PHOTOS: D1 | D2 | D3 | D4 | D10 | D11
Eight Podcast Interviews from Districts 1, 2, 4 and 11.
Click on the text below for the Podcast player...
| 10/20 | Boys Inter-Ac League Champs
Chestnut Hill Academy
Matt McCullough led Malvern Prep to the team title with his single point setting the stage for a 40-46 win over Haverford School. McCullough went 16:25 for a nine second margin over 2nd place Dustin Wilson of Chestnut Hill Academy.
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Philadelphia, PA PARTIAL RESULTS POSTED |
| 10/20 | Girls Inter-Ac League Champs
Chestnut Hill Academy
Notre Dame Academy's Kathleen Fitzpatrick won the Inter-Ac League individual title in 19:09, leading a charge of four other teammates in the top eight as her team scored just 20 points. Teammate Maria Seykora was 2nd, nine seconds back. Agnes Irwin's Courtenay Devlin was 3rd in 19:34, leading her team to a second place finish. |
Philadelphia, PA PARTIAL RESULTS POSTED |
| 10/20 | TSTCA JV Cross Country Championships
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Pittsburgh, PA |
| 10/21 | Friends Schools League Championship
Abington Friends
Pat DeSabato crushed his own course record of 17:10 that he set in 2006, running 16:17. But it was Germantown Friends behind us MacKenzie's 16:30 who won the team title with just 31 points, placing five in the top nine.
Germantown Friends' Jasia Kaulbach also set a course record with her 20:29 individual win, leading her team to the title with 19 points after a sweep of the top three spots. |
Jenkintown, PA RESULTS POSTED |
| 10/22 | PIAA District 2 Championships
 The Dallas boys have been back and forth over the years between AA and AAA, and just moved up again a few years ago. But the girls just joined the 'bigs' this year. No matter. Both captured district titles. The girls absolutely dominated their race, placing two in the top eight and scoring 82 points, 35 better than 2nd place Honesdale. Sophomore Alexis Arnold and junior Ellen Arnaud, led Dallas with their 6th and 8th place finishes, going 20:25 and 20:35, respectively.  The boys absolutely dominated the final mile of their race, surging to place five in the top 13 behind 4th place finisher Chris Dailey, a junior. The Scranton Prep boys finished 2nd after moving up to AAA this year, just 18 points back of the 50 by Dallas, who put their 2nd through 5th runners in the 10th-13th spots.  Senior Robert Micikas won the individual title in a quick 15:52 under very good (just cold and windy BUT DRY) conditions for this meet. He was joined as district champ by teammate Kirstin Schafer, a sophomore, who went into overdrive at mile two and easily won in 19:21, just three seconds off the course record. "If I had known I was that close, I would have gone for it," she said. "But I have two more years."In AA Boys, Holy Redeemer and Elk Lake each advanced. They appeared to be marking each other at the halfway point, but the 43-53 margin was ultimately started with the one-two finishes of Anthony Rizzo in 16:55 and Dave Levandoski just two seconds later. The Scranton Prep girls are still in AA, and they were 59-71 winners over Blue Ridge, with both teams making the state meet. Blue Ridge sophomore Allison Hall won the race in 20:29. Scranton Prep went 2-3 with Kthleen Druther in 20:37 and Carrie Frattali in 20:40. |
Lake Ariel, PA ONSITE COVERAGE RESULTS POSTED Photos by Don Rich of the four varsity races at D2 Podcasts from D2: Kristin Schafer (Crestwood) and Matt Samuel (Dallas) |
| 10/22 | PIAA District 3 Championships
By Michael Carpenter
