Warriors鈥� McGhee takes control for invitational crown
LEMONT FURNACE 鈥� Penn-Trafford鈥檚 Jake McGhee likes running from the front and that鈥檚 just what the senior did Saturday morning at Penn State Fayette on his way to a first-place finish in the annual A.J. Everhart Invitational.
McGhee led from start to finish, crossing the finish line in 17:15.90 for his first career invitational title.
鈥淚 do like sitting in the front so I don鈥檛 get stuck in places,鈥� explained McGhee. 鈥淎fter the first mile, I definitely knew I had the lead. I started striding it out and just made sure I got the win.
鈥淥verall, I wanted to break 17 (minutes). I basically ran the same time I did last year.鈥�
McGhee added with a laugh, 鈥淚 ran the hill hard, but the third mile snuck up on me a little bit.鈥�
University and Morgantown opted out of this year鈥檚 invitational. McGhee was looking forward to running against the traditionally strong teams.
鈥淪ometimes it鈥檚 a little sketchy not knowing who I鈥檓 running against. University High wasn鈥檛 here and that鈥檚 who I was looking to run against. I knew they had some good runners,鈥� said McGhee.
Connellsville鈥檚 Jonah Lindstrom had his best finish after placing second with a time of 17:32.70.
鈥淚 gave it the best shot I could and I鈥檓 awfully happy with what I did,鈥� said the senior. 鈥�(McGhee) had the lead, start to finish.
鈥淚 try to run my own race. Racing is about listening to your body, and I was trying to listen to my body, especially on this course.鈥�
Lindstrom not only listened to his body, but read the body language of the other runners to make his move.
鈥淚f you go into College Hill dead, you鈥檒l come out of it even worse,鈥� said Lindstrom.
Lindstrom felt pretty good about his performance, especially on the heels of the Section 2-AAA finale on Wednesday at Mingo Creek Park.
鈥淚 beat my course PR by 30, 40 seconds. I was comfortable for most of the race. But, I tried to push it to get away from (Uniontown鈥檚 Ethan Syner),鈥� said Lindstrom.
Syner was third in 17:40.30.
鈥淚 was surprised I kept a lead on Jonah as long as I did. He passed me on College Hill,鈥� said Syner, adding, 鈥淚 went out a little fast, but, overall, I had pretty even splits.鈥�
Southern Garrett鈥檚 Benjamin Brobst was fourth in 17:44.90. The Red Raiders鈥� Cooper Gilleland was fifth in 18.02.90.
California sophomore Carter Kent had his best finish after he was sixth in 18:23.
鈥淚 was doing a lot of preparation (on the course) to see what worked for me. I wanted to stay in the top 10 as long as I could. I started 15th,鈥� said Kent. 鈥淚 knew when we went up the first grade, I saw the pain on everybody鈥檚 face and I knew that would be a strength.
鈥淓very time I caught someone, I just told myself to catch the next person.鈥�
Kent added, 鈥淚鈥檓 really happy with the time I dropped this year.鈥�
Connellsville鈥檚 Jake Pritts (12, 18:54), Uniontown鈥檚 Chase King (16, 19:34) and Dante Rugola (19, 19:50.80), and Laurel Highlands鈥� Ryan Filcheck (19, 19:45.80) also had top-20 finishes.
The annual invitational hosted by Uniontown signals the start of important races, including county meet, the Tri-State Invitational and the WPIAL championship.
鈥淚鈥檓 feeling really strong going into it, so I鈥檓 really excited to see where I鈥檓 going to be. I definitely feel strong where I鈥檓 going to win the next couple races,鈥� said McGhee.
鈥淓ach day is an important day. Bad days, good days, every day matters. That鈥檚 the way I see it,鈥� Lindstrom said of his preparation.
Kent used the invitational as a prelude for the WPIAL championship. He was one of the final state qualifiers last year, but is looking to improve upon that finish.
鈥淚 was taking this mentally like I would the WPIALs, just picking off people one by one. When we crossed the two-mile mark up there, I saw everyone was so fatigued. I knew that was the time to go after people.鈥�
NOTES: Albert Gallatin鈥檚 Brock Mace was 23rd overall with a time of 19:58.10. 鈥� Southmoreland鈥檚 Dylan Bierhaus (31, 21:49.10), Waynesburg Central鈥檚 Nate Fox (49, 21:25.30), Brownsville鈥檚 Owen Shimshock (50, 21:31.20), West Greene鈥檚 Jackson Grimes (53, 21:54.60), Calvary Chapel Christian School鈥檚 Logan Angelo (63, 22:34.60), and Carmichaels鈥� Landon Brown (93, 27:14.10) had the best finishes for their respective teams. 鈥� Canon-McMillan won the AAA team title with 56 points, just ahead of Uniontown鈥檚 62. .. Connellsville鈥檚 Ellic Pritts won the junior high title in a time of 7:40. 鈥� Gateway鈥檚 Robert Kennedy was the JV champion in 20:27.20.