By Jayson Jackson, with additional observations by Lex Mercado
Photos by Don Rich, Timothy O'Dowd, Doug Michaels, and Megan Clugh
AA GIRLS | AAA GIRLS | AA BOYS | AAA BOYS
AA Girls
The AA Girls was the first scheduled race and featured Central Cambria going after the three-peat with a host of individuals trying to win their first XC individual title. The race separated very early as the leaders opened up a gap by the half mile mark. Northwestern Lehigh's Lindsay Kerr, ELCOs Kayleigh Perry, and Forest Hills Leah Anne Wirfel were leading the charge with Angel Piccirillo (Homer Center) trailing them by 10 yards and there was another 10 yards to the main pack. Wirfel made a little surge right before the mile and the other girls responded to that surge. The leaders crossed the mile mark in in 5:38 to open up a five-second advantage on Piccirillo.
When the runners crossed the bridge toward Aloha Hills, it was a two-person race with Kerr and Perry battling up front, while the rest of the field was strung out behind them. Perry had a slight edge at two miles on Kerr, but the race was from over between these two as they had opened an eight-second lead on Lainie Smith (Saucon Valley) who was now in third place and being tracked by Piccirillo, Katie Sick (Millville), and Katrina Jeung (Shady Side Academy). By this point Central Cambria had taken complete control of the team race and the question was who would be second.
When they hit the bridge, Perry had a step on Kerr and they were preparing for the stretch run over the last 800. Sick had asserted herself for third place and had a lead on Piccirillo, Emily Gianotti (Coudersport), Jeung, Alyssa Brandis and Kelsey Seymour (both Central Cambria), and Smith. Sick and Brandis looked the best as they headed towards the final hill. Kerr took the lead during the final half mile and never looked back. Kerr won in 18:56 and scored one crucial point for her team in their bid to make the podium. Perry moved up one spot from last year to get second in 19:12. Sick finished third in 19:30, seven seconds ahead of Brandis, who was the first freshman finisher. Piccirillo was one second behind Brandis to round out the top five.
Central Cambria was simply amazing. They scored 72 points and averaged 20:20 (third fastest on the day), to win their third championship in a row by 81 points. Union City grabbed the other spot on the podium by one point over Northwestern Lehigh, 153-154. Lewisburg finished fourth with 174 points and Saint Basil Academy snagged fifth place with 220 points.
AAA Girls
With Central Cambria's three-peat in the books, it was now Emmaus' turn to see if they could match the feat. Liberty's Jess Cygan was the lone returning defending champion on the day, and she was looking to maintain her impressive record in Hershey, never worse than second. Pennsbury's Sara Sargent took control of the race from the start. She had a two second gap on the filed at 800m that she would increase to four seconds by the mile.
Elizabeth Simpson of Boyertown was the early leader of the chase pack which included, Leigha Anderson (Cumberland valley), Janie Augustyn (West Chester Henderson), Margo and Shannon Malone (North Hills), Marissa Polk (Oakland Catholic), Amber Valimont (Hempfield Area), Meghan McGovern (North Penn), Rebecca Penneau and Angelica Peck (both Blackhawk), Kayla Keddal (Peters Township), Katie Kinkead (Central Bucks East), and Elaina Balouris (Hampton). As the race progressed, Sargent showed no signs of slowing down and the chase pack showed no signs of drawing her back in. Sargent hit two miles in 11:37, eight seconds up on the field. Kinkhead had taken control of the smaller chase pack that included Anderson, Augustyn, Valimont, McGovern, Simpson, and (Margo) Malone.
The team race was too close to call at two miles with Emmaus, Pennsbury, and Warwick all within ten points of each other. The champs were doing their best to hold off the challengers and with one mile to go, it was going to be interesting. When they hit the bridge for the last time, Kinkead had begun to eat into Sargent's lead, and the question was did Kinkead have enough room to catch Sargent. With Kinkead pulling away from the chase pack, the race was on for third between Anderson, Augustyn, Malone, McGovern, and Valimont. Coming down the hill before the road, Kinkead put in a surge and caught up to Sargent with only the final hill and stretch run remaining. After forcing the pace all day long, Sargent still had another gear as she powered up the hill and down the finishing straight for the win in a new course record of 18:35. Kinkead finished second in 18:44 for a great race. Anderson was able to finish third (18:56) as Augustyn (18:58), and Margo Malone (19:01) rounded out the top five.
