Mirror photo by Michael Boytim
Central Cambria’s Dom Kuntz (right) congratulates teammate Ethan Haycisak as he crosses the finish line during the District 6 Class 2A boys race on Saturday.
REEDSVILLE — Central Cambria won its 22nd girls District 6 Class 2A cross country championship in the past 25 years, 23-70, over Marion Center on Saturday at Indian Valley Middle School.
“It doesn’t get old, I can tell you that,” Central Cambria coach Randy Wilson said. “This is a great group. I have five seniors, and three of them ran in this race. They have been a great group. It’s been an amazing year with great training. We have kids coming back from injury and illness, so to still win when you’re not at 100 percent to me that’s the true testament of a good team. We’re nowhere near where we would be if we were all healthy.”
Paige Alexander, who finished in 19:51 and was third place individually, was the Lady Devils’ top finisher.
“It feels really good,” Alexander said. “We have worked really hard for this. It makes me feel good as a freshman finally being a part of all those titles.”
Keira Link (fourth, 20:12.2), Alaina Sheehan (sixth, 20:24.4), Abigail Sheehan (seventh, 20:32.7), Alaina Long (eighth, 20:34.8) and Ruth Remillard (10th, 20:50.4) all had top-10 finishes and earned medals for Central Cambria.
“It’s tough when the expectations are so high,” Wilson said. “They are not expected to do anything but come here and win. That takes a toll on athletes sometimes. These kids are such a tight group. They do so many activities together that we don’t even set up for them. They have accomplished a lot. They know the tradition.”
Two-time Class 1A champion Lanee Berkhimer of Central (19:33.5) finished as the runner-up this year in 2A behind individual champion Sylvia Brubaker of Juniata, who finished in 19:07.4.
“I didn’t really have any expectations today, because at LHAC and the last invite, I’ve had bronchitis,” Berkhimer said. “I’m still kind of in the middle of that. I’m better than I was, but I feel so out of shape. I can’t breathe like I normally can, so I just wanted to make states. I hope I feel better next week.”
Berkhimer will try and rebound at the PIAA meet.
“It’s kind of devastating,” Berkhimer said. “I am slower than the beginning of the year, but there’s nothing I can do. I just have to trust God’s will.”
Class 3A boys
Mifflin County’s Carter Smith won the 3A boys race in 15:24.7 ahead of six State College runners as the Little Lions took the team title, 20-55, over Mifflin County.
Altoona junior Dean Sunderland qualified for the PIAA meet with an 11th-place finish in 16:37.2.
“I was not planning on kicking at the end,” Sunderland said. “I wasn’t feeling the greatest earlier in the race. I was passed by Reese (Cubbison of Mifflin County) and (Noah Scholnick of Williamsport), and I panicked and thought I wasn’t going to make states. I realized I could hawk (Scholnick) down. In the last 100 meters, I used my long legs to catch up and passed him. I almost got Cubbison at the finish line, and we both fell down.”
Sunderland achieved a lifelong dream with his finishing kick.
“This is amazing,” Sunderland said. “It’s what I have wanted since I was a kid. My cousin got to go, and now I do.”
Class 3A girls
Altoona sophomore Ashlyn Noce continued her season of new personal bests with a runner-up finish in the Class 3A girls race with a time of 18:50.5.
Noce finished behind only champion Devon Jackson of State College, who won in 18:24.2.
“I have ran this course in our season opener at Big Valley and then twice last year,” Noce said. “It’s nice, because you know where you’re going. I’m excited to continue to get new PRs.”
Hollidaysburg’s Rylan Carney also advanced to the PIAA meet with an eighth-place time of 19:52.1.
“I felt really strong mentally,” Carney said. “It was a good atmosphere and a lot of fast girls. I feel like I held my own pretty well. Making states has been my goal since I was in seventh grade.”
Noce and Carney were among the top five non-State College finishers, which earn them a spot at states. State College won the team title 27-58 over Altoona.
“I want to finish in the top 50 this year at states,” Noce said. “Last year, I finished 63rd, and I want to get under the 20 mark there.”
