Comprehensive coverage of the PIAA District Meets... where PennTrackXC is onsite at ten of the twelve.
October 19 (D8) | October 23 (D2, D3, D5, D11) | October 24 (D4, D7, D12) |
October 25 (D1) |
October 26 (D6, D9, D10) | PA Independent State Champs |
RACE VIDEO COMING IN D1, D2, D4
ALL video interviews and galleries are linked below.
| 10/21 |
Springside Chestnut Hill Academy
  Malvern Prep placed five in the top seven to run away with the Inter-Ac boys title at Belmont Plateau behind a second place 16:05 by sophomore Jaxson Hoey. Their five-man spread was 1:08. Their 24 points were 25 better than runner-up Penn Charter. Junior Sam Ritz kept the title in the family after getting 2nd this brother Ben in 2012. He was clocked in 16:03. Boys Highlights
For the girls, freshman Abbe Goldstein of Germantown Academy led her team to the championship by three points (46-49) over Springside-Chestnut Hill Academy with her 19:47. Her mark eclipsed the course record (USATF version 2013). Springside junior Jamie Costarino was 2nd in 20:22.
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Philadelphia, PA RESULTS POSTED |
Saturday October 19
| 10/19 |
Schenley
Summary and Photos by Phil Grove
(1 team, 5 individuals)
The girls were the first to compete for PIAA starting spots, and freshman Elena Woodworth of Obama led at every turn. Challenged late by junior teammate Chloe Mobley, Woodworth earned the win in 22:32.34, with Mobley next at 22:43.53. Olivia Nickles of Carrick was third in 23:10.76, followed by Obama’s Kaileigh Macleod in 23:27.70 and Brashear’s Elisa Varlotta in 23:31.94. The Eagles had 28 points for the team crown, while Carrick was next with 44 and Brashear had 52.
On the boys’ side, Carrick’s Zackary Wierzchowski went to the front right after the starter’s gun and staved off challenges from Perry’s Christian Cook for the wire-to-wire victory. The junior’s winning time was 17:47.88, while Cook needed 18:04.59 to complete the 3.1-mile course. The next four spots were occupied by Wierzchowski’s sophomore teammates – Josh Walters (18:39.59), Robert Warnock (19:00.70), Julian Jester (19:20.79) and Cody Kirk (19:29.71) – as the Raiders were credited with 19 points. Obama had 64, while Brashear finished with 86.
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Pittsburgh, PA RESULTS POSTED
PHOTOS 
VIDEO INTERVIEWS
Districts Week Feature: D8 had the Pittsburgh skyline as a backdrop at the first qualifiers |
Carrick and Obama Academy grabbed the team titles and the majority of the qualifying berths for Hershey as District 8 (Pittsburgh City League) kicked off the postseason with its championship meet at Schenley Park.
Wednesday October 23
| 10/23 |
Photos by Patty Morgan
Class A (1 team, 5 individuals)
Class AA (2 teams, 10 individuals) Class AAA (2 teams, 10 individuals) The district 11 championships was an opportunity for league champions to solidify their dominance in the district, while this meet was an opportunity for other teams to perform better and try to dethrone their league winning counterparts.  Parkland girls were able to avoid defeat and held off Emmaus for the 2nd meet in a row. Parkland had five score 18 points or less to lead them to the district championship over the hornets 61-93. Emmaus had five in the top 30 team places and a 74 second spread, which was enough to qualify for states ahead of Easton by one point, 93-94. In the hunt for the individual gold medal, Paige Stoner of Pottsvilel won another district title, holding off Mikayla Stoudt by 13 seconds with a time of 18:46. In girls AA, Northwestern Lehigh made little work of the field, placing four in the top ten and five in the top fifteen to cruise over fellow state qualifiers Wilson Area 36-100. Wilson's 100 points were only two points better than 3rd place Blue Mountain, who had a 42 second spread to keep it close.  Elizabeth Chikotas of Saucon Valley also had an easy time winning the district title, running 18:26 to win by 47 seconds over Haley Yost of Northwestern Lehigh. In girls A, Minersville had a 66 second spread with five in the top nine to win the district title over Shenandoah 33-60. McKayla Lally of Pine Grove ran 21:13 to win the individual gold medal in her first district race.For the boys, Freedom flexed their muscle over the rest of the district, using a 42 second spread to place their scoring five in the top 13 to score 37 points and defeat Parkland by 31 points. Parkland had a 44 to comfortably qualify for states in the 2nd position.  Colin Abert of Easton reigned supreme as the district champion, running a quick 15:43 to win the title by nearly 50 seconds over Ben Ziegler of Freedom. In boys AA, Northwestern Lehigh were able to do what their female teammates did and that's become the district champions, defeating fellow state qualifiers Jim Thorpe 74-107 thanks to a solid 35 spread for their five top twenty runners. Kyle Gonoude of Salisbury ran 16:52 to win the district title by a narrow 7 seconds over John Miller of Allentown Central Catholic. In boys A, it was a tight team battle at the top for the lone state qualifying spot. Minersville and Schuylkill Haven had four in the top ten team places, but despite Schuylkill Haven having the better 5th runner, Minersville's number 5 finished well enough to crown Minersville district champions by 1 point, 34-35. Wesley Yutko led the way for Minersville, holding off Schuylkill Haven's Sam Brennan by four seconds with a time of 18:43. |
Bethlehem, PA RESULTS POSTED
PHOTOS
VIDEO INTERVIEWS  |
| 10/23 |
Elk Lake High School
Photos by Don Rich
Class A (2 teams, 10 individuals)
Class AA (2 teams, 10 individuals) Class AAA (1 teams, 5 individuals) Many district 2 teams haven't had big meet competition in several weeks. Many had entered the Paul Short Run, only for the meet to be canceled due to above average temperatures and humidity for early October. Would rust play a factor? Who managed to stay sharp during the past two and a half week period?  Tessa Barrett of Abington Heights showed everyone in the AAA division that she is in top form heading into the state championships next Saturday. The senior set a course record in her final tune up race before states, running a blazing time of 17:49 to win the AAA crown by over 2 minutes! Not only did she win, but her teammates ran inspired by their leader and came away with the team championship with four in the top seven to score 29 points and win by 20 over Hazleton!  In girls AA, Dallas earned the right to go to Hershey and avenge their 3 point defeat at states last season. Regan Rome led the way by successfully defending her district title with a time of 19:03, and her teammates Lindsey Oremus and Bryanna Dissinger finished right behind her in 2nd and 3rd. Dallas scored 36 points and cruised to the defense of their title over state qualifiers North Pocono. Regan Rome overcame a tough previous 24 hours, having been hit with a kidney stone on Tuesday - and spending the day at the hospital before it passed.
