9/11 WKND: Aisling Cuffe 17:17, Wade Endress 15:26 @ PTXC 2|N Hills & N Allegheny sweep RW&B

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By CORY MULL
Special to PennTrackXC.com
Girls’ Race Summaries

Believe it or not, as a freshman at Cornwall High during the fall of 2007, Aisling Cuffe, the current US #1 in the girls’ 5,000 meters, sat on a soccer bench and played the part of spectator.

It’s hard to picture now, considering Cuffe’s prolific running arc since that blip on the radar during her fall freshman campaign, but it is in fact true.

 

Photo by Don Rich

Perhaps Cuffe, now a senior, used it as mental motivation -- no one was going to take her away from what she does best: compete.

So from the first instant her cross country and track coaches, Brian Creeden and Dave Feuer, saw her tiny body move so ferociously, they’ve been blown away ever since.

“You could see, she went from sort of a follower in the beginning of the (spring track) season to being a leader by the end of the season,” Creeden said of Cuffe’s 2007 spring, when she ditched her soccer cleats for running flats. “She realized she was good at it and had some potential. She just caught the bug and from there on she’s been at it.”

She qualified for nationals (4:57.59) as a freshman in the mile, and then in the ensuing fall, registered a remarkable campaign that allowed her to compete at Foot Locker Nationals in San Diego, Ca. -- where she ran an 18:03. She repeated another fine performance her junior year, getting back to Foot Locker, but she left wanting more, having finished fourth in that race with a 17:21.

So far, so good.

In her first official race of her senior campaign, at the second annual PennTrack.Com Cross Country Invitational at Franklin & Marshall College, Cuffe cued fireworks once again by shattering the previous course record by 53 seconds.

 

Photo by Doug Michaels

She recorded a blistering 17:17 in the Varsity A girls’ race, which bested current Pennsbury sophomore Sara Sargent’s 18:10.28 of last year. It was 34 seconds off her best overall track 5K (16:43.58) and 17 seconds shy of her best cross country finish (17:00.10).

Afterward, Cuffe was aware of who she beat and what it meant.

“It’s pretty cool because I know Sara Sargent held it,“ Cuffe said. “And I know it was one of her early races, so you never know if she was going all out in it, but I was satisfied because she’s a really good runner.”

Early on, Cuffe determined the pace of the race, which was just too fast for the competition. The senior, a tactical veteran, zipped out to an approximate 5:30 first mile, which released her competition from the wings.

“I want to make sure no one interfered with my expectations,” said Cuffe, who, as a senior is drawing interest from Division I programs Villanova University, Duke and Stanford. “I wanted to run it fast and I wanted to see where I was. I wanted to make sure nothing got in the way of seeing where I was.”

The fast start left Cuffe to calculate her internal clock as the race moved forward. Her second mile hovered around the 5:40 range, Creeden said, and her third mile tapered off a little bit from there.

“She understood that a course like this is totally different than running in Manhattan (Van Cortlandt Park) because of the hills,” Creeden said of the relatively flat F & M course. “She knew she could run this nice, even, solid, bring on the pain kind of the race with kids that wanted to run with her.”

Homer Center junior Angel Piccirillo, fifth in last year’s PIAA Class AA meet, tried to keep up with Cuffe initially, but the pace dictated was a little out of reach.

It still didn’t prevent Piccirillo from registering a career best 18:24, which was 34 seconds better than her previous best (18:58) at the District 6 championships last season.

“I think overall I did the best that I could and it was an opportunity I tried to use to the best of my ability,” she said. “I’m happy I got a PR out of it and getting to run against her was a once in a lifetime thing.”

Piccirillo’s ascension in the cross country ranks has been a quick study since 2009, when she first suited up in the sport. Previously, she was a preferred mid-distance runner. But lately, she’s carved out an impressive resume on Pennsylvania terrain.

“I know I’m definitely stronger than I was (when I started),” Piccirillo said. “And when I make a mistake now, I don’t worry about it as much as I know how to correct it.”  

Photo by Doug Michaels

Lower Dauphin freshman DeeDee Shea, in a revealing display of talent, came in third at 18:26. With the effort, she instantly became one of the  most intriguing talents this season and perhaps one of the most interesting freshmen in the state this year.

After Shea, five others clocked times below the 19-minute mark, making it eight overall. Conestoga Valley junior Brianna Heikkinen was fourth at 18:32, West Chester Henderson’s Janie Augustyn was fifth in 18:39 and Saint Anthony’s Gabriella Vezza was sixth in 18:41.

