Norwin girls 4x400 relay team looks to maintain status quo

by Bill Hartlep
Sports Editor
May 15, 2008

Four girls -- one lap -- 400 meters -- 1,357 feet.

The goal: finish under 3:53.81.

The mile relay is one of the most competitive races in high school track and field, and one team has made it a goal each year to be the best 4x400-meter relay unit in the WPIAL.

The Norwin Lady Knights have won the mile relay event at the WPIAL Class AAA individual championship in each of the last three years and have done so convincingly.

Last year's mark of 3:53.81 set a WPIAL record.

The quartet of Norwin stars again is a favorite in the event, but this year, the challenge will be greater than ever.

"I expect a battle with Penn Hills, a real battle. That's good. I'd rather it be that way then when they were able to walk away with it the last couple of years. It's going to test them. Penn Hills has an awesome team," coach Trinity Morgan said.

"There's a lot of tremendous teams this year. I'd like to see us go under 3:55 at the WPIAL finals."

The Norwin unit of junior Amanda Cotherman, senior Ali Mols and sophomores Shelby Haitz and Shannon Abraham has competed against Penn Hills' Taelor Fowler, Gisele Adanlete, LaShawna Carter-Sewell and Jordan Lee three times this season.

Penn Hills, which posted a time of 4:01.14 to win the Baldwin Invitational last week and a mark of 3:56.15 at the individual qualifiers, edged Norwin at the Tri-State Invitational and the individual qualifiers.

Norwin, which posted a season best 3:58.42 at the qualifiers, finished first at the Butler Girls Invitational, just ahead of Penn Hills.

"We definitely want to run our best. We want to improve on our time. The sky's the limit. We hope to take WPIALs and place high at states. Penn Hills will give us a run for our money," said Mols, a longtime relay member who runs the second leg.

"The second leg and third leg are the most underrated because you need to get a lead for your anchor."

Cotherman, a standout sprinter for Norwin, gets the relay started. Her lap around the track is crucial to getting a lead for the Knights, as long as the handoff is clean, something the girls work on nonstop at practice.

"It's very important. I do it for them. We work hard together. They're my sisters. They're not my friends," Cotherman said.

"We love each other, and that's why it's very important to get a good lead for them."

After Mols runs the second leg, she hands off to Haitz, the newcomer to the relay who excels in distance.

"I'm definitely the longest-distance runner of the group. I have more endurance, which helps a lot to get around fast," said Haitz, who is one of the top 800 runners in the WPIAL this season.

"We definitely want to get first. We want to beat the record. We've run good this year but nothing close to that."

The final leg is the responsibility of Abraham, who moved to the anchor spot after standout runner Megan Duncan graduated after last season.

"It's really nerve-racking because you're the last one to get around," said Abraham, who holds some of the top times this year in the 100, 200 and 400 dashes.

"It was good to have a year to run with (Megan). She pushed me in practice, and I got a lot better from that."

Duncan went on to run at Penn State this season, but the relay members have picked up where they left off with her as the anchor runner last year.

"We didn't find losing Megan as a big weakness. We knew we had to fill some big shoes, so it was important for us to do that," Cotherman said.

"We miss her a lot, but it gives us that much more initiative to keep going."

"I feel real comfortable about them. Finally they'll be fresh. We ran the qualifiers right in the middle of a workout week. They didn't have any rest before or after," Morgan added.

"We're anxious to see what they can do when they're fresh. They just have to concentrate on that race."

The WPIAL Class AAA championships will be held at Baldwin High School today, Thursday, with field events beginning at 2 p.m. Running starts at 3 p.m.

Results will be posted at www.wpial.org.