Oakland Catholic’s Lampenfeld, Derry’s Scipio tops for East girls’ cross country

In the Class AAA race, Oakland Catholic’s Charlotte Lampenfeld placed 29th and ran for a time of 19:30. In the Class AA race, Derry Area’s Hannah Scipio placed 13th and ran for 19:40.

Other well-followed East girls’ runners had good finishes, too. Franklin Regional’s Kaitlyn Figurelli placed 76th in the Class AAA race with a time of 20:07. Hempfield Area’s Morgan Ansell placed 79th with a time of 20:09. Norwin’s Autumn Greba was 41st with a time of 19:41.

Figurelli’s coach, Franklin Regional’s Rick Bullock, had a lot to say about state competition. He talked about how some runners deal with pressure by having an “all business” mentality and others just cut loose. Figurelli is somewhere in between the two extremes. “Last year she said, ‘I was here just to take in the experience and see what I could do.’ This year, mentally, she’s all business and she really wants to make an impact.”

Figurelli placed 105th last year with a time of 20:36. Jumping 29 spots is certainly an impact…

Bullock pointed out an interesting fact about the PIAA state meet. Its location used to rotate, often causing controversy due to the varying geography of Pennsylvania. He said that teams from the flatter eastern areas of the state have had tougher times on courses that were very hilly and that teams from the mountainous parts of the state don’t excel on the speed courses the same way as the eastern teams.

The one equalizer this fall has been the weather. “This year’s weather has been the worst in 40 years of coaching!” he said.