Lana Luke won a medal with her 10th-place finish for Altoona in 20:03.9 but did not advance to states.
Class 2A boys
The Central Cambria boys got third-place finisher Dom Kuntz (16:43) and fifth-place finisher Ethan Haycisak (16:50.1) through to the PIAA meet, but the Red Devils suffered heartbreak in the team race.
Central Cambria gathered around the scoring screen following its race and saw its team score go from in first, to second, to tied, to back to first and then finally one point behind 2A champion Juniata, 40-41.
“It’s just tough,” Kuntz said. “We gave it our 100 percent all throughout training and summer workouts. The past four years have led up to this, and it’s just pulling at the heart strings having to look at a screen waiting for a score.”
Kuntz said his sadness over the team falling short is due to how much they have meant to his development.
“It’s important, but I’m really into this for the team,” Kuntz said. “The guys that got me to where I am the past three years. I owe it to these guys to go out there and put out everything I have. I don’t think I’d be here without the team that I’m surrounded by.”
Class 1A boys
United’s Colton Henning ran away with the 1A boys race in 17:06.2, finishing well ahead of runner-up George Nestlerode of Moshannon Valley, who crossed the finish line in 17:54.5.
Portage’s Logan Gentile was the top area finisher with a sixth-place time of 18:40.6.
“There were some solid runners out there,” Gentile said. “I started back a little bit, caught up and eventually started moving as fast as I can and go for placement. I knew I had nothing else in me at the end.”
Bellwood-Antis’ Cameron Gallagher also earned a medal and a trip to states with a 10th-place finish in 18:47.8.
“It means a lot,” Gallagher said. “I never thought I would make it this far in cross country. I just kind of did it for fun for the team aspect of it. To be qualifying for states means a lot.”
Bishop Carroll Catholic’s Brody Pablic also qualified for states by finishing in 12th with a time of 18:56.
United topped Marion Center, 49-73, for the team title. Both teams advanced to the PIAA meet.
Class 1A girls
Juniata Valley senior Ella McCrum capped a solid week that began with her winning the Blair-Huntingdon County race with a third-place finish in 19:42.4 in Class 1A girls.
“I’m really excited and proud of myself,” McCrum said. “It definitely felt hard today, but I feel like I really pushed through and finished strong. I wish I would have hung on to my start a little longer. I definitely slowed down a little bit during my second mile, but I picked it back up at the end. I’m happy about that.”
Forest Hills’ Bella Ascherl won the race in 18:38.9.
Williamsburg’s Ava Dixon surprised herself with a fourth-place finish and a trip to states in 20:01.2.
“It feels unreal. I wasn’t expecting to do that well,” Dixon said. “Honestly, I didn’t think I would even get in the top 10. I was so worried and nervous before the race. I started off really fast. I was worried I would slow down, but I kept pushing through the pain.”
Two spots behind Dixon in sixth was Cambria Heights’ Savannah Hoover, who will return to states after giving her all and collapsing several times after crossing the finish line in 20:45.8.
“It was very hard, but I made a PR, and that was as much as I could give,” Hoover said. “I went last year, but I’m hoping to do better and better myself for this year. I know what to expect and how to pace myself.”
Bishop Carroll’s Ava Pablic (eighth, 21:04) and Avery Myers (13th, 21:41.5) and Portage’s Josephine White (14th, 21:49.2) also advanced to the PIAA meet along with team champion Richland and runner-up Forest Hills.
Bellwood-Antis was just a point back of the Lady Rangers from qualifying as a team but did send two individuals in Julie Kraft (seventh, 20:55.7) and Blake Pennington (10th, 21:19.6).
“It feels really good,” Kraft said. “I never thought I would make it this far. I felt really good the entire race. I started really fast. Our coach told us we weren’t going to run a 6:20 first mile, and I did. After that, I kept pushing and made a PR.”
Pennington said she didn’t run her best race but was happy for her teammates and that she was moving on to next week’s state meet in Hershey.
“I’m very excited, and I’m proud of Julie and Cameron and so happy for them,” Pennington said. “I’m looking forward to the opportunity, and I’m glad today went the way it went.”
