Photo by: Jackson Polin
This past weekend we crowned 3 new state champions on the boys side with each one being more shocking than the previous.
Travis Furmanski struck gold with his first state title winning the 3A boys state title in a shocker. The favorite going into the race had to be senior Carter Smith as he won the AAA state title a year prior and holds pre of 1:48 over 800m 4:01 in the mile and 15:04 over 5k from a year prior. With range and speed like that he held a great edge over the field already winning a state title.
It looked like this year Travis was on a mission all year with only 1 total loss being way back in September in his 5k season opener at Foundations. The senior stayed patient early and hung with the top pack and kicked his way to victory over the last 400m over Nicholas Mazzeo coming in 2nd for the 3rd year in a row.
The AA state title was very easy to predict in my opinion as Jonah Montagnese has looked unbeatable all year at the AA level with his only losses coming in his season opener and at the VA Showcase. Jonah claims his first individual state title on the grass after a break out track season in his sophomore campaign. Only time will tell how much he will exile on the track this year.
The A boys race was a very competitive one with ultimately Michael Fritz coming out on top ahead of Kendall Jones who was the pre race favorite in my personal opinion. It was a hard fought battle all the way to the line with only a 6 second spread between first and second with Michael running 15:59 and Kendall running 16:05.
Switching over to the team side of things the top 4 team scores in the AAA race was separated by 18 points total with North Penn ultimately coming out on top with 115 points to State Colleges 123 points for 2nd. North Penn was lead by low stick Justin Landis placing 12th overall and putting 2 in the top 25 with their 3rd just narrowly missing an individual medal.
The AA race was also a very close and hard fought battle with Hughesville ultimately coming out on top with 135 points to Quaker Valley's 142 points. Just a 7 point difference separated first and 2nd with both teams having a low stick. Quaker Valleys Jonah Montagnese came out on top individually and Hughesville Tyce Shaner Placed 2nd overall leading them to the team title as well.
The A Race was the Elk Lake show and nobody came in their way with 3 individual medals and 4th just missing the podium on the individual side. They put up just 61 points total as they looked dominate on the day.
Some Information: Top 25 in every race will earn an individual state medal and top 2 teams will earn a team medal and trophy.
Top 25 in AAA Race:
Top 25 in AA Race:
Top 25 A Race:
Top 5 AAA Team Scores:
| 1 |  North Penn 01 | 115 | 9+12+21+29+44 (46+84) | 0:49 1-5 Split | 16:44 Avg |
| 2 |  State College 06 | 123 | 3+4+26+43+47 (66+98) | 1:28 1-5 Split | 16:33 Avg |
| 3 |  La Salle College 12 | 131 | 11+20+30+33+37 (42+45) | 0:39 1-5 Split | 16:51 Avg |
| 4 |  Council Rock North 01 | 133 | 6+10+28+40+49 (60+71) | 1:08 1-5 Split | 16:46 Avg |
| 5 |  Perkiomen Valley 01 | 195 | 7+27+39+53+69 (128+147) | 1:21 1-5 Split | 17:01 Avg |
Top 5 AA Team Scores:
| 1 |  Hughesville 04 | 135 | 2+17+34+36+46 (47+153) | 1:49 1-5 Split | 17:22 Avg |
| 2 |  Quaker Valley 07 | 142 | 1+21+27+37+56 (91+135) | 2:16 1-5 Split | 17:26 Avg |
| 3 |  Grove City Area 10 | 164 | 5+13+20+42+84 (87+103) | 2:07 1-5 Split | 17:39 Avg |
| 4 |  Brookville Area 09 | 179 | 16+28+29+33+73 (99+100) | 1:26 1-5 Split | 17:47 Avg |
| 5 |  Annville-Cleona 03 | 182 | 7+11+18+68+78 (104+105) | 1:55 1-5 Split | 17:43 Avg |
Top 5 A Team Scores:
| 1 |  Elk Lake 02 | 61 | 1+2+4+11+43 (102+108) | 2:39 1-5 Split | 17:05 Avg |
| 2 |  Riverside 02 | 86 | 5+14+15+25+27 (46+63) | 1:37 1-5 Split | 17:46 Avg |
| 3 |  Lakeview 10 | 127 | 6+10+17+30+64 (66+81) | 2:05 1-5 Split | 18:04 Avg |
| 4 |  Central Clarion | 189 | 22+23+38+49+57 (60+97) | 1:02 1-5 Split | 18:35 Avg |
| 5 |  Lancaster Catholic 03 | 195 | 19+35+37+39+65 (91+136) | 1:15 1-5 Split | 18:36 |