 The PIAA District III Championship was in Hershey on Wednesday, and it was as good a show as any this season for Cross fans to witness. In boys AAA, PA Top 10 Honorable Mention Conrad Weiser (60 pts) defeated PA #6 Cedar Cliff (115 pts), PA#4 Cumberland Valley (125 pts), and PA#7 Carlisle (144 pts), behind a strong 2nd place finish from Zach Barker (photo by Tim O'Dowd, IrishRunner.com) who posted a 16:33. Kyle Hurston did not disappoint, the Carlisle standout took the win in 16:21, and teammate John Pope rounded out the top 3 with a 16:37 3rd place finish.In the girl's AAA, PA#3 Cumberland Valley emerged victorious with 83 pts, over Top 10 Honorable Mention Governor Mifflin who was 2nd with a 153 pts. Cumberland Valley SO Leigha Anderson (photo by Tim O'Dowd, IrishRunner.com) was the top finisher with a 19:07, defeating New Oxford SR Jordan Jenkins who was 2nd in 19:35. Governor Mifflin's top finisher was Lindsay Topper, who was 5th in 19:51.  In the boy's AA, it was York Suburban who took the team title with 4 scorers in the top 10, including 4th place finisher Nick Schrading who posted a 17:19. Bishop McDevitt Harrisburg Sr Joe Beveridge was the individual winner, taking the gold in 16:42. The girls AA saw Wyomissing Area defeat Trinity, 69-99, behind a 9th-11th finish from Katherine Harvey and Christina Cesarz. Eastern Lebanon County JR Kayleigh Perry was the AA winner, posting a 19:30 to defeat York Catholic's Kady Schrann, 2nd in 19:45. |
Hershey, PA RESULTS POSTED ONSITE COVERAGE |
| 10/22 | PIAA District 5 Championships
Bedford
Southern Fulton's Lacey Beatty led her team to a state-qualifying berth with her winning 21:21. Their 27 points were 19 better than Bedford. In the boys' race, Windber's Tim Roddy ran 17:36 to claim the individual title. However, Bedford cruised to the team title with the two-three finish of Trey Easter and Colin Coffield in 18;07 and 18:17, respectively.
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Bedford, PA RESULTS POSTED |
| 10/23 |
PIAA District 11 Championships By Kimberly Jaick Soden
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Bethlehem, PA ONSITE COVERAGE RESULTS POSTED |
| 10/23 |
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Bloomsburg, PA ONSITE COVERAGE RESULTS POSTED Photos by Don Rich of the four varsity races at D4 Podcasts from D4: Shawn Lake (Sayre), Shannon Wright (Lewisburg) and Mark Sundberg (Lewisburg) |
| 10/23 |
By Michael Carpenter Cooper's Lake in Slippery Rock, PA was home to the coveted "WPIAL" Cross Country Championship, the PIAA District VII meet. Some of the state's best teams reside in D7 and they showed up looking for gold on Saturday. In AAA Boys competition, the PA#1 North Allegheny squad showed no pity or mercy for their competition. Led by Ryan Gil's 3rd place overall finish in 15:58, the boys from North Allegheny put all five scorers in the top 20, spreading only :30 seconds. Matt Gregory of Canon-McMillan was the individual champ, taking the title in 15:50 with Cam Stauffer of Seneca Valley a very close 2nd in 15:51. There was another close battle for the 4-5 spots, that saw Baldwin's T.J. Hobart beat Gateway's Daniel Krystek 16:11 to 16:12. |
Slippery Rock, PA RESULTS POSTED |
| 10/24 |
But the front of the race was controlled mostly by the two Lower Merion seniors, Ben Furcht and Neal Berman. Furcht captured the district title with a late push, going 15:08, with one-shoed teammate Berman in third, 17 seconds back. Perkiomen Valley's Jimmy Tarsnane was ten back from Furcht for 2nd, helping his team secure the 5th and final state berth. |
Bethlehem, PA ONSITE COVERAGE RESULTS POSTED Photos by Don Rich of the four varsity races at D1 Podcasts from D1: Ben Furcht (Lower Merion) and Katie Gorman (Plymouth Whitemarsh) |
| 10/25 | PA Independent Schools Championship
Mercersburg Academy
By Michael Carpenter
Mercersburg Academy hosted the PA Independent School's Championship on Saturday. The boy's race saw PA#3 AA Germantown Friends take the team title with 49 pts behind 2nd place overall finisher Gus McKenzie in 16:10. Malvern Prep's Matt McCullough was the day's top finisher, taking the win in 16:05. And Friend's Central, 2nd in the team race, was led by Patrick Desabato who rounded out the top 3, posting a 16:13 3rd place finish.
