| 10/20 |
Schenley Park
Photos by William McBride
 With Taylor Allderdice now competing in District 7 (WPIAL), Carrick has seized the opportunity in cross to sweep the boys and girls team titles at the meet held Saturday, October 20th. With 25 points, the boys bettered Obama Academy by 31 behind an 18:07.2 win by Zach Wierzchowski. Obama's Sam Lapp was second in 18:25.6. Carrick took five of the top ten spots.
The girls tallied 26 points behind an individual championship by Ashley Hankins in 22:51. Brashear's Elisa Varlotta was second in 23:00. Carrick placed five in the top eight.
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Pittsburgh, PA RESULTS POSTED
Photo Gallery by William McBride
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| 10/22 |
TSTCA JV Cross Country Championships
The Mount Lebanon Junior Varsity girls picked up where the Varstiy started, rolling to a big win in the JV championships at Pittsburgh's Schenley Park. Placing five in the top 16 for 39 points, Lebo was led by freshman Sadie Saxton in 21:10. In fact, freshmen took half of the top 10 spots. Baldwin was second behind a runner-up by frosh Alexandra Barr in 21:25.
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Pittsburgh, PA RESULTS POSTED |
| 10/22 |
Peddie School
The Hill School placed third in the boys team competition behind a 7th place 17:09.97 by Preston Tietjen. Monica Redfern led the Hill School to a 4th place finish overall with her 9th place 21:09.02. Mercersburg Academy was 5th overall in both varsity races. |
Hightstown, NJ RESULTS POSTED |
| 10/24 |
Qualification
Class A (1 team, 5 individuals) Class AA (2 teams, 10 individuals) Class AAA (1 team, 5 individuals) Photos by Patty Morgan  Parkland girls were the only team in AAA to place four inside the top twenty led by a 3rd place finish from Mikayla Stoudt to cruise the team title over Emmaus 68-111. Meredith Colton of Bangor Area won the gold medal, upsetting 2010 state silver medalist and defending district champion Paige Stoner by 20 seconds with a time of 19:21.
In AA, Northwestern Lehigh placed three in the top eight overall to earn victory over Allentown Central Catholic 58-85. Allentown Central Catholic did have the individual champion, as freshman Colleen Daday ran 19:27 to win the race by 33 seconds over Elizabeth Chikotas of Saucon Valley.
In Class A, Minersville cruised to the team title over Mahanoy Area 30-64 and they were led by a 1-2 finish from Cassidy Mason (22:46) and Laura Hunyara (22:57).
 For the boys, Freedom used a 44 second spread and a 5-6-7 finish from Dan Quigley, Jason Lopez and Chris Kelly to win the team title over Parkland 65-79. Colin Abert of Easton Area ran 16:21 to win the race by 23 seconds over Alec Ledered of Northampton.
In AA, Northwestern Lehigh placed five in the top twenty overall with a 70 second spread to cruise to the team championship over Allentown Central Catholic 75-119. Brendan Shearn of North Schuylkill had no difficulty winning the district individual title, running 16:11 to cruise by 48 seconds over Jaryd Flank of Wilson.
In Class A, Minersville had a harder time winning the team title than their female counterparts, defeating Schuylkill Haven 42-43, led by individual champion Wesley Yutko running 18:57 to win by 14 seconds over Philip Marzen of Marian Catholic.
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Bethlehem, PA RESULTS POSTED
VIDEO INTERVIEWS |
| 10/24 |
Elk Lake High School
Qualification
Class A boys (2 teams, 10 individuals) Class A girls (1 team, 5 individuals) Class AA (2 teams, 10 individuals) Class AAA (1 team, 5 individuals) 
After off-and-on rain for much of the week, the Elk Lake HS course looked innocent enough. But upon closer examination, there was standing water just about every inch of the course. Well, maybe 75% of the course. The walkthroughs only served to soften the ground beneath the grass.
The first race was the AAA Girls. There were paths to take in certain areas where the grass had not been shredded and embedded in the mud. As the races wore on, the runners widened their chosen path not just looking for better footing, but to prevent a shoe from remaining stuck in inches of the brown stuff.
Abington Heights reeled off a 1-2 behind Senior Taylor Ross and Junior Erin Jaeger. But their scoring could have been significantly improved with the presence of junior Tessa Barrett - who earlier in the month had run a very fast time in winning the Tennent Invitational. But Barrett was fighting an illness and was a DNF. But Hazleton, who won both the girls and the AAA boys races, placed four in the top nine and had enough to hold off Wallenpaupack by 46-53 for the lone team berth in Hershey. They were led by Nicole Buehrle in 4th and Angela Marchetti in 5th.
(Editor's note: we are not including times in this summary. In the mud on that course, they are completely irrelevant. And when you look at the times and the caliber of runners, you can begin to get a sense of the slop that they had to endure.)
The close-but-no-cigar story continued in the 4th race, the AAA boys. Hazleton used a one-two finish by Jacob Fetterman and Tyler Pecora, a 8th by Andrew Myers, and the 4-5 by twins Kyle and Tyler Steiner to win by a single point, 59-60 over Abington Heights.
 The upset bug bit the new PA#4 Dallas girls squad. After a one point vitory over Holy Redeemer in their league championship, Holy Redeemer got the better of Dallas in AA this time around, scoring 50 points to win by 3. Holy Redeemer placed three in the top five from the trio of Rachel Sowinski, Marissa Durako and Cassandra Gill. Regan Rome of Dallas earned another victory, but her team had a spread that was 20 seconds slower than Holy Redeemer and that proved to be the difference. Rome said that when she first saw the course in the morning, she didn't think she would even be able to break 20. She didn't, but was pleased she and her team had survived the muck injury-free and punching their ticket to Hershey. The rubber match between the two teams will happen at states in ten days.
In Class A, Elk Lake and Montrose accounted for the first five finishers with Elk Lake having three of them and that was enough to secure a state berth over Montrose 40-54. Elk Lake also got a 1-2 finish from winner Elizabeth Trowbridge and Jenny Vanetter to boost them to victory.
 For the boys, Scranton Prep competed for the first time in a big meet since late September and came away with a solid performance. They placed five in the top twenty overall and had a 1-5 spread of 43 seconds to hold off Tunkhannock 54-65. Tunkhannock's runner up finish qualified them for states by two points over Holy Redeemer. Kieran Sutton of Lake-Lehman earned the gold medal over one of the hotter runners of 2012 Dominic Deluca of Dallas by nine seconds. In Class A, top ranked Elk Lake came away with the team title over Lackawanna Trail 46-69 with three in the top seven and five in the top twenty overall. Luke Jones of Elk Lake earned a ten second victory over Rico Galassi of Holy Cross. |
Dimock, PA RESULTS POSTED
VIDEO INTERVIEWS Matt Samuel, Dallas Head Coach
RACE VIDEOS |
| 10/24 |
Qualification:
Class A (1 team and 5 individuals) Class AA (3 teams and 15 individuals) Class AAA (4 teams and 20 individuals)  Cumberland Valley girls claimed the AAA team championship with a victory over Governor Mifflin 61-99. Carlisle was 3rd with 168 points and Chambersburg finished 4th with 173 points. Cumberland Valley and Governor Mifflin placed four of the top six runners in the race, with Mady Clahane claiming her first district title with the fastest time of the day in 18:49. Clahane's performance led three Cumberland Valley runners in the top eight overall and it was 12 seconds better than Greta Lindsley of Penn Manor. Tessa Mundell of Governor Mifflin was 3rd in 19:04. Photo by Megan Clugh
In girls AA, Palmyra continued their winning ways, placing five in the top twenty overall with a 65 second spread to defeat York Suburban 49-72. Wyomissing Area also made the state meet with a 3rd place finish of 150 points. Maria Tukis of Palmyra ran 19:59 to win the gold medal by five seconds over Emily Joyce of Big Spring. Freshman Olivia Gettle of York Subrban ran 20:08 to finish 3rd.
