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Boyertown's Jason Weller did beat Kyle Dawson on his home course... but no matter, the Coatesville guys absolutely dominated.
This pix shows their top five in the top ten at the 3/4-mile point at the start of the hills. The top five would finish in the top 12. 
10/7 WEEK #6 SUMMARY:
At the STEEL CITY INVITATIONAL, Coatesville not only defended home turf, they delivered another message to the XC community - this team is among the best in the US. Scoring just 40 points, they went 2-7-8-12-13 behind the 2nd place 15:54.5 by Kyle Dawson. The gap from 1-5 was just 45 seconds. All five Coatesville runners were in before Henderson's 5th. Boyertown's Jason Weller defended his Steel City title with a 15:47.7. West Chester Henderson won the girlls title by just two points over a surprisingly strong Northern York squad, which started with just three points. Rachel Wong won in 19:33.6, followed by Katie Meck in 19:41.8. Carly Hamond led Henderson with her 3rd place 19:46.0. The score was 123-125. At the WESTMORELAND COUNTY COACHES MEET on Thursday, Natalie Bower, Latrobe, and Josh Christopher, Penn-Trafford, set course records. Latrobe took the girls' title, while Hempfield (7) won the boys'. At the WALT DISNEY WORLD CLASSIC in Orlando, Florida, the Wyomissing girls captured 2nd in the 2A race behind junior Nicolette Miller and freshman Noel Geraci. At the 21ST HARRIER CLASSIC in Pottstown, Stephanie Fulmer of St. Pius X won the race in 19:35, but Oley Valley put three in the top eight and beat Methacton. Owen J. Roberts won the boys title. Methacton's Ian Quinlan won. At the CUMBERLAND COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIPS @ East Pennsboro HS, Lara Crofford and Amanda Raudabaugh led Big Spring with a one-two finish, but Cedar Cliff, behind the 3rd place by Kassie Meholick, placed five in the top eight, tallying just 28 points. The Cedar Cliff boys had a closer battle, holding off Red Land 46-58 behind the 1st place by Jared McGahen. With their 2-3-8 finish, Elk Lake won the girls race, while the Lake Lehman boys were paced by 2nd and 4th place finishes at the ENDLESS MOUNTAINS INV. Hanover Area athletes captured the two individual titles. Claudia Harris of the Solebury School won THE GEORGE SCHOOL INVITATIONAL, but it was the Hill School's Stephanie Hewitt who led her team to the title. Patrick DeSabato of Friends' Central nipped Penn Charter's Dylan Isaacson, but it was Penn Charter by just three over the host school. Led by the first place of sophomore Chelsea Sumney and 5th by her twin Shaina, the District 7 Trinity girls won the GROVE CITY INV with a tight pack backing up the Sumneys from 22nd through 25th to put the meet away by a score of 58-75 over Sharon. On the boys side, McDowell used a nice pack behind 4th place Dan Marchini, putting five more guys across the line within 22 seconds. Trinity was 2nd as a team, thanks in large part to the 1st by Tyler Lyon and 2nd by Ryan Bassi. Harbor Creek was led to a four-point team win by sophomore Lauren Zarger's win on her home course at the HARBOR CREEK DIRTY DAWG INV. Michael Stolar, the Mercyhurst senior, won the boys race, but it was the North East boys behind a 2nd place by Garrett Gray that won the team title. The Mount Lebanon girls ran one of their freshman in the JV race at Carlisle. On Saturday at the PITTSBURGH CENTRAL CATHOLIC INV, they promoted her to varsity. Samatha Carl then promoted herself to the #1 spot on the team for the day, finishing 10th. 35 seconds later, there were five (yes five) more Lebo girls across the line for a winning total of 73, 43 point up on the defending AAA sgtate champs Latrobe. Their #1, Natalie Bower, kept her winning going. North Allegheny was 3rd. In the boys' A race, Lucas