From staff reports
SAN DIEGO, Calif. - St. Marys senior standout Maggie Drazba finished 22nd overall here Saturday morning at Morley Field in Balboa Park during the Foot Locker Cross Country National Championships.
Drazba, a three-time Class A cross country state champion for the Blue Devils, finished in a time of 18 minutes and 6 seconds. She was the 13th fastest senior runner at the national finals.
"It was a good day. There was definitely a lot of competition and a lot of elite athletes," said Drazba, who represented the Mountain State along with University High School junior Amelia Paladino (30th, 18:26).
"The course was really nice and my race was all right. I wasn't worried about my time at all. I was going for place and that's just how it ended up."
There were 40 female athletes who qualified for the national finals, although a pair of runners failed to finish the course on Saturday.
Fact Box
Foot Locker Cross Country National Championships
at Morley Field in Balboa Park, San Diego, Calif.
GIRLS RESULTS
1. Anna Rohrer (Mishawaka, Ind.) 17:25; 2. Catarina Rocha (Peabody, Mass.) 17:29; 3. Maria Haugher (Shakopee, Minn.) 17:30; 4. Jordyn Colter (Centennial, Colo.) 17:30; 5. Karis Jochen (College Station, Texas) 17:36; 6. Sophie Chase (Bruke, Va.) 17:42; 7. Anna Holdiman (Wavery, Iowa) 17:43; 8. Marissa Williams (Los Angeles, Calif.) 17:43; 9. Bobbie Burgess (West Lafayette, Ind..) 17:46; 10. Hannah Long (Pacific, MO) 17:47; 11. Sandie Raines (Houston, Texas) 17:53; 12. Carmen Carlos (Mobila, Ala.) 17:53; 13. Taylor Werner (Bloomsdale, MO) 17:53; 14. Megan Curham (Warren, N.J.) 17:56; 15. Bridget Blake (Orlanda, Fla.) 17:56; 16. Caroline Alcorta (Springfield, Va.) 17:57; 17. Courtney Ackerman (Wilmette, Ill.) 18:02; 18. Marisa Ruskan (Bridgewater, N.J.) 18:04; 19. Regan Rome (Dallas, Pa.) 18:04
20. Julia Maxwell (Ross, Calif.) 18:04; 21. Katie Lembo (Penfield, N.Y.) 18:05; 22. Maggie Drazba (St. Marys, W.Va.) 18:06; 23. Madeleinie Ankhelyi (Folsom, Calif.) 18:07; 24. Makena Morley (Bigfork, Mont.) 18:12; 25. Marissa Saenger (Clarence, N.Y.) 18:18; 26. Alex Davis (Ardmore, Okla.) 18:20; 27. Mackenzie Barry (Mendham, N.J.) 18:21; 28. Summer Harper (Orem, Utah) 18:22; 29. Paige Gilchrist (Missoula, Mont.) 18:23; 30. Amelia Paladino (University High, W.Va.) 18:26; 31. Megan Reilly (Warwick, N.Y.) 18:26; 32. Sarah Feeny (Ogden, Utah) 18:31; 33. Allie Klimkiewicz (Oakton, Va.) 18:33; 34. Kaylee Flanagan (Roselle, Ill.) 18:35; 35. Melanie Nun (Thornton, Colo.) 18:37; 36. Katelyn Bianchini (Snohomish, Wash.) 18:42; 37. Kennedy Weisner (Saint Marys, Pa.) 19:00; 38. Kayla Ferron (Torrance, Calif.) 19:00
DNF - Fiona O'Keeffe (Davis. Calif.); Anoush Shehadeh (Larchmont, N.Y.)
"It was definitely a special day and racing against a lot of people will help me when I get to college and I'm surrounded by elites," added Drazba, who will fly back to West Virginia today.
"I felt fine during the race. I ended up getting 22nd. That's OK. It's just a great experience and it's really something I'll always remember and it's been a lot of fun."