3A BOYS TEAM SCORES: 1, State College (SC) 20; 2, Mifflin County (MC) 55; 3, Hollidaysburg (H) 96; 4, Williamsport (W) 113; 5, Altoona (A) 121; 6, Central Mountain (CM) 139.
3A BOYS TOP 10 AND QUALIFIERS: 1, Smith, MC, 15:24.7; 2, I. Opperman 15:27.4; 3, T. Opperman, 15:37.4; 4, Coughlin, SC, 15:47.7; 5, Bradbury, SC, 15:48.4; 6, Fowler, SC, 16:03.9; 7, Selber, SC, 16:04.4; 8, Kauffman, MC, 16:22.1; 9, Winner, CM, 16:32.7; 10, Cubbison, MC, 16:36.9; 11, Sunderland, A, 16:37.2.
3A BOYS TOP 30 AREA FINISHERS: 14, R. Manfred, H, 17:12.3; 16, Diaz, H, 17:21; 20, Chen, H, 17:29.9; 22, McNicholas, H, 17:36.9; 23, Quinn, A, 17:39.9; 24, Bialo, H, 17:40.5; 25, Chestney, H, 17:40.5; 27, Woomer, A, 17:43.9; 28, Lieb, A, 17:47.3; 30, Singer, H, 17:55.5.
3A GIRLS TEAM SCORES: 1, State College (SC) 27; 2, Altoona (A) 58; 3, Williamsport (W) 83; 4, Hollidaysburg (H) 87; 5, Central Mountain (CM) 128; 6, Shikellamy (S) 165; 7, Mifflin County (MC) 171.
3A GIRLS TOP 10: 1, Jackson, SC, 18:24.2; 2, Noce, A, 18:50.5; 3, Sanders, W, 19:14.8; 4, Wadhia, SC, 19:21.1; 5, Younkin, SC, 19:28.5; 6, Bigger, SC, 19:30; 7, Keohane, CM, 19:44.5; 8, R. Carney, H, 19:52.1; 9, Sanders, W, 19:54.2; 10, Luke, A, 20:03.9.
3A GIRLS TOP 30 AREA FINISHERS: 13, Adams, A, 20:28.4; 15, Fiore, H, 21:01.1; 16, Snare, A, 21:03; 17, Stoltz, A, 21:05.6; 19, A. Carney, H, 21:09.4; 20, Etters, H, 21:14.1; 25, Smith, H, 21:55.5; 26, Moyer, H, 22:06.6; 28, Watt, H, 22:22.6.
2A BOYS TEAM SCORES: 1, Juniata (J) 40; 2, Central Cambria (CC) 41; 3, Bellefonte (B) 107; 4, Penns Valley (PV) 122; 5, Forest Hills (FH) 158; 6, Tyrone (T) 160; 7, Richland (R) 173; 8, Philipsburg-Osceola (PO) 193; 9, Bald Eagle Area (BEA) 216; 10, Penn Cambria (PC) 220.
2A BOYS TOP 10: 1, Stroup, J, 16:08; 2, Bomberger, J, 16:20.9; 3, Kuntz, CC, 16:43; 4, Williams, B, 16:47.7; 5, Haycisak, CC, 16:50.1; 6, Muchmore, B, 16:55.8; 7, Honn, H, 16:55.8; 8, Caron, FH, 17:02.2; 9, Ehrisman, J, 17:02.3; 10, Gasper, B, 17:12.8.
2A BOYS TOP 35 AREA FINISHERS: 11, Takacs, CC, 17:27.4; 12, McConnell, CC, 17:36.6; 13, Doyle, CC, 17:37.4; 15, Sutt, T, 18:00.4; 16, Allison, C, 18:02.8; 20, Brumbaugh, T, 18:27.7; 24, Fisher, CC, 18:43; 28, Brannigan, CC, 19:11.2; 30, Giraud, PC, 19:13.8; 35, Erickson, T, 19:33.6.
2A GIRLS TEAM SCORES: 1, Central Cambria (CC) 23; 2, Marion Center (MC) 70; 3, Bellefonte (B) 110; 4, Juniata (J) 118; 5, Penns Valley (PV) 120; 6, Bald Eagle Area (BEA) 145; 7, Penn Cambria (PC) 178; 8, Philipsburg-Osceola (PO) 180; 9, Tyrone (T) 220.
