University's Amelia Paladino lived up to her No. 1 seed Thursday in the Girls' Mile Run Championship at the Penn Relays at historic Franklin Field in Philadelphia.
The senior from Morgantown crossed the line first in 4 minutes, 45.34 seconds, clearly in front of the 13-runner field.
"This is my second time at the Penn Relays," said Paladino, whose winning time is the sixth fastest run by a high school girl at the fabled event. "Since last year, I have been training like crazy, and it has been a really hard winter. Running in the snow, as horrible as it was, I think it really did help me not only physically, but mentally.
"The atmosphere at the Penn Relays is wonderful, even the music playing as you enter the tents, and the camaraderie is fantastic."
In her most recent national event, Paladino was second in the mile at the New Balance Nationals Indoor, running 4:43.84 at The Armory in New York City.
Ellie Gonzalez of Baltimore was second in 4:47.26, while Kennedy Weiser of Saint Marys, Pa., was third in 4:50.96. A total of eight runners broke 5:00.
