Over the River and Through the Woods; The Hope Pietrocarlo Story

Cross-country isn’t easy. Ask any of the esteemed athletes involved with Maple Grove’s highly revered cross-country program, and they’ll be among the first to agree: distance running is one of the hardest, most physically demanding and mentally intensive sports there is.

Couple that with humidity, early morning workouts, late night runs, treacherous terrain and the uncanny amount of willpower that is required to make it from start to finish, and it’s not hard to see why a lot of people don’t stick with it.

For that reason, it’s even more impressive that one accomplished senior from Maple Grove High School, who was first introduced to the sport six years ago in the seventh grade, did.

Her name is Hope Pietrocarlo.

“In sixth grade, we had an orientation at the high school for the upcoming year in seventh grade,” recalled Pietrocarlo. “There was this one senior… He was like, ‘Hey, you should totally sign up for cross-country.’ I was like, ‘What’s that?’ and he’s like, ‘Well, basically, you run around a lot.’ I said okay, I’ll sign up... I had no idea what I was getting myself into.”

“The first practice, we ran a mile and I was like, ‘oh my gosh, this is awful.’ Then the next practice, we ran three miles, and I was like, ‘is it ever going to end?’ It was so hot that day… I was way in the back, and I just remember thinking, ‘I can’t do this.’ I had to stop and walk a bunch of times... it was really hard.“

As the old saying goes, champions continue to run, even when it’s difficult to do so. In hindsight, the young Hope Pietrocarlo did just that. Surely, she could have given up when things got a little tough. Instead, she ultimately decided to endure the rigors of her sport.

Fast-forward six years later, and the soon to be 19-year-old is now reaping the benefits of that decision, sitting atop the record books in Western New York, as one of the most distinguished cross-country runners the area has to offer. To friends and family, her perseverance comes as no surprise, especially, considering some of the obstacles she had to overcome when she was an infant.

“It was in December of 1996,” explained her father, Gregg Pietrocarlo, as he reflected on the events that transpired prior to the birth of his daughter. “Jane (her mother) was sitting in bed... she wasn’t due until mid-late February and she thought her water had broke. We went to WCA Hospital… the doctor mentioned they

couldn’t handle her case at the time, so we either had to go to Women and Children’s Hospital, or Pittsburgh. We decided to go to Women and Children’s.”

The Pietrocarlo’s arrived in Buffalo on the 19^th of December, hoping their daughter would make it through the night. Once they got settled in, doctors informed them that they would be able to keep baby Hope inside of her mother for another nine days. After that, she would have to be delivered. A little more than a week’s time had passed before the family made its way back to Jamestown, where Hope was born prematurely, at WCA Hospital. She was born two days after Christmas, weighing just 3 pounds and 12 ounces.

“Her name was going to be Julia, but at the time we just said that can’t be,” said Gregg Pietrocarlo. “When she was born, I said ‘we need hope in our lives,’ and that’s how we came up with her name.”

Unfortunately, a premature birth in the family wasn’t the only thing the Pietrocarlo’s were forced to deal with.

“When she was three months old, she had meningitis,” said Gregg Pietrocarlo. “We were in Philadelphia at the time; that’s where the doctors gave Hope a 50 percent chance to live because of the strain of meningitis she had. She pulled out of that, but they said the biggest thing she could face was hearing loss; the majority of children with her strain on meningitis have hearing loss.”

As small as she was, doctors tested her by reaching around her and snapping their fingers. They proposed that if she looked either way, it would be a sure-tell sign that she wasn’t deaf. When they snapped, miraculously, she looked, emerging victorious in her battle once again.

“They told us when she was born that they could tell she was feisty, she had a lot of strength and she was going to be a real go-getter,” added her mother, Jane Pietrocarlo. “The doctors told us ‘we know who these babies are – they are fighters.’”

Looking back on the entire ordeal, it appears as if they were right.

With those early experiences tucked away in the back of her mind, Hope fought her way to three consecutive Class D team titles, in seventh, eighth and ninth grade. In her sophomore season, Hope secured a state championship, making her the first athlete in school history to bring home the highest of state honors. To this day, Hope has never finished worse than fifth place in any state meet.

“The Hope story is she actually did it; she won the state championship,” said longtime Maple Grove Girls Varsity Cross-Country Coach, ‘Doc.’ Rappole, as he talked about the legacy that will be left behind by one of his most committed runners. “We’ve had three girls who finished in second place before; Hope finally broke that barrier…it’s a tough thing to do.“

No matter how great of an athlete Hope may be, as will be remembered by her peers, she’s an even better person.

“She’s a really good leader, said Jane Pietrocarlo, as she described the impact her daughter has had on her teammates. “Sometimes the girls are really down after a race if they didn’t get a good time; Hope’s always really encouraging though, she really lifts them up.”

Needless to say, her coach echoed similar sentiments, offering nothing but praise as well.

“When there’s a practice at 6:00 in the morning, she’s there. If she goes out on a Sunday and runs for 8-10 miles, they’ll be seven or eight girls with her. She’s a role model, and she does what she’s supposed to do. Her teammates see that.”

In sports, and in life, perseverance is everything. Success requires a whole lot of determination, dedication, self-disciple and heart, none of which have ever been lacking from Hope Pietrocarlo.

“She’s a very talented, dedicated young lady,” said Rappole, as he commented on how far Pietrocarlo has come over the course of her six-year varsity career. “Anybody can be a good runner if they are willing to work hard; but to be exceptional, you got to have talent and work hard at it… She has the talent, and she works.”

“Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday we get up at 5:45 a.m., said Pietrocarlo. “We meet at 6:15 at the market in Bemus, and we go run four miles. On my own, I do a lot of lifting, core workouts, and extra running… a bunch of stuff that people don’t know about…because you have to. It’s something that you have to really work at to be good… I have a lot of pride.”

Like any other sport, cross-country is a test of ones speed, endurance, and determination. However, cross-country isn’t like other sports. Whereas in basketball or football, a coach may call a time out to let his players take a break or to make substitutions, in a timed race – all that goes out of the window. There are no breaks and there are certainly no substitutions – ‘You’ve just got to run.’ Tomorrow, at the Red Dragon Invitational at Long Point State Park, Maple Grove’s own Hope Pietrocarlo will do just that – with the whole community behind her.