Hempfield and Norwin tied for the win with 71 points apiece, but a 26th place finish by Jimmy DeBone broke the tie for Hempfield and awarded them the team title. Greater Latrobe's Charlie DeFrancesco was the individual winner, running 17:39.70. The Norwin girls use a 1-2-3 sweep from Jenna Gigliotti (20:20.8) Jenna Kuhn (20:59.5) and Autumn Greba (21:10.3) to score 32 points and win the team title by 26.
Saint Hubert's made the trip south and senior Carolan DiFiore was the top finisher, getting18th in 20:08. Her team finished 13th in the Seeded Invitational race.
Sara Sargent, Pennsbury (Above left #4124), finished 2nd in 17:47 to Aisling Cuffe, NY (Above right #3349), who won in a near course record time of 17:05. Emmaus girls came out on top 170-193 over Cumberland Valley behind the 4th place 18:08 by junior Leigha Anderson (Above, center). Pennsbury was 3rd with 213 and Notre Dame 4th with 216. Cumberland Valley won the boys race with 117 points behind a 33-second spread, led by Junior Andy Flynn, 13th in 16:02. Vince Perozzi, Perkiomen Valley, was 1st in 15:33.
For the girls varsity Brown race, there were a couple of bounce back performances. The two time defending state champions PA#5 Emmaus girls returned to competition after losing a tie breaker to PA#3 Notre Dame at Carlisle to take the Brown race by 23 points. The Faust triplets (left, Amanda, Brianna, Christina) continued to run well as they have been the whole season. But what made this performance difference from all the others was their performances from their 4th and 5th runners. Sophomores Lydia Brough (19:32) and Kelli Steinert (19:44) (Above in 4th and 5th for Emmaus) had big races and put Emmaus back into the state title discussion. PA #10 Cumberland Valley was 2nd with 193 points, after their 4th place finish at Carlisle. Leigha Anderson scored three points for her team with an 18:08 time and their 2nd through 5th runners were separated by 28 seconds. Individually, it was all Aisling Cuff of Cornwall, NY, who ran 17:06, three seconds off the course record by Aislinn Ryan in 2003. Overshadowed by that performance was the runner up performance by Pennsbury frosh Sara Sargent, who ran 17:47 after her 6th place finish at Hershey. After her aggressive running style didn't work out for her at Hershey, she came back with her strong and aggressive style and was not shaken by her previous race. Her PA#4 team finished 3rd overall, three points ahead of 4th place Notre Dame 213-216.
The boys varsity Brown race featured Vince Perozze of Perkiomen Valley and Chris O'Sullivan of St. Joseph's Prep. After a pack of seven came through the mile in under five minutes, Perozze and O'Sullivan were still the two guys to beat. Ultimately, Perozze came away with the victory and a time of 15:33 to outlast O'Sullivan's 15:41.
In the team race, PA#8 Cumberland Valley rebounded from their 4th place finish at Carlisle to win big over Haverford High and St Joe's Prep. Cumberland Valley first through fifth were separated by 33 seconds, led by eleven team points from junior Andy Flynn (left).
In the Girls White race, Hershey squeaked out a 206-217 victory over Elk Lake, with their top two runners finishing in the top ten in team points. The top PA individual was Central York freshman Kelsey Ibarra (Right), who ran 18:58 to finish second overall. The individual winner was another New York runner, as Newburgh's GIanna Frontera ran 18:53 for the victory.
In the Boys White race, West Allegheny took home the team title by 8 points over West Chester East 147-155. West Allegheny had two in front of West Chester East's first runner to pull off the win. Individually, Westhill, NY Kevin Zych won in 16:05. West Allegheny's Brad Hough (Left) was the top PA finisher, running 16:17 to finish 2nd overall.
Glen Mills Boys place their scoring five in the top eighteen to score 46 points, defeating Oley Valley by 17. Individual honors went to Carlos Cavanaugh of Reading High School, running 17:54 for the victory. The Oley Valley girls were able to win the girls team title, placing six in the top ten and scoring 24 points, defeating O.J. Roberts by 20. Kelly Meyer of O.J. Roberts won the individual title, running 20:44
Whitehall's Matt Kacyon continues to run well after his victory at PIAA Foundations in Hershey, winning the individual crown in 15:58, putting 62 seconds on the field. Souderton enjoyed the home course advantage on their new campus, placing six in the top nine to double up 2nd place Lansdale Catholic 28-56. Victoria Gerladt (19:22) and Caitlyn Sheva (19:26) went 1-2 for Pennridge and led their team to the title 50-58 over PA#8 Downingtown East, who rested their top seven from PIAA Foundations.