Zarzeczny of Avonworth, broke away from Pittsburgh Central Catholic's Scott Van Kooten midway, and cruised to what is probably a course record of 15:14. Van Kooten was 2nd. Matt Jacob led the North Allegheny boys to the win with his 4th place. Their spread was a clean and neat 40-seconds. In the girls B race, Sara Klinvex of Avonworth won in 19:32. Moon captured the team wins in both B races. Andy Howard and Ben Rogers went one-two for Moon. Bradford placed five in the top 13 at the RIDGWAY INV, paced by a win by Sarah Lonzi. The boys were also strong, taking five of the top 18 spots behind a 4th place by Jared Feura. Smethport senior Ben Hahn won the race comfortably. Hatboro Horsham's Kerry Swayne won the Girls A race at the SALESIANUM INV, running 20:07 on the killer hills of Brandywine Creek State Park. But starting 1:01 back was the first of five North Penn athletes, led by Jennifer Schofield. The scoring group was in 1:10 and had tallied 76 points. Gwynedd-Mercy captured the Girls B race. Jill Buck and Erin Mee led the charge. Springfield's Sam Gallagher won in 21:18. In the Boys A race, LaSalle held off hosts Salesianum 68 to 81 behind Tim Heck in 7th in 17:26. Wissahickon junior Nick Crits was the only boy under 17 for the day, finishing in 16:59.91.
At Westmoreland County Coaches 10/5, Natalie Bower,
Latrobe (center), runs with Penn-Trafford's Diana Filtz (left)
and cousin Samantha Bower of Greensburg Salem.
Bower would win in 19:34, Filtz was 2nd in 19:54,
and Bower took 6th in 20:38.
(Photo by Jeremy Lenzi)
(More detailed summaries are below. Links to meet results and photo galleries are to the right)
10/5 Westmoreland County Coaches Association @ Kiski Prep
RESULTS POSTED
By Douglas Yoder
For the 39th year in a row, Kiski School of Saltsburg, PA hosted the Westmoreland County Cross Country Championships on its very demanding 5000 meter course. Course records were set in both the boys and girls varsity races. Josh Christopher of Penn Trafford, 16:38, and Natalie Bower of Greater Latrobe, 19:34, led from the gun to run the hilly trails faster than many previous State Champions. Defending State Champs Greater Latrobe won the girls team title while a greatly improved Hempfield Area won for the boys.
Josh Christopher, Penn-Trafford, wins Westmoreland
County Coaches 10/5 in 16:38.
(Photo by Jeremy Lenzi)
By Jeremy Lenzi
On a course that many in Western Pa. consider to be the toughest in the area, if not the state, Josh Christopher put on a show, running away from the pack early on and then cruising to a 45 second victory over Kiski Area's Steve Mszyco and Latrobe's Matt Molitor. Christopher's run was the 4th fastest ever run on the course. Rounding out the top 5 were Hempfield's Nick Garcia and Norwin's Larry Lenhart. Hempfield used Garcia's 4th place finish along with Caleb Betton's 6th to earn a 10 point victory over Norwin in the team competition. Latrobe's Natalie Bower used a strong push on the second of two grueling hills to pull away from Penn Trafford's Diana Filtz and Norwin's Anna Yoney to capture her second straight Westmoreland County title. Rounding out the top 5 runners were Greensburg Salem's Noelle Blank and Franklin Regional's Justine Jeroski. Bower, who broke the course record with her 19:34 effort, also led her team to victory, as Latrobe outdistanced Norwin by 15 points.
Westmoreland County Coaches Association Select Photo Gallery by Jeremy Lenzi
Select Pix of the Varsity Races at the Westmoreland County Coaches Association meet @ Kiski Prep
10/6-7 Walt Disney World Classic @ Wide World of Sports Complex, Orlando, FL
RESULTS POSTED
The Wyomissing girls captured 2nd in the 2A race behind junior Nicolette Miller's 4th place 20:09.3 and freshman Noel Geraci's 7th place 20:37.7. The Wyo JV boys were 4th.
