Week 3 Recap
Briarwood
The heat was cranking at the annual Briarwood Invitational on Saturday and the heat was tough on the competitors as the day wore on.
But whether the weather is unseasonably warm or cold, Jake Brophy just can't stop winning. The senior avenged his defeat at this meet last season by storming to the front in the very early going and never looking back. His time of 16:07 in the championship race may seem pedestrian for the state champion, but he was gunning for a fast time, only for the heat to slow him down.
The team title race was much closer, as Central Bucks West emerged victorious thanks to a runner up finish by Rock Fortna. His team scored 54 points with a 59 second spread to defeat Lasalle's 35 second spread (61), CB East (85) and Cardinal O'Hara (96). CB West stays unbeaten, but Lasalle's performance would give them confidence going forward.
The boys division 1 race looked like it was going smoothly for Connor McMenamin of Souderton. The junior lead after the mile mark and looked to have a comfortable lead heading into the final loop. Unfortunately, the finish line was not for a 4995 meter race. He would get passed by Mulalu Mu of Trenton Central in the final five meters to snatch the title away from McMenamin, 16:49 to 16:50. Trenton Central went on to win the meet by 20 points over William Tennent.
In division 2, New Jersey took the first three team places and the top two individual places to dominate PA teams. Sean Sullivan of Bonner Prendie finished 3rd in the race in 17:13, while top PA team honors went to Cheltenham, who finished 4th.
In the girls championship race, we saw an 800 meter All American turn into a cross country runner before our very eyes. Junior Olivia Arizin of Cardinal O'Hara became a huge star last season with her 800 meter heroics last spring and summer. On Saturday, she took those moments of brilliance and took them to the cross country course. Arizin controlled the race from the start and was never in danger of being caught. Her time of 19:25 signifies the biggest win of her cross country career and the fastest time of the day.
Her teammates were able to do just enough to finish as the top PA team in the race. O'Hars scored 69 points to finish 2nd to New York squad Shoreham-Wading River, but they were 7 points better than Central Bucks West, who were led by runner up finisher Maddie Villalba. Some kinks will have to be worked out by the reigning AAA state bronze medalists.
In division 1, Anna Willig of Great Valley was just as dominant as Arizin, cruising to the individual gold medal in 20:23. Her team was also dominant on the day, cruising to the team title with a score of 37 points to win by 39. Division 2 saw a total domination by Pearl River (NY). They placed seven in the top 15 to score 31 points for the win. PA's top team was Agnes Irwin with 106 points for 3rd place.
George School
The AAA girls state champions Pennsbury ran their first 5000 meter race of the season, three weekends earlier than last season. The team looked sharp on a humid Saturday morning, recording six runners under the 20 minute mark. Olivia Sargent recorded the state's fastest 5000 meter performance of the season thus far, running 17:53. Jerrica Bauer of George School, Hannah Molloy of Pennsbury, and Abbe Goldstein of Germantown Academy ran the state's 2nd, 3rd and 4th fastest times of the season chasing down Sargent. Pennsbury cruised to the team title ahead of Archbishop Wood and Villa Joseph Marie with a score of 25 points with six in the top 10.
In the boys race, Germantown Friends were just as dominant, led by star junior Nick Dahl's 16:02 victory and Grayson Hepp's 16:13 runner up performance. The team scored 38 points to defeat West Chester East by 32.
Altoona
William Kachman of Bedford won his 3rd invitational race in a row to start the season, running 16:27 to win by 18 seconds over teammate Zane Baker. In the team standing, the host school Altoona flexed their muscle in front of their home fans, scoring 38 points to defeat Bedford.
In the girls race, Jane Woy of Somerset survived the challenge of Megan Nagy of Oakland Catholic to win the girls race by 3 seconds in 20:17. Nagy finished 1st for her team in the absence of Lauren Finikiotis. Oakland Catholic were victorious over Somerset and St Joseph's Catholic Academy 39-82-83.
Boardman
North Allegheny boys narrowly missed keeping their undefeated run alive in their 2015 title defense. The AAA champions travelled to Ohio for the Boardman Invite and finished in 2nd place with 95 points, missing the team title by one point. Marc Migliozzi (16:07.2) and Jacop Stupak (16:19.1) finished 4-7 in the race.
The North Allegheny girls got a bronze medal performance from Clara Savchik in 18:44. Her team finished 5th in the D1 race with a score of 193 points.
Bradford
Logan Caruso of host Bradford defended his home course, winning the individual title in 16:55. His team finished 2nd in the team title race behind Elk County Catholic by just 17 points, thanks to a spread that was 40 seconds better than Bradford's. The girls had more success, scoring 29 points to win the team title. Michelle Bauer of St Mary's broke 19 minutes to win the gold medal in 18:52.
Adidas XC
Conestoga's PJ Murray cracked the top ten in the boys Invitational race with a 9th place finish in 16:28.5. Teammate Dominique Schultz finished 33rd in the girls championship race with a time of 19:17.6. Her team finished 13th with 406 points.
Panther
Harrison Keenan of Cranberry ran 17:20 to hold off Zachary Tinsley by 8 seconds for the boys title. His team made it a sweep, taking home the team crown with a score of 48 points to earn a 15 point win over Seneca. For the girls, Jordan Williams of Sharon ran 19:28 to win by 30 seconds over Lexi Bible of Hickory. Hickory did emerge as team champions with a 36 point win over Lakeview.
Oberod
West Chester Henderson and Unionville went down to Delaware to participate in a 6 team meet. Unionville took home both individual titles. Kent Hall upset Spencer Smucker of West Chester Henderson to win the gold in a time of 16:27, only six seconds better than Smucker. Anna Juul won the girls race in 19:16 with teammate Kacie Breeding finishing 30 seconds behind her. Unionville scored 30 points to win the girls team title, while the boys title went to Henderson, who defeated Tatnall 29-41.
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| 9/189/19 | adidas XC Challenge | Cary, NC RESULTS POSTED |
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| 9/19 | Bradford XC Invitational Entries Closed | Bradford, PA RESULTS POSTED |
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| 9/19 | Mercersburg Academy Invitational | Mercersburg, PA RESULTS POSTED |
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| 9/19 | Ben Bloser Bulldog Cross Country Invite-Big Spring | Newville, PA | ||
| 9/19 | George School Invitational Entries Closed | Newtown, PA RESULTS POSTED |
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| 9/19 | Altoona Mt. Lion XC Invitational Entries Closed | Altoona, PA RESULTS POSTED |
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| 9/19 | Boardman Spartan Invitational | Youngstown, OH RESULTS POSTED |
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| 9/19 | Briarwood Invitational Entries Closed | Philadelphia, PA RESULTS POSTED |
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| 9/19 | Chris Fretz Invitational | Collegeville, PA | ||
| 9/19 | Lebanon County Meet | Lebanon, PA | ||
| 9/19 | Malone Invitational | Canton, OH | ||
| 9/19 | McDaniel-Baxter Invitational | Chenango Valley, NY RESULTS POSTED |
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| 9/19 | Panther Invitational | Hadley, PA RESULTS POSTED |
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| 9/19 | Slippery Rock University Cross Country Invitational Entries Closed | Slippery Rock, PA |