Hampton girls cross country team building strong foundation

By: HSSN Staff
Sunday, October 22, 2017 | 11:05 PM

Despite injuries, the Hampton girls cross country has become closer as a group heading into Thursday's WPIAL championships at Cooper's Lake.

While no runners are major candidates to qualify, the younger runners hope to build the foundation to create a stronger squad in the years to come.

“We might not be a top-five WPIAL team,” said Heather Dietz, in her 12th year coaching the program. “But I think each race, they attack it trying to improve on their last race. They've definitely become more competitive as a team.”

The Talbots were hit hard by injuries, including season-ending ailments to Maria Whistler and Katie Mercier, two of 10 seniors on the team. Others fought through to compete. Junior Elizabeth Dolan ran with plantar fasciitis all season.

“She has been able to battle though it,” Dietz said. “I think that is definitely a surprise for us. She's been taking the small steps to stay healthy and work through the injury to be a contributor to the team.”

Senior Alissa Beam battled asthma and performed admirably, her coach said.

“She was our No. 1 at a few of our races but really struggled with the dryness of the season and the courses,” Dietz said. “She has her strong points, but it was hard to breathe for her.”

Junior Megan Gallagher emerged as the No. 1 runner in several races and will anchor next year's team along with classmate Peyton Wheeler.

“We'll be small but hopefully small and mighty,” said Dietz of next season. “We have a lot of experience coming back. Hopefully they continue to build on that foundation. I think our goal is really just trying to build on that and be more competitive. When you're 13th or 14th out of 21 teams at invitationals, you look at that and say, ‘What can you do to be a top 10 or eight team?' ”

The team will gear up for one more race Thursday before some head off to winter track and others await spring outdoor season.

“It will be interesting to see how it plays out on Thursday,” Dietz said. “It's their last race of the season, so anything can happen.”

Devon Moore is a freelance writer.

Tags: Hampton