In the first ever Class A race, Delone Catholic managed to edge out York Catholic 39-49 led by a gold medal winning performance from Kate Mowrey in 20:54.
For the boys, the top three teams in AAA were separated by 8 points for the team championship. Newly ranked Hershey had a 61 second spread but did not score any single digit points and finished 3rd with 174 points. Lower Dauphin had a 66 second spread but had a scorer in the 60s and had to settle for 2nd with 169 points. Championship honors went to Cumberland Valley who were led by individual champion Alec Kunzweiler in 16:35 to score 166 points and win by 3. Hempfield took the last team qualifying spot with 222 points to edge out Governor Mifflin by 10. Behind Kunzweiler was Patrick Reilly of Dallastown Area (16:43), Evan Williams of Governor Mifflin (16:45), Ryan Hertzog of South Western (16:48) and James Martin of Garden Spot (16:48).
Photo by Tim O'Dowd
 In AA, Annville-Cleona were the only team to place three inside of the top 20 led by a runner up finish from Shawn Wolfe to win the team title over York Suburban 100-127. Manheim Central scored 205 points to finish 3rd. The individual gold medal went to Vinny Todaro of Big Spring with a time of 16:35. Liam Corcoran of James Buchanan was 3rd in 16:49.
In Class A, Veritas Academy placed four in the top eight overall to overcome a 4 minute spread and qualify for states over Delone Catholic 39-51. Brady Wilt of Biglerville ran 17:24 to win the gold medal by 18 seconds over Nick Poole of Delone Catholic.
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Hershey, PA RESULTS POSTED
AAA Boys Gallery by Tim O'Dowd
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| 10/24 |
Bedford County Technical Center
Qualification
Class A (1 team, 5 individuals) Maria Snyder of Northern Bedford won her 2nd consecutive district 5 girls championship with a winning time of 21:08 to win by 27 seconds over Macey Hollenshead of Southern Fulton. In a two team contest, Southern Fulton edged out HOPE for Hyndman 26 to 29 to earn a trip to states. For the boys, Collin Day of Meyersdale edged out a 4 second victory over Tyler Richards of Southern Fulton with a time of 17:21 to win the gold medal. Southern Fulton did win the team title and will make the trip to Hershey with a 34-47 win over Meyersdale. |
Everett, PA RESULTS POSTED |
| 10/25 |
Qualification
Class A (2 teams, 10 individuals) Class AA (2 teams, 10 individuals) Class AAA (1 team, 5 individuals)  Cardinal O'Hara boys successfully defended their district XII AAA crown with a score of 20 points finishing in places 2-3- 4-5-6-7 with a 1-5 spread of 27 seconds and a 1-6 spread of 28 seconds. Tom Coyle of Lasalle beat out Kevin James of Cardinal O'Hara for the individual crown with a time of 15:59 to win by 5 seconds. Lasalle took all five individual spots, which will make them eligible for a team place at next week's state championships.
In AA, Bonner Prendie earned their first ever state berth with a team title win over Archbishop Wood 21-41. Will McDermott led the way for Bonner Prendie with a gold medal winning performance of 16:34 to win by 35 seconds over Jonathan Schmidt of Archbishop Wood. Bonner Prendie also had a 61 second spread to help their cause.
In class A, Masterman placed 2-3-4-5-6-7-8 with a 26 second spread to score 20 points and win by 48 over Paul Robeson. Matt Ferry of Science Leadership Academy edged out Julian Degroot Lutzner of Masterman by one second to win the district crown with a time of 17:37.
 For the girls, Cardinal O'Hara reclaimed their AAA crown with five in the top ten led by 2012 Catholic League Champion Grace Mancini (18:48) to defeat Central 24-54. Defending district champion Teresa Ortiz of St Hubert's had to settle for 2nd place ahead of bronze medalist Amy Kelly.  In AA, Archbishop Wood took the first five places to sweep the team championship led by a win from Erin Young in 20:15 and a 1-5 spread of 22 seconds. Bonner Prendie scored 63 points to earn the 2nd team qualifying spot, their first ever bid.
In Class A, Masterman won the dual meet with Paul Robeson 18-39 led by an individual winning performance from Carina Falhery in 21:55.
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Philadelphia, PA RESULTS POSTED
VIDEO INTERVIEWS |
| 10/25 |
Bloomsburg University
Qualification
Class A (1 team, 5 individuals) Class AA (2 teams, 10 individuals)  The top ranked Class A boys team Northeast Bradford cruised to a state qualifying birth with a 1-2 finish from Curt Jewett (15:41) and Sam Williams (15:49) on their way to a score of 31 points to defeat Canton by 39. Griffin Molino of South Williamsport ran 16:15 to finish 3rd.  The AA race had as close of a team title finish as you may ever see in any meet at any level. Three teams going for two state spots all separated by 1 point! All three teams had three in the top twenty overall and all had five inside the top 40 team places. Lewisburg benefitted from having the first four runners in first and they snuck out with the team title with 88 points. Towanda and Danville were just one point apart for the final state qualifying berth with 89 and 90 points respectively. Towanda did also boast the individual champion as Aaron Valoroso ran 16:05 to win by 18 seconds over Sean Walker of Lewisburg. For the girls, Wellsboro Area were the only team with five inside the top 25 overall to come away with the lone state qualifying berth over Towanda 52-67. Casey Norton of Troy won the gold medal with an impressive performance of 18:35 to win by 35 seconds over Erika Huffman of Wyalusing.  In AA, Danville had little difficulty making a return trip to Hershey next Saturday, placing five in the top ten with a 73 second spread to score 29 points to win by nearly 50 points.  Freshman Treicy Cedeno of Shikellamy also put on an impressive performance with a time of 18:42 to win by 42 seconds over Mackenzie Jones of Danville, also a freshman. |
Bloomsburg, PA RESULTS POSTED
VIDEO INTERVIEWS
Traicy Cedeno, Shikellamy, AAA Champion
RACE VIDEOS
A Boys
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| 10/25 |
Classification
ALL CLASSES (3 teams, 15 individuals)
Meet Feature and Photos by Phil Grove
With all that was at stake – PIAA qualifying berths and district title win streaks – and what was new on the table – Class A bragging rights – Thursday's WPIAL championship at Cooper's Lake was bound to be memorable. As it turns out, it's one that many competitors – and coaches and spectators – might never forget. A sun-baked course and record-breaking temperatures topping 80 degrees pushed competitors to the limit and beyond, resulting in a trio of 10-minute delays as WPIAL officials worked to stay ahead of the heat-related problems affecting countless runners. By the time the medals and trophies had been awarded, all of the runners transported to area hospitals for treatment were reported to be in good condition. “That was a little bit difficult,” Quaker Valley coach Dave Noyes said of managing the delays and unrelenting heat. “One of our parents ran to his car, he happened to have three umbrellas there. All of the teams are on the line, and we are standing there under umbrellas. “We did what we consider heat training all week in sweatshirts and coats during practice to get ready for the heat. And I told them, dump some water on your head. Brendan Shearn, you see him before every race he seems to do that. I thought if we can get ourselves a little bit wet and let that evaporate while we’re racing, it might help us stay cool.” With many coaches saying they never experienced anything like this year’s title meet, various approaches were deployed to get their runners to the finish line as quickly – and safely – as possible. “We knew Monday it was going to be hot up here so we really took a special emphasis on our nutrition and hydration,” said Ron Schreiner, coach of Mt. Lebanon girls’ squad. “We knew we had to be ready yesterday, not today, get (nutrients and water) in there 24 hours ahead of time. We did that.” Joining meet officials in stressing the importance of proper hydration as the races unfolded, John Neff of North Allegheny also kept his boys’ team out of the extreme conditions by arranging a separate bus ride to Cooper’s Lake. “We didn’t bring the boys up until later in the day, I’m glad we did,” he said. “It was pretty hot. To have them sit there all day, that would have been tough.” Another tight pack nets North Allegheny another WPIAL title  No matter the conditions, it goes without saying that the key to posting a low team score is a strong, tight pack of runners. Registering 1-5 spreads below 20 seconds on a regular basis speaks to the talent of Neff’s North Allegheny boys’ team, which extended its WPIAL title streak to eight years in a row with 50 points and a 17-second spread.