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The rising senior out of Quaker Valley, Pennsylvania, has been etching his name into record books since his freshman year. Jonah Montagnese isn't just one of the best athletes in PA; he's one of the best in the country with just recently earning 2 All-American Honors at NBNO in both the Mile and 2-Mile with a 5th-place finish in both races. The now-senior has just announced his verbal commitment to the University of Virginia to continue his academic and athletic career. When I caught up with Jonah to ask him what helped him make the decision and why he felt like Virginia was the perfect fit for him, he said:
"UVA really stood out to me because of its super strong performances over the past few years in cross country and track, and additionally it is a place that I can further my academic in such a great way due to how prestigious the school is. Also, getting to know Coach Dunbar and seeing what amazing athletes he has helped produce was a huge motive to go to UVA. Watching Gary Martin, who is a PA legend, and seeing how much success he found at that program in particular made it stand out as a top choice."
Montagnese holds PRs on the track of 4:06.34 in the full mile and 8:45.20 in the 2-mile, along with a 15:03.50 on the grass for 5k. Jonah recently ran 4:03 in a road mile with a 1:53 last 800m.
Before the 2027 graduate heads off to be a Cavalier, he still has an entire senior year ahead of him with goals I'm sure include sub-4 in the mile and potentially a few state records in mind as well.
What greatness could we see out of Jonah this year?