2A GIRLS TOP 10 AND QUALIFIERS: 1, Brubaker, J, 19:07.4; 2, Berkhimer, C, 19:33.5; 3, Alexander, CC, 19:51.3; 4, Link, CC, 20:12.2; 5, Fry, B, 20:17.8; 6, Al. Sheehan, CC, 20:24.4; 7, Ab. Sheehan, CC, 20:32.7; 8, Long, CC, 20:34.8; 9, Slade, MC, 20:38; 10, Remillard, CC, 20:50.4; 11, Jolley, B, 20:56.4.
2A GIRLS TOP 35 AREA FINISHERS: 22, Aly. Sheehan, CC, 23:40.1; 24, Miller, C, 23:53.7; 28, Gardner, T, 24:30.2; 33, Plummer, PC, 24:54.3.
1A BOYS TEAM SCORES: 1, United (U) 49; 2, Marion Center (MC) 73; 3, Purchase Line (PL) 122; 4, Bellwood-Antis (BA) 138; 5, Bishop Carroll (BC) 146; 6, River Valley (RV) 149; 7, Saint Joseph’s (SJ) 177; 8, Mount Union (MU) 178; 9, Portage (P) 184; 10, Cambria Heights (CH) 191; 11, West Shamokin (WS) 273.
1A BOYS TOP 10 AND QUALIFIERS: 1, Henning, U, 17:06.2; 2, Nestlerode, Moshannon Valley, 17:54.5; 3, Beaver, U, 18:22.1; 4, Boring, MC, 18:28.4; 5, Denhard, Bishop McCort, 18:33.5; 6, Gentile, P, 18:40.6; 7, DePlato, SJ, 18:42.8; 8, Kephart, PL, 18:43.9; 9, Shepler, U, 18:47.2; 10, Gallagher, BA, 18:47.8; 11, Taubler, RV, 18:54.4; 12, Pablic, BC, 18:56; 13, Messina, WH, 18:58.3; 14, Kauffman, PL, 19:01.3; 15, Wells, MC, 19:01.5; 16, Fox, MC, 19:02.1.
1A BOYS TOP 35 AREA FINISHERS: 17, Westover, P, 19:07.4; 22, Corl, W, 19:18.5; 23, Kline, CH, 19:24.2; 25, Philips, BC, 19:43.1; 27, Mock, W, 19:48.3; 30, Corle, BA, 19:57.1; Harman, Juniata Valley, 19:58.7; 34, Isaacson, BC, 20:03.4.
1A GIRLS TEAM SCORES: 1, Richland (R) 67; 2, Forest Hills (FH) 93; 3, Bellwood-Antis (BA) 94; 4, St. Joseph’s (SJ) 107; 5, United (U) 138; 6, Bishop Carroll (BC) 139; 7, West Shamokin (WS) 172; 8, Portage (P) 197; 9, Cambria Heights (CH) 199; 10, Juniata Valley (JV) 235; 11, Southern Huntingdon (SH) 236; 12, River Valley (RV) 270.
1A GIRLS TOP 10 AND QUALIFIERS: 1, Ascherl, FH, 18:38.9; 2, Mavridis, R, 19:36.4; 3, McCrum, JV, 19:42.4; 4, Dixon, Williamsburg, 20:01.2; 5, Lucullo, WS, 20:03.4; 6, Hoover, CH, 20:45.8; 7, Kraft, BA, 20:55.7; 8, Pablic, BC, 21:04; 9, Jakubowski, R, 21:16.9; 10, Pennington, BA, 21:19.6; 11, Ladika, R, 21:29.7; 12, Kolarik, U, 21:35.4; 13, Myers, BC, 21:41.5; 14, White, P, 21:49.2.
1A GIRLS TOP 35 AREA FINISHERS: 22, Andrews, BA, 22:16.1; 28, Hammond, BA, 22:56.2; 35, Eckenrode, CH, 23:27.4.
