Steel City Invitational 2007

 Nov 3: A little twilight zone to the Boyertown back-to-back  in AAA | Central Cambria won a title. But they took home so much more. | Coatesville doen't rebuild. They reload. | Cross country rings true in Wellsboro. | Experienced coach, expert spotters, and soccer lead North East to 9th state title. Oct 27: PODCASTS: Wellsboro and Shikellamy surprised and Lewisburg delivered in D4. Dallas' boys competed well in D2. Liberty swept individual titles and advanced two teams to states, Emmaus was Emmaus in D11. Henderson's Chris Aldrich and Carly Hamond caputured individual crowns and St. Basil held off Christopher Dock in D1. Oct 20: Winning streaks were preserved at the big Tri-State Coaches Association meet on October 28th at Cooper's Lake in Slippery Rock. Baldwin senior David Adley won his 6th invitational of the season, while Latrobe junior Natalie Bower captured her third straight Tri-States. Video interviews with both chams. Oct 13: Three videos, including the post- Manhattan interviews with Central Cambria's Carly Seymour, who set the 2.5 mile Van Cortlandt Park record of 13:56; her coach, Randy Wilson; and North Penn coach Ron Jaros after his boys' team ran the best team average of the day, 12:57.1, which happens to be the 2nd best of all time. Oct 6: There is something different this year about Vince McNally. He's hungrier than ever. Most of last year's U.S. champs are in college. But Coatesville is still Coatesville. Winners. (Posted Wednesday AM. Coming Thurs: McNally's plan). If running is mental, then confidence is currency. Just ask Heather Giovagnoli. Sept 29: Ignore North Penn at your own risk this year. A track power excels at cross, too. And it's good to get your #1 runners back. Just ask Unionville & Cardinal O'Hara. Sept 22: Holy Ghost Prep is a very small AAA school. And Central Cambria, Lewisburg and North East are AA. All four are using the pack to attack their large school competition, and winning. Plus, North East coach Ted Miller is going for his ninth state tltle. Sept 15: Carly Seymour is more fit, more rested and more confident than last year when she was 9th at Foot Lockers. But her team is right with her with big goals. Germantown Friends made some noise on the national scene with a near upset of the U.S. #1 team. They are both little schools with some big talent. Sept 8: Kara Millhouse breakthrough – Cumberland Valley is back – Chanelle Price uses cross for the 800 (but she has goals this season too) – Podcast interview with Vince McNally. Sept 1: Baldwin distance stars David Adley and T.J. Hobart – Meghan Lutz of Nazareth Academy – Mark Dennin of Boyertown.

While few major invitationals took place this weekend, the ones that did take place were mighty intense, and featured some amazing results.  Key weekend match-ups set the tone for the rest of the season, as conference and state-series action starts to occur next weekend.

  Steel City: Vince McNally was 3rd as a freshman, 2nd as a sophomore, injured as a junior, and unbelievable as a senior - taking Steel City on a warm, humid morning in a blistering 15:37. Boyertown's Mark Dennin was almost a half-minute back. Coatesville's boys - with two guys who were not even running XC in 2006 - four-peated, beating Council Rock North by 17. Spring-Ford senior Heather Giovagnoli shook off a sub-par Paul Short Run along with Northern York star Rachel Wong, to win by five seconds. Northern York continued to roll, taking another big invite, this one by ten over a rising-fast Downingtown East squad. In Delaware, North Penn's boys and Cardinal O'Hara's girls win the A races at the Salesianum Inv. In Pittsburgh, the Mount Lebanon girls and Seneca Valley boys were winners. Baldwin's David Adley won another invite at the Pittsburgh Central Catholic Invite.  Lauren Zarger (in photo by Carl Strub) wins by over a minute on her home turf at the Dirty Dawg Invitational.  Saint Basil girls dominate at the George School Invite, scoring only 21 points.