10/28 Districts WK: Manheim Twp sweeps, McNally-Crofford CRs D3 (story)|3 SUB-15, Cville/Radnor D1

Oct 24, 2006

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On Friday, D1's Radnor launched an 18:39 average
at Lehigh to win with just a 50-second spread and 70 points.

10/30 (postponed from 10/28) PIAA District 3 Championships @ Hersheypark Parkview 5K

RESULTS POSTED

The meet was postponed from Saturday 10/28 until Monday 10/30 at Noon. The decision was made Saturday morning after overnight rains flooded the course, and as teams had begun to arrive for the meet. One official observing a flooded area said, "It wasn't that we didn't have enough officials, it was that we didn't have enough lifeguards."

Monday was a totally different kind of experience. The day broke to Hershey/D3-assisted, wind-dried trails dotted with repairs from the flooding of Saturday. All in all, a remarkable recovery in 48 hours. (There could be some more mowing on the Aloha Hills - after the bridge and before returning), but early reviews are the course is tough, but fair. "Real cross country" says it all.

In AA Girls, Lancaster Mennonite has been a top mention in state circles all season. But when #1 Lindsey Shertzer was derailed earlier this season, things were not looking good. Well, forget about it. Lindsey has her confidence back after a great race (the first race, by the way) at the new Hershey Parkview course. Choosing to be patient until the first 'big' hill at 1.5 miles, Shertzer was accompanied only by Boiling Springs junior Kara Millhouse. Shertzer pushed it on the hill, and the race was over. Her team was 20 point winners over fellot-qualifier York Suburban, and 36 over 3rd place Wyomissing. Coach Nelson Shertzer said that the team did a two mile tempo run on the track after the postponement Saturday. He was pleased with today's effort, and said that it showed the hill training and strategy of 'maintaining the hills and passing on the downhills' had worked. "It is how we train."

Lindsey Shertzer's 19:18.53 stood as the course record for an hour, until it was broken by Big Spring's Lara Crofford, who toasted the AAA field in 18:42.15, the only sub-19 of the day.

The big team news on the day was the sweep of AAA girls and boys by Manheim Township. Remembering that the boys' squad is Miller-less for the first time in four years, this was a remarkable achievement. The Manheim Township girls came into the meet with a state ranking and several invitational wins. That is pressure. But they responded with a strong race, beating 2nd place Cedar Cliff by 32, 135 to 167. Also advancing were Cumberland Valley, Northern York and Chambersburg. It was the first-ever district title for the girls. Manheim Township coach Terry Lee had shepherded this girls' team through win after win this season. The teams had concentrated on hill workouts this season, and the focus paid off with the selection of this new course as the District 3 layout. "It is like they designed the course around my workouts" Lee says.

But his boys surprised today, taking the race by 38 over Cumberland Valley. Lee says that despite some leg pain this week, #1 man Stan Berkow made the decision to race to help the team qualify for states. His 8th place finish just five seconds behind teammate Michael Mousetis helped to fuel the win. Berkow will be listed on the roster for states. Also moving on in AAA are Hershey, Hempfield, and Cedar Cliff.

The AAA Boys race featured a great cast up front. At the mile in 4:48, eventual champ Vince McNally of Conestoga Valley knew he was in for a race early. "I just looked around to see who was in the pack, but then Beegle (Gettysburg's Bryan Beegle) came flying down after the 2nd mile and just shot by, I didn't want to let the race just go by me. I wanted to win it... so that's when things started happening." McNally is almost totally back from injury, and says he is ready to challenge the state's best Saturday. "I've come a long way since Carlisle. I'm able to handle more and recover quickly. From what I had to deal with, I'm feeling pretty good." And he has a bit of advice to those who haven't seen the new course. "...they should know that this one is harder than across the street. It's a cross country course."

Asked about the times this season and course records going down that had been held by runners the caliber of Manheim Township's Craig Miller, McNally says the answer is simple... "Guys are just out here working hard. I think that's the biggest difference."

In AA boys, Lancaster Mennonite's Dietrich Linde prevailed in 16:32.62. His team missed advancing by just nine points, behind Tulpehocken with 68, York Suburban with 95 and Wyomssing with 98.

