Denny Dyroff recaps the SOL Girls’ Cross Country Championships at Lehigh University on Friday.
By DENNY DYROFF
LOWER SAUCON -- Winning championship races is nothing new for the Pennsbury girls’ cross country team. The Falcons have been doing it on a regular basis for years.
But, their performances at the last two Suburban One League National Conference Championship meets have taken things to an unparalleled level of dominance.
Last year, Pennsbury’s girls scored the minimum points (15) when their five scorers were the first five runners to cross the finish line in the annual meet at Lehigh University’s Goodman Campus.
Then, the Falcons’ sixth and seventh runners placed sixth and seventh in the meet. There were six other teams in the race but none were able to have a runner break up Pennsbury’s impenetrable pack.
Six of those seven girls are back in the pack again this season and they produced an encore performance at Friday’s American Conference meet. With nationally-ranked runner Olivia Sargent leading the way, the Falcons again finished one through seven. They won the title easily as Council Rock North was a very distant runner-up with 57 points.
Pennsbury’s 2015 finishers were Sargent (17:33), Hannah Molloy (18:28), Mary Webb (18:29), Maddie Sauer (19:10), Meridith Twomey (19:13), Bailey Balmer (19:14) and Rachel Estey (19:43).
“Last year, we had the first seven finishers, and our goal was to do it again,” said Sargent, a senior. “We had basically the same seven as last year except with Mary Webb replacing Erin O’Connell who graduated. The race was kind of like a workout -- not a hilly race and a sunny day. We just had fun with it.”
Sargent, who was the defending gold medalist, led from start to finish.
“I took it out relaxed,” said Sargent. “We didn’t stay as a pack. Instead, we spread out. The first mile didn’t feel super-fast. Lehigh’s course is hard -- more mental toughness than toughness from the course.
“I just tried my best to keep picking it up throughout the race. After the cornfield in the third mile, it’s all downhill. This is the same course as districts, so the last half-mile was like a practice for districts. I wanted to see what I could do so I pushed it.”
Molloy, who is also a senior, said, “It was a good race. I ran with Mary Webb the whole time. We ran two-three the whole race and Meridith Twomey was with us for a while. I was third here last year and my time this year was better by a minute.”
Three Council Rock South girls rounded out the Top 10 -- Elizabeth Sauers, Megan Blaustein and Brittany Gable.
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For more than 50 years, the Avis Car Rental Company ran ad campaigns that celebrated the fact that Avis was “Number Two” and, because of that, it tried harder.
From 2012-2014, Central Bucks West’s Maddie Villalba was the “Avis” of the SOL’s Continental Conference.
This year, she “tried harder” and claimed the Number One position. West’s standout senior finished first with a time of 18:34 -- comfortably ahead of North Penn’s Ariana Gardizy, who was silver medalist at 18:48.
“I’ve been second here for the last three years,” said Villalba. “That was a big motivation for me today -- knowing that first place was doable. I was undefeated in dual meets this year -- and so was our team.
“Today, the first mile was pretty close to my race pace. The mile was 5:55 and I wish I had gone a little faster. There was still a little pack at the mile. I started separating from the North Penn girl (Gardizy) after the two-mile mark and then started to build a gap.
“I was in front but didn’t have a strong lead until after the two-mile. It’s a fast third mile here. I knew that after hitting that last turn, I’d just have to use the downhill the rest of the way.”
Villalba and her C.B. West teammates had to settle for the runner-up team trophy. North Penn placed all five scorers in the top 18 to finish with 44 points while C.B. West logged 60 to place second.
The Bucks’ other scorers were Jillian Keyte (ninth), Laura Roth (11th), Megan Kolbe (19th) and Marlee Evans (22nd).
The scorers for North Penn’s title-winning crew were Gardizy (second), Olivia Dyer (sixth), Phoebe Clowser (seventh), Mikaela Vlasic (12th) and Lauren Matulevich (18th).
The Continental Conference’s other Top 10 individuals were Souderton’s Emily Bonaventure (third) and Ellie Bell (10th), Central Bucks East’s Hannah Morris (fourth) and Tate Dawson (fifth) and Pennridge’s Monika Brill (eighth).
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In the American Conference race, Cheltenham’s Sarah Richart closed out her SOL career in style by capturing the gold medal with a time of 19:15 while Upper Moreland’s Maria Antoni was a distant runner-up with a clocking of 19:46.
“My p.r. (personal record) before today was 19:25 as a sophomore,” said Richart. “Last year, I got third here so this was definitely a nice improvement. It was a nice finish to my Suburban One League season.