On the girl's side, the squad from the Academy of Notre Dame was almost perfect, going 1-2-5-7 with their first four finishers and posting only 29 total points. Marie Seykora and Kathleen Fitzpatrick led the way to their team's victory, going 1-2 in 19:14 and 19:19. The ladies from Germantown Friends, 2nd in the team race with 85 pts, were led by Jasia Kaulbach who posted a 19:34 for a 3rd place finish. |
Mercersburg, PA RESULTS POSTED |
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10/25
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PIAA District 10 Championships By Michael Carpenter
The PIAA District 10 Championship was on Saturday in Sharon, PA, and fans saw some of the best AA team battles that PA offered this year. In the AA boys race, PA#1 AA North East won the team title with 74 pts and were led by a 3-4 finish from Dylan Klein and Alex Beardsley, 16:47-16:50. The battle was for 2nd place, and it was between formerly ranked Fairview and PA#4 AA General McLane, both scoring 88 pts over their varsity five. Fairview's Sam Havko (photo by Carl Strub) had the fastest time of the day, finishing 16:31, with General McLane's Bryan Baumgartner right behind him in 16:39. In the end, Fairview had the higher 6th finisher and they were able to sneak passed General McLane for 2nd place.
 In the AA girls race, it was PA#4 AA West Middlesex who upset PA#2 AA Union City, 97-101, behind JR Lauren Shingledecker's 7th place finish in 20:10. Union City's Rebecca Reichbaum was 3rd in 20:01 as their top finisher, but the 1:30 spread of West Middlesex was just a bit better and enough to help them win the team title. Harbor Creek's Lauren Zarger (photo by Carl Strub) was the top overall finisher in 19:12, the fastest girls time of the day.In the AAA versions, Jacob Kildoo and Tom Bollinger went 1-2 to help boys squad from Grove City to a 1 pt win over Cathedral Prep, 58-59, posting 16:58 and 17:19 respectively. Cathedral was led by Ryan Bruno who was 4th in 17:39. In the girl's race, McDowell took the title over Meadville and Grove City in a close team competition. McDowell was led by Katie Sabolcik, who was 3rd in 20:45. Meadville was 2nd in the team race, led by the 1st overall finish of Elesia Wilson who posted a 20:04, followed closely by Warren Area JR Katie Spade, 2nd in 20:09. |
Sharon, PA ONSITE COVERAGE RESULTS POSTED |
| 10/25 |
PIAA District 12 Championships By Michael Carpenter
The Belmont Plateau in Philadelphia has seen quite a few impressive races this 2008 season, and the PIAA District XII Championship meet just added to the mix. The boy's AAA race saw PA#9 LaSalle College HS walk away with a district title after defeating PA Honorable Mention St. Joe's Prep 38-68. LaSalle put all five scorers in the top 10, including Patrick Donnelly's 16:33 5th place finish. Dan Day of Lansdale Catholic took the individual crown, earning some gold with is 16:19 win over Joe Sacchetti of Cardinal O'Hara, 16:21 and Tom Kehl of Father Judge, 3rd in 16:29. Photo of AAA one-two by Jack Kennedy - SO Katie Rodden (right) won and junior Alyssa Bellia was 2nd.
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Philadelphia, PA ONSITE COVERAGE RESULTS POSTED |
| 10/25 |
AA and AAA Preview by Jayson Jackson By Michael Carpenter Central Cambria girl's squad and Bishop McCort's Jim Spisak were the big winners at the PIAA District VI AA Championship Meet. The ladies from Central Cambria took the team title with 41 pts, including a 2-4-5-6 finish behind Kelsey Seymour who posted a 19:28 for a 2nd place finish. Leah Anne Wirfel of Forest Hills was the winner on the day, a full minute ahead of her competition, posting a gold medal time of 18:26.