(More detailed summaries are below. Links to meet results and photo galleries are to the right)

District 8 individual champs, Angelica Martinez, Schenley and John Williams, Allderdice.
(Photo by William McBride)

10/19 PIAA District 12 Championships @ Belmont Plateau

RESULTS POSTED

Robeson's Shatievah Lewis rebounded from her accidently DQ a week earlier at Tennent, and ran the fastest time of the day in either division, going 19:32. But Engineering & Science was deeper as a team, and placed five in the top eight behind Kasia Taylor's 2nd place 19:47. E&S scored 24, Robeson 41. In AAA, Girls' High upended Central 31-56 by placing seven girls in the top 11 behind Brittany Jackson in 21:31. Central went 1-2 with Rayna Kratchman at 230:41 and Mary Morgan in at 21:18. In the boys' races, E&S's Terrance Lee went 16:54, the best time on the day.... but Masterman put three in the top five and won by seven, 42-49 over E&S. The Central boys went 1-3-4-5-8 to score 21. Jeff Kinkaid won in 17:31.

10/21 PIAA District 8 Championships @ Schenley Oval

RESULTS POSTED

It is Allderdice representing the Pittsburgh City League for both boys and girls. Hanah Vogel led the girls, while Jon Williams won the boys race in 17:10.86. Schenley's Algelica Martinez won the race in 20:16.39.

10/23 Boys' Inter-Ac League Champs @ Chestnut Hill Academy

RESULTS POSTED

The Malvern Prep boys scored just 30 to take the title behind Brian Fulton's 16:40.

10/23 Girls' Inter-Ac League Champs @ Chestnut Hill Academy

RESULTS POSTED

A resurgent Notre Dame team dominated the girls' race as Stephanie Powers ran 20:19 for the win. Four other teammates placed 3rd, 5th, 6th and 9th for the 24 points.

Alexandra Hackett, in her first year of XC, wins a district 2 AA title.

10/24 Friends' Schools League Championship @ Abington Friends

RESULTS POSTED

Not only did Germantown Friends sweep the team titles, but the Kaulbach household swept the individual titles for the school. Max went 15:46.52 to lead a one-two-three GFS sweep that eventually tallied 19 points when two more teammates were 6th and 7th. And Kasia Kaulbach ran 19:28.48 to win by nearly a minute as four additional scorers finished 4th through 7th for 23 points.

10/25 Keystone Conference Champs @ Church Farm School

RESULTS POSTED

Philmont Christian swept the first five places for a perfect 15. Led by Wes Tomer in 17:38, the dquad had a compression of 1:03.

10/25 PCL Northern Division Champs @ Belmont Plateau

RESULTS POSTED

LaSalle nearly pulled off a perfect score by taking five of the top six spots behind Phil Wood's 16:27 at Belmont Plateau. Only Ryan's Greg Wommer cracked the golden-shirted pack with his 2nd place 16:39. St. Hubert won the girls' race with 29 points by placing five in the top ten behind Lauren Kelly's 3rd place 20:57. McDevitt's Katie Filmyer won in 20:07.

The Abington Heights boys after of the 3-point win in AAA Boys at D2.
Honesdale fans were colorful, and it worked for the AAA girls.
TV coverage included a helicoptor...awesome!

10/25 PCL Southern Division Champs @ Belmont Plateau

RESULTS POSTED

The boys of Cardinal O'Hara were 13 point winners over St. Joseph's Prep as Ed Buck posted a strong 16:25 to win. Mike DeStefano (16:34), John Watts (16:53) and Andrew Buemi (16:57) joined him in the top seven. Frosh star Amanda Boscelli of Archbishop Carroll won in 19:02, but it was Cardinal O'Hara with three in the top five who secured the win with 33 points.

10/25 PIAA District 2 Championships @ Scranton Municipal Golf Course

RESULTS POSTED

Driving north on the Turnpike Extension, you leave the relative calm of the Delaware and Lehigh Valleys, and pass through a tunnel. On the other side is another world. It's October, so it's winter. But this year, it was an improvement on 2005. There was no snow nor standing water to greet us. This year, there was only the threat of flurries. Well, that threat quickly became reality. As AA Girls champ Alexandra Hackett described it, "when we started, there was hail. It was invigorating."

That pretty well describes the day. Stand still, and freeze. Run 3.1, and warm up a bit. Alternating sun and clouds and flurries/sleet/whatever greeted every race.

