PIAA Track & Field: Forbes, Strath Haven shake off sickness to grab gold
SHIPPENSBURG — Olivia Malley, Abby Loiselle and Grace Forbes all coughed at one time or another while standing on the awards platform at Shippensburg’s Seth Grove Stadium.
Sophomore Maggie Forbes was the only member of the Strath Haven 4 x 800-meter relay team who was not under the weather.
“I was sick at Penn Relays so I got that out of the way early,” the younger of the Forbes sisters said.
The exact ailment was not known, but it didn’t prevent the Panthers from doing something no Strath Haven team had ever done: Win the metric two-mile relay at the PIAA Track & Field Championships.
Senior Grace Forbes turned in a sizzling anchor split to lead the Panthers to the title with a time of 9 minutes, 7.50 seconds. That was the second-best time in Pennsylvania (behind Neumann-Goretti, which competes in 2A) and No. 6 nationally, according to pa.milesplit.com.
That was the start of a huge day that would lead the Panthers to a third-place finish in Class 3A. Forbes held off Delco rival Keara Seasholtz of Radnor to win the 800. Forbes and Malley teamed with Haillie Jackson and Tess Bailey for sixth in the 4 x 400 relay.
Standing on the No. 1 spot on the medals stand after the 4 x 800, though, was the biggest accomplishment of all.
“For us, this was a big mental barrier,” Malley said.
Strath Haven finished second in the event seven times in the last 10 years, according to head coach Bill Coren. The pursuit of gold became such a goal for Coren that he put it on his bucket list. But with so many of his top runners ailing, Coren did not feel good about the team’s chances.
The runners weren’t sure, either. Loiselle was so sick that she had to be scratched from Friday’s preliminary round in favor of Ava Crawford.
“I had a really big fever and I didn’t run at all,” Loiselle said. “I was really, really scared coming in because I hadn’t run.”
Loiselle got the baton in first place thanks to a 2:15 split by Maggie Forbes on the second leg but was unable to maintain the lead. Grace Forbes was 15-20 meters off the pace when she received the stick from Loiselle.
Like a lioness hunting its prey, Forbes took her time reeling in Central Bucks West anchor Emmi Simon. It took the 2018 Daily Times Girls Track Athlete of the Year a lap to catch Simon, but that was the plan.
“I like to take the race at the 400. Two years ago, at indoor states, I waited to take the lead with 200 to go and it didn’t work out for me,” Forbes said. “They caught me at the end. Mentally, it’s a little harder to stay with someone with 400 to go.”
Forbes employed the same strategy several hours later to win the open 800. She waited until the bell lap to move into the lead. Once Forbes moved in front, there was no catching her. She crossed the finish line in 2:09.28, the second fastest 800 of her career and .72 seconds ahead of Seasholtz.
“I really wasn’t feeling that well to be perfectly honest so I figured I would stay with the pack and then with 400 to go I would see how much I had left, and I just kicked it in,” Forbes said. “I knew Keara had a really good kick and I knew she was coming for me, but thankfully I was able to hold her off.”
Forbes said she had some assistance, both divine and human, to get through whatever was ailing her this weekend.
“I asked God for help to be perfectly honest,” Forbes said. “(Friday) was a really bad day. I was feeling really sick. I thank God and my parents. They basically cradled me. They held me with everything. I was going to stay in the dorm, but I decided to stay in the hotel room. My parents were so nice. They let me do it. I had so much support and I trained really hard for this so I know I could do it. I’m so happy I got this. This was my dream.”