“I went out pretty fast. I moved into first place after the first 800 and that was kind of terrifying -- and energizing. In the second mile, I tried to stay relaxed -- go a little harder and enjoy the beautiful day. I don’t have a strong kick. So, I gradually picked up my pace and then there’s that beautiful long downhill at the end of the race.”
Upper Dublin placed four girls in the first eight and all five scorers in the top 16 to win the race with a score of 39 while Upper Merion was second with 55, Wissahickon third with 70 and Cheltenham fourth with 77.
Sarah Smith, who won the bronze medal at 19:56, was Upper Dublin’s first finisher. The Cardinals’ other scorers were Saddie Gustafson (sixth), Sophie Gustafson (seventh), Emily Stewart (eighth) and Madeline Spaulding (16th).
Upper Merion posted its impressive runner-up finish with the team of Morgan Morton (fifth), Amber Strouse (10th), Caitlin Bowe (12th), June Sanchez (13th) and Alexis Anderson (19th).
The other individual American Conference Top 10 runners were Wissahickon’s Lotte Black, who placed fourth, and Springfield’s Sydni Stovall, was finished ninth.
National Conference (Top 20)
1. Olivia Sargent* Pbury 17:33
2. Hannah Molloy* Pbury 18:28
3. Mary Webb* Pbury 18:29
4. Maddie Sauer* Pbury 19:10
5. Meridith Twomey* Pbury 19:13
6. Bailey Balmer* Pbury 19:14
7. Rachel Estey* Pbury 19:43
8. Elizabeth Sauers CRS 19:46
9. Megan Blaustein CRS 20:17
10. Brittany Gable CRS 20:20
11. Kabrina Weaver Nesh 20:26
12. Kate Mullen CRN 20:30
13. Abby Christofas WB 20:33
14. Emily Kockott CRS 20:35
15. Lynne O’Connor WT 20:38
16. Kristen Wandling CRS 20:41
17. Georgina Garvey CRS 20:42
18. Carolyn Ludes CRS 20:48
19. Becca Lehman Nesh 21:17
20. Katie Booth CRN 21:18
*National Elites
National Conference Team Standings
1. Pennsbury 15
2. Council Rock South 57
3. Council Rock North 110
4. Neshaminy 111
5. William Tennent 124
6. Bensalem 165
7. Abington 172
Continental Conference (Top 20)
1. Maddie Villalba* CBW 18:34
2. Ariana Gardizy* NP 18:48
3. Emily Bonaventure* Ston 19:15
4. Hannah Morris CBE* 19:17
5. Tate Dawson CBE* 19:22
6. Olivia Dyer* NP 19:24
7. Phoebe Clowser* NP 19:31
8. Monika Brill* Pridge 19:35
9. Jillian Keyte* CBW 19:41
10. Ellie Bell* Ston 19:45
11. Laura Roth CBW 19:46
12. Mikaela Vlasic NP 19:50
13. Alyssa Quinn HH 19:52
14. Brooklyne Wiley CBE 20:00
15. Hannah Knudsen HH 20:05
16. Juliet Ryan Pridge 20:06
17. Shelby Daugherty Qtown 20:07
18. Lauren Matulevich NP 20:11
19. Megan Kolbe CBW 20:17
20. Claudia Eder CBE 20:18
*National Elites
Continental Conference Team Standings
1. North Penn 44
2. Central Bucks West 60
3. Central Bucks East 65
4. Pennridge 108
5. Souderton 108
6. Central Bucks South 146
7. Hatboro-Horsham 152
American Conference (Top 20)
1. Sarah Richart* Chelt 19:15
2. Maria Antoni UMland 19:46
3. Sarah Smith UD 19:56
4. Lotte Black Wiss 20:01
5. Morgan Morton UMer 20:01
6. Saddie Gustafson UD 20:03
7. Sophie Gustafson UD 20:15
8. Emily Stewart UD 20:33
9. Sydni Stovall UMer 20:38
11. Kendall Quesenberry Wiss 20:38
12. Caitlin Bowe UMer 20:38
13. June Sanchez UMer 21:00
14. Catherine Kluchinak Chelt 21:00
15. Emma Clancy PW 21:16
16. Madeline Spaulding UD 21:20
17. Lila Harmar Chelt 21:41
18. Hayley Ross Wiss 21:43
19. Alexis Anderson UMer 21:44
20. Logan Weber Wiss 21:44
*National Elites
American Conference Team Standings
1. Upper Dublin 39
2. Upper Merion 55
3. Wissahickon 70
4. Cheltenham 77
5. Plymouth Whitemarsh 135
6. Upper Moreland 138
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