Olivia Beckner: Elite Miler Turns Into Elite XC Runner


In just her second XC season things are looking awfully bright for this South Lakes star. Despite being a bonafide star in track with her 4:51 indoor mile pr, she only recently has begun her stardom in XC. This past weekend Olivia turned on the jets in some humid conditions to take home the Briarwood Invitational (PA) title in 18:40. 

Check out Olivia's Athlete Profile

Now the time isn't anything special from just a numbers standpoint but when you realize that this time ranks 10th all-time for the meet you start to grasp how tough this course is. The time also roughly translates to a 40 second improvement as far as season openers are concerned. 

This huge improvement is a great sign for things to come. It shows that her fitness is doing nothing but improving and that by the time states comes around we could have a serious contender for the 6A title. She finished 4th last year behind Murphy, McArthur, and Northcutt as a junior who was just starting XC. This year will be different as she is much more prepared and in some great running shape.

Olivia's great performance this weekend is just the start of hopefully an awesome season and yet another example of elite milers moving up in distance and showing everyone how it is done.