Don't forget to subscribe. That is the main way we pay for all of this.
In AAA, it was pack attacks from the Mount Lebanon girls (1:30 spread)
and North Allegheny boys (27-sec spread), each good for the win.
(Photo by Carl Strub)
WEEK #3 SUMMARY: 9/16 WKND:
Central Cambria's Carly Seymour toured the tough ALTOONA INVITATIONAL course in a record 17:53. Emmaus sophomore Lindsey Graybill led her team to a dominating win at the NORTHERN LEHIGH BULLDOG INVITATIONAL. At the BRIARWOOD INVITATIONAL at Belmont Plateau, West Chester Henderson came up short against NY's Chaminade, but Chris Aldrich went 15:58 in the Championship race. Conestoga's Hannah Kligman had 30-seconds on the competiton by the mile and ran the best time of the day in Divison I at 19:40.
At the SLIPPERY ROCK INVITATIONAL Neshannock's Kacey Gibson ran 19:21 in AA, and Avonworth's Lucas Zarzeczny won the AA Boys race in 15:54 to each post the fastest tims of the day. The 27-second spread pack-attack from the North Allegheny guys dominated the AAA race with just 48 points. The Mount Lebanon girls won AAA, while General McLane swept the AA team races. At the CHRIS FRETZ INV at Perkiomen Valley, Jason Weller powered his Boyertown team to a win with his 16:06. Perkiomen Valley's girls won their home meet behind the win by Kelsey Conroy. Pine-Richland took 4th in Division II girls at the BOARDMAN SPARTAN INVITATIONAL in Ohio, while in the Varsity Girls Division I race, juniors Noelle Blank and Samantha Bower led Greensburg-Salem to an 8th place finish with a 2nd and a 4th, respectively.
In the first East meets West meets South... it was West all around for the 1ST CENTRAL BUCKS INVITATIONAL gathering, capturing the girls, boys and combined team titles. In extremely muddy conditions on the 3.2 mile CONNEAUT LAKE INVITATIONAL layout, Fairview took runner-up in both varsity races... to the Titusville girls and to the Cranberry boys. The Corry boys and the Seneca girls were victorious at the PENN STATE-BEHREND INV. Roman Catholic dominated the 12-team 3-mile CHESTNUT HILL ACADEMY INV. Geoff Benefield took first, going 16:41. At the BIG SPRING INV, it was the home girls squad that took the top two spots and placed four in the top 11 to capture their invitational by 17 teams. Lara Crofford led the way on the hilly layout in 19:33.9, followed by teammate Amanda Raudabaugh. There was a major invasion by New York teams taking over the course at the MONTROSE INV. Canton's Garth Watson and Honesdale's Sean Craig went one-two in the boys' race. Maine-Endwell NY captured the girls team title with Honesdale in 2nd.
(More detailed summaries are below. Links to meet results and photo galleries are to the right)
1st Annual Central Bucks Invitational
RESULTS POSTEDIn the first East meets West meets South... it was West all around for the Central Bucks gathering, capturing the girls, boys and combined team titles. Liz Kearins led the CB West girls with a 20:10 win at CB East, followed by teammate Shannon Stirdivant seven seconds back. West placed five in the top ten and won with just 23 points. The West boys had it little harder time, taking four of the top seven to go with a 12th for 32 points behind the 2nd place 16:09 by Tyler Jones. East's Josh Izewski went 15:57 for the win. CB West's 55 point combined score was 11 up on South.
Carly Seymour under 18 at the tough Altoona meet
(Photo courtesy of J.D. Cavrich and the Altoona Mirror)
Allegheny Classic @ Allegheny University
Not being held in 2006 because of campus construction. Will resume, hopefully, in 2007 with a new course.
Altoona XC Invitational @ Logan Elementary School
RESULTS POSTEDCentral Cambria's Carly Seymour toured the tough ALTOONA INVITATIONAL course in a record 17:53. Pretty impressive when you see that the course record was 19:17. But it's even more impressive when you realize that it was HER course record, set just last year. Her Central Cambria team took on all comers, AA and AAA, and tallied 59 points, 45 up on host Altoona. Teammates Annie Cekada, a sophomore, and sister Kelsey a freshman, came in 2nd and 3rd in 19:59.0 and 20:06.0, respectively. Bishop McCort's boys showed the power of AA in District 6 with a 55-point margin over Altoona behind the win by sophomore Jim Spisak in 16:41, also a course record, bettering the 17:04 by Altoona's Zach Epple, set in 2005. Somerset took 2nd and 3rd.