In girls A, single A #2 squad Holy Cross also had a 1-2-3 finish of their own led by district champion Tess Kearns (19:37), Zoe Haggerty and Mackenzie Greenfield. Their score of 26 was 16 points better than the top ranked team in the division Elk Lake, who will be joining Holy Cross in Hershey despite being upset.
For the boys, Wallenpaupack won a close contest with Abington Heights to become the district champions in AAA. Wallenpaupack had five in the top fifteen with a 1-5 spread of an impressive 27 seconds to take the title 47-54, despite Abington Heights having two finishers in front of their number 1. Patrick Johnson led the way with a 6th place finish. Individual honors went to Matt Kravitz of North Pocono. The sopomore was the only runner in the race to break 17 munutes, running 16:53 to win 22 seconds over Jacob Ross of Abington Heights.  In boys AA, Dominic Deluca of Dallas put on the most impressive performance of the afternoon, running a solid time of 15:53 to set himself up for a big race at Hershey in 10 days time. In the team standings, Tunkhannock knocked off AA ranked squad Scranton Prep 47-55 to come away with the district championship. Scranton had a 29 second spread from their scoring runners, but Tunkhannock had four in the top eleven to edge the win. Despite defeat, Scranton Prep will advance to Hershey for the state finals.
In boys A, Lakeland cruised to the team championship, placing four in the top nine to score 42 points to win by 32 over fellow qualifiers Elk Lake. Lakeland were led by a 1-2 finish from district champion Nate Morgan (16:55) and Mark Arzie (17:27), who are both juniors.
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Dimock, PA RESULTS POSTED RACE VIDEO COMING
PHOTOS  VIDEO INTERVIEWS  D2 Class A Girls Champ Tess Kearns-Holy Cross  D2 Class AAA Champ Tessa Barrett-Abington Heights
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| 10/23 |
Photos by Tim O'Dowd and Megan Klugh
Class A (1 team, 5 individuals)
Class AA (3 teams, 15 individuals) Class AAA (4 teams, 20 individuals) Prior to Wednesday's district 3 championships, the Mid Penn championship meet caused some big shake ups in our state rankings. This meet was an opportunity for teams that had a rough weekend a week and a half ago to find their form, or else the state meet will be nothing but a pipe dream. Lower Dauphin boys fit this description after a 4th place finish in the league championship race. A team that had been in the middle of the PTXC Top Ten all season, they took a big fall from the list due to that performance. Recovering wasn't going to be easy, especially with three of the teams in the race that finished ahead of them on that rough day. It was a tough ask to beat them all in their next race, but that's exactly what they did. Lower Dauphin was the only team to place three in the top 20 overall and the only team with four in the top 30. Their score of 122 points was only 6 points better than Carlisle, who got a 2 point score from Zach Brehm. Cumberland Valley used a 55 second spread and three in the top 21 to snag 3rd place with 158 points. Twin Valley took the 4th and final team spot with an impressive 23 second spread to score 228 points, only 12 points better than Dallastown.  Despite missing out on team qualification, Patrick Reilly will return to the Hershey state course as the district champion. The senior took exactly 16 minutes to run the course and come away with the gold medal. Brehm ran 16:09 to finish 2nd. Aaron Gebhart of New Oxford ran 16:23 to finish 3rd.
In boys AA, York Suburban were head and shoulders better than the field on this day, as they were the only team to have all five runners finish in the top 50 with a 41 second spread to score 130 points and win the district crown. The battle for the final two team state qualifying spots had teams 2-4 separated by 3 points. Manheim Central had a 56 second spread and all five in the top 70 to score 198 points for 2nd. Both Annville-Cleona and Conrad Weiser finished tied on points for 3rd place with 201 points. But as PA has seen too often the last couple of years on the biggest stage, tiebreakers are decided by the finish of the 6th runner. Michael Darok finished 21 places ahead of Conrad Weiser's number 6 to become the hero for his team and punch their ticket to Hershey. Individual honors went to Daniel Green of James Buchanan, who defeated in form Kyle Shinn by 16 seconds to win the gold medal with a time of 16:23. 3rd place went to Jacob Thomas of Susquehannock.
