Hear from Nicholas (Left) and Alexander (Right) after District 1 performances.
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Its hard to set goals when you're still learning the sport. For Nicholas Mazzeo and Alexander Mazzeo, a debut cross-country season has yielded unbelievable results.
As sophomores, they are running in their first-ever cross country season - having realized that they are pretty good at this running thing during last spring's outdoor track season.
We've been watching them break out week-by-week. Nicholas was fourth at Foundation, fourth at Paul Short, won the Central League Championship and this past week's District 1 Championship in a blazing 15:07.4.
Alex has been right in step with his brother. He was eighth at Paul Short before finishing second at the CAL Championship and third at District 1. He ran a personal best of 15:13 to finish just six seconds back from the lead.
Above: Watch the District 1 Championship race (3A).
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But how good are those marks?
They are phenomenal. In our database's PA All-Time list, Nick and Alex rank second and third amongst sophomores. Vince McNally is the only individual who has run faster. McNally was a 2008 Conestoga Valley graduate. In his sophomore year, he ran 15:02 to finish second at the Gettysburg Invitational. He went on to win an outdoor state title and eventually competed at Penn State University, where he earned All-Conference and All-Region honors on several occasions.
Some other names they're ahead of? Sam Affolder, Josh Hoey, Ryan Pajak, and Paul Springer. We could go into length about what these other athletes have accomplished, but their names speak for themselves.
To make matters better, the two have been helping their team finish exceptionally well. Lower Merion won the Central Athletic League Championship before finishing second at the District 1 Championship. A tough Council Rock North squad held them off to win the District title, utilizing a 42-second spread to win by 34 points.
The Mazzeo twins will look to carry their momentum into this Saturday's PIAA State XC Championship, where the only thing they'll be worried about is the team finish. That alone may help them finish amongst the best.