Soph Chelsea Sumney wins Grove City 10/7 in 20:08,
(Photo by Carl Strub)
10/7 21st Harrier Invitational @ Pottstown 5K
RESULTS POSTED
Stephanie Fulmer of St. Pius X won the race in 19:35, but Oley Valley put three in the top eight and beat Methacton by 11 points behind the 2nd place 20:05 by Rachel Suydam. Owen J. Roberts won the boys title with a 2-3-5 finish behind Eli Weeks in 16:44. Methacton's Ian Quinlan won the race in 16:42.
10/7 5th Annual Lion Classic @ Linesville HS 5K
RESULTS NEEDED
10/7 Cardinal Classic @ Pine Grove 5K
RESULTS NEEDED
10/7 Cumberland County Championships @ East Pennsboro HS
RESULTS POSTED
Lara Crofford and Amanda Raudabaugh led Big Spring with a one-two finish in 18:21.1 and 19:02.4, respectively... but Cedar Cliff, behind the 3rd place 19:04.1 by Kassie Meholick, placed five in the top eight and seven in the top 19, tallying just 28 points. The Cedar Cliff boys had a closer battle, holding off Red Land by 12, 46-58 behind the 1st place 16:48.1 by Jared McGahen.
Tyler Lyon of Trinity, takes Grove City in 16:56.
(Photo by Carl Strub)
10/7 Endless Mountains Invitational @ Wyoming County Fairgrounds 5K
RESULTS POSTED
With their 2-3-8 finish, Rachel Owens, Ellen Squier and Kim Caines led Elk Lake to a strong win. The Lake Lehman boys were paced by Justin Amy in 2nd at 17:01.7 and Adam Staricha in 4th in 17:11.7. Hanover Area athletes captured the two individual titles with junior Alyss Namey winning in 20:00.1. and senior Jeff Refach going 16:58.8.
10/7 George School Invitational @ The George School, Newtown
RESULTS POSTED
Claudia Harris of the Solebury School won in 21:36.6, but it was the Hill School's Stephanie Hewitt who led her team to the title with her 7th place run. Patrick DeSabato of Friends' Central nipped Penn Charter's Dylan Isaacson, both credited with a time of 16:45.8. But Penn Charter had tow other runners in the top nine, helping them to a three-point margin over the host school.
10/7 Grove City Invitational @ Memorial Park, Grove City
RESULTS POSTED
The Trinity (7) girls have been on the western PA radar, but they are starting to put together some nice races as well. Led by the first place of sophomore Chelsea Sumney in 20:08 and 5th by her twin Shaina in 20:26, the race with Sharon was relatively even after that, with Sharon taking 7th and 9, Trinity 12th, followed by Sharon 13th and 17th. But then it was a pack of four Trinity runners from 22nd through 25th to put the meet away by a score of 58-75. On the boys side, McDowell used a nice pack behind 4th place 17:27, Dan Marchini, putting five more guys across the line within 22 seconds to total just 38 points. Trinity was 2nd as a team, thanks in large part to the 1st by Tyler Lyon in 16:56, and 2nd by Ryan Bassi in 17:01.
Grove City Invitational Photo Galleries by Carl Strub
Rachel Wong and Katie Meck are in 2nd and 3rd just past the mile at Steel City.
Two Henderson runners, Carly Hamond and Jackie Merrick, are in the leading pack as well.
10/7 Harbor Creek Dirty Dawg Invitational @ Harbor Creek HS
RESULTS POSTED
Harbor Creek was led to a four-point team win by the 19:22.9 by sophomore Lauren Zarger. Kelsey Markham contributed a 5th place 20:36.5. Michael Stolar, the Mercyhurst senior, won the boys race in 16:03.4, but it was the North East boys behind the 2nd place 16:45.4 by Garrett Gray that won the team title by 17 over the hosts.
10/7 Meadville High School Invitational @ Crawford County Fairgrounds, Meadville
CANCELLED FOR 2006. SHOULD RETURN IN 2007.
