By Alex Frazier
Meet…Sarah Holl
Sarah Holl knew she would be running cross country at Upper Dublin for some time.
What she didn’t know was just how good she would be.
Most freshmen coming into a varsity program have to take their knocks and work their way up.
Holl started at the top.
“I didn’t expect to be where I am now,” she admitted.
Senior Dana Lockard, a 69th-place winner at states a year ago, was the successor apparent to Kelsey Rhoads, who graduated last year. Now she’s playing second fiddle to Holl.
“She hasn’t been running her best because she hurt her hamstring,” said Holl. “I don’t know if she’s at her best now.”
Holl entered this season with four years of competitive running under her belt. She started running track for the prestigious Ambler Olympic Club when she was 10. Her events have been the 800, the mile and the 3,000.
“I knew she was coming up from the middle school,” said coach Megan Gallagher. “She had had a very good spring season on the track. I expected that she’d be running with our top girl or faster. She has a lot of natural talent.”
Gallagher said she was trying to monitor Holl’s running so that she doesn’t run too much distance because of her age.
“It’s a tough balance when they’re freshmen and running that quick,” she said. “I want her to have four successful years.”
Holl started cross country with Ambler two years ago. Distances are determined by age group. She was running 2.4 miles.
Moving up to 3+ miles in high school was a bit difficult, but Holl was prepared. Over the summer, she ran track again for Ambler and additionally ran several mornings a week to get her distance in.
“I did a lot more in the summer, so I guess that helped,” she said. “It was just kind of scary because I was the only freshman.”
Holl’s running career was a direct result of her mother, who ran competitively when she was younger, and continues to run to this day.
“I always wanted to run because she did,” said Holl.
Through last Wednesday, Holl has run in two invitationals and three dual meets. She placed third at the Hershey Invitational (19:47) but had to drop out of last weekend’s Carlisle Invitational with a knee injury. It was a shame because it was her first opportunity to compete against Plymouth Whitemarsh’s Katie Gorman, who won the American Conference last year and finished sixth at Carlisle (19:00).
She also won the Upper Merion and Springfield meets and crossed first with Lockard against Upper Moreland.
Because of her knee injury (overuse), Holl did not get a second chance against Gorman Thursday when the Cardinals ran against PW and Wissahickon, so she will have to wait until the league championships to face her toughest challenge in the American Conference.
But while she sits out Thursday, she does plan to run in the Paul Short Run at Lehigh University, site of the District One Championships, on Friday.
“There’s more competition and more teams,” said Holl.
Entering this season, Holl had no expectations.
“I just wanted to run my best,” she said. “I really didn’t think I’d be doing as well as I’ve been doing.”
But now, she has her sights set on states.
Which is a distinct possibility.
“If I keep running the way I’m running….”
Titans deep – If you want to be successful in cross country, you either have some of the top runners in the league, or you have a pack of good runners.
Central Bucks South falls into the latter category.
“It’s definitely the deepest team I’ve ever coached and the most successful I’ve coached,” said coach Ryan Walsh.
Last year in the National Conference, C.B. South finished second in the league championships. This year the Titans moved to the very competitive Continental Conference.
“I figured if we could go .500 in the league, that would still be a good season because it’s the deepest league in maybe the district,” said Walsh.
So far the Titans have been a surprise to their coach. They defeated both Hatboro-Horsham and Pennridge in a double dual meet and took both again in the Council Rock Invitational.
Walsh was expecting a split between those two teams.
“The girls for South really surprised me this year with how well the training went in the summer,” he said. “They had a really good cross country camp and came out and showed their depth in the last few meets.”
Emily Chappell has been the Titans frontrunner. Though she has no wins to her credit yet, she did finish fifth at the Council Rock Invitational.
After Chappell, the order has been fluctuating, showing how close the girls are.
“They are all pushing each other,” said Walsh. “The order changes all the time on the team.”
Senior Lisa Glover, who also participates in South’s marching band, moved up from jayvee last year and has often run second with sophomore Kirsten Myers pushing her.
“She did a lot of summer training,” said Walsh of Glover. “She barely broke six minutes in the mile in the spring. But now she just ran a 19:50 for a 5K a few weeks ago. She’s really come around and improved.”
Junior Taylor Goldsworthy has been running fourth.
“She’s had some tough races, but she’s coming around this season,” said Walsh. “Every race she keeps improving on.”
After that, it’s sophomore Lauren Leibfreid, senior Meredith Fox and freshman Rachel Bachman, who has been a pleasant surprise.
“It’s tough for our school to get freshmen out in the first place because our building only has 10, 11 and 12,” said Walsh. “She’s the only freshman that I have out on the team this year, but she’s been a nice surprise and has helped out on the depth.”
So far, it is South’s depth that has made the Titans so successful.
“We don’t have the runner up front, but we have a good pack that can put it in front of most other good team’s third or fourth girl,” said Walsh. “We can put six or seven girls in front of them. If they keep that up, that’s going to show a lot of success for the rest of the season.”
They faced a tough test last week in a double dual with North Penn, last year’s National Conference champs, and archrival Central Bucks West. They fell to both teams.
Walsh hopes to have his runners peaking in time for the league and district meets.
