Mackenzie Skelly (Penn Charter) and T.J. Zwall (Penn Charter) were last week's PA Athletes of the Week.
Skelly was voted to receive recognition after winning the PA Independent Schools Championships title. She won the individual race, running an impressive 18:07.4, and led Penn Charter to the team victory.
T.J. Zwall earns Athlete of the Week recognition because of his 16:03.5 to win the PA Independent Schools Championships title on the boys' side. Just like Skelly, he paced Penn Charter to the team win.
The PIAA State Championships gave us many memorable performances. This week's candidates will be each classification's champion. Who do you think had the most impressive win?
This week's Poll will close on Thursday (November 7th) at 9 pm EST.
Be sure to vote in both of the Voting Windows Below:
The Week's Girl Candidates:
Claire Dufrene (Warrior Run) - Dufrene took the 1A crown in 19:04.00. She broke away from Forest Hills' Bella Ascherl, securing her first state title and first cross country state medal.
Virginia Kraus (Saucon Valley) - Kraus dominated her way to the 2A state title, running 18:18.00, beating the field by just under 20 seconds. She navigated the course faster than any girl across all three classifications.
Lillian DiCola (Hatboro Horsham) - DiCola secured the 3A win in a nail-biter race. She demonstrated her experience crossing the line in 18:31.00, just two seconds ahead of Carlisle's Ana Bondy and Dallastown's Leah Navarro.
The Week's Boy Candidates:
Jaxon Schoedel (Mohawk) - Schoedel defended his 1A state title in fashion. He clocked 15:52.00, 27 seconds ahead of the field. He went out hard and never looked back
Jonathan Hess (Lewisburg) - Hess broke the tape in the 2A race, running 15:57.00, helping his team secure second place overall. He held off Freeport Area's Michael Braun with a strategic kick late in the race.
Carter Smith (Mifflin County) - Smith locked down the 3A title in 15:41.00. He broke away from a deep pack over the final portion of the race, fending off Nicholas Mazzeo (Lower Merion), Vinay Raman (Hershey) and Isaac and Theo Opperman (State College), who all finished within 10 seconds of one another.