PIAA State Champs: Central Cambria-Emmaus 3-peat girls|Sargent wire-to-wire|Miles catches Rad|Vids!

Nov 07, 2009

All video interviews, video highlights, photos and stories and race flow posted

Photo Galleries: Race Flow narrative with photos by Jayson Jackson and Lex Mercado

Race Video Highlights: AA Girls Race | AAA Girls Race | AA Boys Race | AAA Boys Race

Feature Stories by Cory Mull: Central Cambria: A rare find in the hills around Ebensburg | Emmaus: Finding a new way to win.

Summaries by Cory Mull: AA Girls | AAA Girls | AA Boys | AAA Boys

Newspaper coverage from around PA: Click here for links to local stories from around PA

Individual champs photos below by Timothy O'Dowd, IrishRunner.com

AA Girls: Lindsay Kerr, AAA Girls: Sara Sargent, AA Boys: Stephen Welsh, AAA Boys: Brad Miles

Summaries by Cory Mull

Photos below by Don Rich, Doug Michaels, Megan Clugh, Timothy O'Dowd

Class 2A Girls:

Central Cambria made it three straight team championships Saturday, solidifying their best four year run in school history. Freshman Alyssa Brandis was the first to clock in for the Red Devils, touching the finish line in 19:37. But Kelsey Seymour, a senior, followed shortly after in 19:38. "We've had good teams," head coach Randy Wilson said. "But when it really went to the next level was when Carly Seymour (Kelsey's sister) rose to prominence. She talked to these girls about setting the bar high." Central Cambria finished with 72 points, which was more than doubled by Union City, who finished with 153.

Central Cambria: A rare find in the hills around Ebensburg - By Cory Mull

In the individual title race, Northwestern Lehigh senior Lindsay Kerr fought off ELCO senior Kayleigh Perry for the championship, finishing in 18:56. Perry clocked in at 19:12. "It's a relief , because everything you work hard for pays off," Kerr said. "It felt really good." Perry had a slim margin as the leader into the two mile mark, but Kerr gradually picked off the District 3 champion. "You have to focus on yourself," Kerr said. "You say to yourself, 'You know how I run, this is how it's supposed to feel coming up the last hill."

Class 3A Girls:

Emmaus didn't catch anyone by surprise this time around, capturing their third straight team title behind a tight pack that was led by the Faust triplets of Christina, Amanda and Brianna. The Green Hornets scored 128 points, which was 30 better than second-place North Penn and 44 less than third-place Pennsbury. "Our coaches told us to run exactly how we've been running for the past couple weeks," Brianna said. "Head for the Hershey Stacks they said. They told us to head out fast and head for those stacks."

Emmaus: Finding a new way to win - by Cory Mull

While Emmaus continued its dominant run through the big-school meet, a certain freshman from District I Pennsbury gave an indication of what may come in the near future. Sara Sargent terrorized the field with precision, securing an early lead in the first 200 meters before finishing with the individual title in 18:35 -- a course record -- which was nine seconds faster than Central Bucks East junior Katie Kinkead. "(I tried) not to go out as hard as I can necessarily," Sargent said after her early start, "but at the crest of the pack (I) broke away. I didn't hold myself back." At one point Sargent heard footsteps, but a challenger never passed. "I thought they were going to catch me, but they didn't," she said. "I worked so hard."

Class 2A Boys:

Kutztown senior Stephen Welsh became the newest Class AA gold medalist Saturday after narrowly slipping past Milton Hershey senior Brett Kubiak by one second to finish the small-school race in 16:37. It marked the first time in two years that a runner not named Joe Beveridge, who graduated last season as a two-time champ for Bishop McDevitt, won the title. "I was kind of panicking after the mile because I was further back than I wanted to be," said Welsh, who edged Kubiak at the same exact course 10 days ago in the District 3 meet for the regional championship. "My plan was to go out a little slower and then make my move later." His plan was thrust into action a little sooner than later, but in the end it helped Welsh record a 13 second improvement off his previous race. Kubiak knocked off 24 seconds.

In the team title, York Suburban secured their first championship in school history by scoring 76 points on a 38 second spread. The Trojans were led by Nick Schrading, who finished 16th overall and clocked a 17:10. "It's insane," he said. "We are so excited. I knew we could do it. I knew we had the capability to do it. But in the back of my mind I was just like, 'Are we going to do it'" Quaker Valley, perhaps the favorite heading in, was second with 99 points and Elk Lake, last year?s title holder, was third with 135.

Class 3A Boys:

North Penn senior Brad Miles left no room for regret Saturday, clinching his first state gold medal by mere foot-lengths after edging Mount Lebanon senior Rad Gunzenhauser in a dead-on sprint for the title. "This was my last time to ever do this," said Miles, who finished in a course record 15:47. "I had to go." Three other runners, including Gunzenhauser (15:49) broke the previous course record of 16:09, which was set by Lower Merion's Ben Furcht at the PIAA XC Foundation Invitational last year. Miles, though, took a more relaxed approach from the start, easing into his title winning race. "I knew I didn't want to take the lead and that's why I relaxed," he said. "I always want at least one guy ahead of me." By the last mile, Miles and Gunzenhauser were jockeying step-by-step in a full-on race to the finish.

But Miles and North Penn couldn't pull off another feat Saturday, as they failed to three-peat in the team title race. Fellow District I mate West Chester Henderson rose to the podium after recording 119 points to second-place North Allegheny's 128 points. Will Kellar led the Warriors with a sixth place finish overall. The senior clocked a time of 16:18 and was the front-runner in a pack that recorded a 55 second compression.

Flash Summary by Aaron Rich

Emmaus(AAA) & Central Cambria(AA) both 3-peat Girls Championships, Sara Sargent runs 18:35, a course record by 12 seconds, to win the AAA state championship. Lindsay Kerr, NW Lehigh, won the AA girls race with a time of 18:56.

In boys action Brad Miles, North Penn, won the AAA boys race with a time of 15:47, the first time under 16 on the course. West Chester Henderson won the team title with a score of 119 points. York Suburban won the AA title with 76 points over Quaker Valley, 99. Stephen Welsh, Kutztown, won the AA race with a time of 16:37.