Academy of Notre Dame’s Maria Seykora (seventh in 18:48), Saint Basil Academy’s Megan McGarrity (eighth in 18:59), West Chester Henderson’s Amanda Eisen (ninth in 19:01) and Osbourn Park’s Brandy Wybersky (tenth in 19:18) rounded out the top 10 in the Varsity A girls’ race.

While West Chester Henderson and Osbourn Park both had two girls’ place within the top 10, it came down to displacement to decide the overall champion. Each team finished with 87 points.

In Henderson’s case, their sixth runner, Stephanie Aldrich (31), recorded the team’s most important finish. She was nine places better than Courtney Maimon (40), which as a result gave Henderson the team title.

Lower Dauphin, behind two runners in the top 12, finished third, scoring 129 points.

Varsity B girls’ Race:

Three freshman finished in the top three of the Varsity B girls’ race, with Penn Manor’s Greta Lindsley securing the race’s top finish with a time of 19:00.

 

“When I saw the end of the race and felt that she was right behind me,” Lindsley said of the second-place finisher, Cedar Crest’s Haleigh Echard (19:42), “I just sped up.”

William Tennent’s Judy Mabone was third in 20:05.

All three runners were aligned in a tight pack through two miles, but Lindsley, who led most of the way, made a move with about three-quarters of a mile left and punched through the finish.

It was her second win since Tuesday, when she recorded a dual-meet win by over a minute in a Lancaster-Lebanon league race.

“I liked this race, because I knew really tough girls were in the first race,” Lindsley said of the Varsity A group.  “I kind of wanted to see how I stacked up to her, but I’m glad I ran here.”

East Pennsboro’s Rachel Kreiger was fourth in 20:12, Ephrata’s Emily Blackshire was fifth in 20:35 and Coatesville’s Melanie Holl was sixth in 20:38.

Central Dauphin’s Gabrielle Rekully (20:38) and Garden Spot’s Kelsey Gerhart (20:39), Tasha Becker (20:43) and Erin Shirk (20:45) rounded out the top 10.

In the team title race, it was a three-way fight for the trophy, but Cedar Crest pulled away behind tight pack-running by Olivia Hess (32) and Katrina Diehm (35), which resulted in 102 points for the Falcons against Garden Spot’s 105 and Osbourn Park’s 107.

Junior Varsity Girls’ Race:

Dara Cuffe, the younger sister of Aisling Cuffe, walked away with a tight win over Unionville’s Sam Collins in the junior varsity girls’ race. Cuffe clocked a 20:59, which was only two seconds faster than Collin’s 21:01.

Cuffe, an eighth grader, was the only competitor to finish under 21-minutes.

 

West Chester Henderson’s Sierra Walker was third (21:04), Saint Anthony’s Kerri-Anne Flynn was fourth (21:13), West  Chester Henderson’s Katy Alexander was fifth (21:22) and Cornwall’s Eva McGill was sixth (21:24).

Rounding out the top ten were Saint Basil Academy’s Valerie Stangelo (21:34), Lower Dauphin’s Caity Reese (21:38) and Manheim Township’s Halyley Schultz (21:39) and Stella Sergeyev (21:41).

West Chester Henderson recorded the team title, securing 58 points against Cornwall’s 63.

Middle School Girls’ Race:

Megan McNally of Manheim Township took the overall top place in the abbreviated middle school girls’ race, which was approximately 1.6 miles, in 10:28.

McNally, an eighth grader, beat Great Valley’s Anna Willig (10:32) by four seconds.

 

Photo by Don Rich

“I wasn’t expecting to win at all,” McNally said. “I wanted to be in the top 10 or 12 but I didn’t expect to come out and win it.”

Manheim Township, which won the team prize, placed four runners in the top 10, including the third and fourth finisher, Erin Mullican (10:33) and Mary Jane Reynolds (10:40).

Penn Manor’s Kirsten Gibson was in fifth at 10:41.

 

 

 

 

 

Each runner had misfortune cast on their 2009 postseason.

And now, not surprisingly, both have hopes of reclaiming what they were supposed to do just last year.

Photo by Doug Michaels 

So maybe it was fitting that, this early in the boys’ cross country season, both Wade Endress of Altoona Area High and Ed Schrom of Central Dauphin were neck-and-neck when it came to the Varsity A boys’ race at the second annual PennTrack.com Cross Country Invitational at Franklin & Marshall College.

Endress,  the No. 1 runner on Altoona’s #1 boys’ team in Class AAA, unleashed a superb 15:26, which was the leading figure in the Lions’ team title on Saturday.  Altoona banded together to score a microscopic 45 points as the Lions had four runners place within the top 10 and scored a 1:39 spread between the first five.

