Photos by Mae Kellert and Ethan Rissell
North Penn's Ariana Gardizy and Carlisle's Noah Affolder won the fan vote and were named this week's performers of the week. Affolder picked up a huge win at the Carlisle Invitational, while Gardizy was second in the Varsity A race at the Six Flags Wild Safari Invitational. Congratulations to this week's winners and thanks to those who voted!
Ariana Gardizy (North Penn)
Photo by Mae Kellert
Ariana Gardizy has been on a tear to start her 2016 XC season. The junior won at the Abington Invitational and then the prestigious Briarwood Invitational. On Saturday, she captured a PR. Gardizy ran 18:15 for 5K to take second to Toms River North's Jade Tricomy at the Six Flags Wild Safari Invitational. While Gardizy won this race last year, the time was much faster this time around, improving 47 seconds on her time. Her North Penn also picked up a convincing team win, scoring 42 points to beat runner-up Toms River North by 22 points.
Next up is the Salesianum Invitational in Delaware where Gardizy will go for win number three on the season. Check out the full Performer of the Week voting here.
Noah Affolder (Carlisle)
Photo by Abby Huber
We expected Noah Affolder to run fast. But did anyone expect this fast?! Affolder ran a crazy 14:47 in a very fast race in the Puma Challenge at the Carlisle Invitational. That's the fastest time by a PA boy since Paul Springer's 14:47 at the District One Championships in 2006. Affolder, who moved in the summer from New York to Pennsylvania, won earlier this year in heat at PTXC 8, but on Saturday, the conditions were absolutely perfect for him to bust out a fantastic time. His Carlisle team (still ranked #1 in PA) took second to a strong Don Bosco team from New Jersey. This is just the beginning of what should be an exciting fall for Affolder and Carlisle.
Affolder and his brother Sam will travel this weekend back to New York for the McQuaid Invitational, where he broke the course record over 3 miles last year. Check out the full voting results here.