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RICHBORO – Council Rock South’s Sean Keefe won the battle, but Council Rock North won the war at Saturday morning’s Council Rock Invitational at Tyler Park.
Keefe finished 14 seconds ahead of his closest competitor on a wet track, crossing the finish line with a time of 16:27, but Rock North (60 points) walked away with the team crown.
“We came in with high expectations,” Keefe said. “I would trade in an individual win for a team title.”
Keefe and his Rock South teammates finished fourth (138) while Pennridge (85) and Bensalem (137) finished two, three behind Rock North as the SOL put on a strong showing in the invitational meet.
The Indians placed four runners in the top 20. Dan Wallace finished third (16:42), Chris Campbell was sixth (16.57), Steve Meckler was 11th (17:17) and Steve Pope finished 14th (17.21). Doug Rheiner was 26th with a time of 17:44.
“Our seniors really stepped up,” Rock North coach Dave Marrington said of Wallace, Meckler, Cope and Rheiner. “It was their last Council Rock Invitational, and it was their day.”
Anything less than a team title would have been disappointing for the Indians.
“We knew Pennridge would be strong, we knew Council Rock South would be strong, and we ran Bensalem on Wednesday, and they gave us a real good meet,” Marrington said. “We knew who our competition was.
“We went in with individual goals and targeted individual runners. Each of our kids had a kid they wanted to beat.”
One runner no one could touch was Keefe, who made it look easy on a tough day.
“The times were a little bit slow today,” he said. “The conditions weren’t great, and the course is in bad shape, but it actually wasn’t that bad of a day to run.”
The Rock South senior was third after the first mile.
“I took the lead about a mile and a half in and then kind of opened it up and held it from there,” Keefe said. “The original goal at the beginning of the week – we picked a time, but you kind of have to throw time out the window with the rainy conditions.
“It was more just a matter of trying to get a win.”
Kevin Hull of Hempfield finished second (16:41). Wallace was third, and Central Bucks West’s Nick Scarpello was fourth (16:51). Bensalem’s Kyle Klapatauska finished seventh (16:57), Pennridge’s James Faucette was eighth (17:10), Neshaminy’s Tim Haines finished ninth (17:13), and Brady Desko from Pennridge rounded out the top 10 with a time of 17:15.
“There were a lot of good guys here, so it’s always great to win,” Keefe said after the race. “We’re waiting for our team results – that’s what we’re more excited about.”
The Golden Hawks didn’t win a team title, but it was still quite a day for Keefe.
Team scoring:
Class A: 1. Council Rock North (60), 2. Pennridge (85), 3. Bensalem (137), 4. Council Rock South (138), 5. Central Bucks West (147), 6. Neshaminy (214)
Class B: 1. Hempfield (175), 2. Wissahickon (195), 3. Cheltenham (255), 4. Central (295), 5 Holy Ghost Prep (336)
Class C: Jenkintown (410), Bristol (552)
Individual scoring:
1.Sean Keefe, Council Rock South (16.27), 2. Kevin Hull, Hempfield (16.41), 3. Dan Wallace, Council Rock North (16.42), 4. Nick Scarpello, Central Bucks West (16.51), 5. Jon Shope, Phil-Mont (16:55), 6. Chris Campbell, Council Rock North (16.57), 7. Kyle Klapatauska, Bensalem (16.57), 8. James Faucette, Pennridge (17.10, 9. Tim Haines, Neshaminy (17.13), 10. Brady Desko, Pennridge (17.15), 11. Steve Meckler, Council Rock North (17.17), 12. Rob Spatola, Pennsbury (17.18), 13. Justin Knoebel, Wissahickon (17.18), 14. Steve Pope, Council Rock North (17.21), 15. Matt Bee, Central Bucks West (17.22), 16. Dan Beck, Council Rock South (17.22), 17. Willie Swinney, Bensalem (17.23), 18. John Mooney, Archbishop Carroll (17.24), 19. Jaison Zachariah, Bensalem (17.25), 20. Nick Olindo, Pennridge (17.32).
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