Shields advances to States

Samantha Shields can say with conviction that she is not a hot weather runner.

At the 20th annual Ben Bloser Cross Country Invitational at Big Spring in mid-September, the conditions were exactly that, and the Warwick senior finished in a time of 19:59.69.

On Saturday, it was about 30 degrees cooler for the District Three Triple-A Championships, back in Newville, and Shields capitalized, shaving more than a half minute off her time while placing 15th out of 229 finishers in 19:20.

“I’m happy. I wanted to do better than I did at the previous Invite here and I wanted to medal,” Shields said.

Check. Check.

Plus, as an added bonus, she also punched her ticket to the PIAA State Championships, to be held next Saturday at Hershey’s Parkview Course. It will be her second career trip to States

Warwick senior Samantha Shields (958) eyes the final 100 yards in the District Three Triple-A girls race at Big Spring High School on Saturday. Shields’ top-20 finish (19:20) qualified her for the PIAA State Meet. (Photo by Mike Shull)

; and the first since her sophomore season.

“(Samantha) went out with the leaders. She always gives her best, she had a good week of workouts, a good week of training and her time from the last time on this course dropped by probably 35 to 40 seconds,” Warwick coach Terry Lee said. “So using that as a reference point, she’s getting stronger. It’s always wonderful to be able to reflect on a race and know there’s a race the following week.”

As a team, the Lady Warriors took 29th with 677 points, while the Warrior boys were 15th with ….. points, led by senior Matthew Polonus, who was 74th overall in 17:21, and junior Drayk Cassamajor, who finished 77th in 17:23. Among L-L teams, the Warriors were seventh.

“That shows that they have gotten stronger steadily throughout the season,” Lee said. “Not knowing what Double-A teams did, but last week they were 12th overall in the League. Their packing came together, their work ethic paid off, so everything is relative when it comes to this. It’s not just a scoreboard.”

Shields’ work ethic paid off as well. Not to mention her grit.

Although she didn’t feel her best over the final two miles of the race, after running a first-mile split of 5:54, she pushed through the adversity.

“I felt good the first mile, and then after that, I was just like ugh,” Shields recalled. “I went out a little faster than I wanted to. I think that was part of why I felt worse the second half of the race.”

She passed through the two mile mark in a time of 12:19 and was positioned as high as 10th place within the final third of the race.

“I was pushing through. I still had stuff left,” Shields said, “so I was still going. But I definitely didn’t feel great.”

Among L-L runners, she ended up placing fifth behind Cocalico’s Jamie Zamrin (5th, 18:47), Garden Spot’s Cheyenne Hansen (11th, 19:10), McCaskey’s Lianna Tirado (13th, 19:16), and Elizabethtown’s Cat Shontz (14th, 19:18).

As she approached the finish line, Shields remained mentally strong and she fed off of her coaches and others yelling encouragement.

“I was thinking that it’s my senior year and this is my last chance, so I was just like, ‘Keep going,’” she said. “(Qualifying for States) was a big part of my goal, I wanted to, and if I medaled, I knew I would.”

A year ago on the demanding Hershey course, Shields finished 30th at Districts in 20:31, just four spots away from a State berth.

“I don’t think (Big Spring) is as bad hills-wise,” she said. “I don’t think anything really beats Hershey. But it’s definitely not easy either. You have to be strong if you’re going to do well.”

Shields, of course, is hoping to be strong again this Saturday when she competes in her final high school cross country race in Chocolatetown.

“I’m looking forward to getting her input on what she thinks her training should be,” Lee said, “but she gives 100 percent in everything from team leadership to practices to competition. I’m pleased with her race (in Districts).”

Senior Abby Steinour was second for the Warwick girls &tstr; and 85th overall &tstr; in 20:46. Sophomore Alexis Barge was the Lady Warriors’ top underclassman to finish, taking 204th in 22:51. Completing Warwick’s top five were senior Malon Bailey in 212th place in 23:23 and senior Madeline Eberly in 215th place 23:37. Senior Alli Stauffer finished 217th in 23:50, while sophomore Ara Ludwig was 222nd in 24:07.

Turning to the boys, three of Warwick’s top four finishers were juniors, as Nicholas Gerencser was 101st in 17:33 and David Hendrix placed 110th in 17:36.

Behind them, senior James Latanishen closed out the Warriors’ top five with a 128th-place finish in 17:46, while senior Adam Kensinger took 210th in 18:36 and senior Alex Ciampaglia ended up win 213th in a time of 19:37.

“They ran a good pack and they raced their best,” Lee said. “I’m real pleased with the whole team effort, boys and girls. I always have to praise. You give your best in practices, you respond and in the end, you look at the times and you want the kids to go home with positive memories.”

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