Efa Paschka

Andrew Little | The Chronicle

Freshman cross country runner Efa Paschka was the Comets’ top competitor the first time she stepped on a high school course. She led the team to a victory at the OHSAA Preseason Cross Country Invitational with a fifth-place overall finish. As of September 9th, her personal record of 18:53 is the best 5k time from a freshman in the state of Ohio. 

Paschka followed up her stellar debut performance with a victory at the Moeller Prime Time Invitational. She finished with a time of 19:20, over ten seconds faster than the second-place finisher.

At her home course, the Mason Invitational, she placed fifth overall and was the Comets’ top finisher in their win. In that race, she faced off with and defeated many of the top runners in the midwest. Her efforts have been a driving force in Mason’s undefeated start to the season, and offer immense optimism for the rest of the year.

Paschka has been breaking barriers since she started running with the team in the summer. The team had high hopes for her after her accomplishments with the Mason Middle School cross country and track programs, but she has surpassed those expectations already. She broke the team’s record on their four-mile time trial course before the season. Her current personal record in the 5k is just ten seconds away from joining the program’s top ten all-time leaderboard, and that is something that will likely happen as the season progresses. The sky is the limit for the freshman who is already one of the best runners in the state. If she can build off of her impressive start she could lead the Comets to a dominant season.

Comet Zone’s Student Athlete of the Month selected by The Chronicle Sports Staff. Photo by Camden Paeltz. Graphic by Allison Droege. Page Design by Izzy Gaspar’raj