Photo by: Raymond Tran
Pennsylvania athletes punched their tickets to San Diego with podium-caliber runs at the Brooks Northeast Regional Championships on Nov. 29 in Franklin Park, Boston, one of the most competitive regional fields in the country.
On the boys' side, Lower Merion's Nicholas Mazzeo led the PA trio with a third-place finish (15:03.2). Close behind him was Cedar Crest's Travis Furmanski, who ran a 15:19.6 for fourth, while Michael Fritz rounded out the qualifiers with an eighth-place finish (15:24.2).
In the girls' race, Saucon Valley's standout Virginia Kraus made a strong statement, finishing second (17:01.1) while Carlisle's Ana Bondy crossed in seventh (17:31.2) to secure her spot on the national stage.Girls 5K Championship:
Virginia Kraus finished 10th overall in the race, where she earned an All-American title to put a cap on her stellar senior campaign.
Ana Bondy placed 45th overall in the race in a hard-fought effort and finished her high school XC career on a high note with a national qual on the biggest stage in high school cross country running.
Boys 5k Championship:
Nicholas Mazzeo finished 14th overall, earning himself an All-American honor and putting a cap on his senior year, showing why he was awarded Senior of the Year.
Travis Furmanski placed 26th overall to end his high school career in style with a run on the biggest stage in high school running. Travis showed why he was named overall Athlete of the Year on the boys' side.
Michael Fritz put an exclamation point on his senior campaign with a 42nd-place finish at Brooks XC Championships and showed why he was really named to First Team All-State.