“They all know that they’re just as good as each other,” Neff said of his scoring five. “Every one of those kids has won a meet this year. It’s not like some years where you will have one guy that’s obviously going to win, one guy that obviously is No. 2. You never know what the finish order will be with these guys. “They are very close friends, they’re together all the time, at practice and out of practice. But at the same time, they have a little rivalry there. They are not going to let one of the other guys get ahead of them. It’s a great thing to have.” Senior Josh Zemet led the champions in seventh, followed by sophomores Matt McGoey (8th) and Seamus Love (10th), junior Cordon Louco (11th) and sophomore Scott Seel (14th). Another WPIAL win for the No. 2-ranked Tigers was hardly a surprise, but the shake-up in the standings behind North Allegheny probably raised a few eyebrows. Powered by the 2-5 finish from Ethan and Colin Martin, Fox Chapel Area stormed home in second with 136 points. Mt. Lebanon (PA#5) trailed Hampton by 34 points through the No. 3 runners and rallied to beat the Talbots in the tiebreaker for the final qualifying spot as both teams had 175 points. The dominance that North Allegheny showed throughout the Cooper’s Lake layout, Brent Kennedy of Kiski Area bottled up and saved for the sprint for the tape. With about 500 meters left, Kennedy was shadowed by Ethan Martin and Allderdice’s Ean DiSilvio. By the time the leaders reappeared in front of the castle, the Kiski Area junior was clear of his challengers and en route to a WPIAL title in 15:59. “It doesn’t really change the race much, but everyone is feeling tense,” Kennedy said of the delays, including the final one as the AAA boys were reporting to their starting spots. “The weather doesn’t change the race, but it slows it down, creates some adversity there. “The finish is long here, about 1200 meters of switch backs. Ethan came up past me, I was waiting for that and that’s when I went, trying to make my kick as short as possible. I just held on from there.”  In the AAA girls’ race, there was no team or individual suspense as Mt. Lebanon (PA#3) and Brianna Schwartz of Shaler Area resisted any challenges early and cruised to the awards stand. The Blue Devils had 49 points with four runners (Jillian Hunsberger, Kelsey Potts, Julie Kocjancic and Audrey Gordon) in the top 10, while North Allegheny (97) and North Hills (108) were comfortably ahead in the race for the final two state spots.“We knew coming in we had a target on our back,” Lego coach Schreiner said. “We knew it was ours if we could duplicate or come close to last week. We knew we had a chance.” Schwartz edged ahead of Potts at the mile mark and was never threatened in finishing first in 18:32. Mary Malone of North Hills was second to the sophomore for the second week in a row in stopping the clock at 18:56. “My goal today was to get a better time so I wanted to take it out faster than last week,” the winner said. “After the first mile, I took the lead and tried to push the pace, but the heat didn’t help much.” The hard luck team of the afternoon was Hampton, which picked up a pair of individual qualifiers in both races but also placed fourth in both team categories. Quaker Valley wins big, small in AA sweep Over the past handful of years in Class AA, it has been do as Quaker Valley does. Noyes’ boys’ team extended its WPIAL championship run to six years in a row, while the girls’ squad has now won the past four AA titles. In the girls’ race, Quaker Valley and Uniontown waged the closest battle of the day. Uniontown matched the Quakers’ two in the top six with two of its own but could not upend Noyes’ team, falling 65-67 on the strength of Quaker Valley’s fifth runner. “There was no clear-cut winner before the race,” Noyes said of his pre-race assessment. “To me, there was just any number of teams out there. It was not going to be a low score, the 20s type of a score, that was going to win today.” With identical lineups of three seniors, two juniors, and a sophomore and freshman, both teams were about as close as they could be on the score sheet as each also had four in the top 20. Knoch picked up the final Hershey berth with 110 points, while Moon Area won the tiebreaker over rival West Allegheny as both teams had 121. The top five teams claimed all but two of the top 10 runners.  Individually, Julie Friend of Uniontown won a nip-and-tuck battle with Alexis O’Shea of West Allegheny. Running hip to hip at times, the lead duo pulled away from the field, with Friend making her break in the second half of the 5,000-meter course to win in 19:23 to O’Shea’s 19:37.“We were really just running next to each other,” Friend said of the close proximity to O’Shea. “I don’t think anyone wanted to lead.” In the boys’ race, Quaker Valley put up some numbers eerily similar to the girls’ race – two runners in the top 10 and four in the top 20. Senior Roy Hadfield led the Quakers in fourth at 17:05 as their 1-5 spread was an even 60 seconds. “They had to be conservative with this heat,” Noyes said. “They ran a smart race, no doubt.” Although Thursday’s conditions were not conducive to jumping into the lead at the gun, Tyler Rigby’s front-running style had produced a pair of invitational wins and a top 20 finish for the South Park senior at the Tri-State meet the previous week. “The whole season I have been running the races the same every time,” said Rigby, who broke the tape in 16:59. “Today was not different. I didn’t want to be the first to the top of the hill. I’ve had a little bit of a bad experience with that in the past. The way it worked out, I took the lead before the half mile and just held it from then on out.” After missing out on his first state berth a year ago by a fraction of a second and one place, Rigby had enough of a gap to survive a late charge from Marshall Bruce (17:04) of Beaver Area and Blackhawk’s Zack Black (17:05). Indian summer proves more than worthy opponent The fine line that runners had to navigate to beat the heat and their opponents became apparent in the opening event, the inaugural Class A girls’ race for a district title. Neshannock’s Lizzie Manickas, a two-time PIAA qualifier in both cross country and track, wasted little time in separating herself from the field, owning a 12-second cushion as she covered the opening mile in 6:09. At the 3,000-meter mark, the junior was 21 seconds ahead as Laurel’s Emily Maxwell gave chase. A PR winner earlier this year at the Sharpsville Blue Devil Invitational, Manickas held onto the lead