Big Red Invitational @ Somers NY
Boardman Spartan Invitational @ Boardman OH
Juniors Noelle Blank and Samantha Bower led Greensburg-Salem to aJuniors Noelle Blank and Samantha Bower led Greensburg-Salem to an 8th place finish in the Varsity Girls Division I race with 2nd and 4th place finishes at 19:24.4 and 19:38.3, respectively. Pine-Richland took 4th in Division II girls behind the 7th and 8th place finishes by Kate Reinhart (20:15.7) and Emily Wobb (20:21.6). Also making the trip to Ohio were Gateway, Allderdice, Cathedral Prep and Moon Area.
Conestoga senior Hannah Kligman was alone to a 19:40 at Briarwood.
Briarwood Invitational @ Belmont Plateau
By Don Rich
Hannah Kligman had a pretty good junior year at Conestoga. She ran a PR 18:41 at Lehigh at Districts, and was 29th in the state. But the top girl on last year's team happened to be Liz Costello. This is a new year, and Kligman has not only emerged as the clear #1 on the team this season, but now has to be considered as a front-runner in any race. Coming into the Division I girls' contest for larger schools, she certainly expected competition. "I wanted to run how I felt, and I felt good." So good in fact, she had a 30-second lead heading into the woods at a mile, and had extended that by over a minute coming out of the woods with 3/4 to go. "If someone had been with me I don't know what I would have done. That hill was tough the 2nd time."
Her 19:40 was the fastest of the day in all races, and was an improvement of 30 seconds over 2005 in the same meet. The difference she says is no track workouts this summer and a lot more cross-training with rock-climbing and triathlons added to the mix. Kligman says she'll let the season come to her with only one goal of setting a PR at Rose Tree Park. As a senior, she's also pretty sure she has some choices to make for college. She's looking a the Ivys, and would like to stay in or near the Northeast.
A resurgent Haverford Township program saw the girls capture the Division I race. The girls started with 11 points thanks to a 3rd by Megan Smith and 8th by Christine Montgomery. It was enough to hold off St. Hubert's by five.
In the Division I boys' race, it was Haverford going out aggressively and challenging the strong program of Ridgewood NJ, losing by 46-56. George Walton led Haverford with a 3rd 16:39.7. Shanahan's Chris Bodary won in a quick 16:16.5.
The fastest guy in any of the boys'races was West Chester Henderson's Chris Aldrich, a junior. Knowing there was very strong competition in the Championship Division, Aldrich just wanted to take the mile as relaxed as possible, and then make sure he was in position at Parachute Hill. But coming back down Parachute, other runners took it hard and gapped him. "I knew then that I had to put a gap on them before we got to the last downhill. I was able to get the gap and then relax a little coming down the last hill to save some energy for the finish." Breaking 16 was his goal for the day, and he was pretty happy to see the clock clicking in the high 15's as he approached and then stopping at 15:58.4. Henderson coach Kevin Kelly said the team simply had a bit of an off day. Henderson stayed in the race when it looked as though Chaminade NY was dominating, and rebounded to finish nine points back at 74-83. LaSalle was 3rd with 117 and Cardinal O'Hara 4th at 118.
The Cardinal O'Hara girls fared a little better than the guys, running strong start to finish to beat Hatboro-Horsham 44-55 in the Championship Division, with North Penn another ten back in 3rd. Archbishop Carroll's Amanda Bascelli surged over the past mile to move from 3rd to 1st and win in 19:55.9. O'Hara's Caroline Grant ran 19:59.4 for 2nd.
Chris Aldrich (right) and Chris Ferry, led Henderson to a 2nd behind Chaminade.
Aldrich won in 15:58.4.
Gwnedd-Mercy and Great Valley were the top two PA teams in the Division II girls' race. Gwynedd was led by Kelly McEldrew in 6th and Great Valley's first was Carolyn Morse in 3rd. Great Valley lost a scorer late in the race when she went down and as she was trying to get up, was pushed to the ground again and was a DNF. She was in 9th at the time. Liberty-Benton Ohio won with 48 points.
