NOTE: This season we begin a new approach to our coverage, posting a weekend summary as our lead article, and then adding to it through the middle of the week. As results, stories and photos are added, you'll see them in the What's Related and Related Articles links to the right.
And if you don't see results in a meet link to the right, it means we have not yet received results for that meet.
Included in this week's coverage, race flow photos and photo galleries from Viking & Cliff Robbins (Don Rich), McDowell (Carl Strub), and Big Valley (Karen Ward). Race flow pix are in the meet summary, galleries are stand-alone stories.
Kate Ross wins at Viking.
The weekend action had a few surprises, some strong confirmations, and some firsts, along with some weather that was as good as it gets in early September (still hot for the runners - but NO humidity).
The #10 team in the Northeast in the pre-season NTN rankings, Allentown Central Catholic, was upset at the 9/3 Northampton Invitational by Easton, a team led by one of the fastest half-milers in the US, sophomore Chanelle Price. (No results yet on this meet).
Kyle Dawson leads Coatesville
at Big Valley.
At the Big Valley Invitational in Reedsville, Coatesville took half of the top ten spots for a cool 26 points behind Kyle Dawson. State College junior Katerine Ward won her first invite - going 19:12. Also winning her first invite was Kate Ross, a Gwynedd-Mercy transfer to Central Bucks East, who won the Viking Inv 9/2 at Tamaned Park, where Josh Hibbs, Hatboro-Horsham came within five seconds of Steve Hallinan's CR. At the Enos Yeager Inv in Chambersburg, the girls team cruised, placing seven runners in the top ten. But it was Big Spring's Lara Crofford getting back to her front-running ways for the win. Tamaqua's Isaac Dunkleberger set a CR at the Shamokin Purple & White Inv, as did Colin Brett of Easton at the Northampton Inv.
Lauren Zarger points the way
for Harbor Creek at McDowell.
It hasn't been a long time since you've seen the orange of Harbor Creek at the front of a race. And now that it's back, it could very well be there for four years in the name of Lauren Zarger. Strongsville, Ohio used a 64-second spread, starting with the one point for first, to tally 69 points, 11 better than North East.
Maria Monks, the Hazelton senior, looks poised to have a great final campaign as a prep runner. In the boys' race, Lakeland's Mark Bucklaw had a few chasers as he set the pace from the gun...
At the Oakbourne Relays, a 16.4 mile event combining two-person teams and scoring the first four teams, was led by the Governor Miffflin girls, followed by defending state champs Unionville, and host Henderson. The Henderson boys won their race.
Maria Monks has reason to
smile to the Cliff Robbins Memorial.
West Chester East has been mentioned by many as a team to watch at States. Well, the guys got off to a great start at the Maroon & Gold Invitational at Kutztown University behind Duriel Hardy... and teammate Alycia Woodruff also won, just as her older brother had in a prior year.
East Pennsboro's Kari Blood – yes, of the Rick Blood and Ryan Blood family – is on the course and won her first race of the season, but Owen J. Roberts took both girls' and boys' team title
Stay tuned... we're just gettin' started.
The Norwin boys beat hosts Gateway by 14 points without a top five finish, while their girls' team took Slippery Rock by 16. But it was Penn-Trafford's top boy and girl that set course records.