until Maxwell flashed by with about 800 meters to go. Maxwell reached the finish in 20:14, good enough for a 19-second win over Caroline DeFrank of Bishop Canevin with Madeline Schmiedeknecht of Winchester Thurston third in 20:39. “I knew that she was a little bit tired, but she still looked pretty comfortable,” Maxwell said of her frequent competitor in Manickas. “I had to go for it. I had to make my move then.” Soon after exiting the castle, Manickas collapsed to the ground, unable to finish the race’s final 200 meters. She later was treated and released at Butler Memorial Hospital, as were all but one of the competitors transported for medical treatment. That athlete was transferred to Children’s Hospital for additional care. As the meet continued, additional equipment and personnel were brought in to help competitors manage the extreme conditions. A pair of misting fans were set up near the starting line, a misting station was available near the finish line and a truck with a water container and bags of ice was stationed at the base of the main hill should runners need assistance after leaving the race. A literal battalion of Slippery Rock University students and athletic staff gave aid to those runners who could only take a step or two after the finish and helped keep the finish chute as clear as possible for those competitors racing for the line. Maxwell’s victory sparked Laurel to the history-making team title in Class A over Shenango, 100-117. Vincentian Academy was third with 132. “I knew she had the capability of winning it if she stuck to her game plan and what we went over all year … her strategy all year,” Laurel coach Greg Schmitt said of Maxwell. “She stuck to her game plan … and she won. She did an excellent job. “When I started here in 2008, we only had two varsity girl runners, that’s it. And now here we are in 2012, and we won WPIALs as a team. It shows how far that our program has come.”  For Vincentian’s Ryan Archer, there was only one place he wanted to go … to the front of the pack in the boys’ race. Bolstered by a season of racing many of western Pennsylvania’s best from all classes, the senior was clear of the field after the opening mile and headed to victory in 16:34.“With a smaller field, I just wanted to take it out,” Archer said. “I think I put about 10 meters on the field in the first mile, and then coming home, I wanted to keep it together in the last mile and not fall apart.” Laurel’s Ethan Wilson was the next fastest finisher, cruising past Ryan McGuire of Trinity Christian for the runner-up spot in 16:38. In the battle for the boys’ Class A crown, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart had a pair of runners in the top 10 and all seven in front of runner-up Vincentian’s fifth. The Chargers had 113 points to 125 for their section rival and 131 for Northgate. “They have been running against them in section all year,” OLSH coach Bob Berg said of Vincentian. “We lost the section championships to them by 3 points on their home course. The boys knew their agenda, and that might have been a very good thing. “They were always aware that Vincentian would be their No. 1 rival in this race, even though we beat them last week by 10 points. The boys knew what they had to do, and they got it done. I’m so very proud of all the boys on the team.”
FLASH SUMMARY BY PHIL GROVE:
With record heat, the conditions were far from optimum. In fact, the meet was delayed a few times because there was no ambulance on site to transport to the hospital. But the races were run.
On the boys' side, North Allegheny and Quaker Valley added to their championship winning streaks in the AAA and AA races, respectively, while Our Lady of the Sacred Heart was a narrow winner of the inaugural Class A title. John Neff's Tigers cruised to their eighth consecutive WPIAL championship, finishing with 50 points off a 1-5 spread of just 17 seconds. Paced by Ethan and Colin Martin, Fox Chapel Area was a surprise runner-up with 136, while Mt. Lebanon grabbed the final team qualifying spot by winning a tiebreaker with Hampton as both teams had 175 points. Brent Kennedy of Kiski Area came away with the individual title in 15:59, pulling away from Ethan Martin (16:04) and Allderdice's Ean DiSilvio (16:13) in the final 400 meters. In Class AA, Quaker Valley picked up its sixth district title in a row with 66 points as senior Roy Hadfield led the Quakers in fourth. Mars Area (132) and South Fayette (135) punched their tickets to Hershey as the next four teams were separated by only 29 points. Front-running Tyler Rigby of South Park was the top finisher, leading a pack of 208 runners with a 16:59 for a five-second cushion over Marshall Bruce of Beaver Area and another second ahead of Blackhawk's Zack Black. The Chargers of Sacred Heart had two finishers in the top 10 as their 113 points bested section rivals Vincentian Academy (125) and Northgate (131). Ryan Archer of Vincentian built a comfortable margin and then held on for the victory over Laurel's Ethan Wilson, 16:34 to 16:38. Trinity Christian's Ryan McGuire was third in 16:49.
The girls AAA race finished similarly to how the Tri-State championships finished. In the team race, Mount Lebanon were once again strong in their final tune up race before the state meet, placing four in the top seven overall and cruising to the team title over rival North Allegheny 49-97. North Hills will be making a return appearance to the state meet, finishing only 11 points behind North Allegheny with 108 and comfortably in front of 4th place Hampton. The individual race also finished similarly to last week, as Brianna Schwartz has won two big meets in a row, running 18:32 to defeat runner up for the 2nd week in a row, Mary Malone of North Hills by 24 seconds. Jillians Hunsberger (19:17) and Kelsey Potts (19:20) were 3-4 for Mount Lebanon. Betsy Erlanger of Upper St Clair rounded out the top five with a time of 19:29. In AA, it was a close battle for the top spot, as Quaker Valley emerged victorious over Uniontown Area 65-67. Knock held on for 3rd place with 110 points to earn the final state spot over Moon Area and West Allegheny by 11 points. Both Quaker Valley and Uniontown had four of the top six finishers, including a win for Uniontown's Julie Friend in 19:23. Alexis O'Shea of West Allegheny was 2nd in 19:37, Rachel Skolnekovich of Quaker Valley ran 20:06 for 3rd. In Class A, Laurel were carried to the team title by a championship win from Emily Maxwell in 20:14 to score 100 points and defeat Shenango by 17. Vincentian Academy took the final state spot with 132 points to hold off Bishop Canevin by 18. Behind Maxwell, Caroline DeFrank of Bishop Canevin ran 20:33 to finish 2nd and Madeline Schmiedeknech of Winchester Thurston ran 20:39 to finish 3rd. |
Slippery Rock, PA RESULTS POSTED
Video interviews:
Dave Noyes of Quaker Valley (2 interviews for AA GIRLS and boys) |
| 10/26 |
Qualification
Class A (1 team, 5 individuals) Class AA Boys (1 team, 5 individuals) Class AA Girls (2 teams, 10 individuals) Class AAA (5 teams, 25 individuals)
Photos by Patty Morgan and Don Rich
 In both AAA races, the outcomes may have a lot to say about what happens at next week's state championships in Hershey. West Chester Henderson boys came in as the favorites to win the district title, but the team's performance along with the performances of their top two runners may have a huge impact next Saturday.
Tony Russell took home the individual title in a blazing time of 15:11, which is 3 seconds faster that Drew Magaha's district winning time last year. His teammate Reiny Barchet finished 3rd in 15:22 with Ross Wilson of Council Rock North sandwiched in between running 15:19.
