5K Magic In The Air: Kosek Captures PIAA XC Gold

By: Ed Weaver / November 8, 2026

There was a cool, crisp autumn breeze in the air on the course at Big Spring High School Saturday morning, all of which were perfect conditions as senior Lauren Kosek claimed gold in the PIAA Class 2A Cross Country Championships.

A week after setting a new District IV course record at Bloomsburg University, Kosek set a blistering pace en route to winning her final high school cross country meet. Kosek crossed the finish line in 17:49, 35 seconds ahead of 2nd place finisher Chloe May of Bedford (18:24). Out of all three classes Kosek's time ranked 5th overall. She was a second behind Mars' Hailey Long (17:48) and 16 seconds back of Peters Towanshsip's Kathryn Froelich (17:33), who both participated in the 3A race. Froelich was the Class 3A champion.

"I'm so exited, this has been such a big goal and it was a big, long waiting game since states last year for this day to come and I'm so happy."

Kosek got off to a clean start out of the race's 262 runners and clocked in at 5:29 in the mile one checkpoint. At the 2.5K mark in the beginning of the woods she sat at 8:41. At the two mile marker at the back of the wooded lot she was at 11:13 and at the 4K check in she sat at 14:15.

"I knew our district course and this course had similar first miles so I was comfortable coming in the mid-5:20's like last week and someone yelled '5:28' so I was like, 'ok, perfect'. I just tried to keep the intensity up because I was by myself and wasn't sure how far behind the other girls were at that point. I just kept telling myself, 'don't be scared of the hill, just worry about it when you get there,' and once I got to the hill I said, 'run it like its the last hill you'll ever run.' And from there it was just pain. At that point I knew I had a pretty good gap so I was trying to take it all in while pushing as hard as I could."

Last year Kosek placed 3rd overall in 18:45 and had her mind set on winning gold as a senior.

"I knew what I wanted out of this race and I had a pretty good idea of how it was going to go. I kept telling myself that this was my race to win."

For father and head coach Eric Kosek, being proud of his daughter is an understatement.

"It's pretty much as good as it gets as far as cross country running goes," he said.

Kosek ran the same course earlier this season at the PIAA Foundation Invite, clocking in at 18:08.

"I think Foundations, and especially districts, solidified in her head that this was going to be her year. Obviously if she's thinking it, I'm thinking it. Her confidence level was high and her nerves going into this race were very small. She didn't worry about anything, she knew this is where she was and that this was her time and that she just needed to execute and have a good day. She managed to do that."

The 1997-98 Lady Hornet XC team because the school's first-ever state team champions as they edged Danville by one point. Coached by Aaron Yungwirth and Jill Tombs, the team won 82 consecutive dual meets in a six-year time span.

Kosek joins fellow senior track teammate Piper Hoprich, who won PIAA gold in the 100m and 200m in May at Shippensburg University, becoming the school's second state champion in less than sixth months. She also joins former Hornet Tom Mann, who won state gold in the high jump in 1964.

Later this month Kosek will compete in the Brooks Northeast Regional Championships at Holmdel Park in Holmdel, New Jersey later this month with her eyes set on qualifying for the Brooks National Championships in San Diego in December.

About the Author

Ed Weaver

Ed Weaver is the founder and owner of Circle W Sports, a Pennsylvania-based digital media and technology company specializing in athletic website development.