Carlisle Invitational - Boys' Challenge Race Recap
Saturday was a big day for the boys from LaSalle, who made a big statement on a number of different fronts.
In the individual race, LaSalle's Evan Addison pulled out the win in a close race with some talented top 25 runners. It's a high profile win for Addison, who lowered his PR significantly to 15:21 (his first time under 16 in his career).
LaSalle, which entered Saturday at PA#4, also grabbed the team title, scoring 83 points to upset PA#2 Council Rock North. LaSalle topped North to win the Briarwood Invitational two weeks ago, but North was down a few runners. On Saturday, North ran with a full squad. While Addison's win was important, the difference maker for the Explorers was putting three others inside the top 20. Sophomores Vincent Twomey (15:58) and Ethan Maher (15:59) were 14th and 16th, respectively, and Sean Egan placed 20th in 16:07.
For CR North, Ryan Campbell placed third in 15:28, closely followed by Ethan Koza, who was fourth in 15:33. Sam Earley took 18th in 16:03 and Kevin Ehrgott took 28th in 16:15.
Mechanicsburg's Morgan Cupp ran another strong race, placing second for a second straight week at an invite. The senior clocked in 15:24, a solid PR and improvement over last season. Campbell and Koza came across next, followed by Upper Dauphin's Brenden Miller (fifth in 15:40). Miller continues to assert himself as a threat in Class A this season.
John Handley (VA)'s John Delaney was sixth in 15:41, while University High (WV)'s Phillip White took seventh in 15:43. Grove City's Jonah Powell ran a strong race to take eighth in 15:48 and West Chester Henderson's Spencer Smucker placed 11th in 15:54, his season debut over 5,000 meters.
Carlisle ran well to place third as a team with 186 points. Jack Wisner led the Herd with a 13th place finish in 15:57. Cherokee (NJ) was fifth with 204 points and West Chester Henderson was fifth with 215 points. Twin Valley placed sixth with 220 points.
In a battle of two of the state's top Class AA teams, Grove City Area topped York Suburban 232-246. Grove City, from District 10, came down to get some good competition and a meeting with York Suburban. Look for that matchup again in November at Hershey.