 With those two runners taking advantage of the opportunity to run a fast time on a fast course and earn big personal bests, Henderson ultimately had four guys under 16 minutes in the top twenty overall and they nearly doubled Council Rock North's team total to win the title with 67 points and a 58 second spread. The next three teams all came from the Ches-Mont league that Henderson won last week. West Chester East scored 196 points to finish 3rd, Great Valley scored 218 points for 4th and Downingtown West edged out Pennsbury by 20 points with 253 points to claim the final state qualifying spot. Max Norris of Harriton ran 15:23 to finish 4th, Jack Macauley of North Penn ran 15:28 to finish 5th, and Conner Quinn of Hatboro Horsham finished 6th in 15:32 to earn the opportunity to defend his state championship next week.In the girls AAA race, it was a return contest between PA#1 Unionville and two time defending state champions Pennsbury. Unionville already had one victory over Pennsbury at the PIAA Foundation meet back in Mid September, but Pennsbury also were the three time defending district champions. Pennsbury came out determined to defend their title and at the halfway point of the race until the final 500 meters, it looked like that was going to be a great possibility.  Pennsbury looked to win a direct head to head contest with Unionville early on, but the race is a full 5000 meters and Unionville's entire team made a big move in the 2nd half of the race and were able to make up the ground that Pennsbury challenged them to cover. In the end, it went from seven Pennsbury runners in front of Unionville's number 2 to Unionville's scoring five in front of Pennsbury's scoring five.  Courtney Smith of Unionville scraped and battled with Marissa Sheva all the way to final 1k, until she pulled away in the cornfields and took the individual gold medal with a huge personal best of 17:36 and her teammate Emily Fisher ran 18:06 to finish 5th, two places ahead of Pennsbury's number one runner on the day Olivia Sargent (18:09). Pennsbury's 1-5 spread of 25 seconds kept them close, but Unionville's two in the top five was enough to become the new district champions over Pennsbury 54-69. Unionville had a 1-5 spread of 52 seconds off Smith's 17:36, but their 2-4 was just 22 seconds. Both teams left with confidence as they approach next week's state championship finals.  A close result like today's race has next week's final rematch setting up to be a classic! Central Bucks West held firm and finished in a comfortable 3rd place with 135 points, North Penn put on their best performance of the season and finished 4th with 186 points, and the fifth and final qualifying spot went to Strath Haven with 273 points, their 2nd team appearance in 3 years. Individually behind Smith, Marissa Sheva of Pennridge ran 17:45 to finish 2nd, Stephanie Aldrich of West Chester Henderson ran 17:55 for 3rd and Kara Steinke of Methacton rounded out the sub 18 minute runners with a time of 17:57 for 4th. In the other competitions, Pottsgrove boys cruised through AA and solidified their number 1 ranking in the division. Pottsgrove finished with six of the top eight runners with a 1-6 spread of 20 seconds to score 23 points and take home the team trophy. Dan Alexander of Lower Moreland left everything out on the course to come away with the district gold medal with a time of 16:20 to win by 8 seconds over Ian Yanusko of Pottsgrove. Alexander is the defending district champ, and a returning state AA medalist.In Class A, both New Hope-Solebury and Jenkintown finished tied for the top spot with 50 points. A slip up and DNF from a Jenkintown runner opened the door for New Hope Solebury to win the 6th runner tiebreaker and qualify for states. Greg Wagner of Jenkintown did win the gold medal, holding off Tom Seykora of Devon Prep by 9 seconds with a winning time of 16:29.  In girls AA, Gwynedd Mercy returned to the division after a six year hiatus and came away with a team championship, defeating the defending district and state champions St Basil Academy 78-85. Basil's were led by a 1-3 finish from repeat district champion Megan McGarrity (19:20) and Valerie Santangelo (19:41), but Emma Keenan's 7th place finish (19:54) and five in the top twenty five team places were enough to secure the trophy. Both teams will get another race against each other and St Basil's will have the chance to defend their state title. Molly Davies of Lower Moreland was sandwiched in between the first two Basil finishers, running 19:34 to finish 2nd.  In class A, New Hope Solebury won the dual meet with Christopher Dock 16-47 led by Alexa Botelho's gold medal winning performance of 19:51, 38 seconds better than teammate Andrea Detlefsen.
GIRLS DISTRICT ONE A and AA and AAA 2012 PREVIEW
by Coach Coren(Strath Haven) jumpdr1@aol.com A GIRLS 1st place team and net 5 non-1st-place team finishers qualify for STATES TEAMS Of the 10 teams eligible to win the 1st ever District 1 “A” title, ONLY!!! NEW HOPE-SOLEBURY has a chance!! They could go 1-2-3-4 With Botelho, Detlefson(11), Singer(9), and Walsh(9). Sacred Heart will be a distant!! 2nd. INDIVIDUALS The newly crowned “A” champ will be Bothelo. As for the 5 other individuals who will make it to STATES, 3 of Sacred Heart’s runners. Halligan, Cajer(10), and Kocut have a great shot!! AA GIRLS 1st two teams and the next 10 non-1st-place team finishers qualify for STATES TEAMS There are 3 teams battling for the TWO!! STATE spots and the District title. All 3 competed at the AACA Championships last week. GWYNNED MERCY barely beat VILLA JOSEPH MARIE, who just got by SAINT BASIL. Earlier at the Souderton Invitational GWYNNED MERCY was 3rd, SAINT BASIL 4th and VILLA JOSEPH MARIE was 7th. They will go at it again at Lehigh on Friday. SAINT BASIL won the previous 6 District 1 AA championships and their experience makes it tough to go against them. However, GWYNNED MERCY also beat them way back at Abington. VILLA JOSEPH MARIE had its finest showing at Paul Short “White”(Lehigh’s course) as it took 1st overall!! INDIVIDUALS CHAMP? McGarrity(12)(STB) won District 1 AA the past 2 years. It will be tough to repeat this year as Nazareth’s Wheeler(11) looks like the favorite. She beat McGarrity by 15 seconds in their last outing. Besides Wheeler(NAZ) there are 9 more spots available for STATE qualifiers. For prediction sake, lets say SAINT BASIL and GWYNNED MERCY get the 2 team spots. That means thatthese girls will likely travel to Hershey next week---M.Twomey(9)(VJM), Davies(12)(LMOREL), B.Twomey(11)(VJM), Hughes(11)(VJM), Ciuta(10)(UPERK), Monyak(12)(PJP2), Harman(10)(LMOREL), Keiper(12)(UPERK), and Dever(10)(MN). AAA GIRLS 1st 5 teams plus the next 25 non-1st place team finishers qualify for STATES TEAMS HISTORY---(of some of the teams who have a shot in 2012)--NORTH PENN(5th 2011) has qualified 9 of the last 13 years--DOWNINGTOWN EAST(4th 2011) has made it 4 of the last 5 years.-- PENNSBURY was 1st in 2011 and 2010, 2nd in 2009, and 6th in 2008.