Heading into Tuesday\'s boys\' cross country showdown, coaches from undefeated Manheim Township and unbeaten Hempfield both thought it could wind up being a one-point, tossup kind of meet.
Boy, were they wrong.
Thanks to a trio of Millers (Craig, Brad and Marshall, respectively), the Streaks ran away from the Knights, 22-33, at Warwick High School to gain sole possession of first place in the Lancaster-Lebanon League with a perfect 17-0 record.
Hempfield is 16-1 after suffering its first loss of the season.
\"It was an exciting meet,\" said Township coach Terry Lee, who has now guided the Streaks to a 137-3 record in their last 140 L-L League meets.
As expected, Township sensation Craig Miller ran away with the individual race (15:38), in the process shattering his own course record by 50 seconds. Miller set the record on the nine-year-old course a year ago when he burst onto the scene as a freshman.
\"That was probably the smoothest I\'d seen him run this year,\" Lee said of Craig Miller. \"He seemed to be very comfortable throughout the race.\"
Comfortable indeed, posting a 4:45 split after the first mile.
\"That was pretty amazing,\" said Warwick coach John Gerencser, whose Warrior team also fell to Township, 16-45, in the quad meet.
Hempfield coach Bill Bowers was also impressed with Craig Miller\'s performance.
\"He went through a mile in 4:45 and then he just cruised the last half-mile of the race,\" said Bowers. \"He wasn\'t even working hard.\"
Gerencser summed it up this way.
\"Had he had some competition up front, I have no doubt he would have run 15:20,\" Gerencser said. \"There is no doubt about it.\"
Craig\'s brother Brad, still not completely 100 percent following a broken leg in the spring, finished second (16:52) and Marshall -- who is not related -- finished sixth overall (17:05).
\"That was the key for them,\" Bowers said of Marshall\'s strong finish. \"We couldn\'t score like we wanted because the other Miller (Marshall) ran so well.\"
Marshall, a senior, had never run cross country prior to this season.
\"That\'s the best he\'s run all year,\" said Lee of Marshall. \"He\'s been gradually coming on in each meet. His natural ability is taking him to a level that I\'m not so sure he even thought he could achieve.\"
Harry Dixon helped the Township cause by finishing fourth (17:01). Hempfield\'s Anthony Kuster was the only thing between a top-three sweep by Township by finishing third (16:58).
The Knights\' Matt Bailey (17:12), Rob Rich (12:15) and Tim Houseman (17:47) rounded out the top 10 finishers by placing eighth, ninth and tenth, respectively.
\"The racing was great,\" said Bowers. \"We had the guys in the back, but we just couldn\'t do it up front. It doesn\'t take much. I mean two or three seconds here or there and the race is totally different.\"
Township\'s Matt Kantner (17:21) finished 12th overall to round out the Streaks scoring.
\"Fortunately we had a couple of front-runners,\" said Lee.
Fortunately, they\'re all Millers.