And They're Off! Week 1 Recap


Lions Invitational (Moravian Academy - Bethlehem, PA) - Meet Recap

Friday in the rain and mud, Pennsylvania saw the high school debut of one of its next stars. Blue Mountain's Olivia Haas, who has made some noise at the middle school level and in some road races, raced for the first time in at the high school level. Haas, a ninth grader, ran to the win in 18:52, a very strong opener, particularly considering the conditions. That is the nation's 20th fastest time by a freshman girl.

Northern Lehigh's Reagan Pender also had a solid season opener, placing second in 19:07. That is over a minute PR for the sophomore who was third in D11-AA last season. Notre Dame Green Pond's Grace Medei was third in 19:53 and Northwestern Lehigh's Madeline Consuelos took fourth in 20:18.

Northwestern Lehigh took home the meet's overall top spot with 62 points, 17 ahead of second place Abington Heights.

On the boys' side, Pen Argyl's Anthony Coppolella went 16:48 for a strong season opening victory, dipping under 17 minutes for the first time in his career. Coppolella hung in a solid pack for about the first half of the race before opening up a gap on the field to take the win.

Bangor Area's Marino Bubba placed second in 16:59, also getting under 17 minutes, while Blue Mountain's Kevin Haas ran well to take third in 17:03. Bubba's Bangor teammate Morgan O'Brien was fourth in 17:07.

Liberty scored 82 points to take the overall team win, while Nazareth Area was second with 94 points.