Schools

Patch Whiz Kid of the Week: Grace Mancini

Marple Newtown Patch highlights this cross country superstar from St. Pius X School.

Each week, Marple Newtown Patch will seek suggestions from readers for individual kids, youth groups, teens, and even sports teams that wow us with their accomplishments. This week we highlight Grace Mancini, of St. Pius X School in Broomall, for her achievements as a cross country athlete.

Patch Whiz Kid of the Week: Grace Mancini

Whiz Kid's Age: 13

Find out what's happening in Marple Newtownwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Whiz Kid's School:

Whiz Kid's Accomplishment: Grace has competed in countless local, regional and a few national cross country and track competitions. In 2009, Grace was the national youth cross country champion for 11 year olds. This year, out of approximately 900 participants, she was the top female winner of Alex's Lemonade's 3rd Annual Lemon Run in Philadelphia to benefit childhood cancer research with a time of 18:55.

Find out what's happening in Marple Newtownwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Whiz Kid's Key to Awesomeness: Grace started running in the second grade and six grades later she hasn't stopped since.

"When I was in second grade, me and my friend did everything together and decided to run the mile and do track," she recalls. "And I realized how much fun it was so I decided to stick with it."

Grace believes her talent for running came rather naturally as many of her family members were all runners themselves.

"My mom ran track in school and a lot of my aunts when they were in school," shares Grace. "My dad wasn't on a team but he ran for fun and my Grandpop runs. Sometimes, now, my dad will run with me."

Running quickly became Grace's favorite sport and passion. She began running for St. Pius X and has competed in local and national races. On average, Grace says she runs about 20 races a year.

The longest distance Grace has ran so far is 5K. Grace began as a mile runner on the school's track team and began to move up distances with the cross country team. This year, the long-distance runners had to run 4Ks. Next year, 5K.

Though she's been in many races, one of Grace's most memorable races was in 2009 when she won the national youth cross country championship in Tennessee.

"It was really awesome," remembers Grace. "It was such a good feeling winning."

But in any race, the thrill she gets from running and the motivation that keeps her going in the last leg of the race is thinking about crossing the finish line. That, and hearing her friends and family cheering for her during the race "encourages me to keep going."

"I usually think of that good feeling that you get when you cross the finish line and know that you did your best," says Grace.

Another thing that helps her to keep going in the race: "I like to run with somebody. I like how it distracts you and it stops you from thinking about how hard it is and it makes it go so much faster."

Someday, Grace hopes to run in the Olympics. "I'm not sure if I'll be fast enough that would be awesome."

But for now, Grace has her sights on running for her high school team next year. Though she's not sure which high school she'll attend after St. Pius X, she hopes to continue running with her friends.

"I had so many good teammates at St. Pius and I will definitely miss that, but I hope we'll run together again."

 

Editor's note: Know a great kid who made Eagle Scout or did your local soccer team take the championship? They may be our next Patch Whiz Kid honoree. We want to hear about these amazing children and teens and select one each week as the Patch Whiz Kid. Send nominations to jennifer.kim@patch.com.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here