Wyoming Seminary sophomore Hackett is new to the sport. She has always loved running, but only decided this past summer to drop field hockey in favor of the fun of a 5K in hail. Well, the good new is, she loves it. Even calling it her co-favorite with her beloved lacrosse in the spring. Hackett comes by the sport through her parents. Her father does triathlons and her mom has always run. So she knew that training was important, and spent the summer doing just that. She won all her cluster meets this season, and started to think about bigger things, like District championships... "If I hadn't won, I would have been hard on myself."

Jeremiah Fordham passes two more helping
Abington Heights (D2) to the three-point win.
She started out slow "as my parents have told me to always do", but by the 1.5 mile mark, she had a sizable lead that she never relinquished. In the race for the team title, Elk Lake used the strong 3-4 combo of Ellen Squier and Rachel Owens to put together a 64 point effort that beat Blue Ridge by 31. Scranton Prep was 3rd, with defending PA AA champs Dallas in 4th. With two of the past three state titles to their credit, Dallas coach Matt Samuel was far from disappointed with his team. "They gave their best."

In AAA Girls, Hazleton is traditionally strong. And junior Kristen Rosser delivered one point to start their scoring with her 20:21, followed by teammate Brenae Edwards in 3rd. Four points is a nice one-two. But the the Honesdale assault started. Led by three freshmen - Kourtney Brussell, Corina Robbins and Megan Davis in 5th, 7th and 13th, the team was on its way. Head coach Joe Macey says that even though they won their meets this season, he was worried about the team's youth. After the frosh display at the front, he was pleased. "Everyone needed their best day today. It was like threading a needle. Everybody had to have their good race, and they did." Sophomores Sienna George and Lucie Henry completed the scoring for a 12 point margin on Hazleton.

The talk all season had been about the Bishop O'Hara boys. They're going to States, but as the 3rd place District 2 team behind 2nd place Lake-Lehman and, you guessed it, perennial champs Scranton Prep. The margin from 1st to 2nd was just nine points, but was accomplished by the strength of the front four and the survival skills of their #5. Lakeland went one-two, as Kyle Pepson beat fellow senior Mark Bucklaw by a second, running 16:46.

In AAA Boys, the news was that the chili at the Abington Heights tent was the best. Thanks to Bill Higley and the Heights team for the hospitality. Anyway, the really important news is that Abington Heights repeated as District 2 champs. Long-time coach Bob Daniels was where he needed to be on the course. Apparently the most important spot was with a half mile to go, when, as #5 guy Jeremiah Fordham remembers, he heard his coach yell "it's all about places." Fordham said he felt horrible, but that he put it out of his mind, because "this is cross country. I'm used to the pain." He pushed on, and in the final stretch, he passed four or five runners, helping to vault his team into the title by just three points over Crestwood. He only had 20 meters to of ground to make up to pull off the win, but he admitted it was hard. "Everyone was moving. But it was for states, man, just going for states."

Hazleton's Mike Guest won the AAA District title in 16:45 after a dual over much of the race with Crestwood sophomore Robert Micikas, 2nd in 16:55.

10/25 PIAA District 2 Select Pix and Photo Gallery by Don Rich

Select Pix of the 10/25 Varsity Races at the PIAA District 2 Championships @ Scranton Municipal Golf Course

The Emmaus girls took five of the top eight spots
to score 24 points in D11 on an 18:58 average.

10/26 PIAA District 11 Championships @ Lehigh University

RESULTS POSTED

It was inspiring. It was memorable. It was, to put it bluntly, just plain fast. 18:58 is the team average that the AAA Emmaus girls threw down on a sometimes windy, but perfect XC kind of day at Lehigh University's Goodman Campus. The girls started conservatively, as is the team approach. "We talk about negative splits all the time," says head coach Dan Wessner. They found their rhythm early and by the mile, four were in the chase pack - Easton's Chanelle Price was long gone heading for a spectacular 18:07. And Easton's #5 and #6 weren't far behind. By 1.25 miles, the girls were a litter further apart, but it was still an impressive pack. And by the finish, it was Lindsey Graybill in 2nd (18:41), Amanda Faust in 3rd (18:45), Melissa Meade in 5th (19:02), Brianna Faust in 6th (10:04) and Kelsey Coates in 8th (19:15). No one could recall a team ever taking five of eight spots in a D11 meet. And their 24 points matched their total from the week before at their League meet. The only difference was, this was much faster.

