The Gateway varsity cross country teams will run Thursday at the annual Mingo Creek Invitational at Mingo Creek Park, and this year's event is dedicated to the memory of someone who was close to the Gators squads.
Tamara Connolly, the mother of senior Liam Connolly, passed away Sept. 27 after a battle with breast cancer.
Baldwin and Ringgold co-sponsor the races, and one of Baldwin's coaches, Bonita Schmidt, knows all about the physical and emotional effects of breast cancer.
Schmidt herself has been battling the disease for two decades.
“When Liam heard they would dedicate (Thursday's) event to his mother, he was really touched,” Gateway head coach Tom LaBuff said.
Liam Connolly has been dealing with addition family issues since then, and it took him away from last week's Division I, Section 4 championship meet at Schenley Park.
“He's really hurting,” LaBuff said.
“His friends and teammates have gone to visit him over the past couple of weeks, and they have really offered support as much as they can. They have been there for him. He's needed a lot of that support.”
LaBuff was unable to confirm, as of Tuesday's deadline for this week's edition, if Connolly would take part in the race at Mingo Creek.
“Hopefully, he can conclude his season on his own terms,” LaBuff said.
With Liam out of the lineup last week, the Gateway boys had only four runners at the section championship. Five are needed for a team score and to be eligible for the section team title.
Jose Figueroa and Cole D'Alicandro were 15th and 16th, respectively, as they finished next to each other at the 18:12 mark.
“The boys ran the race with concern for Liam on their minds, but they still ran well,” LaBuff said.
“It was the best race Cole's run. Jose is one of Liam's best friends. Cole caught up to Jose just short of two miles. Jose responded to that and ran a nice mile and a quarter to the finish.”
Sam Rivera and Will Ren were 46th and 47th, respectively.
“Will went out way too hard,” LaBuff said. “He was very aggressive. He's young, but he's getting better every meet. Sam also continues to make progress.”
LaBuff said the members of the girls team still are learning to get out strong, and they are showing good signs of improving on that.
The team finished 3-4 in the eight-team event with wins over Highlands, 17-38, and Penn Hills and Woodland Hills by 15-50 scores.
The Gators suffered a one-point loss to Plum, 28-29.
Maria Reynolds was 16th overall (21:11), while Cierra LaSpada and Katie Heasley were 19th and 21st, respectively.
“Katie is rounding into shape,” LaBuff said. “(Her 21:56) was her best time in a couple of years.”
Ebru Lider was 33rd overall, and Hera Mukhtar placed 43rd.
“Ebru got out a little slow, but she did her best,” LaBuff said.
Regular varsity runner Marissa Montalbano missed the race as she battles back from injury.
“Injuries are something every team has to deal with, but it hurts us more as we have less depth,” LaBuff said.
LaBuff said the section meet was a good jumping off point, for both sides, to the rest of the season.
“We were again able to take some positives,” LaBuff said.
“There were more lessons learned.”
Gateway also will run at the Tri-State Track Coaches Association championships at California University of Pennsylvania on Oct. 22 in advance of the WPIAL championships at Slippery Rock's Cooper's Lake on Oct. 29.
Michael Love is a Trib Total Media staff writer. Reach him at 412-388-5825 or at mlove@tribweb.com.