In boys A, Camp Hill had five in the top 15 and Veritas Academy had four in the top nine. But their 5th runner scored 24 points, nine points more than Camp Hill's number five and that propelled Camp Hill to the district title and the lone state qualifying berth 45-47. The individual gold medal went to Biglerville junior Brady Wilt, who ran 16:54 to win by 25 seconds over Blake Behney of Camp Hill.
In the girls races, Chambersburg entered the AAA race as the favorites, having earned several invitational team titles prior to these championships, including a league title win at Mid-Penn. But today, they were in a tussle and came very close to getting bit by the upset bug. The PA#10 team were the only team to place three inside of the top twenty and that was just enough to come away with the district championship by one point over Wilson 152-153. Wilson had an 85 second spread and had their scoring five in the top 50, the only team to achieve that feat.  Cumberland Valley were very top heavy, with sophomore superstar Mady Clahane winning the race in 18:36 to hold off Greta Lindsley by 23 seconds. Her performance combined with a 5th place finish from freshman Alison Willingmyre gave them a huge advantage and it was good enough for 3rd place and 171 points. 15 points behind them was Manheim Township, who had four in the top fifty overall, which was enough to defeat Daniel Boone by only 7 points for that last state qualifying spot, despite Daniel Boone having three in the top 30.
In girls AA, the top three stood alone above the rest, with AA PA#4 York Suburban defeating AA PA#5 and defending state champions 91-106 thanks to a 54 second spread and five in the top 25 team scoring places. Palmyra will have a chance to defend their title, and they will be led by district champion Salvo Miranda, who ran 19:15 to win by 25 seconds over Caroline Schemel of Greencastle-Antrim. Susquehannock will be joining Palmyra and York Suburban, scoring 119 points with five in the top fifty team places.
In girls A, Delone Catholic had three in the top ten and three in front of Annville-Cleona's top runners to come away as district champions 53-71. Freshman Leigha Martin of Veritas Academy won her first district championship with a time of 20:02, 23 seconds better than Zoe Mathern of Camp Hill.
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Hershey, PA RESULTS POSTED
PHOTOS  PIAA District 3 Championships by TimoPhoto
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| 10/23 |
Bedford County Technical Center
Class AA (1 team, 5 individuals)
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Everett, PA We couid use a photo or two or even a photo gallery from D5. RESULTS POSTED
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Thursday October 24
| 10/24 |
Photos by Patty Morgan
Class A and AA (2 teams, 10 individuals)
Class AAA (1 team, 5 individuals)  Domination was the name of the game in district 12, as team qualifiers had little difficulty punching their tickets to Hershey. Cardinal O'Hara boys won the district title for the 3rd year in a row with their best 1-5 spread of the season, a good omen for the state meet next weekend. A 32 second spread was led by district champion Kevin James (16:28) and Jim Belfatto (16:31) to score 25 points and win by 37 over Lasalle.
In boys AA, Archbishop Wood also had six in the top ten with a 1-5 spread of 56 seconds to come away with the district championship over league rivals and fellow state qualifiers Bonner Prendie 25-58. Wood were led by district champion Kyle Ortiz, who didn't have an easy time winning the race. The sophomore held off Ryan Rastatter of Bonner Prendie by a second and a half with a time of 17:16 to win the title.
In boys A, top Class A squad Masterman had the top four finishers and five of the top six to score 16 points and cruise to another district title. Conwell Egan finished 2nd and will join Masterman at states. Julian DeGroot Lutzner led Masterman with a district winning time of 17:12 to outpace teammate Joe Previdi by 9 seconds.
 For the girls, after a tense battle at the Philadelphia Catholic League championships between champions Cardinal O'Hara and Archbishop Wood, both looked to have successful tune ups in their respective races prior to the state meet. In the end, both teams made it look easy. The Cardinal O'Hara girls had the top three finishers and six of the top seven broken up by a 4th place finish from McKenzie Hooven of Archbishop Ryan. O'Hara scored 17 points to defeat Central and win the AAA title. Grace Mancini led the way for the Lions, running 19:34 to cruise to the gold.  In girls AA, Archbishop Wood finished 2-3-4-5-6 with a 70 second spread to score 20 points and defeat fellow team qualifiers Lansdale Catholic 20-58.  The quintet for Wood all finished behind freshman Kayla Connelly of Lansdale Catholic, who ran 19:15 to hold off Megan Connell of Wood by 7 seconds and record the fastest time of the day.
In girls A, Masterman and Paul Robeson accounted for the top 12 positions, with Masterman placing the top four led by district champion Claudia Ashworth (20:57). That was enough to defeat Robeson for the team title 18-39.
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Philadelphia, PA RESULTS POSTED
PHOTOS
PIAA District 12 Championships by PMPhotography
VIDEO INTERVIEWS
 AAA Girls Champions - Cardinal O'Hara Girls
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| 10/24 |
Bloomsburg University
Photos by Don Rich
Class A (1 team, 5 individuals)
Class AA (2 teams, 10 individuals)
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Bloomsburg, PA RESULTS POSTED
RACE VIDEO COMING
PHOTOS 
VIDEO INTERVIEWS
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| 10/24 |
Story and Photos By Phil Grove
ALL CLASSES (3 teams, 15 individuals)
Shaler Area’s Brianna Schwartz and the North Allegheny boys dominated their competition, headlining the winners and state qualifiers from the WPIAL (District 7) championship races at Cooper’s Lake.
