It's hard enough to run fast in a race when you're feeling good and ready to go.

That wasn't the situation Conestoga Valley senior Vince McNally faced Saturday morning in his final attempt to capture a PIAA cross country gold medal.

Battling flulike symptoms, McNally was tied for the lead with Boyertown senior Mark Dennin a little past the 2-mile point. But the effects of his illness finally caught up with McNally, and he finished 18th in a time of 16:30 at the Class AAA PIAA Championships at the old Parkview Golf Course beside the Giant Center.

The highest individual finishers from the Lancaster-Lebanon League were Garden Spot freshman Emily Martin, who placed sixth (19:02), and Penn Manor senior Megan Ecker, who placed 10th (19:11), in the Class AAA girls' race.

One of the favorites to contend for the AAA boys' title, McNally began to shut down over the last half-mile, even when his desire and competitive fire did not.

When Dennin crested the final hill and sprinted down the 100-meter straightaway to the finish line to win in 15:31 with no one even close to him, the crowd of spectators who lined both sides of the end of the course and knew McNally's running prowess were probably a bit surprised.

As the next runner came into view and another and another, and McNally was still not to be seen, there was something definitely wrong.

McNally finally emerged over the last hill, and while everyone else was sprinting to try to pass a few more people, he seemed to be going in slow-motion, trying to open up his stride, completely spent.

"(Vince) kind of threw up after the race and got a little sick during the race, so he was a little ill," said Conestoga Valley coach Mike Craighead after McNally received medical treatment at the trainer's tent by the finish. "It was an intestinal bug, and his brother had it first during the week. He didn't really feel bad going into the race, but it did hamper his performance."

At the discretion of Craighead, McNally was unavailable to talk after the race.

"This is a setback, but he's been a great kid to work with, and being sick isn't something that you can plan, and it's unfortunate that it happened," Craighead said. "But he ended up with a medal, and he'll have a chance to go out to the national meet if he runs well at the regional meet."

McNally's season is not over yet. He is scheduled to compete in the Foot Locker Northeast Regional Championships over Thanksgiving weekend at Van Cortlandt Park in New York.

With any luck, he'll rebound and perform well in three weeks and qualify for the Foot Locker National Meet Dec. 8 in San Diego.

While McNally's surprising finish was probably the shocker of the day for L-L cross country fans, Martin and Ecker's top-10 performances in Class AAA were well-deserved.

Martin and Ecker went out with a lead pack of 12 to 15 girls, paced by Shippensburg senior Neely Spence, and steadily moved forward as others fell back.

Over the final quarter-mile, Martin showed the determination she has exhibited all season long, including when she won the L-L championship Oct. 18 and finished third at the District Three Championships last Sunday at Parkview.

Martin held off Norwin junior Leslie Kovach (seventh, 19:03) all the way to the line to cap off an impressive freshman season.

Taking advantage of her last opportunity to compete against Pennsylvania's fastest, Ecker's 10th-place finish Saturday was by far her best result at States.

In two previous PIAA races, Ecker placed 73rd as a sophomore and 114th as a freshman, which is indicative of how much hard work and dedication Ecker put in to earn her state medal.

Other notable L-L performers were Elco sophomore Kayleigh Perry (21st, 19:52) in Class AA, Warwick sophomore Allison Mannon (30th, 19:43) in Class AAA, Lancaster Mennonite senior Katie Ruth (32nd, 20:12) in Class AA, Hempfield junior Kevin Hull (40th, 16:48) in Class AAA, and Lancaster Mennonite senior Seth Charles (62nd, 17:42) in Class AA.

In Class AAA boys, North Penn ran away with the team championship, tallying just 59 points.

In Class AA boys, Bishop McDevitt junior Joe Beveridge outlasted everyone else to win in 16:32, while North East's total of 83 points was good enough for first place.

In Class AAA girls, Spence repeated as PIAA champion with a time of 18:15, while Emmaus was first in the team standings with 78 points.

In Class AA girls, Central Cambria's Carly Seymour won in 17:49. Central Cambria also took the team title with 53 points.