Mercury All-Area: Setbacks can’t stop OJR’s McGonigle from runner of the year repeat

Andrew McGonigle knows more than most, it’s about the journey, not the destination.

Cross country may not be a combat sport, but McGonigle has had to roll with the punches throughout his career. The Owen J. Roberts senior qualified for the PIAA Championships as a freshman before seeing the COVID-19 pandemic cancel his freshman track season and alter a sophomore cross country campaign that shortened the postseason field.

While he went to Hershey as a freshman, McGonigle’s upperclassmen years saw state berths as well, but strep throat and an upper respiratory infection kept him from competing his junior and senior seasons, respectively.

Still, along the way McGonigle carved a path for himself with impressive results every step of the way.

Having won the Mercury All-Area Runner of the Year last year, he repeated the recognition this fall after taking first place in the Pioneer Athletic Conference championship meet as well as eighth place (15:43.7) in the District 1 meet — the highest PAC placewinner.

“It puts into perspective for me that you have to be at your best every day,” McGonigle said on ups and downs he navigated. “You can’t have an off day, you always have to be at your best or that course is gonna make you pay for sure. Just really puts into perspective what kind of an accomplishment it is to get there and compete.”

McGonigle’s first-place time of 16:22 at the PAC championships was 11 seconds slower than his mark the year prior, but was still 34 seconds ahead of Perkiomen Valley’s Ian Johnson, who finished second.

He backed it up by finishing eighth a week later – he placed sixth in 2021 – at Lehigh University in the District 1 meet to qualify for states for a third time.

Qualifying for states in multiple seasons at one point wasn’t even imaginable for the two-time Runner of the Year.

“It’s definitely been a really fun adventure, a fun journey. Coming in as a freshman, I expected to be fighting for a spot on varsity,” McGonigle said. “I kinda took that opportunity and ran with it. I definitely didn’t expect to be running at a high level all four years and I just think it’s been an amazing experience, a lot of fun.”

On Sept. 10, McGonigle opened his final varsity year with a new personal record in the two-mile at 9:48.30, enough for a second-place finish in the Unionville Two Mile Bash.

Under Owen J. Roberts coach Tim Marcoe, McGonigle has developed into a focused and level-headed runner. And while he’s been humbled by things that are out of his or anyone else’s control, McGonigle emerged as one of the program’s best.

“He’s very coachable. He wants to do his best every day and he’s learned what works best for him. It’s unfortunate what happened at the state meet, but he’s had some phenomenal performances,” Marcoe said on McGonigle. “His times are just about even with the top times we’ve ever had for 5k times with any of our athletes. He’s right there with some of the fastest 5k times we’ve ever had.”

Despite opportunities being taken by the pandemic or illness, McGonigle has steadily improved in different areas. Mainly, he thinks through races more and carries the confidence in his abilities to compete with the best in the state.

McGonigle helped Owen J. Roberts win the PAC boys team titles his freshman and junior years. Earlier this fall, the senior placed sixth with a time of 16:18 at the PIAA Foundation Invitational on Sept. 24.

Six days later, McGonigle earned an eighth-place finish at the Lehigh Paul Short Run with a time of 15:14.9, a new personal record.

“I think he’s in a really good spot where he’s going to continue to develop,” Marcoe said. “He’s going to continue to get better as he goes to the collegiate level. I’m excited for that.”

McGonigle will be running for Penn State next year upon graduation, where he’ll find familiar company in four-time Mercury Runner of the Year Claire Zubey.

Along with being well acquainted with Penn State’s venue, McGonigle’s college decision was also aided by already feeling right at home with the Nittany Lions.

“I know a lot of people there and a lot of guys on the team. I think that’s a big reason why I chose to go there,” McGonigle said. “The culture there is just something I’m kinda used to, it’s very similar to what I’ve gone through in high school. We’ve had very similar careers, a lot of the guys up there, I’ve run against them a lot so it’s definitely gonna be nice to know people going in.”

Before he hits the track season where he competes in the mile and two-mile, McGonigle competed at the Running Lane national meet in Alabama on Dec. 3. He made his national debut and took 28th in 15:39.50 in the RunningLane Gold Race while still recovering from strep.

Now, he’s back to work looking to shave 14 seconds off his personal best to get his time under 15 minutes in the process. And he has a track and field season ahead where the state championships will be the goal, but not the sole motive.