Boys' Gold Race - Recap
Rusty Kujdych is not afraid of big meets and big competition. For a third straight week, Kujdych of Neshaminy, toed the line at a major invite and had some more success. He claimed his second win in two weeks, as well, running away with the Gold Race win in 16:14.
After a tenth place finish at states last year, Kujdych hopes running pre-states will help him later in the season.
After that, the race was on for the next few spots. North Allegheny's Daniel McGoey posted another strong race. The sophomore took second in 16:27, making some moves up Poop-Out Hill and in the finishing stretch. OJR's Liam Conway ran well to take third in 16:30. Mitchell Etter of State College was fourth in 16:32. The surprise performance of the day came from Wissahickon's Ben Hoyer, who placed fifth, also in 16:32.
The team battle got interesting. Seneca Valley reversed its fortune against PA#1 Mount Lebanon, earning the team win. Led by Sam Owori (sixth in 16:41) and Seth Ketler (seventh in 16:45), the Raiders scored 103 points to take the team title rather convincingly. Connor Volk-Klos, a Mars Area transfer, got a pivotal 13th place finish. Aidan Domencic and Alex Dixon added good depth to help SV to the win.
Boyertown, which was the top PA team at PTXC9 a few weeks ago, posted another strong performance, taking second with 135 points. Led by Josh Endy, the Bears had just a 35 second 1-5 gap. Mount Lebanon was third, scoring 148 points. Bryce Brandenstein paced Lebo, which went out with a pack mentality.
Spring Ford was fourth, while North Allegheny was fifth. Owen J. Roberts looked strong, placing sixth. We're a long way away from districts and states time, but Saturday was a day for many of these teams to make some statements.