Paul VI junior Shaelan McNally punched her ticket to next weekend’s Meet of Champions with a 5th-place finish at the state Parochial A meet Saturday at Holmdel County Park.
McNally ran 19:11 – 30 seconds faster than she ran at last year’s state meet, where she placed 6th and only five seconds off her time from last year’s Meet of Champions.
Her finish is the best at the state meet by a Paul VI runner in 20 years, since Erin Sigwart and Liz Kessler placed 3rd and 4th in the 2002 Parochial A race on the same course.
McNally has had a terrific season, with a 4th at Shore Coaches and wins at the Manhattan Invitational, Camden County Championships, Olympic Conference Championships and Bob Kiessling Invitational, the unofficial South Jersey non-public championships.
Freshman Macy Huber gave Paul VI two runners in the top 20. Huber placed 16th in 20:47.
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 