Laura Patriarca won last Saturday's Catholic Memorial Invitational race in Franklin with a time of 18:47. The time was 17 seconds better than the second place runner as Patriarca picked up yet another 2010 victory.

"Laura is the classic example of what happens when talent, hard work, and determination are combined," said Tewksbury Cross Country Coach Peter Molloy. 

Patriarca's hard work is certainly paying off this season. She has improved her times drastically over the past three years. As a freshmen she ran her first two mile time trial in 16:46 (a 8:23 mile).  She is now running 18:44 for 5k (3.1 miles) which is 6:01 per mile. The improvement has come with plenty of hard work. 

"Laura was not always the best kid on the team," said Molloy. "She wasn't even the best freshmen. Through hard work and determination Laura was able to improve over the course of every season. "

In her first home race of the 2010 season Patriarca broke the course recordand Tewksbury Memorial High School record by posting a 18:14 in the three-mile course.

"To many this season has come out of nowhere," Molloy said. "However, to us (her coaches and teammates) this is not a surprise.  We all watched her have a wonderful spring track season.  Plus we all know how much Laura loves to run, so everyone knew that summer running was not going to slow her down." 

With the Merrimack Valley Conference Championships a week from this Saturday at Chelmsford High School and the State  Meet coming up next month Patriarca is expected to be at or near the top of both races.

"A large reason why she is so good is her drive to succeed," said Molloy. "There is no off time for Laura.  In her world there is always something that can be done to become better."