In the Division II boys' race, it was a Strath Haven show all the way. Rob Speare won the race in 16:54.7 and had two teammates join him in the top five to tally just 44 points.
Briarwood Invitational Photo Galleries by Don Rich
Select Pix of all six Varsity races
NOTE: Because of interviews and the need to get results, I was unable to shoot either of the final two races.
Bulldog Invitational @ Big Spring HS
Big Spring took the top two spots and placed four in the top 11 to capture their home invitational by 17 over West Perry and seven other teams. Lara Crofford led the way on the hilly layout in 19:33.9, followed by teammate Amanda Raudabaugh at 21:01.9. McConnellsburg's Chris Snyder won the individual title for the boys, going 17:44.4, but it was Shippensburg with a comfortable win in the team chase behind the 2nd place 17:55.8 by Stephen Schelander. Two other Ship harriers palced in the top seven.
Bulldog Invitational @ Northern Lehigh
FLASH RESULTS POSTEDBy Kim Jaick Soden
Exeter senior Nick Hilton and Emmaus sophomore Lindsey Graybill pulled double-duty on Saturday by capturing the individual titles and leading their teams to gold at the 13th Annual Bulldog Inviational hosted by Northern Lehigh High School.
Hilton finished in 16:29.5 while Graybill clocked 19:37.
"I felt really good," Hilton said. "I expected Dunkelberger to be here, so without him my goal was to come out here and win."
Defending champ Isaac Dunkelberger of Tamaqua was reportedly sick for Saturday's meet. Hilton was second to him at last year's Bulldog Invite. Graybill also expected trouble from a Tamaqua kid in Alexa Griffiths, but Graybill was able to out-kick her as well two fellow Emmaus girls for the win.
"I was expecting to stay with the front pack," Graybill said. "Towards the end I realized I was in second place and I need to go full tilt. When I crossed the line I couldn't believe I had finished first."
Team scores were 75 for the Exeter boys. Emmaus was second with 120 points. On the girls side Emmaus took first through third place and had its top six in the top eight overall to score 19 points. Northampton was a way distant second with 133 points.
Exeter lowered its score from last year by 50 points, Hilton said.
"They're maturing more and more. This is the way they were at the end of last year," said Exeter coach Todd Witkowski. "It's a great motivator because we have a big dual meet against Tulpehocken on Tuesday."
Emmaus coach Dan Wessner had a good hunch his girls would do as well as they did, even though his top six runners are either freshmen or sophomores.
"You never know with invites who's going to be there, but we were at least as good or better than I expected."
Chestnut Hill Academy Invitational
BOYS RESULTS POSTEDRoman Catholic dominated the 12-team 3-mile race, tallying 48 points for the win. Geoff Benefield took first in the race for the PCL squad, going 16:41 to beat Cheltenham's James Rogers by four seconds. Roman took three of the top ten spots.
Chris Fretz Invitational @ Perkiomen Valley HS
RESULTS POSTEDJason Weller's 16:06 helped to propel his Boyertown team to an 11-point win over Owen J. Roberts and ten other teams. Teammate Mark Dennin was 2nd at 16:47. Boyertown placed three in the top seven. The Perkiomen Valley girls defended their home course with just 40 point behind the 20:14 by Kelsey Conroy. Teammates Ali Nolan and Kiersten Bonsall also contributed low top ten points.
Conneaut Lake Invitational @ Conneaut Lake 3.2
COMPLETE RESULTS POSTEDIn extremely muddy conditions on the 3.2 mile layout, Fairview took runner-up in both varsity races... to the Titusville girls and to the Cranberry boys. Laura Koller led Titusville with her 1st place 22:03. Titusville placed three in the top ten. Alden Sims ran 19:16 to take 2nd as the top finisher for Cranberry, which placed two in the top six. Ryan Haylett of Cochranton took individual honors in 18:53.
Franklinville Invitational @ Franklinville NY
IUP Invitational @ Indiana University of PA (College)
Lock Haven University Invitational (College)
At Slippery Rock, Lucas Zarzeczny went 15:54
in AA, the best on the day.
