Individuals
He had the state crown in his grasps last season and missed out. But on Saturday, he got it right.
Winchester Thurston's Tristan Forsythe pulled away in the last mile to run away with the boys' Class A individual title, which evaded him last season. Forsythe responded to a move at the 2-mile mark made by Upper Dauphin's Brenden Miller and managed to open up a gap on Miller heading down towards the sewage plant.
From there, it was smooth sails. Forsythe had gapped the field at that same spot last season, but faded in the final loop, eventually taking third to Mercyhurst Prep's Noah Curtin. There was no Curtin in the field this time around, and Forsythe won it in 16:12. Miller ran a tough race and ended up second in 16:27.
Forysthe won a state title in the 1600 meters on the track in the spring, but getting revenge on the Hershey course was surely sweet for the Georgetown-bound Class A winner.
Jenkintown's Jack Miller was third, the first non-senior across, in 16:28. Holy Cross sophomore Andrew Healey was third in16:30 and Montrose's Brandon Curley (16:32) and Liam Mead (16:39) took the next two spots.
Teams
Returning six of seven runners from last year's team that placed ninth in the state, Penns Valley had to figure it'd be in the mix to move up in the Class A field this season. But the squad added a trio of impact freshmen this season, and it turned the team into a state title contender.
On Saturday, Penns Valley, comprised of four seniors and three freshmen, took home the team title by 27 points (actually the largest winning margin of the day) over second place Elk County Catholic.
One of those talented freshmen---Colton Sands---led the way for the champs, placing tenth in 16:48. Senior Chris Colwell took 15th in 16:55 and freshman Brendan Colwell was 18th in 17:02. Sam Gray was PVA's fourth individual medalist on the day, coming across in 17:10 for 24th place. Senior Mark Bierly was 44th in 17:37 to round out the scoring five. Sixth runner Charlie Romig provided some nice insurance, taking 51st in 17:42. Depth won it for Penns Valley for the school's first XC state title.
Elk County Catholic, paced by Ben Hoffman's eighth place finish, was second with 95 points. Montrose wasn't far behind, taking third with 101 points. Winchester Thurston, the defending Class A state champs, were fourth with 102 points, and Jenkintown took fifth with 134 points.