In the Class AAA girls’ race, Schwartz led by eight seconds at the mile mark and pulled away to a resounding defense of her title, breaking the course record with a time of 17 minutes, 52 seconds. Mary Malone of North Hills closed well to claim the No. 2 spot for the second consecutive year, crossing the line in 18:45. Mt. Lebanon’s Kelsey Potts and Jillian Hunsberger were next to finish in 18:50 and 18:57, respectively, while North Allegheny sophomore Madeleine Davison was fifth in 19:06. 
With two runners in the top five, PA#3 Mt. Lebanon was able to capture one of the closest team battles of the day, finishing with 80 points to 84 for Seneca Valley, which was led by freshman Rachel Hensler (19:34) in eighth. PA#7 North Allegheny captured the final Hershey berth with 124.
Fox Chapel Area’s Colin Martin was the fastest of the 238 finishers in the Class AAA boys’ race, breaking the finish tape in 16:04 as twin brother Ethan was next in 16:20. In the AAA boys’ race, North Allegheny was never threatened in capturing its ninth consecutive WPIAL championship as the US#8 Tigers had four finish in the top seven en route to an impressive 38 points. Matt McGoey (16:25), Seamus Love (16:29), Cordon Louco (16:29) and Scott Seel (16:33) finished third, fourth, fifth and seventh to lead John Neff’s team, which had a 1-5 spread of just 25 seconds and a 1-7 spread of an incredible 33 seconds. .jpg) The Class AA girls’ team standings showed Mars Area leading the way, scoring 74 points on the strength of three in the top 11 overall and a 1-5 spread of 44 seconds. Freshman Natalie Petrini was the first Planet across the line, covering the 3.1-mile course in 20:29 for eighth. Greensburg Salem was next with 90, while Moon Area claimed the final team berth with 99. .jpg) After finishing second a year ago, Alexis O’Shea of West Allegheny moved up to the top spot. The senior was clocked in 19:12 for a 26-second cushion over Uniontown Area’s Julie Gerber. Riley Kwiatowski (20:01) and Laura Rosner (20:04) were next for state-bound Greensburg Salem, while Hannah Bablak of Quaker Valley was fifth in 20:10.In the opening race of the afternoon, Laurel defended its Class A girls’ crown, putting three finishers in the top 11 en route to 83 points. Alison Filer was the top Spartan with an eighth-place time of 20:22. Bishop Canevin was No. 2 with 122, while Our Lady of the Sacred Heart was third at 130. .jpg) Individual champion Marianne Abdalah of Vincentian Academy had the widest margin of victory, needing just 18:20 to finish the 5K. Lizzie Manickas of Neshannock was second in 19:21, while Beth Shenck of Avonworth was third in 19:39. Madeline Schmiedeknecht of Winchester Thurston and Lauren Gronbeck of Eden Christian Academy closed out the top five in Class at 19:48 and 19:59, respectively.The AA boys’ race featured top teams with runners at the front. Senior Nate Edenfield of Uniontown Area led all finishers, claiming the individual crown in 16:44. The team title went to PA#5 South Fayette, which put four runners in the top 20 overall for a title-winning 74 points. Featuring six seniors and a junior, the Lions had a 1-5 spread of 46 seconds and were led by Joncarlo Patton in third at 16:59. .jpg) Uniontown had a pair of runners in the top four and secured second with 92 points, while Quaker Valley was third at 117 and was led by runner-up Zach Skolnekovich’s 16:54 clocking.The closest team competition was in the Class A boys’ race, where Avonworth used its strength up front to outlast Our Lady of the Sacred Heart (OLSH), 124-126. Juniors Adam Joyce and Andrew Domencic led the Antelopes in fifth and eighth, respectively, while senior Nick Kocent and junior Ryder Ballou paced OLSH by finishing 18th and 19th overall. Winchester Thurston placed third with 137 to grab the final berth in the A race at Hershey. .jpg) |
Slippery Rock, PA RESULTS POSTED
PHOTOS  PIAA District 7 WPIAL Championships by Phil Grove
VIDEO INTERVIEWS
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Defending Class A boys champions Northeast Bradford have been performing well this season. While all the eyes went to teams like Masterman, Northeast Bradford have gone about their business and will be ready to defend their title next weekend. Today, they had a 1-5 spread of 47 seconds and were led by district runner up Levi Upham (17:25) to win the team title over Southern Columbia 22-67. Individual honors went to Griffin Molino of South Williamsport, who ran an impressive 16:03 to win by nearly a minute and a half. 
In boys AA, Mount Carmel Area won a tight dual with Danville to become the new district champions by a score of 72-81. Mount Carmel were led by the 6-7-8 finishes of Nate Barros, Tommy Moser and Cory Hoffman to seal the win. Simon Smith of Towanda earned a ten second victory over Tyler Vella of Danville, running 16:50 to win the gold medal.
In girls AA, Danville came away with another district title, placing five in the top ten led by a runner up finish from sophomore Mackenzie Jones. Danville scored 32 points to defeat Lewisburg by 31. Jones finished in between the sister combination of repeat district champion Treicy Cedeno (19:08) and frosh sister and 3rd place finisher Yoangelys Cedeno (20:02), who both earned state qualifying berths.
Friday October 25
| 10/25 |
Photos by Patty Morgan, Don Rich and Kathy Leister
Class A (1 team, 5 individuals)
Class AA Girls (2 teams, 10 individuals) Class AA Boys (1 team, 5 individuals) Class AAA (5 teams, 25 individuals) Considered one of the best districts in the date, the Lehigh University course was dry, the weater was a little bit on the cool side, but good for distance running, and the the athletes who were waiting for this day since summer training started were ready to go. Would there be shockers? Would the favorites hold serve? How fast would people run?
