Cross Country
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Cross Country
"The trail that leads to the PIAA cross country championships in Hershey will be a bit more level in the fall.
It will also be tougher in some respects for WPIAL runners ... and easier.
The PIAA Board of Control at its meeting prior to the basketball championships in State College at the end of March voted to expand classifications in cross country from two to three. The change goes into effect this coming season.
Instead of individual and team champions being crowned in Class AAA and AA, there will be champions in Class AAA, AA and A at the PIAA and WPIAL levels."
Geneva cross county and track & field athlete Nick Edinger, a graduate of Mars High School, was named the Presidents' Athletic Conference Male Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) Scholar-Athlete of the Month for February 2012.Edinger, a junior, has been a National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) national qualifier in track & field and cross country for each of the last two years. He was a PAC Coaches Honor selection for two years during Geneva’s NCAA Division III provisional status in both cross country and track.
Already this year, he has broken the school record for the 3000 meter run in indoor track & field, while also tying the school mark in the 5000 meter indoor event.
Slippery Rock sophomore men's cross country runner Travis Arrigoni, a Canon-McMillan High School graduate, was selected to the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association All-Academic squad.In order to be eligible for All-Academic honors, a student-athlete must maintain a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.25 and place in the top 30 percent of the NCAA Regional Championships or the top 50 percent at the NCAA National Championship.
Arrigoni led Slippery Rock at the regional meet with an All-Region finish of 10th place.
(photo courtesy of Slippery Rock University)
Slippery Rock freshman women's cross coutnry runner Angie Bagwell, a Shaler High School graduate, was selected to the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association All-Academic squad.In order to be eligible for All-Academic honors, a student-athlete must maintain a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.25 and place in the top 30 percent of the NCAA Regional Championships or the top 50 percent at the NCAA National Championship.
Bagwell placed 49th at the NCAA regionals last season.
(photo courtesy of Slippery Rock University)
"Most folks would consider cross country a safe, non-contact sport.
Yes, there is the occasional bumping of elbows at the start of a big invitational, but for the most part, runners stay away from each other. After all, the idea is for individuals to put as much distance between themselves and the person behind them as possible.
But cross country runners have to be tough because there is the chance they could make contact ... with the ground.
Take Shaler Area sophomore Caleb Wakeley for example. At the PIAA championships at the Parkview Course in Hershey on Nov. 5, he was toward the front in the Class AAA race when he tripped and went down."
"It is rare for a sophomore to finish in the top 10 in the boys Class AAA race at the PIAA cross country championships.
That's because there are just so many seniors and juniors who are a little faster, a little stronger and a little smarter in that race. But there was Kiski Area sophomore Brent Kennedy finishing seventh on the challenging 3.1-mile Parkland course in Hershey on Nov. 5. He finished with a time of 16 minutes, 16 seconds and was the second WPIAL runner to cross the line behind North Allegheny's Logan Steiner.
Connor Quinn of Hatboro-Horsham won the race in 16:03.
Kennedy wasn't as well known as some of the other top WPIAL runners in Class AAA this season. That won't be the case next year after he finished fourth behind Steiner, Central Catholic's Mike Runco and Baldwin's Andrew Kuchta at the WPIAL championships. Those other three will graduate in the spring, which will make Kennedy the top returning runner in Class AAA."
"There are any number of modern training methods and workouts available to high school distance runners.
Then there are the old-school ways of getting ready for a big race.
Trinity Christian junior Ryan McGuire went the old-school route.
One of his ways to prepare for the WPIAL cross country championships was to run home from soccer practice. The school is located in Forest Hills and McGuire lives in Turtle Creek."
(Photo: Trinity Christian's Ryan McGuire finishes fourth in the boys Class AA race at the WPIAL cross country championships. Pam Panchak/Post-Gazette.)
"Dave Noyes has always had runners on the Quaker Valley High School cross country teams look beyond the WPIAL championships.
Yes, he wanted his teams to go after WPIAL Class AA titles and that's something they have had success in doing, winning five consecutive boys titles and three girls titles in a row. But he would always remind them there was something more to shoot for after the late-October races at Cooper's Lake Campground near Slippery Rock.
"Some teams put so much stock in winning the WPIAL title," he said. "But if you look at the teams in [PIAA] District 1 or 2 or 3 or 4 ... it's a battle for them just to get to states. Winning a district title to them is just another big race. Their goal is to win a state title, not the district.""
(Photo: Senior Nat Fox finished second at the WPIAL Class AA championships and then helped the Quaker Valley High School boys team win the PIAA Class AA team title. Pam Panchak/Post-Gazette.)
In an absolutely smoking performance after not attending the PIAA meet in 2010, the Kiski Area team placed 9th. The Cavaliers’ front runner was Brent Kennedy, who placed fourth overall with a time of 16:16. The eighth place team this year was Great Valley, and Kiski Area was being chased by Holy Ghost.
One interesting development was that the Central Catholic team placed 17th. This is a completely lateral move from last year, when the Vikings placed 17th. For Coach Tim McVeagh, there were really no surprises this year. “I think that the most important thing is the experience of being there,” McVeagh said about the state meet. “I think that you often go to the state meet knowing that you are probably not going to win. But, if your team (at some point) has the opportunity to win, you have a better chance of achieving that if you have the experience of being there in the past. An athlete’s first experience at the state meet isn’t always the best experience. Your chances for being successful there increase the more times you are there.”
In the Class AAA race, Oakland Catholic’s Charlotte Lampenfeld placed 29th and ran for a time of 19:30. In the Class AA race, Derry Area’s Hannah Scipio placed 13th and ran for 19:40.
Other well-followed East girls’ runners had good finishes, too. Franklin Regional’s Kaitlyn Figurelli placed 76th in the Class AAA race with a time of 20:07. Hempfield Area’s Morgan Ansell placed 79th with a time of 20:09. Norwin’s Autumn Greba was 41st with a time of 19:41.
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