Allison Garda

Two of Riverview’s Lady Raiders broke school records recently. Allison Garda, racing in the 3200m run, and Blair Anderson, pole-vaulting, each registered new school records in their respective events and also made it to post-season tournaments. Anderson, a junior, raised the bar on the school’s old pole-vault record by three inches; ironically, she’d set that record too. She snared fifth place at WPIALs.

Garda, also a sophomore, ran the 3200m and shaved off nearly 20 seconds on the time set by Amanda Connell three years ago. The time qualified her for WPIALs, where she finished fourth and went on to States, landing finally among the top 20 in Pennsylvania. Garda’s been to States in Cross-Country—where she took third—but this was her first time to States in Track. The prior experience running with the best in PA served her well.

“A lot of girls who run distance in cross-country run distance in track,” Garda says, “so I knew who I was up against, how hard I needed to work and train to do well.” Allison, the daughter of Steve and Laurie Garda, didn’t run in middle school but played soccer some. She was going to try doing both her freshman year. “But I realized how much I enjoyed cross-country,” she explains. “I like being able to go out on runs with the team; the competition just comes with it.” Then she adds, “I really thank my coaches for a lot of my success, because they really work with me and help me.”