(Photo by Carl Strub)
Montrose Invitational @ Montrose HS
TOP TEN POSTEDA major invasion by New York teams took over the course at Montrose HS in the team competition, and one of the individual races... but Canton's Garth Watson and Honesdale's Sean Craig went one-two in the boys' race in 17:46.8 and 17:58.2, respectively. Canton would finish 4th to three NY teams, Union-Endicott NY, Maine-Endwell NY, and Newark Valley NY. Maine-Endwell captured the girls team title with Honesdale in 2nd behind the 5th place 21:34.9 by Kourtney Brussell. Alex Hacket of Wyoming Seminary was the top PA finisher, gaining 2nd with a 21:02.9.
Mountaintop Combo Invitational @ Preston WV
No PA teams in 2006.
Penn State-Behrend Invitational
COMPLETE RESULTS POSTEDThe Corry boys and the Seneca girls were victorious. Corry placed four in the top nine behind the 2nd place 17:54.8 by Jordan Wingard, and tallied 41 points. Fort LeBoeuf was 2nd. Youngsville's Paul Waite won in 17:50.4. Finishing first for the Sececa girls was Allison Gibbens, 4th in 20:55.6. Teammates Beth Meabon and Nora Nies were right behind to take 5th and 6th. Seneca was 10 better than Youngsville. Fort LeBoeuf's Ciara Shorts ran 20:37.8 for the individual title.
Red Flash Invitational @ St. Francis University
Not being held in 2006. May return in 2007.
AA girls also saw the best time of the day,
this one from Neshannock's Kacey Gibson in 19:21.
(Photo by Carl Strub)
Slippery Rock Invitational @ Cooper's Lake
RESULTS POSTEDAt the SLIPPERY ROCK INVITATIONAL Neshannock's Kacey Gibson ran 19:21, with Harbor Creek's Lauren Zarger 2nd at 20:26 in the AA race for the 1st and 3rd best times on the day. General McLane's Hilary Weismiller finished 9th to lead her team to a narrow three-point win over Sharon. In the AAA race, it was the Mount Lebanon by just seven points over North Allegheny. Melissa Shaw finished 7th for Lebo, but six North Allegheny girls made it in before Lebo's 6th to keep things tight. Hampton's Elaina Balouris won in 20:08. In the AAA Boys race, North Allegheny dominated with just 48 points, taking 5th, 6th, 8th, 9th and 20th with a pretty amazing 27-second spread. Justin Taylor led the charge in 17:20. Penn Trafford's Josh Christopher won in a quick 16:30 on the slightly modified Cooper's Lake layout, now in its 2nd year. The finish now loops through the castle. (Name another course with its own medieval building)... And in AA Boys action, Avonworth's Lucas Zarzeczny whipped around the course in the best time of the day, going 15:54. General McLane was a five-point winner over Zarzeczny's team behind the 13th place 17:53 from Bryan Baumgartner.
Slippery Rock Invitational Photo Galleries by Carl Strub
Select Pix of all four Varsity races
COMPLETE GALLERIES FOR SIX RACES
Spartan Invitational @ North Schuylkill HS
Preview:
Henderson faces off with LaSalle in a 5K at the Briarwood Inviational. But there are a ton more great meets in PA, from Chris Fretz and the surprising Perkiomen Valley girls, to Northern Lehigh and the emerging Emmaus girls... to Slippery Rock and western PA's best...
Briarwood Teams:
Champs
B- LaSalle, Council Rock South,Hunterdon Central (NJ),Chaminad(NY), O'Hara,West Chester Henderson ,Germantown Friends all look good.
G- O'Hara,Hatboro-Horsham,North Penn,Hunterdon Central (NJ), PaulVI (NJ) look good.
Div I-
B- Mainland Regional(NJ) ,Lower Merion ,Upper Darby
G- Council Rock South ,Shawnee (NJ) ,Downingtown West , Mainland Regional (NJ),
Div. 2
B- Holy Ghost , Penn Charter ,Great Valley,Schalick (NJ)
G- Pearl (NY) ,Gwynedd Mercy, Strath Haven , Liberty Benton (OH),
Don't forget to subscribe. That is the main way we pay for all of this.
In AAA, it was pack attacks from the Mount Lebanon girls (1:30 spread)
and North Allegheny boys (27-sec spread), each good for the win.
(Photo by Carl Strub)