gut it out at the end bring it on at the finish. She had a little more kick than I had.”
Madison Langley-Walker from Upper Dublin won the event in 41.94. Mangan was nine-tenths of a second off the winning pace.
“Some people can be disappointed that they did not get first but I am glad that I was able to perform well enough to finish second at states.
“I am very happy with a sub-43. Definitely very happy because that is faster than my last race,” she added.
Mangan’s race prior to the state finals came during the WPIAL championships back on May 17 at Baldwin. She won the intermediates with a time of 43.21.
With Langley-Walker as well as Taylor O’Brien of Plymouth Whitemarsh, the third-place finisher, graduating, Mangan looks to be the favorite to win the gold next spring.
“That’s a possibility. To go for the championship spot next year,” she said. “But I’m not sure what events I will do and whether I will stick to intermediates because there are other events to consider.”
A natural sprinter, Mangan has the speed to run successfully at the 200- and 400-meter distances. She ran legs on Lebo’s 4×100 and 4×400 relays. The 4×100 unit of Katie Ward, Flynn Begor, Jane Chavez and Mangan finished ninth at states.
Mangan will take some time off before beginning her summer season, which includes training trips. She will lift in the fall and run indoor track during the winter months in preparation for the 2019 spring campaign.
She downplays having a target on her back of returning to Shippensburg to cap her senior season with a gold-medal performance. Pressure can negatively or positively impact you, she says.
“It depends on how you look at it. You can look at it as ‘I have a lot to do or I’m going to train hard to be No. 1. I like to take it as motivation. To be a champion, you have to work at it and want it. You can’t ease up on the training when you are going for the No. 1 spot.”
Next spring would be the fourth time that Mangan has qualified for the PIAA championships. She says in each instance she has learned something from the experience.
“It helps boost your confidence when you go to a new place and you are familiar with the variables, the stadium and the schedule, but this year, I had in my head not to psyche myself out mentally. If you believe in your mind you can win, then you can win on the track.”
Mangan was not the only Lebo athlete to medal at the PIAA championships. Patrick Anderson secured sixth place in the 1,600-meter run with a 4:21.71 time.