One of the truisms of Bull Run is that runners have to compete against the challenging course as much as they have to compete against each other. It's also becoming nomenclature that Kristen Malloy will kick the living bejesus out of both.
Setting a pace that was only slightly slower than sound, the Hereford junior crossed the finish line in a sit-up-and-take notice time of 18:39.2, breaking the course record for girls set at last year’s Bull Run by...you guessed it...Kristen Malloy.
“I was trying to equal or better my time from last year,” said Malloy, who finished last year’s Bull Run in just under 18:41. “It felt easier this time; I felt like I was floating up the hills.”
Malloy’s margin of victory, nearly 54 second over second-place finisher Melissa Frick of Strath Haven (PA) would suggest an athlete at or near the peak of powers. But she’s also aware of the perils of running through the caution flag too soon. After blazing through Bull Run in 2006, she faded noticeably toward the end of the season and finished a disappointing (for her) third at the Class 2A state championships.
“I think I hit my peak at Bull Run (last year)” she admitted. “I was too focused on winning that.” Hereford coach Russ Drylie agreed.
“One of our primary goals last season was to set a record and win Bull Run,” said Drylie. “It became a little tough to maintain the focus after that.”
While the rest of the field needed the Hubbell Telescope to focus on Malloy, coach Ed Pupura’s Class 3A state champion Severna Park Falcons went from focusing on winning to merely trying to get through the race.
We’ve been sick all week,” said Pupura, citing a stomach virus that affected over a dozen of his runners. “So we didn’t really know what to expect.”
The Falcons may have been sick, but their overall depth, which is only slightly shallower than your average ocean, is downright sickening. Eschewing their split-squad strategy of previous races, the Falcons A-team got top-10 finishes from senior Liya Kasimova (5th, 20:04) and junior Kelsey Hill (10th, 20:30) and top-25 performances from Kelsie Kennealy (19th, 21:11), Sadie Dempsey (22nd, 21:26) and Jaci Gassaway (25th, 21:32) which was just enough to propel them past second-place Strath Haven in a conclusion that was decided by one position involving both teams' No. 6 runners. Depth, thy name is Severna Park.
While Severna Park and Strath Haven were finishing in a virtual 81-81 tie, Hereford, which had seven runners set PRs, placed third, barely edging out fourth-place Dulaney, 96-99. Defending Class 2A state champion Howard, which was paced by junior Elyse Borisko's third-place time of 19:53, was fifth. Other top 10 individual runners included John Carroll's Erika Stasakova (5th, 20:01), South River's Hillary Lee (6th, 20:05), Berkeley Springs (WV) Rachel Buser (7th, 20:12), Hereford's Marta Randall (8th, 20:22) and John Carroll's Nicole Clarke (9th, 20:29).
Source: RunningMaryland.com