-- UNIONVILLE was 2nd in 2011 and made STATES all 5 years from 2003 to 2007. -- COUNCIL ROCK NORTH has qualified 6 of the last 10 years. -- STRATH HAVEN last made it in 2009 and had made it 3 of the previous 5 years. --CENTRAL BUCKS WEST last qualified for STATES in 2005. -- Even though there are less teams in AAA this year, none of the teams who left for AA would have qualified for STATES in AAA this year. As always it is VERY!!! TOUGH!! making it to STATES from District 1. In fact last year at STATES, District 1 Girls teams placed 1,2,3,4, and 6 at the STATE MEET!!!! 2012 PREDICTIONS!!?? Here are my 3 locks to go to STATES---UNIONVILLE-PENNSBURY-and CBWEST!! UNIONVILLE and PENNSBURY have been ranked #1 and #2 all year and they will go at it BIG TIME at Districts and then STATES. Even though the flat course at Districts may help PENNSBURY, I predict UNIONVILLE will still become the District champ! CBWEST ran great at SOL and will be a clear 3rd. That leaves 2 spots??? There are 6 teams with the best chance to win a Heshey kiss. Only 2 of them will get to satisfy their sweet tooth. COUNCIL ROCK NORTH has a strong #1 and a solid 2-3-4, but recently their #5 has been a little far back. DOWNINGTOWN EAST has no one way up front, but a very tightly packed group of 6. DOWNINGTOWN WEST ?upset DOWNINGTOWN EAST at ChesMonts, and have a good #1 and 4 pretty good runners. MOUNT SAINT JOSEPH has a very strong top 2, a solid #3, but #4 and #5 must move up. NORTH PENN has been coming back after a somewhat slow start. They have a group of 6 who are starting to run much stronger. STRATH HAVEN also started slowly, but turned their season around in Maryland at the Bull Run Invitational. They have 4 good runners, but their #5 must move way up. Just to clear up the confusion for the 25 individual qualifiers, I am going to say that COUNCIL ROCK NORTH and DOWNINGTOWN EAST will qualify as a team. Here is the list in alphabetical order with relevant team finishes and information. CENTRAL BUCKS WEST--2nd Sharp--4thPTXC4--1st Bulldog “Large”--1st Souderton--1st SOL COUNCIL ROCK NORTH--1st Cliff Robbins--1st Abington--1st Council Rock--2nd Steel City--4th SOL DOWNINGTOWN EAST--6th PTXC4--4th Briarwood “Championship”--3rd Council Rock--1st Steel City--3rd ChesMonts DOWNINGTOWN WEST--1st Germantown Friends--4th Cherokee(Nj)--2nd Bulldog “Large”--3rd Maymont(VA)--2nd ChesMonts MOUNT SAINT JOSEPH--5th Sharp--2nd Abington--1st Briarwood “Large”--8th Paul Short “Brown”--1st AACA NORTH PENN--2nd CBE--5th Briarwood “Championship”--3rd Bull Run(MD) “Elite”--1st 6 Flags(NJ)--2nd Salesianum--3rd Manhattan(NY) “F”--3rd SOL PENNSBURY--2nd Foundation “Gold”--1st Carlisle “Puma”--3rd Manhattan(NY) “Eastern States”--2nd SOL(No S.Sargent) STRATH HAVEN--5th Abington--4th Briarwood “Large”--2nd Bull Run(MD) “Large”--6th Paul Short “Brown”--1st Delcos--1st Centrals UNIONVILLE--1st Cherokee(NJ)--1st Foundation “Gold”--1st ChesMonts INDIVIDUALS If UNIONVILLE, PENNSBURY, CENTRAL BUCKS WEST, DOWNINGTOWN EAST, and COUNCIL ROCK NORTH qualify as teams, 21 of these runners will likely be near the front and will be taken out of the TOP 25 Individual qualifiers for STATES---That means ????46th place may make it to STATES(2011 44th-- 2010 38th). Who will be the Individual Champ? 6 girls could be the District Champ. Here are their performances this year-- Aldrich(12)(WCH)(8th 2011)(55th 2010)--3rd Adidas--5th Paul Short--1st Manhattan “D”--2nd ChesMonts Sargent(12)(PENNS)(6th 2011)(4th 2010)(1st 2009)--7th Foundation “Gold”--4th Carlisle “Puma”--4th Manhattan “Eastern States” Scott(12)(CRN)(11th 2011)(11th 2010)--3rd Robbins--1st CRN--1st Steel City--2nd SOL Sheva(10)(PENNR)(4th 2011)--1st Sharp--DNF Foundation “Gold”--1st SOL Smith(11)(UNV)(7th 2011)--1st Foundation “Gold”--1st Cherokee--1st ChesMonts Steinke(11)(METH)(16th 2011)(8th 2010)--2nd Sharp--1st Abington--1st Briarwood “Championship”--2nd Foundation “Gold”--4th Paul Short--1st PACC I would love to see one of the Seniors win, but one of the undefeated Smith(UNV) or miler/soccer star Sheva(PENNR) will likely be the District Champ. My prediction is Smith(UNV). Other individuals(not including top 5 teams’ individuals) who are almost assuredly going to make it to STATES are (in alphabetical order) Abadi(12)(RAD) Meehan(12)(HAV)(26th 2011)(Qualified all 3 years for STATES) Pastore-Sebring(12)(AVONG)(30th 2011) Poiesz(11)(CBS) Rudawsky(12)(GARV)(40th 2011) That’s 5 + 3(Aldrich(WCH) Sheva(PENNR) Steinke(METH)) equals 8. There is room for ??17 more?? Others who have a very good chance to make STATES???(not on a TOP 5 team). In alphabetical order they are----- Black(9)(WISS) Myland(11)(DW)(45th 2011) Reiche(12)(MSJ) Sheva(12)(PENNR)(15th 2011) Taylor(10)(MSJ) Valenti(10)(NP) Willig(9)(GV) That’s 8 + 7 equals 15. There’s room for ??10 more?? These girls are the next most likely to take a trip to “Chocolate Town USA”. In alphabetical order they are--- Galligan(11)(SF)(42nd 2011) Hawley(12)(CBE) Herrera(12)(SHAV) Hontz(10)(WCR)(10th 2011) McGroarty(11)(GARV) Mesyngier(9)(SHAV) Moyer(12)(GV)(39th 2011)(Qualified all 3 years for STATES) Mulloy(10)(CBS) Naser(11)(HAV) Puchalsky(11)(SHAV) Shumaker(10)(BOY)(46th 2011) Snyder(11)(SHAV) 10 of these 12 will most likely make STATES. However, there are a number of other girls who definitely have a legitimate chance to qualify. In alphabetical order they are--- Bernotas(9)(OJR) Bixler(10)(WCH) Brennan(11)(RID) Chang(12)(PC) Clowser(9)(NP) Foust(10)(PERKV) Kardish(9)(MSJ) Kern(12)(NP)(41st 2011) Ilgenfritz(12)(AVONG) Loftus(11)(DW) Morris(10)(CBE) Nelson(12)(WCH) Simpson(12)(BOY) Vlasic(11)(NP) Weston(11)(OJR) GOOD LUCK TO ALL!!! |
Bethlehem, PA
VIDEO INTERVIEWS
PIAA District 1 Class A Champ Alexa Botelho, New Hope-Solebury
PIAA District 1 Class A #1 runner Emma Keenen, of team champ Gwynedd-Mercy Academy
PIAA District 1 Class A Champ Greg Wagner, Jenkintown
PIAA District 1 Class AA Champ Megan Magarrity, Gwynedd-Mercy
PIAA District 1 AAA Champ Courtney Smith, Unionville PIAA District 1 Class AAA Runner-up Marissa Sheva, Pennridge
RACE VIDEOS |
| 10/27 |
Capital Athletic Conference Championship
Frostburg State University
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Frostburg, MD COLLEGIATE
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| 10/27 |
Landmark Conference Championship
Lehigh University
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Bethlehem, PA
COLLEGIATE RESULTS POSTED
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| 10/27 |
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Smithfield, RI COLLEGIATE
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| 10/27 |
PA Independent Schools Championships
Germantown Friends swept both team championships, with each team overcoming Inter-Ac competition to win. The boys earned an 11 point win over Penn Charter led by a championship performance from Sami Aziz who ran 15:51 to win by 13 seconds over Inter-Ac champion Sam Ritz. Etienne Dumas ran 16:22 to finish 3rd. The GFS girls team won by a more comfortable margin, placing four in the top ten to score 43 points and defeat Germantown Academy by 56. Catie Skinner of Penn Charter avenged her Inter-Ac league defeat to Jamie Costarino of Springside Chestnut Hill to win the gold medal with a time of 19:27 to win by 14 seconds. |
Philadelphia, PA RESULTS POSTED |
| 10/27 |
Colgate University
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Hamilton, NY
COLLEGIATE
RESULTS POSTED |
| 10/27 |
Meet Summary by by Phil Grove. Other photos by Carl Strub
More often than not, special events fail to live up to the hype.
