Exeter’s Gabby Keith ready to set the pace for strong group of Berks distance runners
By Julie Pelchar Cohen — MikeDragoSports.com senior correspondent
Gabby Keith spent her early racing days in relative obscurity.
Never one to charge forward at the gun blast, Keith chose to let others lead, her royal blue singlet and bobbing ponytail nestling comfortably in a ponytailed pack.
The position seemed to suit the quiet and reserved distance runner.
| Upcoming meets | |||
| Twin Valley Invitational | Tonight | ||
| Leonard Stephan Meet | Saturday | ||
| Penn Relays | April 25-27 | ||
| Schuylkill Valley Invitational | April 27 | ||
| Shaner Meet | May 3-4 | ||
| Firing Victory Meet | May 9, 11 | ||
| District 3 Championships | May 17-18 | ||
| PIAA Championships | May 24-25 |
“I’d always trail behind,” Keith said.
But as predictably as she built her nest in each race’s chase pack, Keith would fly the coop with a methodical surge, picking off runners one by one as she soared to the finish line.
The strategy worked beautifully last spring, when Keith broke the five-minute barrier in the 1600 to win her first county title with a 4:59.42.
Keith has tweaked her strategy over the past year. With a budding confidence, she is running more aggressively, ready to take the lead and spread her wings for this senior track season.
“I’ve definitely developed more confidence,” Keith said. “I’m working on being more aggressive. I’ve never been that type of person, but I’m getting better at it.”
Keith leads an impressive contingent of Berks distance runners who are looking to punctuate careers in their final weeks of high school.
Keith, who will run for the University of Pittsburgh next fall, is one of three Division I recruits in Berks girls distance running. Gov. Mifflin’s Kaitlyn Highduch will compete for Lehigh. Wyomissing’s Addie Cohen is a University of Richmond recruit.
“She’s always been better than me,” Keith said of Highduch. “In seventh, eighth and ninth grade, she beat me all those years. I always looked up to her.”
Keith and Cohen capitalized on healthy junior seasons. While Keith finished fourth in the Class 3A 1600 at the District 3 meet, Cohen swept the three Class 2A distance events at districts before earning 2A silver in the 1600 at the PIAA Championships and 3200 bronze with a Berks-best 10:52.04.
Recovering from injuries that impacted her freshman, sophomore and junior years, Highduch produced a late surge last spring as she finally got healthy. She won the 3200 county title before taking the 3A sixth-place medal at the District 3 meet.
Look for Keith and Highduch to grab higher spots on the podium this spring. Each elevated their racing in the fall with Keith finishing 10th in the 3A race at the PIAA Cross Country Championships and Highduch 15th.
They followed up with strong performances at the state indoor championships in late February, with Keith finishing seventh in the mile and Highduch fourth in the 3,000.
“Having that success at the state cross country meet helped me a lot,” Keith said. “I did so much better than I thought I could. So I’m like, ‘Let’s keep this great mentality going into the track season.’ ”
Highduch is looking to capitalize on being at full strength. She’s been healthy for 12 months, which will finally allow her to showcase what Mifflin coach Jack Heim calls her “motor.”
“She’s got a motor,” Heim said. “She gets to a pace, and she can just hold it forever. She likes to grind and grind and grind. She’s also got a great mindset. She’s always had the mindset and it’s gotten even better.”
Highduch learned to embrace a positive attitude through injuries that might have sent a weaker heart to the sidelines for good.
After being slowed by shin splints as a freshman, Highduch suffered a stress fracture the following year. As a junior, she contended with more shin and foot injuries.
“During my injuries and trying to come back repeatedly,” Highduch said, “I learned that I don’t always have to be running amazingly. I felt like I learned how to love the sport and work hard despite failure.
“I think it’s made me more resilient when things go wrong and when things aren’t perfect.”
Cohen is working on embracing the same lessons.
She has faced myriad setbacks in the past year. Mononucleosis severely impacted her summer cross country training. In December she was hospitalized for nine days with a blood infection that spread to her hip bone and erased her indoor season.
After slowly returning to the track in March, Cohen continues to work on regaining her strength, speed and signature mental toughness.
“I have been through a lot this past year, and there have been days when I have questioned whether I can get back to where I was,” Cohen said. “But I owe it to myself to continue pushing through this season because I haven’t worked this hard for all these years to throw in the towel.
“I’m also reminding myself that it’s a season of fun for me. I’m trying to soak in the last few weeks of my senior year.”
