Bolla Flies To Win At River Trail Invite


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).

PLACEATHLETETEAMRESULTPOINTS
1Gina Bolla12Baldwin18:07.541
2Grace Henderson12Belle Vernon18:23.482
3Jolena Quarzo10Brownsville Area18:42.81-
4Annah Kunes9McKeesport Area19:24.433
5Anna Cohen11Quaker Valley19:33.554

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.