 Saturday’s match-up between Grove City’s Daniel Jaskowak and Corry Area’s Austin Pondel made up for many that never came close. Two of Pennsylvania’s best distance runners battled each other and the elements, searching for solid ground and a way to beat the other to the finish at Sharon’s Buhl Park (Bog).Jaskowak had just enough course to catch and pass his rival as both were credited with 16:23s on a rain-soaked and mud-filled layout. “I wasn’t sure,” the winner said about the race’s outcome. “I knew I had to go hard or I wouldn’t have gotten back to him. With the muddy conditions, I wasn’t sure if I would be able to kick it in as hard as I usually do. Fortunately, I was able to.” The side-by-side sprint to the tape was just the final stage of the race for District 10 supremacy in 2012 as Pondel and Jaskowak squared off for the first and only time with Grove City in Class AA and the Beavers in AAA for the next two years. “The last quarter mile it was just all screaming,” Pondel said of the spectators lining the final straightaway. “I looked over my shoulder once with about 200 meters to go, and I still had 10 meters on him there. It was about 30 meters left he got me. He simply had a better kick.” Although they were locked in one of the year’s best battles, they spent very little time racing shoulder to shoulder. Both athletes flip-flopped racing lines, searching for firm footing as conditions deteriorated during the third of four races on soaked grounds. “It was definitely a good race, and it was kind of hard with the mud,” said Jaskowak, who defeated Pondel by 11 seconds in 2011’s AAA race in another muddy meeting at Buhl Park. “That kind of added into the switching back and forth. Sometimes I’d be on the inside, and he would be on the outside of the mud track. It was kind of hard to gauge how far (apart) we were at some points.” Pondel, who suffered his first loss of 2012, was a second ahead at the mile and led by about 10 to 15 meters at the midpoint. The second time up Kite Hill, Jaskowak put himself back in front before Pondel closed the gap on the downhill side as the duo checked in at 10:39 for two miles. “I tried to go out pretty strong and, any place where I could, try to get a gap on Dan,” Pondel said. “At one point I probably had 50 meters or so. It was more just a battle of who could get the most traction out there. I could kind of follow the plan I had, but I was just trying to get a gap wherever I could. “I know the lead swapped at least a dozen times. A lot of times we would be on separate sides of the course. It was pretty hard.” The individual victory was the fifth consecutive at the district meet for an Eagle boy, with three by Jacob Kildoo and last year’s by Jaskowak all in AAA. “I think one advantage Danny had was he was in some races like this earlier in the year, and unfortunately Austin tried to get in those (kind of) competitions but it didn’t work out for him,” Grove City coach Mike Sample said. “(Danny) got me a little nervous around the 800 mark. He let Pondel go out a little bit, get a little away from him and Danny didn’t look 100 percent. “If someone’s going to beat Danny, they’re going to have to take that race out of him. You put him 300, 200 meters left in the race, if there’s a chance that he’s only a stride or two off of you, I like Danny’s chances.” Paced by Jaskowak's win, Grove City (PA#2 Class AA) had an easy time in the team standings, placing its scorers in the top 10 en route to 26 points. General McLane claimed the other Hershey berth with 79, while Hickory was third at 126. “Twenty-six is pretty good for us,” Sample said. “We thought maybe we could get somewhere in that ballpark. “It really was a total team effort. Danny knew he had that race, but I think he’s just as proud of the team and was more focused on what the team could do here today. We really wanted to prove to everyone that this is a quality group of kids. And they went out there, and they did that.” Sophomore Aaron Benka was fourth, followed by classmate Ryan Budnik in fifth, senior Ian Brown in sixth and junior Ryan Whiteman 10th. In Class A, Saegertown upset a pair of state-ranked teams in claiming its first district title although standout senior Hunter Johnston could not hold the lead late in the race due to a cramp. “Hunter falls from first at 2½ miles back to 14th, I know his heart was breaking,” coach Bill Hetrick said. “He thought that was the difference between not going to states. I counted positions, I knew it was the difference between first and second maybe. Thank God for him it wasn’t. It didn’t matter that much. He wasn’t the best racer today, but he has been consistently the best racer in District 10 this year.”  Hetrick's Panthers put up 92 points and a 1-5 spread of 40 seconds, while Class A #3 West Middlesex was a point back in second with a 34-second spread. Mercyhurst Prep edged #2 North East for the final team berth, 108-109.“Where we are in Crawford County, it’s very wet and very muddy all the time,” Hetrick said of the conditions for the final race of the day. “We are kind of used to this weather. We practiced the mud, we practiced where to make moves. It’s really a strategy race. Our 4-5 kids, to race the race they did, that’s the difference.” Individual honors fell to Maplewood’s Jeremy Parsons, who took advantage of off-days from two of the district’s best. “I tried sticking with (North East’s Ryan) Smathers, and then Smathers died off,” the winner said. “Maybe I can catch up to Hunter. I think he got a cramp or something, so I was able to take a huge advantage on that. So I passed him, and from there I just took off. I didn’t want him to catch back up.” Jeremy Parsons crossed the line in 17:27, and his twin brother Jake was 10 seconds back in the runner-up spot. In Class AAA, Cathedral Prep earned the lone qualifying spot with 30 points, while McDowell was second with 59 and Corry third with 77. Seniors Ethan Louis and John Lacy were second and third in AAA to lead the Ramblers, while teammates Pat Kloecker (5th) and Norman Stark (7th) also were top 10 finishers. Freshman leads Villa Maria to Hershey  Bernadette Prichard of Villa Maria added another highlight to a successful freshman season, jumping into the lead very early and dominating the combined AA-AAA girls' race. Covering the distance in 19:36, Prichard was 13 seconds ahead of Sarah Kupniewski of Mercyhurst Prep, with Hickory's Jackie Abraham third in 20:13.“Ever since the end of September we have been working on getting out faster, that first mile, because she has to be with that front pack, or at least they have to be visible to her,” Villa Maria coach Therese Brown said of the key for Prichard. “She has been doing a great job of that.” Villa Maria (PA#5 Class AA) also finished atop the AA team standings, placing four in the top 10 on its way to 37 points. Hickory qualified for Hershey in second with 95, while Grove City was third at 99. “We were psyched,” Brown said of the team title. “We knew coming in we have a lot of depth. We’ve got a young team, they’ve worked really hard and our goal was to be as close together as we could be. We’re psyched. We’re looking forward to next week.” Grace Trucilla (6th), Claire Brown (8th) and Alison Carson (9th) also were in the top 10 for Villa Maria.
In AAA, McDowell defended its district crown by placing its entire lineup in the top 10. The Trojans secured a ticket to the state meet with 22 points as senior Melissa Perseo was first in 20:18. Strong Vincent was a distant second with 70.
