District XI XC Championships
November 8, 2022 INSPIRATIONAL STORY OF NEVER QUITTINGi
A Young Student On His Way To Fulfilling His Dream To Run
ybsports staff column,
He was competing in District One’s highest level in cross country, the Triple A class. What is even more remarkable was that this particular race came against a field of over 250 + determined competition whom intended on making it to states. The District holds it’s fall championships each year at Lehigh University’s famed cross country course layout in Lower Saucon Township.. The story of this young athlete’s will and the back story of how the renovation of one of the country’s best cross country courses came to be, will be touched on next week in the ‘ybs’. Look for it on this site.
District Eleven XC Championships.......................... DeSales University 5K Course
District One XC Championships.......................... Lehigh University 5K Course
October 27, 2022 Cont'd from front page
District One X Country Runners Prep For States At Lehigh U.
ybsports staff column,
The District One Cross Country power team always put on a tremendous showing inside Lehigh University’s garden maze of these lavishly laid out cross country courses. When most other teams from outside the area dare venture into this sacred land designed for running experts, their quickly reminded that this ain’t gonna be an easy thing! Especially when emerging from one of my all time favorite spots on the course which I nicknamed [The Emerald Forest]! On Friday afternoon and competing under a new format which allowed the Girls races to be run in their entirety followed by the remainder of the boys races, the District put on it’s best Sunday suit and offered up again its’ myriad of star power. But why doesn’t the D1 contingent shine a little more brightly out in Hershey as they should according to the numbers that are posted? Could it be that the District’s over abundance of super stars continually beat each other up so much during these championships that there’s not much left in the tank come state tournament time? .
YBSPORTS STAFF IMAGES
Mount Saint Mary's Woechicke runs out to the front at the start and was never headed
Mount Saint Mary's incredible Ella Woechicke led the Girls AAA race from start to finish
The Boys 3A race makes its' turn at Lehigh famous Monument Place at the 1K mark.
October 26, 2022 Cont'd from front page
Center Valley, Pa.
ybsports staff column,
District Eleven has always maintained a high level of respect from statewide competitors during the PIAA Cross Country Championships and why shouldn't they! The District's history in statewide meets have always produced runners that can compete at the highest levels in high school competition as well as on the collegiate landscape. The list of great harriers, both male and female reads like a who's who list of amazing finishers. Yesterday at DeSales University where the district held it's fall cross country classic, it showed that it is ready to continue its' presentation of great runners to the state in next weeks PIAA Championships in Hershey. As expected, Parkland and Emmaus will always continue their whip appeal because they are the preeminent favorites in the recently formed EPC, so there's nothing new there. But what is new and exciting to see is how they manage to reload with new faces every year and those individuals always seem ready to step to the forefront. The Parkland regime of runners appear unafraid to accept any challenge and that showed up yesterday as Parkland runners nabbed first place finishes in both the boys 3A and girls 3A races in thrilling fashion.
Parkland's Paul Albein had to come from behind to beat Giovanni Mastromonaco of Nazareth while Lana Hurwitz avenged last week's EPC loss to Emmaus' Hailey Rienhard. In the AA race boys race Northwestern Lehigh's Matthew Santana and Wilson's Avery Errico were dominant from start to finish. In the Single A races Palisades Thomas Smigo completed the perfecta of going four for four in winning four straight EPC crowns and four District titles and that in and of itself is an amazing feat! Smigo now has the unenviable challenge of repeating as the PIAA Boys 1A Champion. On the girls side, what else can be said about Moravian Academy's Diminutive Dynamo Virginia Kraus who is totally unaware of the fact that as a freshmen she shouldn't be running away from the much older and more experienced juniors and seniors she's faced all year. To her credit, Virginia has stepped up in class and against some of the best the state has to offer as she held her own at Lehigh's prestigious Paul Short Run last month finishing fourth overall in the Girls' Brown Course race which is equivalent to the PIAA triple A race! One important point of note, Virginia just missed the podium with a 3RD place finish when she was passed with a few meters to go in that race!
NOTE: Both Kraus and Smigo sem to possess that one characteristic that can be clearly seen watching them compete. That characteristic is a look of peace and serenity when they run and all of the great ones have it.
Boys A 5K Championships
1.Thomas Smigo - Palisades in (17:07.57), 2.Keegan DubA- Minersville Area in (17:52.56), 3.Albin Petschauer- Marian Catholic in (18:00.70).
Girls A 5K Championships
1.Virginia Kraus- Moravian Academy in (18:51.2), 2.Olivia Schweitzer- NDGP in (20:40.7), 3.Katherine Koons- NDGP in (20:43.4).
Boys AA 5K Championships
1.Matthew Santana- Northwestern Lehigh in (16:52.08), 2.Owen Hibell- Palmerton in (17:02.62), 3.Duke Ebert- Allentown Central in (17:10.17).
Girls AA 5K Championships
1.Avery Errico- Wilson Area in (20:07.02), 2.Olivia Bortz- Saucon Valley in (20:27.44), 3.Izzy Kehoe-Huck- Allentown Central in (20:49.59).
Boys AAA 5K Championships
1.Paul Albein- Parkland in (16:49.98). 2.Giovanni Mastromonaco- Nazareth in (16:57.27). 3.Liam McGuigan- Parkland in (17:01.31).
Girls AAA 5K Championships
1. Lana Hurwitz- Parkland in (19:09.49), 2.Hailey Reinhard- Emmaus in (19:17.66). 3.Madelyn McCartney- Emmaus in (19:27.69).
ybsports staff images
Palisades Thomas Smigo has nothing but space in front of him and no challenge behind him
1A: Virginia Kraus from Moravian Academy finished two whole minutes ahead of her fellow runners.
AA: Northwestern Lehigh's Matthew Santana ran away from the field in the AA championship race
Wilson Area High School's Avery Errico was the girls AA winner covering the course in 20:07.02
Parkland's Lana Hurwitz has Emmaus' EPC Champion Hailey Reinhard in her rear view mirror in the AAA race.