Red Lion Boys were able to withstand an individual title by Trinity's Tom Gruschow in 16:46.26 to win the team title 61-66. Red Lion had their scoring five in the top 21. Alexa Gruschow of Mechanicsburg won the girls individual title, running 20:11.88. The host school Shippensburg enjoyed the home course advantage by winning the girls team title with 47 points and with all seven of their runners scoring in the top 20.
Greencastle Antrim senior Charmayne McFadden toured the three mile course in 19:17.1, good for 2nd in the Small School race. Kari Mellott was 10th in 20:37.1.
Jacob Kildoo of Grove City enjoyed the home course advantage and ran away with the individual title, running 15:56.4. His team finished 2nd in the team race, ten points behind Plum, who had a 58 second spread between their first and fifth runners, and they had all seven varsity runners place in the top 25. The Grove City girls got redemption for their guys teammates by winning the girls team title 44 points and placing four in the top 10. Alex Coyne of Chartiers Valley won the individual title in 19:46.1, six seconds better than the field.
Kent Upham of Northeast Bradford finished 3rd overall in the Varsity A-3 Race, running 16:22.95 to be the top PA finisher. His team was also the top PA team with a 3rd place finish, scoring 145 points. In the Varsity A-2 race, John Salva of Susquehanna Valley was the top PA finisher with a 3rd place finish in 16:24.62. Mercyhurst Prep was the top PA team, finishing 4th in the race with 244 points. In the Varsity B Small School race, Notre Dame Green Pond’s David Pruszyncki ran 18:13.65 to finish 8th and his team would go on to finish 2nd with 83 points. They also had the top PA finisher in the Varsity Seeded race, as Bryan McGee finished 6th in 15:58.57. Elk County Catholic was the top PA team in the seeded race with 154 points, good enough for 4th place. In the Varsity B Medium School race, Adam Marshall finished 10th for McDowell, running 17:32.19. His performance helped his team to a 2nd place finish with 83 points. In the Varsity AA-2 race, Danny Mello of Central Tech finished 16th with a time of 16:32.99 and his team would finish in 3rd place with 228 points.
Emily Giannotti of Coudersport was the only PA runner to win a varsity race, winning the Girls Varsity A-3 race, running 18:26.31. Her team would finish 8th in the race, scoring 247 points. In the Varsity A-2 race, Suzanna Kearns of Mercyhurst Prep finished 6th and ran 19:12.90, which led her team to a 5th place finish, scoring 222 points. In the A seeded race, Susan Learn of Mansfield finished in 4th, running 18:13.29. Elk County Catholic was 5th in the field, 185 points. In the AA seeded race, Makenzie O’Connor ran 17:57.87 to finish 3rd and her team finished 4th with a score of 163 points. In the Varsity AA-2 race, Bradford was 3rd in the team standings with 233 points and was led by a 21st place finish by Kacy Huston with a time of 19:29.15.
State College Area Boys came away with the boys team title with 101 points to defeat Towanda Area by 29 points, placing four in the top 25. Individual honors went to Indian Valley's Alex Monroe, who won the race in 16:32. The Lewisburg girls won the girls team title with 67 points, placing their five scoring runners in the top 20. Katie Sick of Millville continues to have a very good year, winning the individual crown in 19:55.
Girls:North Hills Margo (18:45.1 pictured bib #612) and Shannon Malone (18:49.1 pictured bib #614) went 1-2 to lead their team to a 3rd place finish in the Varsity A race, but North Allegheny, a team who got 3rd at Carlisle last week, rebounded to take the team title over Bethel Park 121-143. In the Boys Varsity A race, Mount Lebanon's Rad Gunzenhauser (pictured bib #1083) was able to outlast North Allegheny's Ryan Gil in the last 300 meters to win another invitational, 15:44.0-15:46.1. Gil's team would have the last laugh, as the PA#6 squad knocked off PA#4 Baldwin 81-95. In the Girls Varsity B race, Angel Piccirillo of Homer-Center ran 20 minutes even to win the individual title. Northgate took the team title with two in the top five and a score of 52 points. In the Boys Varsity B race, Eddie Grystar of Riverview came away with the gold medal, running 17:36.4. Beaver squeaked out a 10 point victory, 79-89 over Blairsville.
