Week 1 Brief Recaps
A rundown of some of the Week 1 meets and the big takeaways...
Enos Yeager Invitational - Meet Recap
PA#2 Taryn Parks of Greencastle-Antrim started her junior season off with a victory. Parks, the 2016 Class AA state champ, won on the 2.3 mile course at Chambersburg for the second time in three years, covering the course in 14:49. Carlisle won the team race with 38 points, nine ahead of second place Northern.
For a second straight season, Carlisle's Jack Wisner captured the win in the boys race. Wisner (PA#25) went 12:52 for the win, 14 seconds ahead of his teammate and second place finisher Casey Padgett. The Carlisle team (PA#6) won the team title with 31 points.
Neshaminy Invitational - Meet Recap
PA Boys Bubble squad Council Rock South opened up its season well taking the top four spots at Neshaminy's Invitational. The Golden Hawks rolled to the win, scoring 22 points to beat rival Council Rock North. Collin Ochs, an 800 meter state medalist from the spring, took the overall win in 17:17 and Kyle Kutney was second in 17:21.
Neshaminy's Kaylee McCullough, the reiging SOL National champion took the individual win in the girls' race by over a minute. McCullough clocked 1 19:27 on her home course for the win. Jordan O'Neill was second and Kaycee McCullough was third for Neshaminy, which scored 27 points to take the team title as well.
Oakbourne Relays - Meet Recap
PA#3 boys team Downingtown West opened up its season as well as it could at Stetson Middle School on Friday in the rain, rolling to the overall team win in the relay meet. The duo of Joseph Chamoun and Kevin Wagner captured the win, while Isaac Valderrabano and Ben Datte were second across. The Whippets total time was nearly two minutes ahead of second place Penncrest.
West Chester Henderson, a PA girls bubble team in our preseason rankings, showed its stuff on Friday, as well. Henderson clocked a total time over two minutes ahead of Downingtown West, the runners-up. Henderson's duos placed fourth, fifth, sixth, and eighth overall. The winning duo, however, came from D-West with Reagan Flannery and Aliza Thir.
River Trail Cup Invitational - Meet Recap
The western PA season's first meet came on Friday on Boston Trail. For the second straight year, Belle Vernon's Grace Henderson opened up her season with a win. Henderson clocked a 19:32, 16 seconds faster than a year ago, to take the season-opening win. Elizabeth Forward won the girls' team title with 40 points, just two ahead of hosts McKeesport Area.
In the boys' race, it was the high school debut of CJ Singleton of Saint Joseph High School. Singleton dropped an impressive 16:31, the nation's ninth fastest 5K time by a freshman boy, to run away with the win by nearly a minute. Keep an eye out for Singleton, who will compete in Class A this year. Elizabeth Forward scored 73 points to earn the team win.
Cliff Robbins Invitational - Meet Recap
Crestwood freshman Molly DeMarzo made a big first impression capturing a big win in her high school debut. DeMarzo clocked a time of 20:13 to upset Scranton Preparatory's Mia Bellucci. DeMarzo will be one to watch this season out of District 2 Class AA.
Scranton's Josh Christianson took the win, starting off his season well. Christianson clocked a PR of 16:53 to beat Mitchell Rome of Dallas, who placed second in 17:00. 16:53 is Christianson's first time under 17 minutes and a nice improvement from his tenth place finish at Cliff Robbins last year.
Delaware Valley Invitational - Meet Recap
The Council Rock North girls earned a perfect sweep, scoring 15 points to win in Doylestown. Daphne Vorel ran away with the individual win, posting a time of 20:57. Hatboro-Horsham's Devon Comber won the boys' race, which featured only Hatboro boys, in 18:00.
Gateway Invitational - Meet Recap
The reigning state champions from Fox Chapel started its title-defense season in good fashion, winning the girls team title with 41 points. Sarena Seeger led the way for FCA, which put four girls inside the top 7. Seeger's won in 21:18.
The Fox Chapel boys also won the team title at Gateway, scoring 59 points. Christian Fitch of Fox Chapel paced the team with the individual win in 17:53.
Hornet Harrier Invitational - Meet Recap
Sharon's Gianna Labbiento (PA#5) picked up where she left off last fall, running away with a season-opening victory at Hickory. Labbiento went 18:20 for the win, 44 seconds faster than her winning effort at the same meet last season. It's also a 5K PR for Labbiento. She was 1:20 ahead of second place. Lakeview edged out Wilmington 58-63 for the team win.
Hickory's Cole Frazier took home the win in the boys' race. The sophomore went 16:40, a 5K PR and nice improvement from his sixth place finish a year ago. Cochranton won the team race with 67 points, starting its season off well.