The AAA boys race went to script as far as who was going to win the race. Tony Russell of West Chester Henderson repeated as district champion, holding off an on fire Ross Wilson of Council Rock North to win in a blazing 14:59! Wilson ran 15:15 to earn 2nd and Chris Kazanjian of Penncrest ran 15:22 to finish 3rd. Like Russell, his teammates all had big races behind him. Their top seven all broke the 16 minute mark and all finished in the top 30 with a spread of under a minute. They cruised to a repeat of their district title with a score of 58 points to beat Conestoga by 101. Conestoga will be making their first team appearance at the state meet since the 1970s! They qualified with the 2nd best 1-5 average out of the top ten teams (32 seconds) and cemented their spot as the 2nd best team in the district since midseason. But most of the drama from today's race was determining which teams were going to earn the last 3 state qualifying spots. Despite not winning the race, Wilson's performance inspired his team to a big 3rd place finish with 186 points thanks to four in the top 50. The last two spots went to two teams that maintained a low profile for most of the season. Pennsbury surged into 4th place despite having a 5th runner score in the 100s. They had three in the top 40 and scored 271 points. The last state spot went to Central League runner up Penncrest. The brother combination of Chris and Matt Kazanjian finished in the top five and had two others in the top 100 to score 280 points and hold off Bensalem by 6 and Great Valley by 8. Downingtown West, North Penn and William Tennent rounded out the top ten.
GIRLS DISTRICT ONE AAA 2013 PREVIEW
by Coach Coren(Strath Haven) shjumpdr1@gmail.com AAA GIRLS 1st 5 teams plus the next 25 non-1st place team finishers qualify for STATES TEAMS HISTORY--- (of the teams who have a shot in 2013)--NORTH PENN(4th 2012) has qualified 10 of the last 14 years-- PENNSBURY was 2nd in 2012, 1st in 2011 and 2010, 2nd in 2009, and 6th in 2008(that’s 5 years in a row to STATES).-- UNIONVILLE was 1st in 2012 and 2nd in 2011 and made STATES all 5 years from 2003 to 2007. -- STRATH HAVEN got the last spot in 2012 and has made STATES 5 of the last 9 years.--CENTRAL BUCKS WEST qualified for STATES in 2012 and 2005. DOWNINGTOWN EAST has qualified 4 of the last 6 years. CENTRAL BUCKS EAST made it in 2010. -- GREAT VALLEY and DOWNINGTOWN WEST have not made it in this century, but have often been fairly close-- If you are counting, that equals 9 teams with Hershey hopes to make it to STATES(Only 5 will get the chocolate!1). As always it is VERY!!! TOUGH!! making it to STATES from District 1. In fact last year at STATES, 4 District 1 Girls’ teams placed 1,2,3,and 6 at the STATE MEET!!!! 2013 PREDICTIONS!!?? Here are my 2 absolute locks to go to STATES---UNIONVILLE and PENNSBURY UNIONVILLE and PENNSBURY have been ranked PA#1 and PA#2 all year and they will go at it BIG TIME at Districts and then at STATES. UNIONVILLE has beaten Fayetteville-Manlius already twice this year and they beat PENNSBURY at EASTERN STATES(4K) by 89 to 159(fairly convincing). PENNSBURY ran awesome at LEHIGH at SOL CHAMPS showing they are really ready!! It looks like CBEAST will be making their 2nd STATES appearance!! Their distance program has produced many strong individual runners over the years and 2013 is TEAM TIME! CBEAST will get 3rd at DISTRICTS. 2 spots left!!!!!! 2 of these 6 teams(CBW-DE-DW-GV-NP-SH) will be on their way to HERSHEY next Friday. Let’s see how they have fared so far against each other in invitationals and league championships?? CBW lost to NP at BULLDOG and beat them(46-54) at SOL---DE lost to CBW and NP at Bulldog and lost to DW and GV(97-101) at CHESMONTS--DW beat GV and SH at ABINGTON, beat NP on time at MANHATTAN, and beat GV and DE at CHESMONTS--GV lost to DW and beat SH at ABINGTON, beat NP(53-58) at BRIARWOOD, lost to NP(55-63) at Salesianum, and lost to DW and beat DE(97-101) at CHESMONTS--NP beat CBW and DE at BULLDOG, lost to GV(53-58) at BRIARWOOD, crushed SH on time at 6FLAGS, lost to DW on time at MANHATTAN, beat GV(55-63) at SALESIANUM, and lost to CBW(46-54) at SOL--SH lost to DW and GV at ABINGTON, and got crushed by time by NP at 6FLAGS. The 4th and 5th spots(after consultation with a number of XC coaches)will ikely go to?????????CENTRAL BUCKS WEST and NORTH PENN. Here is the list in alphabetical order with relevant team finishes and information. CENTRAL BUCKS EAST--1st SHARP--1st CBEAST INV--1st BULLDOG LARGE--1st BRIARWOOD CHAMPIONSHIP--1st SOL