 

Photo by Doug Michaels

Schrom, meanwhile, posted an impressive 15:28, barely missing Endress in a dead-heap sprint to the finish line.

For both runners, last year’s postseason was marred by illness. Schrom was plagued by the swine flu, which lasted through the District 3 Class AAA and PIAA meets. And Endress dealt with bronchitis.

Both feel like they have much to prove after less than ideal PIAA Class AAA finishes in last year’s state finale in Hershey.

Neither was willing to concede that anything would get in front of their aspirations for their senior seasons, their final as high school athletes.

“Last year my goal was going be top 5 individual, to break the heat on those guys,” Endress said of the top 3, which included Class AAA winner Brad Miles of North Penn, Ryan Gunzenhauser of Mount Lebanon and Ryan Gil of North Allegheny.

Miles and Guzenhauser have since graduated, but Gil remains, perhaps by results alone, the favorite. Endress, by the way, was 20th last year, scoring a 16:34 to Miles’ top time of 15:47.

“Obviously, this year is the same thing,” Endress added. “(One of my goals is) not letting him (Gil) run away with it like everybody thinks he’s going to. I just plan on challenging with the top 5 guys.”

 

Photo by Don Rich

Schrom was even more disheartened by his finish at states, 91st overall, which didn’t exactly reflect the work he put in as a junior.

So Saturday’s results indicated, at least initially, that both runners are on the right course.

Along with Governor Mifflin’s Logan Mohn (third in 15:31) and Cedar Crest’s Alex Galli (seventh in 16:17), Schrom and Endress comprised an almost impenetrable pack of four runners that lasted through a mile and a half before things started to unfurl near the finish line during the second and final pass.

The pace was dictated by all four at some point, Schrom said, which allowed the group to fly out to an opening 4:55 first mile.

“On a flat course, you expect kids to take it out fast,” said Endress, who as senior has interest ranging from Penn State University to Georgetown and High Point. “I planned on doing that myself, so from the gun I was right there on the first mile. The guys were right on me. So I expected to be a fast pace. That was what I was looking forward to.”

For the most part, there was no major move made until at least after the second mile hit home, when the group gradually began to unwrap from its shell.

“I think that was the easy part,” Schrom said. “Nobody really made any adjustments. There were no major surges, no major slowdowns. We started alternating a little bit, unintentionally with who was leading, but besides that it was a tight little group. We didn’t make too many adjustments. It was a fast little race all the way through.”

When Endress made his final move near the final straightaway, Schrom was right with him.

The time (15:28) was a coup for Schrom, who before Saturday’s meet held a career-best 16:05 at the Carlisle Invitational in 2009.

“The last 1,000-meters the guys started pushing a little faster and faster,” said Schrom, whose team finished ninth on the day. “You like the guys, but you want to beat them. It doesn’t matter how good friends you are, when you get to that last (point), you want to beat them.”

Endress’ teammate, Korey Replogle, finished fourth in 15:57, Solanco’s John Ausel was fifth in 15:57 and Altoona’s Tyler Lidwell was sixth in 16:17.

Rounding out the top ten were Galli, last year’s winnner, Lewistown's Zach Moon (16:20), Unionville’s Glen Burkhardt (16:20), and Altoona’s Dylan Mountain (16:23).

Varsity B Boys’ Race:

James Martin didn’t realize he was in first place until he crossed the finish line.

Safe to say, he was satisfied.

“First win of the year,” Martin said. “I’d say it’s a step up.”

 

Photo by Don Rich

The Garden Spot No. 1, a sophomore, indicated he’s ready for big things with his 16:48, which was five seconds faster than the next best runner, Ephrata’s Tyler Sensenig (16:53). Central Dauphin East’s Kyle Klaboe was third in 16:57.

Martin said he made his move with about a half mile left, when he realized he had more in the tank.

“I felt strong, so I picked it up a little bit,” he said.

Penn Manor’s Jonathan Bitner was fourth in 17:05 and two Lower Dauphin runners -- Cole Nissley and Dan McCreary -- came in fifth and sixth, successively. They helped the Falcons record the Varsity B boys’ team title, aiding in a 62 point performance. Penn Manor was second with 69 points.

Rounding out the top 10 were East Pennsboro’s Joseph Smith (17:12), Cornwall’s Sean Casey (17:12), Lower Dauphin’s Jeff Groh (17:20) and East Pennsboro’s Ben Heisley (17:22).

Junior Varsity Boys’ Race:

Altoona didn’t just secure success in the Varsity A race. One runner, with hopes of joining the varsity soon, proved that he may not be far off from the big stage.

