Baldwin's Gina Bolla just keeps getting better this fall, and she continued with that trend at Friday's P3R River Trail Invitational in McKeesport.
Bolla went 18:07 on the out-and-back course at the Boston Trail. That time is career-best for Bolla, who has been on a roll this fall. Bolla bested a strong River Trail Invite field that included Belle Vernon's Grace Henderson (second in 18:23) and Brownsville's Gionna Quarzo (third in 18:42).
PLACE | ATHLETE | TEAM | RESULT | POINTS | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Gina Bolla | 12 | Baldwin | 18:07.54 | 1 | ||
2 | Grace Henderson | 12 | Belle Vernon | 18:23.48 | 2 | ||
3 | Jolena Quarzo | 10 | Brownsville Area | 18:42.81 | - | ||
4 | Annah Kunes | 9 | McKeesport Area | 19:24.43 | 3 | ||
5 | Anna Cohen | 11 | Quaker Valley | 19:33.55 | 4 |
Her Friday win comes on the heels of a strong start to her senior season. She took fifth at the season-opening Red, White & Blue Classic, running 18:55 at White Oak Park. She won the Youthtown Clash a week later before returning to White Oak Park for the Bald Eagle Invitational, where she lopped off some good time, going 18:19 for second place.
Bolla has emerged among the top girls in a loaded WPIAL group, as well as one of the state's top runners. Last year, Bolla broke 20 minutes once -- a 19:56 at the Red, White & Blue Classic. This year, Bolla has broken 20 minutes in all four of her races and went under 19 minutes in three of those races.
She has a busy few weeks ahead of her with the TSTCA Championships followed by the WPIAL Championships, and hopefully the state meet. She'll surely be one to watch.
Check out a post-race interview with Bolla below.