The Race Flow (and video stills) by Jayson Jackson
Intro
It was beautiful weather in the City of Champions as the runners prepared for the Pittsburgh Central Catholic Invitational (https://pa.milesplit.com/meets/57321). The race no longer starts at Flagstaff Hill nor is it 2.8 miles, but the excitement of racing through Schenley Park (http://www.pittsburghparks.org/schenley) is still there.
Girls
Margo and Shannon Malone from North Hills took the lead from the start of the race and never looked back. They were very content to share the pacing duties upfront as they increased their lead each mile. They passed the mile side-by-side in 5:42 and were followed closely by a string of runners, Katrina Jueng, Shady Side Academy (5:44), Hillary Boxheimer, Bethel Park (5:46), Kayla Keddal, Peters Township (5:48), Alex Gambill, North Allegheny (5:48), Marissa Polk, Oakland Catholic (5:49), Tory Bruch, Shady Side Academy (5:53), Kaitlyn Figgurelli, Franklin Regional (6:00), and Emily Enzerra, North Hills (6:01). The main pack was situated just behind this lead group.
The 2-mile mark is in a cool location right before the runners make the turn to run between all of the team tents. It gives the runners an extra boost as they make they prepare to make the final push for the finish. The Malone sisters increased their lead by a few seconds as they hit two miles in 12:03. Jueng was trying to stay close to the Malones as she passed 2 miles in 12:07. Keddal lead the next line of runners through 2 miles in 12:12, followed by Gambill (12:13), and Boxheimer (12:14). Betsy Erlanger, Upper St. Clair (12:25) used the second mile to move up from the main pack and find a spot on the top ten. Bruch (12:30) was the next runner to finish two miles followed Figgurelli (12:34) and Amanda Ruschel, Bethel Park (12:35).
Margo pulled away from her sister over the last mile to get the win in 18:45. Shannon wasn't far behind in 18:49 as they continue to provide North Hills with a nice 1-2 punch up front. The first two runners remained unchanged over the 1.1 miles, but that wasn't the case for the rest of the top-10. Keddal used a strong finish to grab third place in 19:04 as Gambill stayed closed to finish 4th in 19:08. After being 3rd most of the race, Jueng slipped back to 5th in 19:15, just ahead of Boxheimer (19:16) in 6th. Erlanger moved well throughout the race to finish 7th in 19:23. Latrobe's Hanna Green (19:37) used her speed as she held off Seneca Valley's Erin Lopresti (19:38) and Ruschel (19:39) to lock up 8th place.
The girls from PA #6 North Allegheny (121) were able to build off of their 3rd-place finish at Carlisle to get the win against a tough field as Bethel Park (143) edged out North Hills (149) for runner up honors on the day.
Boys
The team and individual race got more interesting when it was obvious North Allegheny was running their 'A' squad. The fans were going to get to see a Baldwin-North Allegheny showdown for the team title as North Allegheny's Ryan Gil and Mount Lebanon's Rad Gunzenhauser battled for the individual title. But it would be Fox Chapel's Connor Weis (5:01) who pushed the pace early as he had a 3-second lead on the field at the mile marker. The main pack that followed him through the mile in 5:04 included Juris Silenieks and Joe Kush from North Hills, Baldwin's big three, Matt Cecala, Dennis Logan, Bobby Bishop, Canon-McMillan's Travis Arrigoni, John Yankello from Quaker Valley, Gunzenhauser, and Gil.
By 2 miles the large pack was no more, it had been whittled down to just three, Gunzenhauser, Silenieks, and Gil. They passed 2 miles in 10:20 and had a 10m gap to Cecala (10:23) who was trailed closely by Kush (10:24). Arrigoni and Yankello were about 30 meters off of the leaders as they passed 2 miles in 10:28. Weis, the early leader was now in 7th as he finished 2 miles in 10:32. Logan and Bishop lead the large chase pack through 2 mile in 10:40 as the team race was very close between PA #6 North Allegheny, PA #4 Baldwin, and PA #2 AA Quaker Valley.