Coach Wessner says that he had tried to stay under the radar a little this season, especially with such a young team. "I knew I was getting all these good freshmen, but I just didn't know they would be this good.

"'This good' started the season with a minute or so spread, that has now shrunk to a tad over 30 seconds - with front-runners. The girls have road-racing experience, and Coates is the daughter of Marathon Olympic Trials qualifier Budd Coates... so the team is mature from a racing perspective beyond the usual incoming frosh class. Plus Wessner has brought them along slowly, starting with the Northern Lehigh Bulldog Invitational, then adding the size and experience of the Paul Short Run... all leading to the big meets that began today with a District title.

Tamaqua teammates Isaac Dunkelberger
and Alexa Griffiths repeat (he for a 4th D11 title, she for a third).
But while he is impressed with the talent of his young squad, Wessner singled out senior captain Beth Luff for the leadership she has provided. A senior who has been running 7th on this talented team, Wessner says she is one of the best captains he has ever had. "She's been a great support for me, getting people to the line. Leading warmups. She has earned her spot on the team, and she has taken her job to heart and been that senior leader."

Running very strong races, Parkland sends both their boys and girls teams to states in AAA. The girls never quit, but did benefit when Easton's #4 runner went down near the finish, and was reportedly taken to the hospital. The loss led to a nine-point differential.

The Parkland boys won 78 to 100 over Easton, with Liberty a mere four points back at 104. District 2 sends two AAA teams to states. Liberty's Trevor Vanackeren, a junior, ran side-by-side with Parkland's Tim Stepp past the two mile before breaking it open to finish in 15:33, the best on the day. Stepp was four seconds back. Easton's pack was the difference for them, placing five runners in the 10th through 26th spots.

In AA, it was a four-peat for Tamaqua's Isaac Dunkelberger in District 11. He led from midway through the mile and ran 16:12. Teammate Alex Zubey was 2nd, and those three points turned out to be the difference in a two-point win for Tamaqua over Notre Dame Green Pond, who also qualified. In AA girls, Tamaqua's Alexa Griffiths finished her D11 career with her third crown, running 18:47. Palisades, behind a 3rd place 19:54 by Briana McDevitt, captured the team title with 57 points. Joining them at states will be Northwestern Lehigh.

10/26 PIAA District 11 Select Pix and Photo Gallery by Don Rich

Select Pix of the 10/26 Varsity Races at the PIAA District 11 Championships @ Lehigh University's Goodman Campus

10/26 PIAA District 4 Championships @ Bloomsburg University

RESULTS POSTED

Led by two sophomores, the Lewisburg girls scored 68 points to win AA as Kiah Hardcastle became the individual champion in 19:15, and teammate Sophia Zieman took 4th in 19:33. Frosh Katie Sick of Millville was three seconds behind Hardcastle. The Danville boys won with a 1:10 spread after 4th place Peter Komar in 16:58. Canton junior Garth Watson won in 16:34. Shikellamy took the girls AAA title by placing five in the top 12 behind frosh Jayme Daly, the individual winner in 21:09. Jersey Shore soph Ian Eisenhauer led this team to the AAA title with his winning 17:03.

Scott VanKooten, Pittsburgh Central Catholic, goes 15:53 to win AAA (photo by Jeremy Lenzi)
Latrobe's Natalie Bower ran 19:00. (photo by James K. Wood)

10/26 PIAA District 7 Championships @ Cooper's Lake

RESULTS POSTED

By Jeremy Lenzi
The question leading into the WPIAL Finals centered less around who would win the races and more around whether the course would be runnable. While there were no surprises with the individual winners, there were many people surprised with just how well Slippery Rock University Coach John Papa was able to improve the conditions of the course in seven days. Kacey Gibson, Natalie Bower, Lucas Zarzeczny and Scott Van Kooten entered the District 7 Championships as the prohibitive favorites, and they didn't disappoint.

Gibson, Zarzeczny and Van Kooten used blazing first miles to set the tone in their races, while Bower pulled away from Penn Trafford's Diana Filtz and Norwin's Anna Yoney during the final mile to claim her second straight WPIAL Championships. The performances by Gibson and Van Kooten also earned them their second straight WPIAL Championships, while Zarzeczny finished second to current Notre Dame freshman Jake Walker last season.

