Mady McCartney was crowned PIAA Class 3A cross country champion on Saturday.

Her race lasted 18 minutes and 17 seconds on the Hersheypark course.

But her journey to being a state champion was years in the making.

Elite runners are forced to make many sacrifices to reach their goals. When asked what about things she gave up to reach the pinnacle of her sport, McCartney lists things like school dances and cake at birthday parties.

“It’s the essential things,” she said Saturday after receiving her gold medal. “You have to fuel yourself properly. You have to take care of yourself properly and you have to train properly. We do sacrifice a lot to run the way we do.”

Was it all worth it, she was asked.

“It’s very worth it,” McCartney said with a proud smile.

The senior three-time District 11 champ headed to her final state meet as a two-time PIAA medalist in cross country, having taken 25th place as a sophomore and 13th last year.

She was thinking a top-5 finish for her final race would be satisfactory. But she also figured if the leader was within reach coming down the final stretch, she was going to make a move.

That’s just how it played out.

McCartney, a senior who will run at the University of Kentucky next fall, was in third place for the early part of the race, but never more than 10 seconds behind the leader.

She got into second place in the final kilometer and was tight behind leader Berkley Marcelis, a freshman from Wissahickon.

“When we hit the last hill and I had her right in front of me,” said McCartney, “I was like ‘you know what, I’m going to stay right behind her. When we make that last turn I’m going to give it everything I have and whatever happens, happens.’

“When I decided I was going to go for it I told myself I wasn’t going to stop until I cross that line.”

McCartney crossed the line 10 seconds ahead of Marcelis for the win.

When Emmaus head coach Kami Reinhard saw the runners approaching the finish, she knew exactly what McCartney would do.

“When I saw her coming up the hill and she was right there I was pretty certain at that point that she would be able to get her,” said Reinhard. “We talked this past week and I said ‘It’s there. It’s doable. You can win.’

“I think she took that and processed it. We had a race plan. She executed it perfectly, just kept within reach.”

The event culminated a successful postseason for both Emmaus cross country teams.

The Hornet boys team won a district title two weeks ago, its first in 25 years. A young EHS girls team progressed all season and peaked in the postseason to earn a district runner-up team finish and a place in the state meet.

“I’m so unbelievably proud of both teams,” said Reinhard.

The Emmaus girls team finished 15th overall at states, with senior Olivia Fleck (20:56) finished 115th overall followed by junior Isabella Alwine-Balliro (166th, 21:39), junior Grace Nosal (185th, 22:01) and freshman Myla Felegy (197th, 22:27) to make up the Hornets’ team score. Sophomore Aubrey Kazmierczak (203rd, 22:40) and freshman Nitzana Jamaica-Romero (205th, 22:50) were just a few seconds behind their teammates.

The District 11 champ Emmaus boys team also finished 15th at states.

The Hornet boys team was led by senior Ryan Fach in 68th place in 17:08. Sophomore Roen Woolf, who finished as a league and district runner-up this fall, was 89th at leagues in 17:15, followed by sophomore Michael Carwell (121st, 17:30), sophomore David Hearn (157th, 17:46) and junior Zachary Zappile (188th, 18:13) to make up the EHS boys team score. Sophomore Alexander Abosamra (193rd, 18:17) and junior Matthew Sirignano (213th, 18:33) were also part of the Emmaus boys state team.