CONTINENTAL CENTRAL BUCKS WEST--2nd SHARP--2nd PTXC5--4th BULLDOG LARGE--1st COUNCIL ROCK INV--2nd SOL CONTINENTAL DOWNINGTOWN EAST--1st TWIN VALLEY--5th BULLDOG LARGE--1st WILLIAM TENNENT--4th CHESMONTS DOWNINGTOWN WEST--1st ABINGTON--2nd CHEROKEE CHALLENGE--1st CARLISLE CHALLENGE--10th MANHATTAN EASTERN STATES--2nd CHESMONTS GREAT VALLEY--2nd ABINGTON--2nd BRIARWOOD CHAMPIONSHIP--3rd SALESIANUM--3rd CHESMONTS NORTH PENN--2nd CBEAST INV--2nd BULLDOG LARGE--3rd BRIARWOOD CHAMPIONSHIP--1st 6FLAGS--2nd SALESIANUM--3rd MANHATTAN “E”--3rd SOL CONTINENTAL PENNSBURY--1st PTXC5--1st FOUNDATION--4th MANHATTAN EASTERN STATES--1st SOL NATIONAL STRATH HAVEN--3rd ABINGTON--1st BULLDOG SMALL--3rd FOUNDATION--8th 6FLAGS--1st DELCOS--1st CENTRALS UNIONVILLE--1st CHEROKEE CHALLENGE--1st MCQUAID--1st MANHATTAN EASTERN STATES--1st CHESMONTS INDIVIDUALS Just to clear up the confusion for the 25 individual qualifiers, I am going to say that these 5 teams’ individuals will be removed(names of their likely(TOP 50) qualifiers included)--UNIONVILLE(Smith, Young, Fisher, Breeding, Edwards, Mills, and Zerbe)--PENNSBURY(Sargent, Gray, Molloy, Twomey)--CBEAST(E.Huuki, Willcoxen, Dawson, E.Morris,H.Morris,L.Huuki)--CBWEST(Villalba, Gerlach, Iatarola)--NORTH PENN(Mengini, Valenti, Clowser, Vlasic)-----That’s 24 girls 24+ 25 = 49th place likely to make STATES??? Other individuals(not including top 5 teams’ individuals) who are almost assuredly going to make it to STATES are (in alphabetical order) Black(10)(WISS)(26th 2012) Devlin(9)(DW) Heineke(12)(CRN)(104th 2012) Poiesz(12)(CBS) Sheva(11)(PENNR)(2nd 2012) Steinke(12)(METH)(4th 2012) That’s 6-----19 to go!!? Others who have a very good chance to make STATES???(not on a TOP 5 team). In alphabetical order they are----- Claffey(11)(GV)(224th 2012) Galligan(12)(SF)(54th 2012) Hipwell(11)(GV) Kennedy(12)(SH)(JV 2012) Kitchen(11)(WCH) Loftus(12)(DW)(40th 2012) Mesyngier(10)(SH)(49th 2012) Mulloy(11)(CBS)(51st 2012) Myland(12)(DW)(21st 2012) Naser(12)(HAV)(44th 2012) L.VanBlunk(9)(DE) Wilson(12)(SH) That’s 12 + 6 equals 18. There’s room for ?? 7 more?? These girls are the next most likely to take a trip to “Chocolate Town USA”. In alphabetical order, they are... Barnhill(11)(DW)(72nd 2012) Boulger(12)(CTSV) Brady(12)(CRS)(87th 2012) Christman(11)(SFORD)(47th 2012) Delviscio(11)(WCR)(43rd 2012) Fickinger(12)(AGR)(180th 2012) M.Henderson(11)(HAR)(77th 2012) Joseph(9)(UDAR) Kardish(10)(MSJ)(46th 2012) Kasitz(9)(BOY) Keegan(12)(AGR)(92nd 2012) Krasovev(12)(PC)(90th 2012) McGroarty(12)(GARV)(41st 2012) Schultz(10)(CON)(106th 2012) Shumaker(11)(BOY)(35th 2012) Taylor(12)(OJR)(52nd 2012) M.VanBlunk(9)(DE) Weiler(12)(DE)(45th 2012) Weston(12)(OJR)(55th 2012) Williams(12)(UDAR) Willig(10)(GV)(8th 2012) Wolters(11)(SH)(JV 2012) Who will be the Individual Champ? NO CONTEST-----Courtney Smith(12)(UNV) will run just hard enough to win, but save enough to challenge Barrett(12)(ABHTS) at STATES---AND THAT WILL BE SOME CHALLENGE!!! By the way--these girls are STREAKING!!!!!!! Qualified for STATES at DISTRICTS as freshmen(now sophomores) Sargent(PENNS)(7th)--Willig(GV)(9th)--Sauer(PENNS)(14th)--Molloy(PENNS)(18th)--Villalba(CBW)(20th)--Clowser(NP)(25th)--Black(WISS)(26th)--Kardish(MSJ)(46th)--Bernotas(OJR)(48th)--Mesyngier(SH)(49th) Qualified for STATES at DISTRICTS as freshmen and sophomores(now juniors) Sheva(PENNR)(2nd 2012 4th 2011)--Hontz(WCR)(31st 2012 10th 2011)--Young(UNV)(16th 2012 31st 2011) And YES these girls have made it all 3 years!!(now SENIORS)QUITE AN ACCOMPLISHMENT!! Steinke(METH)(4th 2012 16th 2011 8th 2010) Iatarola(CBW)(28th 2012 19th 2011 24th 2010) Gray(PENNS)(19th 2012 18th 2011 25th 2010) GOOD LUCK TO ALL!!!d1preview |
Bethlehem, PA RESULTS POSTED
PHOTOS  PIAA District 1 Championships by PTXC  
VIDEO INTERVIEWS
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In boys AA, defending state champions Pottsgrove appeared to be heading for a tough matchup against a Holy Ghost Prep side who just got placed into AA. Holy Ghost seemed to have the advantage on paper, having qualified for states in AAA as recently as two years ago. The champions faced their biggest test and the running strategy that got them to the title last year brought it back to them again. Despite a Holy Ghost 1-2 finish from Daniel Connell (16:22) and Christian Kardish (16:27), Pottsgrove had a 1-5 spread of 34 seconds and all five scorers placed in the top ten overall to hold off Holy Ghost Prep 29-35 and earn the right to defend their title next weekend, where their chances look good to repeat.