In the team competitions, it could be said that NA's boys are definitely ready for next week's state meet after placing all seven of its runners in the top 30 (3-9-11-14-16-19-28). Their 53 team points easily put them ahead of Seneca Valley for the team title. Mt. Lebanon and Baldwin rounded out the AAA Boys State Qualifiers. Mt. Lebanon's girls took home the AAA Girls' Championship, using a 51 second split to claim victory with 137 points. Greater Latrobe finished second, followed by North Allegheny and Seneca Valley. Zarzeczny was the only individual winner to lead his team to victory, as the Avonworth boys claimed the AA crown with 96 points, followed by Mars, Quaker Valley and Greensburg Central Catholic. In girls AA, Riverview took the title, followed by Quaker Valley, Avonworth and Greensburg Central Catholic.

Neshannock's Kacey Gibson runs 18:29 to win AA,
while Lucas Zarzeczny, Avonworth, takes the boys' race in 16:06.
(photos by James K. Wood)

10/26 PIAA District 7 Photo Galleries by Jeremy Lenzi and James K. Wood

Photo Gallery of all races by Jeremy Lenzi

Photo Gallery of AA Girls by James K. Wood

Photo Gallery of AAA Girls by James K. Wood

Photo Gallery of AA Boys by James K. Wood

Photo Gallery of AAA Boys by James K. Wood

10/28 PIAA Districts 5 Championships @ Bedford HS School

RESULTS POSTED

In PIAA DISTRICT 5, it's all AA schools. Meyersdale won the girls title by three over Bedford, while the Bedford boys were victorious by eight over Chestnut Ridge. Bedford's Brittany Beland won in 20:12. McConnelsburg's Chris Snyder took the boys race in 17:03.

10/26 Philadelphia Public League Championships @ Belmont Plateau

RESULTS POSTED

With three in the top ten, Engineering & Science won the Philadelphia Public League champs by 20 over Girls' High. Robeson's Shatievah Lewis took the individual title with a 19:38. E&S was the AA champ of District 12 last week. The boys' D12 AAA champs of Central won the boys' title behind a 2nd place 16:57 by Jeff Kinkaid. Terence Lee of Engineering & Science ran 16:37 for the win. A closer look at the results reveals a 17:49 by junior Khaliff Featherstone of Simon Gratz... a sign that there are some fast laps coming this winter and spring when track takes center state.

Jason Weller, Paul Springer and Kyle Dawson
have the 'race on' nearing the mile.
And Coatesville's top five are all in the photo.

10/27 PIAA District 1 Championships @ Lehigh University

RESULTS POSTED

Paul to Jason and Kyle - thanks!

Jason to Paul and Kyle - thanks!

Kyle to Jason and Paul - thanks!

"That's hard enough to run with competition, without competition, it would be too hard to get," said District 1 champ Paul Springer of Unionville shortly after running his 14:47, leading Boyertown's Jason Weller and Coatesville's Kyle Dawson across the line in 14:54 and 14:58, respectively.

The three quickly separated themselves from the pack, and came through the mile in what Springer said was his goal time of 4:44. Weller said he had sub-15 on his mind. Dawson said he came into the race in sub-15 shape. "I was going to go out there and make them run." Dawson knew that Springer was there, but said he and Weller were the early pacesetters. "We did just what we did at Steel City, just got after it."

But when they came through the 2nd mile in 5:00, Springer did some quick math and realized he was too close to 15 for comfort. Dawson says that is where Springer made his move and Weller went with Springer. "I just couldn't, but I started to come back a little bit." As for Weller, he wasn't entirely happy with taking 2nd, but said he was very happy with the time."

Dawson probably put it best... "Whoever was going to win that race had to go under 15."

Springer 14:47, Weller 14:54, Dawson 14:58.
Kerry Swayne, Hatboro-Horsham, 18:01 in AAA.
Not to be lost in all the sub-15 hype is the incredible - remarkable - stupendous performance of the Coatesville team. Keep in mind that their #1 runner ran 14:58. Add 49 seconds, and you have five scorers. Now, admit it, you can draw that up on paper, but would you ever believe you could pull it off? Well, they did. Kyle's twin Owen came in 5th at 15:22. Tom Pannulla followed in 15:19, and then Jason Leonard in 15:29 and Sean Ward at 15:47. 49 SECONDS! And in case the points are needed, junior Andrew Mahoney stepped it up with a 16:03.