10/7 Penn State National Invitational @ Blue-White Golf Course, State College (collegiate only)
RESULTS POSTED - Ryan Blood, Lock Haven, 1st, Dan Mazzocco, Penn State 2nd, Jeff Weiss, Slippery Rock 7th
10/7 Pittsburgh Central Catholic Invitational @ Schenley Oval 5K
RESULTS POSTED
The Mount Lebanon girls ran one of their freshman in the JV race at Carlisle. On Saturday at the PITTSBURGH CENTRAL CATHOLIC INV, they promoted her to varsity. Samatha Carl then promoted herself to the #1 spot on the team for the day, finishing 10th in 19:43. 35 seconds later, there were five (yes five) more Lebo girls across the line for a winning total of 73, 43 point up on the defending AAA sgtate champs Latrobe. Their #1, Natalie Bower, kept her winning going, running 18:45 in the A race. North Allegheny was 3rd. In the boys' A race, Lucas Zarzeczny of Avonworth, broke away from Pittsburgh Central Catholic's Scott Van Kooten midway, and cruised to what is probably a course record of 15:14. Van Kooten was 2nd in 15:38. Matt Jacob led the North Allegheny boys to the win with his 4th place 16:17. Their spread was a clean and neat 40-seconds. In the girls B race, Sara Klinvex of Avonworth won in 19:32. Moon captured the team win by two over Quaker Valley. In the boys' race, the teams were the same, but the Moon margin was four. Andy Howard and Ben Rogers went one-two for Moon in 17:05 and 17:06.
10/7 Ridgway Invitational @ Francis S. Grandinetti Elementary School
RESULTS POSTED
Bradford placed five in the top 13, paced by the 19:32 win by Sarah Lonzi. The boys were also strong, taking five of the top 18 spots behind a 4th place 17:33 by Jared Feura. Smethport senior Ben Hahn won the race comfortably with his 16:35.
10/7 Salesianum Invitational @ Brandwine Creek State Park, Delaware
RESULTS POSTED
Hatboro Horsham's Kerry Swayne won the Girls A race, running 20:07 on the killer hills of Brandywine Creek State Park's 5K layout. But starting 1:01 back was the first of five North Penn athletes, led by Jennifer Schofield. The scoring group was in 1:10 and had tallied 76 points to beat Delaware's St. Mark's by 11. Hatboro Horsham took 3rd. Gwynedd-Mercy captured the Girls B race. Jill Buck and Erin Mee led the charge, taking 3rd and 4th in 21:45 and 21:46. Springfield's Sam Gallagher won in 21:18. In the Boys A race, LaSalle held off hosts Salesianum 68 to 81 behind Tim Heck in 7th in 17:26. Their pack was in within another 40 seconds. Wissahickon junior Nick Crits was the only boy under 17 for the day, finishing in 16:59.91. In the Boys Varsity B race, Malvern Prep was 5th with a team average of 18:21.
Jason Weller wins Steel City in 15:47.7.
10/7 Steel City Invitational @ Coatesville High School
RESULTS POSTED
By Don Rich
This was just the first of five huge meets for PA#1 Coatesville and PA#2 West Chester Henderson. But if the results are any indication, Coatesville may just be too good and too focused to catch this season. The point total of 40 says a lot in a race with nearly 300 runners. The spread of 45 seconds says a lot as well... especially with the first runner coming in at 15:54.5. Placing five runners in the top 13 says even more when you consider that all five were in before Henderson's 3rd.
The race began with no specific strategy for the Red Raiders... just get out, keep an eye on #1 Kyle Dawson, and "stay as close as you can for as long as you can" said today's 5th man, Sean Ward. That put five Coatesville runners in the top ten at 3/4's of a mile, and that didn't change a lot through the last two miles of the race. For the first time this season, a team did put two runners in Coatesville's top five. The Chris tandem of Aldrich and Ferry finished 3rd (16:19.0) and 6th (16:26.8), respectively, for Henderson.