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Reedsville, PA RESULTS POSTED |
| 10/25 |
By Michael Carpenter Ridgway, PA was home to the PIAA District 9 Championship meet on Saturday. The most competitive team race had to be the girls AAA, where Punxsutawney defeated Bradford and Clearfield but just a few points, 42-46-50. Punxy was led by Kelsey Acre, who won the individual crown as well, posting a 19:38. Over a minute later, the field caught up with Acre, and Clearfield's Gwenn Porter crossed 2nd in 20:46, with Bradford's Myriah Wiseman close behind, 3rd in 20:58. |
Ridgway, PA RESULTS POSTED |
In her final tune-up before next week’s PIAA champs, 2007 Class 3A silver medalist and Liberty sophomore Jess Cygan broke 18 minutes on Lehigh University’s 3.1-mile course to repeat as the District 11 champion. Cygan clocked 17:44, making her move at the two mile mark to out-run runner-up Lindsey Graybill, who finished in 17:57. Graybill did lead the defending state champ Emmaus Green Hornets to a repeat team championship, scoring 29 points over second place Liberty’s 44 points.
Cygan was the only repeat champ out of District 11 as Lindsay Kerr, a Northwestern Lehigh junior, Greg Duckloe, a Moravian Academy senior, and Matt Gillette, a Parkland senior, each captured gold for the first time. Top teams where Saucon Valley (Girls Class 2A), Notre Dame-GP (Boys 2A) and Liberty (Boys 3A). Saucon repeated in the girls meet, scoring 70 points to second place Northwestern’s 95. The Notre Dame boys bettered Central Catholic 78-83 and Liberty repeated as champs in a down-to-the-wire boys meet, scoring 75 points to Parkland’s 76 and Easton’s 77.
Lewisburg rode the 1-3-5 juggernaut of Sophia Ziemian, Shannon Wright and Kiah Hardcastle to the AA team title with 44 points. Also qualifying for states was Milton with 62. Ziemian was on quick-cruise the entire race, finishing in 18:34. Millville's Katie Sick worked toward the front much of the race before putting down the hammer over the final hill to take second in 19:18. Danville captured 3rd (Chris Brandt 16:53), 4th (Mke Davis 16:54) and 5th places (Tylor Barnhart (17:03) to start the scoring low for a 63-91 win over fellow state qualifying Towanda. East Juniata's Tyler Erhard was a one second winner at 16:48 over Sayer's Shawn Lake. 
The Selinsgrove girls used a 2-3-4 pack of Allison Fegley (21:23), Kyria Yanoviak (21:24) and Babriella damiano (21:27) to take the one and only AAA team qualifying spot with 27 points. Shikellamy's Jayme Daley ran 20:41 to win the individual title. The Jersey Shore boys went one-two to key the win with 26 points, 40 better than runner-up Selinsgrove. Ian Eisenhauer led the charge with his 16:46, with teammate Ben Copenhaver 13 seconds back.
Saint Basil used the get-out-hard approach to racing, while Villa Joseph Marie used the rally-at-the-end method. Basil's 38-69 AA win over VJM proved to be the workable one on a clear, crisp, breeze-free day at Lehigh's Goodman campus. Colleen Gilmore led St. Basil with her 2nd place 19:20, as her four scoring teammates came across the line in the top 13. Philmont Christian's Cecelia Forshee won her first district title with an 18:43. In a very cool array of talent, six schools will be represented in D1 AA, with only one team and five individual spots available. 
With one less team in AAA than previous years, the competition was fierce. Only three points separated 5th place William Tennent from the 6th place team. North Penn rocked the front of the race with Christy Cohick taking 4th in 18:24 and Rachel Brown capturing 6th ten seconds later. The Maidens tallied 116 points to out-distance Council Rock North by 50. Boyertown junior Elizabeth Simpson pushed the pace from the gun for the win and posted the only sub-18 time of the day by two seconds. Plymouth-Whitemarsh senior Katie Gorman passed Council Rock North's Lindsay Rheiner over the last mile to capture 2nd in 18:09.
PA#1 North Penn used consistency through #6 to capture a 50 point margin victory over 2nd place Council Rock North. Team #1 Brad Miles finished 6th in 15:30, while Sam Bernitt was one place back in 15:33.