Gunzenhauser broke away from Gil at the tennis courts with 300m go to win in 15:44 over Gil's 15:46. Silienieks (16:08) and Kush (16:12) were the next two to cross the finish line in 3rd and 4th. Arrigoni moved up to a spot to grab 5th in 16:18. Cecala (16:21) got Baldwin's scoring started in 6th place as Yankello (16:27) finished 7th kickstarting Quaker Valley's hope for an upset bid. Logan (16:28.7) was able to hold off Ryan (16:28.9) for 8th giving Baldwin the early edge. The early leader, Weis, faded to 10th in 16:33.
North Allegheny's 2-5 were too strong for the rest of the field as they backed up Gil to score 81 points and get the win over Baldwin (95) and Quaker Valley (111).
Brad Miles of North Penn took the weekend off, which gave Sam Bernitt the opportunity to take home some gold, which he did in the Varsity A race, running 16:40.35 on the very difficult Brandywine State Park course. St Alban's won the team title with 85 points, host Salesianum was 2nd with 103, Hatboro-Horsham was 3rd with 105, and North Penn was 4th with 106. Holy Ghost Prep won the Varsity B race with 28 points. All five of their scoring runners placed in the top ten overall and averaged 17:59. Concord's Andrew Doherty won the B race in 17:35.10 and Holy Ghost Prep's Kevin Panepresso was 2nd in 17:44.13. In the C race, Neb Osman won his 2nd consecutive invitational with a time 16:58.70. Masterman was the top PA boys team, finishing 2nd with 106 points, but way behind Tatnall, who scored 43 points for the win.
In the Girls A race, PA#8 North Penn needed every point they could get to outlast West Springfield VA, winning 35-39. SO Meghan McGovern's (Left in photo by Dave Watt) first place finish was key for her team, as she won the race in 19:31.79. In the Varsity B race, Concord outlasted the top PA team in their field, Archbishop Wood 50-57. Amber McAteer of Upper Merion was the top PA finisher with a runner up finish in 20:53.19, 22 seconds behind Middletown's Stephanie Taylor. In the Varsity C Race, Villa Joseph Marie, who was AA ranked in the preseason, was the top PA team, finishing 2nd with 78 points, but were defeated by Tatnall, who scored 28 points for the victory. Mercersburg's Mackenzie Riford was the top PA finisher in the field, running 21:21.40 to finish 6th overall. Lucinda Caldwell of St. Andrews was the individual winner in 20:15.42.
North East's Alex Beardsley maintained his momentum he gained from the PIAA Foundations Invite and won this meet in dominating fashion, running 15:56.4 to, 26 seconds better than the field. AA PA#3 Fairview once again got the best of Beardsley's team, winning the team title 67-111 over North East.
PA#2 Norwin girls got a victory from Jenna Gigliotti, who ran 18:436.9 to lead her team to a big victory. AA PA#5 was 2nd overall and got the best of AA PA#3 West Middlesex who finished in 4th.
Flash Result: Girls: Boyertown's Simpson 19:27; Shanahan over Boyertown 36-63. Boys: Altoona 39, Unionville 62, Council Rock North 71; Endress 16:35.
Boyertown senior Elizabeth Simpson loves hills. So much so, she raced at the Foundation meet last week, taking 4th, and returned to "The Hill" at Coatesville High School Saturday. This week she repeated as the meet champ, and set a course record to boot, running 19:27.9 to eclipse the 19:31.4 mark set two years ago by Spring Ford's Heather Giovagnoli. The course was redesigned in 2006 after an all-terrain soccer field took over the start. This course actually goes higher up toward the Veteran's Hospital, and unlike its predecessor, descends on grass instead of the road. Bishop Shanahan put five in the top 13 to take team honors behind the second place 20:00.1 by junior Kayla Lampe.
The Altoona boys bounced back from a rare-non-title at last week's Carlisle Invitaitonal behind team leader, junior Wade Endress's 16:35.9. Unionville - who gets #1 man, senior Matt Fischer, back for a dual meet this week, took 2nd.