Hatboro-Horsham’s Brian DiCola wins the boys’ high school mile championship at the Penn Relays

With the gust of rain hitting Brian DiCola’s face, the Hatboro-Horsham senior was 100 meters away from crossing the finish line first in the high school boys’ mile at Franklin Field. He looked back, caught a glimpse of a yellow jersey on his tail, and knew it was time to power forward.

“I said, ‘OK, I got to go right now, that was the homestretch’” DiCola said afterward. “That’s the decisive end of the race and it had to be all or nothing there. I just gave it all I had, shortened the stride, and take the win.”

DiCola came out on top, finishing in 4 minutes, 11 seconds at the Penn Relays on Friday. The Horsham native, who’s heading to Penn State in the fall, has had a historic high school career and competed against standouts along the way, namely, Archbishop Wood graduate Gary Martin, who’s now at Virginia.

But this year, DiCola carved a name for himself as another great runner from the area. Following an impressive outing at the Paul Short Run in September, DiCola set a course record with a time of 14:43 in the 5K, which was the second-fastest time by a high schooler in Pennsylvania and the seventh-fastest in the country this year. He beat Martin’s record from last year with a time of 14:49.

At the Penn Relays, though, DiCola wasn’t trying to break records. He wanted to bring home gold and was prepared to do so.

“We came up with the plan; if it’s terribly rainy, if the conditions are poor, just make it tactical,” DiCola said. “Don’t take the lead right away, because you never know what can happen if you’re going to take the lead and in terrible conditions — it beats you up. I felt that if I stayed back and fought later that I have a better chance.”

And that’s exactly what DiCola did. He paced himself, trailing on the outside of the pack. But after the third leg, DiCola separated himself from the rest of the group, and on the final leg, he ran it in about 59 seconds for the championship.

Before meets, DiCola said, he can get wrapped in his own head, overthinking different situations. On Friday, he tried to turn off his brain before taking the track. He’ll listen to music, preferably alternative-rock, and hang around his teammates.

“I always have to walk the line there,” DiCola said. “That’s what I was able to do today. ... I got here a couple hours ago, so I’ve just been sitting in the pouring rain, which is great. Taking it easy, but also being on alert.”

DiCola has ran a few times at Franklin Field in his career. But this time around was an experience that he wouldn’t forget.

“It feels really good to get something for your team,” DiCola said. “And to do it in front of my home crowd [that’s] 30 minutes away from where I live.”

As DiCola closes out his high school career, there are few goals he hopes to reach. He’s going to compete in the 5K at New Balance Nationals Outdoor in June at Franklin Field. The current state record is 14:18, and DiCola believes he has a shot at that.

Then he wants to get back into working on his mile time. DiCola is striving for a sub-4 mile, but he knows that if he can’t get it this year, it will be another goal for himself as a Nittany Lion.

“I have time, but it’s definitely something I’m working on,” DiCola added. “I’m looking forward to growing as a person and as a racer, and just bringing my times down too.”