In boys A, only one team spot was up for grabs for the state finals in 8 days time. In this case, history repeated itself from the inaugural Class A race in 2012. Same two teams, New Hope Solebury and Jenkintown were involved once again. Both teams this year finished level on points with 42 with each team having three score under 10 points for their team. But just like last season, New Hope had the better 6th runner by 7 places to repeat as district champion and qualify for the state meet next Saturday. Jenkintown's Greg Wagner ran 16:35 to win the district title by 22 seconds over Greg House of New Hope Solebury.
For the girls, AAA was the 2nd time defending district champions Unionville went up against three time defending state champions Pennsbury. Like last year, Unionville won the previos meet between the two teams before the district race. Also like last year, Unionville came away with the team title. Pennsbury kept it very close to the district champions, and the result today gives both teams confidence heading into next week that they can win the whole thing. Unionville were led by a repeat district title winning performance from Courtney Smith, who ran a strong 17:18 to win by nearly 30 seconds over teammate Olivia Young. Olivia Sargent of Pennsbury hung tough against the Unionville duo, but settled for 3rd in 17:57. Unionville had four in the top ten and five in the top 20 to score 39 points. Pennsbury had five in the top 17 with a 45 second spread to score 59 points, only missing the title by 17. Behind them, Central Bucks East proved once and for all that they were the 3rd best squad in the district, placing four in the top 40 to score 163 points. Strath Haven earned back to back qualifications to the state meet, using a race best 1-5 spread of 27 seconds to score 187 points with all five runners in the top 50. Strath Haven were only one point better than 5th place sleeper Great Valley, who placed three in the top 30 to sneak past one of the more consistent teams in PA this season, North Penn, by 12 points. Central Bucks West, Downingtown West, Downingtown East and Council Rock North rounded out the top ten.
In girls AA, like the AA boys race, a 1-2 finish was not enough to secure a district team championship. Veronica Wheeler and Karli Visconto of Nazareth Academy both ran 19:04 to take the top two spots. But Gwynedd Mercy Academy brought home the team championship with five runners in the top 20 led by freshman Stephanie Szekely's 3rd place to finish to defeat Nazareth 59-71. Both teams will run at Hershey in next week's state finals.
Saturday October 29
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Photos and Story by Phil Grove
Girls A (2 teams, 10 individuals
Boys A (3 teams, 15 individuals) Class AA (2 teams, 10 individuals) Class AAA (1 team, 5 individuals)
In Class AAA, McDowell won a pair of closely contested team titles and also had an individual champion. In the girls race, the Trojans placed three in the top six overall and held off DuBois for the lone state berth, 30-35. McDowell junior Kelsey Swantek was the top AAA runner, clocking 20:26 for a 20-second win over Central Tech’s Colleen Campell. The team race for the boys was even closer. McDowell battled with rival Cathedral Prep and eked out a 50-52 victory for the title and starting spot in Hershey. Bobby Danielson of Central Tech crossed the finish line in 16:48, beating Prep’s Pat Kloecker to the end by five seconds. McDowell’s Dante Stefanelli was third in 16:56. In the Class A boys’ race, defending champion Jeremy Parsons of Maplewood and Mercyhurst Prep’s Sebastian Curtin were locked in a battle for individual bragging rights. Spending most of the opening two miles running in the shadow of the taller and longer striding Parsons, Curtin took the lead with less than a mile to go and never looked back. Curtin’s winning time of 15:57 was the fastest of the day and 22 seconds ahead of Jeremy Parsons. Brother Jake Parsons was third in 16:31, while teammate Hanz Wentz was fourth in 16:43 and Fairview’s Dan Wilcko finished fifth in 16:51. PA#2 Saegertown defended its Class A team title, with Bill Hetrick’s Panthers placing four in the overall top 20. Their 83 points was well clear of the other state qualifiers, Mercyhurst Prep (110) and Seneca (123).
On the girls’ side, West Middlesex also was able to defend the No. 1 spot in the district. With junior Chloe Tyillian finishing second overall in 19:44, West Middlesex
Individually, Reilly Walsh of Cambridge Springs stayed off the early In Class AA, Grove City and PA#2 Villa Maria Academy dominated the team standings. In the boys’ race, Mike Sample’s squad had three of the first four runners to finish and another in 10th as Grove City rolled to another district title with 35 points. General McLane claimed the other spot in Hershey with 93. Individually, Aaron Benka led the Eagles and the overall standings, cruising away from the field for the victory in 16:23. Teammate Ryan Budnik was next in 16:47, while Slippery Rock’s Andrew Maxwell was third in 16:57. Freshman Braydon Pyle was the next Eagle and fourth overall in 17:06, while Lukas Hallett of General McLane placed fifth in 17:10. Villa Maria had three in the top eight and all five scorers in the top 20, putting only 48 points on the board for the AA girls’ title. Hickory picked up the other ticket to Chocolatetown USA, placing four in the top 21 for 85 points.