The last mile would also seal the deal for the team title as Emmaus was able to hold their position as their main challengers at two miles - Warwick and Pennsbury - fell off the pace. Emmaus reached the podium for the fourth time in a row as they won their third consecutive team title. North Penn was able to weather the storm over the last mile to finish second with 158 points just ahead of Pennsbury (172), North Allegheny (189), and Warwick (199).
While the other races had established favorites for either the individual, team, or both titles, the Boys AA race was completely wide open. Two of the runners, Kutztown's Stephen Welsh and Milton Hershey's Brett Kubiak, with the most experience on this course, took control early as they set the pace for the field. The winner of the Foundation Meet, Alex Beardsley of North East, was positioned behind them in the pack. For many it looked as a repeat from the week before when Welsh and Kubiak battled for the District 3 Championship. Welsh led in 5:21 at the mile with Kubiak, Beardsley, Marion Center's Alex Woodrow, Saegertown's Nate Tallada, Phil-Mont Christian's Jon Shope, and Quaker Valley's Omar Hyjek right behind him.
When they hit the bridge, Hyjek had taken control of the race and was leading as they approached the first part of the Aloha Hills. Welsh and Kubiak used the hills and their course experience to build a four-second lead on the field when they hit two miles in 10:23. Beardsley and Hyjek were trying to keep them in striking distance as they lead a small group of runners that included Shope, Wilkinson, Woodrow, and Tallada.
By two miles, York Suburban had taken control of the team race. They had an 11-second compression and their runners seemed to be getting stronger. At the District 3 meet, Welsh beat Kubiak by 12 seconds, but that was not going to be the case today as they were neck and neck throughout the last mile.With a half mile to go, Beardsley was in third leading a train of runners, including, Wilkinson, Shope, Woodrow, Tallada, and Evan Miller (Laurel), to the finish. Welsh was able to get a step on Kubiak down the stretch and that one second was the margin of victory, 16:37-16:38, as they both improved on last week's times. Beardsley finished third in 16:48, while Wilkinson (16:53) and Shope (16:54) completed the top five.
York Suburban continued to pour it on during the last mile enabling them to win with 76 points and a 39-second compression. Quaker Valley scored 99 points to finish second again. Elk Lake (135) and Holy Redeemer (151) flip flopped their finish at districts to finish third and fourth. Fairview's 165 points helped them to end their strong season with a fifth place finish.
AAA Boys
After three great races, the AAA Boys had a lot to live up to and they didn't disappoint. Brad Miles and Sam Bernitt (both North Penn), Ryan Gil (North Allegheny), Tom Kehl (Father Judge), Jacob Kildoo (Grove City), Matt Kacyon (Whitehall), and Brett Kelly (Boyertown) set a quick pace through the mile in 4:50. It was obvious this was going be a fast race as there was still a very tight pack and everyone was jostling for position. When they hit the bridge for the first time, Gil moved to the front to continue to force the issue with Miles and Rad Gunzenhauser (Mount Lebanon), Charles Lockwood (Dallastown), Reece Ayers (Tunkhannock), and Joe Kush (North Hills) in tow. Gil and Miles continued to press through two miles in 10:06 followed closely by Gunzenhauser, Lockwood, Ayers, Kush, Will Kellar (West Chester Henderson), Wade Endress (Altoona), and Bernitt.
Trying to pick out who was leading the team race was impossible. The best guesses were either La Salle, Altoona, North Allegheny, or West Chester Henderson. The last mile was going to decide a lot in the final race of the day. On the last hill in the Aloha stretch, Miles and Gunzenhauser opened up a small gap on Gil as they surged to the top. Gil was now leading the chase pack that included Lockwood, Endress, Kush, Kellar, Bernitt and Ayers.
When they hit the bridge, Gunzenhauser made his move and opened up a step on Miles, while the chase pack battled for third place. Gunzenhauser continued to build his lead to 15 meters as they approached the final hill. It looked as if Gunzenhauser was going to be crowned champion, until Miles found one more gear and took off with everything he had left. Miles caught Gunzenhauser down the stretch and passed him for the win 15:47-15:49, setting a course record and being the only two to break 16 minutes on the course. Gil was able hold off Lockwood for third, 16:03-16:04 and Kush finished fifth (16:10).
The team results were just as tight in the end as they were at two miles. But a late surge by West Chester Henderson propelled them to the win and their third this decade. West Chest Henderson's 119 points held off North Allegheny (128), La Salle (137), and Altoona (141). Baldwin rounded out the top five with 154 points. West Chester Henderson and North Allegheny both averaged 16:52 over the course, but Henderson's 55-second compression was the difference.
