A lot professional sports give out a comeback player of the year award to athletes who bounce back from set backs to perform at a high level.

If the state had one of those awards for cross country athletes, Parkland junior Colin McGuigan would have a good case to make as this year’s winner.

After missing his sophomore season with exercise induced asthma, he came back this season to win league and district titles. He put the finishing touch on a fine season Saturday in Hershey when he earned a state medal with a 23rd-place finish in the PIAA boys cross country championships.

“In the summer I wasn’t really sure how it was going to go,” he said Saturday after the race. “My first meet I didn’t do well. I wasn’t sure if I was going to improve or if I was going to stagnate.

“This is the dream for sure. I didn’t even know if I wasn’t even going to be close to this so this is incredible.”

McGuigan, who ran the race in 16:33, was in 49th place at the 1-mile mark and moved up to 30th after 2.5 kilometers. After two miles he worked his way into 27th place and was 26th after 4k.

He battled four other runners over the final meters and was the second in a pack of five runner that finished at 16:33 or 16:34.

“You’re battling with so many kids,” McGuigan said of the large and fast field of 252 Class 3A runners at the state meet. “That beginning is so rough. There’s a lot of pushing going on. It was incredibly different and it was awesome.

“There were some kids that were with me the whole time. With this race people come and go.”

Parkland head coach Kelly Bracetty guided McGuigan through his comeback season, making sure he peaked at the right time.

“I cannot begin to describe how proud I am of his work ethic, his sportsmanship, what a great teammate he’s been to the entire team, boys and girls, throughout his whole journey,” she said. “His setbacks only made him stronger. Today to see him walk away with that medal, it’s the sweetest place on Earth and today it’s definitely that for him.”

McGuigan led the Parkland boys team to an 18th-place finish at states. The Trojans ran in a tight pack, with five PHS runners finishing within 11 seconds of one another.

Senior Logan McEvoy finished 184th in 18:08, followed by senior Luke McEvoy (189th, 18:14), sophomore Alexander Abosamra (193rd, 18:17) and sophomore Isiah Wilson (196th, 18:18) to round out the team scoring. Sophomore Jaiden Zabler (197th, 18:19) and sophomore Cole Orloski (229th, 18:49) were also part of the Parkland boys state team.

“My boys team had PRs and ran their fastest time this year,” said Bracetty. “Our pack got a lot tighter. We have a good young group and they are hard workers and they are very goal-oriented. They are going to challenge again next year.”

Two members of the Parkland girls team also competed in the state championship meet.

Harshita Keerthi finished just three seconds and three places from earning a state medal. The junior finished 28th in the girls race in 19:42 in her second state meet. She was 136th in 21:06 last fall.

“She worked so hard and we’re proud of her,” said Bracetty. “She was three seconds away from a medal.”

Parkland senior Emma Carlson also improved on her performance at states from a year ago. She finished 175th Saturday in 21:50 after coming 206th in 22:46 last fall.

The Trojan girls team battled back from a fifth-place finish at districts in 2024 to come just three points from a runner-up finish at this year’s district meet.