South Fayette’s Zeng captures WPIAL cross country championship
Positioned in the middle of the starting line among hundreds of runners from 27 teams, Angela Zeng from South Fayette bolted to the front. However, at the merge point, a mere 100 yards ahead, the sophomore appeared to be swallowed up by the pack of harriers as they sloped down the hill and rounded the bend out of sight of spectators.
“Something we preach as a team is not to panic. Don’t get rattled,” said SF head coach Joe Winans. “Just stay calm, cool and collected.”
Winans added that when something like that happens, his harriers are plotting their response.
“What do I have to do to handle the situation that I have been given? What’s my next move? How do I deal with this? These are situations we asked our kids and Angela does this as well as anybody.”
Zeng’s answer was to “finesse” her way out of the predicament while sticking to her game plan.
As a result, she emerged as the WPIAL Class 3A champion. She regained her advantage halfway through the first mile and won the race in 17:49.70, a full 28 seconds ahead of runner-up Piper Munyon from Gateway.
Acknowledging she adhered to the team’s philosophy and “stayed calm”, Zeng added, “I could play to whatever because I was able to finesse my way out and stuck to the race strategy.
“At first, I went out strong, but not hard. I maintained that and after the first 800 meters, I was feeling really good. I felt like it was time to go. So I just went and never looked back.”
That Zeng was able to maintain her 5:42-plus pace throughout the race without breaking much of a sweat came as no surprise to Winans.
“She’s an absolute machine,” he said. “I would love to hook her up to some of those machines that test VO2 max and other things, because when it comes to her ability, she’s amazing. Some of it is innate, natural, what she was born with, but Angela has found the right sport where she can take her talents and really maximize those abilities and use them to her advantage. That’s something she does better than anybody I’ve seen.”
As a youth, Zeng played soccer. “Like everybody else,” she said. She transitioned to running in middle school when she performed for the track team. When she entered high school, she started running cross country.
Immediately, she found success. She finished fourth in the WPIAL last fall before moving into the top slot on Oct. 23 when the district championships were held at White Oak Park in McKeesport.
To become a champion, Zeng completed her school workouts. But she also often trained on her own. She learned how to hit her paces and run with the pack.
“She worked so hard all summer and all season and you could see all that came through in the WPIAL championships,” Winans said. “That was the cherry on top of what we’ve been seeing.”
There is much more to see of Zeng beyond the PIAA championships, which were set for Nov. 1 in Hershey. She has two more years of cross country remaining not to mention three seasons of track left.
“With a kid like her who’s that motivated, that driven, the sky’s the limit,” Winans said.
“I find myself as a coach pulling the reins, as opposed to going to the whip. So oftentimes, she’s asking to go a little quicker, a little quicker, a little quicker. We work well in that sense that we kind of balance one another out.
“It’s knowing when to push and when to pull and she’s learning that, she’s knowing when to do those things on her own now. So having a kid like that on your team, who understands training and racing and tactics and strategy, is fantastic. She’s such a consummate student of the sport.”
So are Zeng’s competitors but Winans anticipates she will be prepared to ante up in the future.
“Angela has set the tone and everybody sees what it takes to win. Everyone else sees that and the rest of the group is going to come up to challenge her. They say getting to the top is hard but it’s even harder to stay there. But her arc is pretty big because of her attention to detail and being a student of the sport. We’re going to see that she can still grow even over the next couple of years here (at South Fayette).”
Zeng helped the Lady Lions to a third-place finish in the team standings and a berth as a squad in the PIAA team championships, which were also held Nov. 1 in Hershey. Norwin won the Class 3A crown while Fox Chapel finished runner-up.
Other top finishers for the Lady Lions included: Madeline Stock (19th), Nina DiMartini (24), Brenna Schmitz (38) and Abby Poe (41). Ellena Gibbs and Violet George also competed in the race. Stock, DiMartini, Schmitz and Poe are all seniors.
“I’m super proud of my girls,” Winans said. “Norwin and Fox Chapel raced very well. We knew they were going to be challenging teams but my girls ran really well.”
Among the other area harriers running well in the WPIAL races and qualified for the PIAA championships included:
Adelaide Lulich from Peters Township, who placed ninth overall in 18:39.70
Lyra Stiglitz (12th), Marisol Montoya (21st), Evan Yurasko (6th) and Will Zadecky (25th) from Mt. Lebanon
Nolan Sarkett from Upper St. Clair, who finished fourth overall in 15:43.20
Griffin Martin from South Fayette (14th).
Adeline Benacquista (12th) and Sophie Kanownik (20th) from Chartiers Valley.
Visit www.gingerbreadmanrunning.com for complete race results.