“If we don’t do everything correctly for that, the season can be a disappointment,” said Walsh. “I think now the girls can see we’re in the mix to be one of those five teams that make it to the state meet.”
Around the league – North Penn keeps mowing down the competition in the Continental Conference. The Maidens’ latest victims were Central Bucks West (17-38) and Central Bucks South (15-40). It certainly appears that they will run the table to claim a second consecutive league title.
Christy Cohick led our four of her teammates to top 10 finishes. Cohick crossed first in 18:38, followed by Rachel Brown (18:48), Lauren Bond (18:57) and Heather Selheimer (19:14). Carolyn Fergus finished seventh (19:27).
Laura Gundry led West with a fifth-place finish (19:23) and South’s Lisa Glover finished ninth in 19:43.
In other action Wednesday, Central Bucks East’s Jenny Guidera won the race against Hatboro-Horsham (19:42), but the Hatters proved too deep as they ended up winning 26-33. Casey Uhrich was Hatboro’s top runner, finishing second in 19:47.
Tori Gerlach (20:11) led Pennridge to a pair of victories over neighboring rivals Souderton (22-35) and Quakertown (19-36).
In the National Conference, William, Tennent picked up a pair of wins over Neshaminy (27-30) and Harry S Truman (17-46). Anne Areias led the Panthers with a first-place finish in 20:04.
In the American Conference, Upper Merion rolled over Upper Moreland 15-50. Jess Mero led the Vikings, finishing the 2.9-mile course in 19:21.
• A number of SOL teams and runners made their marks in invitationals last Saturday.
Pennsbury’s Ann Herman and Hatboro-Horsham’s Kaylee Irwin dueled it out at the Council Rock Invitational with Herman finishing first in 19:25 and Irwin second in 19:50. Central Bucks South took the team title with Emily Chappell pacing the Titans in a fifth place finish in 20:09, while the Hatters’ Casey Uhrich was sixth (20:12) and Neshaminy’s Christine Eslasito was ninth (20:28).
Ironically, Council Rock North was not at its own invitational but traveled to the Carlisle Invitational. Lindsay Rheiner finished fourth in 18:54, while Plymouth-Whitemarsh’s Katie Gorman crossed in sixth place in a time of 19 minutes.
North Penn ruled at the Conrad Weiser Invitational. The Maidens placed five runners in the top 10, with Heather Selheimer leading the pack at 20:18. Christy Cohick was second (20:20), Rachel Brown finished third (20:54), Lauren Bond was fifth (21:13) and Carolyn Fergus was seventh (21:34).
Becky Kratz led all SOL runners in her home Souderton Invitational. Kratz finished third in 19:18 with teammate Kelsey Cameron right behind her in 19:21. Quakertown’s Megan Rheiner finished sixth (20:19) and Sarah Penn came in ninth (20:23) as the Panthers nipped Souderton 82-83 for third place. Upper Merion finished eighth with 236.
• Central Bucks South came out with a couple of impressive wins in its double dual with Hatboro-Horsham and Pennridge on Sept. 24, beating the Hatters 25-33 and Pennridge 18-35.
Council Rock South also edged Neshaminy 27-28.
• On Sept. 20, several SOL teams were running at invitationals. The North Penn girls took second place at the Briarwood Invitational. Christy Cohick led the Maidens with a fifth-place finish in a time of 19:33, followed by Rachel Brown, sixth, in 19:33 and Lauren Bond, 17th, in 20:02. Central Bucks East’s Jenny Guidera led the Patriots to an eighth place, crossing the line in 19:56, good for 15th place.
In the large school division, William Tennent’s Anne Areias paced the Panthers to a second-place finish. She broke the tape in 19:51, followed by Neshaminy’s Laura Histand in third with a time of 20:21.
Harry S Truman finished 11th as a team and Abington did not record a score.
Some SOL runners had the opportunity to run the new state course at the Hershey Invitational. Council Rock North placed two runners in the top 15 to take a second place with 103 points, trailing winner Liberty, which amassed 76 points. Lindsay Rheiner led the Indians with a second place finish in 19:37, while teammate Julie Fricke crossed in 14th spot with a clocking of 20:31.
Pennridge freshman Tori Gerlach led the Rams, who placed sixth, with a 17th-place finish in 20:41. Nicole Mehlman was 20th in 20:48.
Ann Herman, Pennsbury’s impressive freshman, took fourth in 19:40, while Allison Ludwick came in 10th in 20:10. The Falcons tied Pennridge for sixth with 103 points.
Upper Dublin’s Sarah Holl was the Cardinals’ top runner, crossing in third place in 19:47.
Bensalem finished eighth in the Fretz Invitational at Perkiomen Valley.
• Central Bucks West topped Pennridge 26-29, though the Rams’ Tori Gerlach crossed the line first in 20:24. West’s Alex Gervais was second in 20:32.
SuburbanOneSports.com’s Top 5 SOL teams
1. Council Rock North
2. North Penn
3. Hatboro-Horsham
4. Pennsbury
5. Central Bucks South
SuburbanOneSports.com’s Top 5 SOL individuals
1. Lindsay Rheiner, Council Rock North
2. Ann Herman, Pennsbury
3. Kaylee Irwin, Hatboro-Horsham
4. Christy Cohick, North Penn
5. Kate Gorman, Plymouth Whitemarsh
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