The individual champion in AA was Lexi Bible of Hickory. She matched the day’s best clocking at 19:37, while Claire Brown of Villa Maria was the runner-up in 19:45 and Hickory’s Jackie Abraham was third in 19:53. DISTRICTS Feature: Grove City's girls showed a season's worth of resolve on Saturday in D10
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Sharon, PA RESULTS POSTED
DISTRICTS Feature: Grove City's girls showed a season's worth of resolve on Saturday in D10 PHOTOS  PIAA District 10 Championships by Phil Grove
VIDEO INTERVIEWS
McDowell
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| 10/26 |
Forest Hills
Photos by David Beyerle
Class A (2 teams, 10 individuals)
Class AA & AAA (1 team, 5 individuals)   Central Cambria swept both the boys and girls Class A titles. The girls placed five in the top 15 overall, including three in the top five to make it back to the state meet with a 35-83 win over fellow state qualifiers Penn Cambria. Arlee Simendinger of Penn Cambria came away with the individual title, running 19:27 to hold off the Central Cambria duo of Samantha Koss and Emma Wess.
The Central Cambria boys had a much easier time winning their race, defeating Penns Valley 42 -100 with four in the top eleven led by a 3-4 finish from Javaunte Neumann and Justin Jeffers. Bryce England of Williamsburg Community held off Nick Fuller by 12 seconds to win the gold medal with a time of 16:44.
 In boys AA, Somerset earned the right to represent district 6 in the state meet, defeating Bedford 41-69 thanks to the 2-3 finish of Nick Bastian and Ravi Desai. Ahead of them was district champion William Kachman of Bedford. His time of 16:18 was 35 secnds better than Bastian.  In AAA boys, State College and Altoona made up for 11 of the top 12 runners, with Altoona placing two of the first 3 and four of the first nine. State College countered with two in the top four and four in the top 7. That strong performance up front was enough for State College to defeat Altoona 30-31 and return to the state meet after missing out last season. Dominic Stroh of Altoona ran an impressive 15:54 to win the district title by 15 seconds over Will Cather of State College. In girls AA, Somerset placed three of the top five led by a 2-3 finish from Jane Woy and Haylee Rohrer to qualify for the state meet with a 42-54 victory over Westmont Hilltop. While the team race was close, the individual race was far from it. Hannah Dorian of Westmont Hilltop ran a solo 19:04 to win the race by 70 seconds over the field.  In girls AAA, State College were two points off of a perfect score, led by district champion Emma Cousins (19:19), Larissa Burke and Hannah Catalano to score 17 points with a 57 second spread to cruise to the state meet. |
Sidman, PA RESULTS POSTED
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| 10/26 |
Photos by Sharon Weisner
Class A (2 teams, 10 individuals)
Class AA (1 team, 5 individuals)  Kennedy Weisner of Elk County Catholic not only repeated as district champion in 19:21, she booked her chance to repeat as champion next weekend and this year she is bring her entire team with her. Teammate Victoria Dippold finished 30 seconds behind Weisner in 2nd place and they came away with the district championship over fellow qualifiers North Clarion 58-65.
North Clarion benefitted from three in the top seven to hold off Northern Potter by 2 points to make it to Hershey. In girls AA, Bradford Area had four in the top 9 to hold off Punxsutawney 48-57 and qualify for states. Juliann Boddorf of Punxsutawney did win the individual gold medal, running 20:19 to win by 20 seconds over Claire Mikesell of Clearfield.
 For boys Class A, Northern Potter were the only team to have two finishers in the top ten and five in the top 20 to come away with the district title with 53 points. Kane Area finished 2nd with 77 points and they were led to state qualification by a championship performance from Chris Hunt, who ran 16:50 to win by 8 seconds over Gabe Trimbur of Coudersport.  In boys AA, Punxsutawney had four in the top ten led by district champion Bo Dinger (17:28) to hold off Bradford Area for the team title and qualify for states by a score of 35-44. |
Ridgway, PA RESULTS POSTED
PHOTOS 
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Tight team races and strong efforts from standouts in the Class A and AA events highlighted the action at Buhl Park in Sharon..jpg)
had 74 points and a 15-point margin over Wilmington Area. North East had a pair of runners in the top 10 but failed to qualify as a team with 91 points in third..jpg)
pace but was the fastest over the 3.1 miles. The junior tied for the quickest time of the day with her 19:37, while Brooke Messinger of Youngsville was third in 19:57, 2012 winner Olivia Mamula of Cambridge Springs was fourth in 19:58 and Seneca’s Kelsey Leasure placed fifth in 20:00..jpg)
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PA Independent Schools Championships
For the first time in their history, Malvern Prep won the Independent School state title, placing four in the top ten and seven in the top 20 to score 29 points and defeat Penn Charter by 34. Malvern were led by champion Jackson Hoey, who ran 16:03 to hold off Sam Ritz of Germantown Academy by a second, five days after Ritz held off Hoey to by the same margin to win the Inter-Ac championship. For the girls, Germantown Friends held off Germantown Academy by 5 points, 55-60 thanks to a 1-5 spread of 37 seconds with five in the top 16 and seven in the top 20. Jerrica Bauer of George School capped off her fantastic 2013 season with the individual championship, running 19:26 to win by 15 seconds over Abbe Goldstein of Germantown Academy.
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Philadelphia, PA RESULTS POSTED |