The Radnor girls were equally impressive. Coach Tom Flanagan's job this year has been to tweak, more than to push. He has talented seniors to go with a stud freshman and a proven sophomore. The senior girls who recently have dominated the top five are driven, focused and ready for anything. Current #1 (and we say that with the utmost respect to the others who have occupied that position this season) Liz Milewski, is running out of her mind over the past several races. Today, she took 2nd in a remarkable 18:06. Hannah Granger moved into 2nd on the team today on a course more to her liking. Her 18:37 was 8th on the day. "I tried to go out easy and to just work the second mile. All the downhills I tried to run really hard." Frosh Kelyn Freedman rain 18:41 for 11th overall. And seniors Shannon Holm (with a cold) and June Farley were each credited with 18:55's. For Farley, it was a more-than-a-minute best for the season and fulfilled a promise to her coach to break 19 today. And sophomore Katie Lally was 36th overall in 19:15. Lally could just as easily be top two on this squad on any given day (she was 6th at States in 2005).

Steph Fulmer, St. Pius X 18:48 AA winner
Matt Twer, Jenkintown, 16:15 AAA champ.

So how are the Radnor and Coatesville teams pulling it off? Flanagan quoted a popular, but eminently true sports phrase..."they don't get too high or too down. It really has been one meet at a time."

Individually, Hatboro Horsham's Kerry Swayne used her 800-meter runner kick to win a district title in a very strong 18:01. "The first mile I felt pretty good, and the second mile, I just tried to hang on to Allison Sikora" (Council Rock North)." Swayne kept feeling good, so she hung on and with 200 to go, unleashed her kick. "My track coach was there and he yelled that 'you've got 800 speed', so I dug deep and went for it."

In AA, Saint Basil Academy overcame a strong early challenge (and season-long adversity) to beat rival Gwynedd Mercy 30-40. Senior Kathleen Davis led the team with a 2nd place 19:12. Saint Pius X junior Steph Fulmer won the race in 18:48. In AA Boys, Devon Prep placed five in medalist territory behind the 2nd place 16:19 by senior Matt Norwood. Jenkintown's Matt Twer won in 16:15.

10/27 PIAA District 1 Select Pix and Photo Gallery by Don Rich

Select Pix of the 10/27 Varsity Races at the PIAA District 1 Championships @ Lehigh University

AA Girls

AAA Girls

AA Boys

One spot, three crossings at the new
Hershey Parkview course. The water here and everywhere
forced postponement of the D3 meet 10/28.
AAA Boys

10/28 Atlantic 10 Conference @ Schenley Oval (COLLEGE)

RESULTS COMING

10/28 Don Stoner Invitational @ Smithsburg, MD

RESULTS COMING

10/28 PA Independent Schools Championship @ Mercersburg Academy

RESULTS POSTED

It was the match-up both teams had been anticipating all season. Well, when Germantown Friends took the first three spots in the race against LaSalle, and it was pretty much over, especially when your next three guys come in 15th, 16th and 17th. Max Kaulbach led the assault in the 37-54 win over LaSalle running 16:16.81. Jake McKenzie was 2nd 11 seconds back, followed by Isaac Ortiz within another three seconds. Phil Wood led LaSalle with a 5th place 16:35.94. The Explorers did get their 4th in before Germantown Friends' 4th, but the scoring was soon complete. Jasia Kaulbach also won her second race of the week for Germantown Friends, running 20:32.96 for 1st. But it wasn't enough to hold off the pack from Notre Dame Academy, who was led by the 6th place 21:16.39 by Stephanie Powers. Germantown Friends was 2nd overall.

Michael Stolar, Mercyhurst Prep, slogs to a win in D10.
(photo by Kerry Barry

10/28 PIAA District 10 Championships @ Buhl Park

RESULTS POSTED

Harbor Creek's Lauren Zarger soloed in 19:30 to win AA Girls. General McLane won the team title with their four-pack from 3rd to 24th. Meadville won the AAA Girls behind a 3rd place by Elesia Wilson. Katie Spade of Warren won in 22:05. West Middlesex absolutely dominated the AA Boys race, placing five in the top 26 behind a 2nd by Barry McLaughlin, 3rd by Adam Shrawder, and 4th by Matt Lawhead. Mercyhurst Prep's Michael Stolar won in 17:11. Cathedral Prep beat McDowell by 20, starting with a 3rd by Mechale Moore and 4th by Nick Marini. Meadville's Zac Ross and Andrew Geist went one-two in 17:36 and 18:09, respectively.