This was the first race that Kyle Dawson has finished 2nd in this season, but he was racing defending Steel City champ Jason Weller of Boyertown. Weller gapped Dawson a bit up the first small hill, but coming back down at a mile, Dawson was with him again. And coming around the final turn with 200 meters to the finish, Weller stole a look over his shoulder just to make sure the race was his. He posted a 15:47.7... quick for the difficulty of this new course. Behind Kyle Dawson were Tom Pannulla in 7th in 16:29.1, Jason Leonard in 8th in 16:32.1, Owen Dawson in 12th in 16:38.8, and Sean Ward, 13th in 16:39.6.
Ward had his best race of the season to date, keeping great contact and catching Owen on the downhill. He feels the team's best races should be ahead of them. "It's nice to go out there and be the best we can be. We're getting there, but I think we have a ways to go. This is really good for right now." (On a side note... Saturday's runners can thank Sean for building the transition platforms at two road spots on the course... both coming down after the 2nd mile.)
The girl's race was more of a surprise to the 2nd place team than anyone following PA cross country this year. Paced by front-running juniors Rachel Wong and Katie Meck, Northern York made their visit to Chester County worthwhile, taking 2nd to PA#9 West Chester Henderson by just two points. Wong and Meck stayed together through most of the race, settling in 20 meters behind early leader Kate Ross of Central Bucks East through the first mile. Wong says that the Northern boys team told the girls to take it as easy as possible for the first mile because of the difficulty of the hill. It was especially good advice considering the Northern girls had raced the hilly Susquenita HS course on Thursday. "My legs were hurting, so I couldn't go that fast up the hills," Wong said. "That Susquenita course is like 10,000 feet up." Both Wong and Meck were surprised, but thrilled by their team's performance. "It was just exciting to be mentioned coming in," Meck says. Wong finished in 19:33.6, with Meck in 2nd in 19:41.8. Henderson was led by Carly Hammond, who took 3rd in 19:46.0. Ross held on for 4th, going 19:49.9. Jackie Merrick was Henderson's other top finisher, going 20:07.9.
Photos of the new 2006 Steel City Invitational course BEFORE CONSTRUCTION WAS COMPLETED
Steel City Invitational Photo Galleries by Don Rich
Carly Hamond (left) and Jackie Merrick, led Henderson to the two-point win
over Northern York at Steel City, taking 3rd and 7th, respectively.
Select Pix of both Varsity Races at the Steel City Invitational
10/7 Tri-Coiunty North Conference @ Riverside High School, Ellwood City
RESULTS NEEDED
10/7 Wyalusing Valley Invitational @ Wyalusing Valley High School
CANCELLED FOR 2006 BECAUSE OF A SCHEDULING CONFLICT
10/7 WEEK #6 PREVIEW:
It's all uphill this weekend at at least two meets. At STEEL CITY in Coatesville, it was already an uphill challenge. But thanks to construction over the starting area (yeah soccer), the start and the course have been moved. The new layout gives more time on grass, and further uphill than ever before, with less of the severe downhill on the road. They call the path to the VA Hospital at the top the "Goat Path." Not a bad name for the 2nd mile of this gem. Top girls' teams include Council Rock North, Cardinal O'Hara, Chambersburg, Great Valley, West Chester Henderson, and Northern York. Defending champ Katherine Ward of State College will be there, as will Chester's Shaniel Chambers, who has challenged in every race run this fall. Top guys' teams include Central Bucks South, Cardinal O'Hara, Council Rock North, Devon Prep, St. Joseph's Prep, and State College. Individually, Boyertown's Jason Weller will mix it up with several top teams' #1's and Exeter's Nick Hilton. But the real deal in team match-ups is PA#1 and NE#2 Coatesville defending their home turf against fellow-Ches-Mont League rival and PA#2 West Chester Henderson. The meet begins their gauntlet of five head-to-head match-ups over four weeks, featuring a dual meet in four days, leagues a week later, and then followed by Districts and States.In Delaware, the annual SALESIANUM INVITATIONAL attracts a lot of PA teams to test themselves on the incredible hills of Brandywine Creek State Park. It's not a course for fast times, but it is a course that makes some long for Parachute Hill.