Photos by Phil Grove
Teammates have a special bond.
The connection for six participants in the PIAA Class A boys’ championship race last Saturday goes deeper than displaying a school’s colors, lining up in the same starting box or gutting out an interval workout. For Alex and Ryan Archer, Jake and Jeremy Parsons, and Matt and Morgan Schenberg, wearing the same cross country uniform is a small part of their unique relationship as twin brothers.
“We do everything together and compete together,” junior Matt Schenberg said of his bond with Saegertown teammate and brother Morgan.
The Schenbergs’ trip to Hershey was their first for the state meet on the Parkview Course as Morgan missed advancing from District 10 in 2011 by a single place. This year, Morgan was third and Matt fifth for the Panthers as they defeated West Middlesex, 92-93, for the District 10 title and a qualifying berth.
Morgan joined Saegertown’s cross country team in eighth grade, and he recruited his brother prior to the 2012 season.
“We needed a fifth man, and he was fast,” Morgan said.
The Schenbergs were a big part of the Panthers’ success on Saturday as the team finished 3rd in the Class A standings. Morgan was 46th in 17:35, while Matt claimed 89th in 18:08.
For the other set of mirror-image runners in District 10, the Parsonses, cross country has been part of their routine going back to seventh grade. The soft-spoken juniors also are accomplished wrestlers, with each picking up 20 victories a year ago for the Maplewood Tigers.
“We just try to stick together in a race,” Jake said of their usual race strategy.
A muddy course Oct. 27 at Buhl Park in Sharon did not prevent the Parsonses from having a “special moment,” with Jeremy winning the District 10 race in 17:27 and Jake crossing the line 10 seconds later for a 1-2 finish.
Jeremy Parsons also was the first of the Class A twin brothers to finish Saturday, starting fast and staying near the front of the pack. He was fifth in 16:28 after being 22nd and a medalist last year in Class AA.
Jeremy said he was able to follow his plan of starting in the top 10, staying there throughout the race and going from competitor to competitor to move up in the finish order. His brother Jake, making his first November trip to Parkview, was 41st in 17:31.
For the Archers, Saturday’s Class A final was their fourth consecutive trip to Hershey, with the last two as the lead duo for Vincentian Academy’s qualifying team. The brothers have been running together since sixth grade, with Alex admitting to gaining inspiration from his brother’s increased dedication.
“The reason I got started running was basically because Ryan decided one year that he was going to take it seriously and really start to be a good runner,” Alex said. “So I decided I don’t want to be the slow twin, so I went out there and ran with him.”
As with any teammates, pre-race rituals varied for the identical siblings.
“Usually we talk it out before the race, and then on the starting line, we always line up next to each other and give each other a little bit of encouragement before we go off,” Ryan Archer said of their routine. “A lot of times we try to go out together and stay with each other for as long as we can, but sometimes it’s kind of difficult in big races.”
The Archers had a successful lead into Hershey as Ryan was the WPIAL (District 7) race winner at Cooper’s Lake in 16:34 and Alex was 11th in 17:26. In the team standings, the Royals were a qualifying second.
As they have done for the past four years, the Archers led Vincentian Academy at Hershey, earning state medals with Ryan 18th in 16:57 and Alex 23rd in 17:08. Vincentian was fifth this year in A after being 12th in AA in 2011.
“For the most part, we’re basically pretty identical and have most of the same interests,” Alex said. “In college, we might study different things but are kind of looking at the same schools.”