 The Class A race featured an exciting finish and a lopsided victory by a state-ranked squad. Olivia Mamula of Cambridge Springs edged past front-running Kristen White of West Middlesex in the final meters as both runners were timed in 20:40. Rocky Grove's Maggie Prorok was third in 20:49.“It was a lot better than last year’s (race) because it wasn’t as muddy,” the winner said. “The finish was really long. I didn’t think I would be able to get her. She was only about 2 feet in front of me, and it was that last little sprint and I did it.” Paced by freshman White, West Middlesex (PA#3 Class A) had four runners in the top 10 and a title-winning 43 points. “We were real pleased,” coach Bob Morris said of his team’s title and sixth consecutive berth in the PIAA meet. “We haven’t run an invitational per se since Sept. 29. Everything else has been practice and dual meets, and we’ve been pounding them pretty hard. We skipped the regional meet last week and ran quarters on the track. We didn’t know what would happen, but they ran real, real good. We’re happy to get back to Hershey.” Wilmington Area claimed the other team qualifying spot with 71, while North East was next at 104.
FLASH SUMMARY BY PHIL GROVE:
Grove City's Daniel Jaskowak chased down Austin Pondel of Corry Area right before the finish to win the marquee matchup in a muddy District 10 championship meet at Sharon's Buhl Park. Running together in a combined Class AA-AAA boys' race, Jaskowak and Pondel traded the lead numerous times on the double-loop course before Jaskowak edged past Pondel by a stride, with both senior standouts credited with 16:23s. Paced by Jaskowak's overall win, Grove City (PA#2 Class AA) was an easy winner in the team standings, placing its scorers in the top 10 en route to 26 points. General McLane claimed the other Hershey berth with 79, while Hickory was third at 126.
In Class AAA, Cathedral Prep earned the lone qualifying spot with 30 points, while McDowell was second with 59 and Corry third with 77.
In Class A, Saegertown upset a pair of state-ranked Class A teams in claiming the district title. Bill Hetrick's Panthers put up 92 points and a 1-5 spread of 40 seconds, while #3 West Middlesex was a point back in second with a 34-second spread. Mercyhurst Prep edged #2 North East for the final team berth, 108-109. Brothers Jeremy and Jake Parsons of Maplewood went 1-2, with Jeremy crossing the line in 17:27 and Jake 10 seconds back.
Freshman Bernadette Prichard won the day's first race, the combined AA-AAA girls' championship. Covering the distance in 19:36, the Villa Maria standout was 13 seconds ahead of Sarah Kupniewski of Mercyhurst Prep. Hickory's Jackie Abraham was third in 20:13. Villa Maria also finished atop the AA team standings, placing four in the top 10 on its way to 37 points. Hickory also qualified for Hershey in second with 95, while Grove City was third at 99.
In AAA, McDowell put its entire lineup in the top 10, securing a ticket to the state meet with 22 points as senior Melissa Perseo was first in 20:18. Strong Vincent was a distant second with 70.
Olivia Mamula of Cambridge Springs edged past Kristen White of West Middlesex for top individual honors in Class A, with both runners timed in 20:40. Rocky Grove's Maggie Prorok was third in 20:49. Paced by White, West Middlesex (PA#3 Class A) had four runners in the top 10 and a title-winning 43 points. Wilmington Area claimed the other team qualifying spot with 71, while North East was next at 104.
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Sharon, PA RESULTS POSTED
VIDEO INTERVIEWS Olivia Mamula, Cambridge Springs (Class A)
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| 10/27 |
Mifflin County High School
Qualification
Class A (2 teams, 10 individuals) Class AA (1 team, 5 individuals) Class AAA (1 team, 5 individuals)
Photos by David Beyerle and Randy Wilson
Summary by Randy Wilson
 AAA Boys: District 6 witnessed a history making event in boys AAA as Mifflin County defeated Altoona 36-39 to qualify for the state meet in a district dominated by Altoona and State College. It was the tightest race of the day, leaving the average spectator scratching their head as to who was heading to Hershey, Mifflin County boys held off hard-charging Altoona to win by 3 points 36 to 39, with State College a close third with 45 points. Mifflin County senior, Jon Colwell’s win in 16:17 was the fastest time of the day with SC junior William Cather 2nd in 16:29, and MC senior Addison Monroe taking 3rd in 16:39. AA Boys: In a dominant performance, Bellefonte senior Mitchell Smith won the race in 16:19, the second fastest time of the day. In the team race, Bedford’s pair of super froshs - William Kachman and Zane Baker, who both split time between cross and soccer; went 2nd and 4th, but could not overcome the pack running of Somerset’s boys, whose 57 sec spread, was led by junior Nick Bastian’s 5th place finish. A Boys: Williamsburg’s junior Bryce England won the race holding off Richland’s Mick Marx and Westmont’s Kevin Dailey. Marx and Dailey, who battled back and forth the entire race, could not reel in the England who won the race in a time of 16:51. Although Marx got the better of Dailey in the individual race, the outcome was reversed in the team competition, with Dailey’s Westmont team defeating Marx’s Richland team 79-98. Both teams were feeling chocolatey after the race as they will both be heading to Hershey. AAA Girls: In the most dominant team performance of the day, State College girls overpowered second place Altoona 15-66, by taking the first 5 places in the race. SC girls ran in a tight pack most of the race until junior Emma Cousins pulled away at the end to win the race in 19:40 with teammates Hannah Grubb and Sarah Almarzooqi taking 2nd and 3rd in 19:53 and 19:55.  AA Girls: In similar fashion to the single A race, Somerset’s super frosh Haylee Rohrer led from start to finish in a time of 19:54 ahead of runner up freshman Jordan Wiser from Tyrone in 20:06, who pressured Rohrer towards the end of the race. The team race was very tight, with the Somerset Eagles continuing their late season surge (who also placed second at the LHAC meet) besting Westmont Hilltop girls 56 to 61. A Girls: In the girls singe A race, Central Cambria senior Alyssa Brandis led the race wire to wire running the fastest girls time of the day (18:57), with Marion Center junior Hannah Fulton in second in 20:02. Led by Brandis, Central Cambria went on to claim their 8 consecutive District VI title with 33 points. For the second year in a row, Penn Cambria will also be heading to Hershey, led by 5th place finisher Arlee Simendinger in a time of 20:27had 48 points. |
Reedsville, PA RESULTS POSTED |
| 10/27 |
Qualification
Class A (2 teams, 10 individuals) Class AA (1 team, 5 individuals)
Photo courtesy of Sharon Weisner
 Kennedy Weisner of Elk County Catholic cruised to another district championship, running 18:23 to win the Class A title by almost 1:20 over Mckenna Spence of Cranberry. Weisner's teammate Victoria Dippold finished 3rd in 19:51 and those two led the way for their team to win the team championship over Cranberry 58-65. Elk COunty Catholic finished with three in the top 11 overall. In AA, Adair Gennocro of Saint Mary's cruised to the district tile with a time of 19:04 to win by over a minute. Punxsutawney scored 31 points with three of the top five overall placed to win by 28 over Clearfield.For the boys, Barrett Kemp of Oswayo Valley ran 16:50 to win the Class A district title by 14 seconds over Avery Colson of Kane Area. His performance also led his team to three of the top six places and a team title win over Northern Potter 51-57, who used a 33 second spread to keep it close. In AA, Aziz Yousif of Bradford ran 16:45 to win the district title by 23 seconds over Punxsutawney's Bo Dinger. Dinger's performance led four in the top seven overall to win the team title over Bradford 31-42. |
Ridgway, PA RESULTS POSTED |