 

Photo by Don Rich

Sophomore Terry Futrell staved off Cedar Crest’s Nick Keener for the first finish in the junior varsity boys’ race, clocking in at 17:40. Keener came in at 17:44 and two more of his teammates, Dylan Nixon (third in 17:45) and Cody Lloyd (fourth in 17:54) came shortly after.

Futrell had concerns on subtle hills near the second mile, but they proved to be a strength.

“I started out with everybody, did my best to keep following,“ he said. “I did my best not to fall back from hills and push a little forward afterward.”

Warwick’s Conor Smith was fifth in 18:00, Altoona’s Cody Nail was sixth in 18:02, Central Dauphin’s Garrett Schock came next in 18:02 and Cedar Crest’s Devin Gill was eighth in 18:07.

Rounding out the final 10 were Governor Mifflin’s Andrew Lesko (18:09) and Manheim Township’s Hunter Kurtz (18:09).

With little problem, considering four runners placed within the top 10, Cedar Crest claimed the team title with 37 points, which was 41 points better than second-place Altoona.

Middle School Boys’ Race:

For a freshman at Manheim Township, Brian Ball is perceptive.

He used the adrenaline-soaked music and the pace vehicle -- it actually was meant to aide in producing video of the race  -- to pep him up as he finished in 8:53 of the middle school boys’ race, which gave him first place in the 1.6 mile event.

 

Photo by Don Rich

“I’d have to say the golf cart helped a lot,” he said. “As soon as that thing started speeding off, I started speeding off. I mean, it was like a pacer.”

Cedar Crest’s Noah Redcay came in second at 9:02, Ball’s teammate Matthew Ball was third in 9:24, Penn Manor’s Joel Burkholder was fourth in 9:34 and Cedar Crest’s Zach Miller rounded out the top five in 9:38.
 

 

 

 

 

In only it's 2nd year the PTXC Invitational has attracted top talent from in state and around the region to a fun and fast course for some early season racing.  This year adds a second boys and girls Varsity race to the schedule, which also includes middle school and JV races.  This year there will be an intense battle in the boys race and possibly a nation-leading 5k time in the girls race. 

In the boys race the battle will be individual as well as team.  The PA#1 Altoona boys squad will race the course for the first time led by senior Wade Endress.  Their competition will be PA#10 Unionville, led by Glen Burkhardt.  On a flat course depth should play an important role as there isn't an area where a team can easily pull away.  Altoona has a strong mid-pack that should benefit them by being able to bunch up for a low score.  Saint Anthony's makes the trip from NY.   

Individually, last year's champ, Alex Galli from Cedar Crest, will again be in attendance, and has experience winning on this course.  He will be challenged this year, as the front of the pack will contain loads of talent.  Wade Endress has 4:15 mile speed which will benefit him over the flat layout. But expect Logan Mohn, Governor Mifflin, who was 8th in AAA last year, and fellow senior Glen Burkhardt, Unionville, was was 15th, to challenge.  

In the girls team race some of the top-ranked AA teams will clash for the first time. The Academy of Notre Dame is PA#3 and they will be in the hunt, led by Maria Seykora who has already run 18:40 for 5k this season.  St. Basil Academy, PA#4, will also compete well here as they return 6 of 7 from their team from last year.  AAA PA#5 West Chester Henderson will be in the girls A race and are the favorites to win the team title.  They will have out of state competition from one of the top Virginia teams, Osbourn Park, and Saint Anthony's, comeing from NY. 

The girls Varsity A race will be electric, as US#1 Aisling Cuffe travels from New York with her Cornwall teammates to tour the Franklin and Marshall course.  Cuffe is a 10:02 2-miler, so certainly Sargent's 2009 course record of 18:10.28 is in jeopardy, but just how fast will she go?  Only time will tell, so don't miss this one!  The race behind her will be no less exciting as new PA star Angel Piccirillo begins her XC campaign after a thrilling spring in which she won the Penn Relays mile and secured a 4:53.11 1600 PR.  Angel should be able to hang close to Aisling through the first lap and has the potential for a serious PR over 5000 meters.  Janie Augustyn, West Chester Henderson, was runner-up to Sargent last year, and should be able to give Angel a good run.   

The races begin at 8:30am with the Middle School girls.  The races then go off as follows:

Schedule
8:30 AM - Middle School Girls
9:00 AM - Middle School Boys
9:30 AM - Middle School Awards
9:45 AM - Varsity Girls A (Seeded)
10:15 AM - Varsity Girls B
10:45 AM - Junior Varsity Girls
11:15 AM - Junior Varsity Boys
11:45 AM - Varsity Boys A (Seeded)
12:15 PM - Varsity Boys B
12:45 PM - JV and Varsity Awards

See you there!