10/28 PIAA District 9 Championships @ Francis S. Grandinetti Elementary School

RESULTS POSTED

It was a double sweep by two schools in both AA and AAA. Elk County Catholic were AA Champs and Bradford dominated AAA. Sarah Lonzi had the best time on the day running for Bradford, timed in 20:45.46. Ben Hahn of Smethport went 17:58.21 to win AA Boys.

10/28 PIAA District 6 Championships @ Indian Valley Middle School

RESULTS POSTED

Carly Seymour led her Central Cambria team to a AA team title, running a solo 18:12. Penns Valley won the boys AA title by 15 over Westmont-Hilltop, whose Travis Dean won in 16:41. State College swept both AAA team titles, taking the girls by 23 over Altoona and the boys with just 26 behind individual wins by Katherine Ward and Josh Gainer.

Josh Gainer and Katherine Ward led
State College to D6 AAA team wins.
(Photo by Karen Ward)

10/28 PIAA District 6 Photo Galleries by Karen Ward

10/30 (postponed from 10/28) PIAA District 3 Championships @ Hersheypark Parkview 5K

RESULTS POSTED

The day broke to manually assisted, wind-dried trails dotted with repairs from the flooding of Saturday. All in all, a remarkable recovery in 48 hours. (There could be some more mowing on the Aloha Hills - after the bridge and before returning), but early reviews are the course is tough, but fair. "Real cross country" says it all.

Lindsey Shertzer and s Dietrich Linde gave D3 titles to Lancaster Mennonite.
The big team news on the day was the sweep of AAA girls and boys by Manheim Township. Remembering that the boys' squad is Miller-less for the first time in four years, this was a remarkable achievement.

In AA Girls, Lancaster Mennonite has been a top mention in state circles all season. But when #1 Lindsey Shertzer was derailed earlier this season, things were not looking good. Well, forget about it. Lindsey has her confidence back after a great race (the first race, by the way) today at the new Hershey Parkview course. Choosing to be patient until the first 'big' hill at 1.5 miles, Shertzer was accompanied only by Boiling Springs junior Kara Millhouse. Shertzer pushed it on the hill, and the race was over. Her team was 20 point winners over qualifier York Suburban, and 36 over 3rd place Wyomissing. Coach Nelson Shertzer said that the team did a two mile tempo run on the track after the postponement Saturday. He was pleased with today's effort, and said that it showed the hill training and strategy of 'maintaining the hills and passing on the downhills' had worked.

Lindsey Shertzer's 19:18.53 stood as the course record for an hour, until it was broken by Big Spring's Lara Crofford, who toasted the AAA field in 18:42.15, the only sub-19 of the day.

The Manheim Township girls came into the meet with a state ranking and several invitational wins. That is pressure. But they responded with a strong race, beating 2nd place Cedar Cliff by 32, 135 to 167. Also advancing were Cumberland Valley, Northern York and Chambersburg.

Manheim Township coach Terry Lee had shepherded this girls' team through win after win this season. The teams had concentrated on hill workouts this season, and the focus paid off with the selection of this new course as the District 3 layout.

But his boys surprised today, taking the race by 38 over Cumberland Valley. Also moving on in AAA are Hershey, Hempfield, and Cedar Cliff.

Vince McNally measured his competiton and reacted
to a move by Bryan Beegle to win D3 AAA.
The AAA Boys race featured a great cast up front. At the mile in 4:48, eventual champ Vince McNally of Conestoga Valley, knew he was in for a race early. But when Gettysburg senior Bryan Beegle shot by after the two mile point, "that's when things started happening." McNally had wanted to save something for Saturday, but Beegle's move force his hand. He is totally back from injury, and says he is ready to challenge the state's best Saturday. And he has a bit of advice to those who haven't seen the new course. "...they should know that this one is harder than across the street. It's a cross country course."

In AA boys, Lancaster Mennonite's Dietrich Linde prevailed in 16:32.62. His team missed advancing by just nine points, behind Tulpehocken with 68, York Suburban with 95 and Wyomssing with 98.