Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League

 
As a freshman running in her first WPIAL cross country championship, Latrobe’s Natalie Bower admitted afterward she was somewhat surprised that she’d won. The next three years, each time she returned to the Cooper’s Lake Campground course near Slippery Rock, her winning performance was far less surprising. It was almost expected. The 2009 graduate established herself as one of the best runners in Western Pennsylvania history by becoming the first athlete, girl or boy, to win four consecutive WPIAL cross country titles in 2005-08. It's a record that can be tied but stands out as unbreakable. The expectations increased each year, but Bower never let the pressure to win distract her. As a senior, she won the WPIAL Class 3A title in 18 minutes, 4 seconds, a time on the 3.1-mile course that was 18 seconds faster than her closest competitor. Bower also added to her list of accolades with 4 consecutive titles at the Tri-State and County Championships (2010-2013). But her success wasn’t limited to the fall. Bower also won eight WPIAL titles during track and field season, giving her 12 total WPIAL gold medals in her high school career. She won the WPIAL 1,600 meters three times, the 3,200 twice and was part of a 3,200-meter relay team that won three times. At the state level, Bower won PIAA gold in the 1,600 meters in 2009 and was the runner-up in 2008. She led her cross country team to a state title in 2005, and the Wildcats were state runners-up in 2008. After high school, Bower became a four-year letter winner and four-year Academic All-American in both cross country and track at Penn State. She qualified for the NCAA cross country championships four years in a row, a feat achieved by only six previous Penn State female athletes. As a Nittany Lions senior, she earned second-team All-America status by placing 15th nationally in the 3,000-meter steeplechase and was the Penn Relay's Steeplechase Champion.