This week’s notebook features the Wissahickon boys’ XC team and highlights the Trojans’ Lotte Black and Souderton’s Connor McMenamin.
By Scott Huff
The Wissahickon men’s cross country program is off to a 4-0 Suburban One League American Conference start, and the Trojans have their sights set on a conference title.
“We set our goals high here at Wissahickon, and our goal every year is to win a conference championship,” said Wissahickon head coach Bill Gallagher. “This is the largest team of young men that I have ever had here at Wissahickon, and of those 46 kids, 25 of them are either freshmen or sophomores.”
The Trojans boast three of the top four runners in the conference this year in junior (#1) Lukas Marcelis [16:43]; senior (#2) Kyuande Johnson [17:17]; and senior (#4) Walker Smith [17:29].
“Lukas is a really strong runner and continues to improve each year,” said Gallagher. “We have been working on the speed part of his running, and that has continued to develop extremely well since his freshman year.
“Kyuande finished 7th in the conference meet last year, and we expect him to do even better this year,” added Gallagher. “And Walker has developed into a very good runner and has come a long way.”
Junior Andy Harman – who has missed the last couple of weeks after suffering a concussion in a car accident – may return before the end of the season.
“Hopefully Andy can come back,” said Gallagher. “But we are going to have to get along without him. He’s a great kid and is missed.
“We have a shot at reaching our goal of winning a conference championship,” added Gallagher. “But it won’t happen until the end of the season in the conference championships. We have to continue to get better.”
Now we know why Wissahickon junior Lotte Black is so fast…
“As soon as she finishes a race, she sprints back to the finish line to cheer on her teammates,” said Wissahickon head coach Heidi Butt. “She is all about being part of a team – she sends the message that she in no prima donna.
“Lotte is an amazing athlete that is very humble and really doesn’t like the spotlight,” added Butt. “And what most people don’t realize is that she has an incredible sense of humor.”
Black has earned the National Silver Standard and captured a season best 19:09 in the Bulldog Invitational. She not only has the best time on the Wissahickon team this fall season, but also has earned the best time for any girl to date in the entire SOL American Conference.
“Each day is different – different course, different weather, different competition,” said Black. “All I really want to do is go out and compete – and improve as much as I can.
“I got a chance to run the course at Hershey this year where states are held – and I improved my time by 11 seconds,” added Black. “That really pumped me up –and I am pumped to get back to states.
“I really don’t like to set personal goals too much,” continued Black. “What I really enjoy is finishing a race and getting to see my team mates finish strong.”
Souderton sophomore Connor McMenamin is earning quite a reputation as a young runner this season.
“Connor has come a long way for such a young runner,” said Souderton head coach John Donahue. “He is already a leader on this team as a sophomore and has gained the respect of everyone on the team – whether or not you are a senior or a junior.
“Connor has a great sense of pace,” added Donahue. “And he knows the competition that he is running against. We know that he checks pamilesplit.com all the time.”
A check of that website after last week would show that McMenamin earned the Silver Standard for his performance at the Chris Fretz Invitational. He finished with a time of 16:14 – the fourth best time of the season – according to pamilesplit.com – in the Suburban One League and finished in second place
National Silver Standard Performances Last Week in the SOL
[pamilesplit.com]
8th PIAA Foundation XC Invitational
Lotte Black – Wissahickon – 19:29
Elizabeth Morris – Central Bucks East – 19:30
Jake Brophy – Central Bucks East – 16:01
Chris Fretz Invitational
Casey Comber – Hatboro-Horsham – 15:48
Connor McMenamin – Souderton – 16:14
Steel City Invitational
Phoebe Clowser – North Penn – 19:04.8
Ali Valenti – North Penn – 19:30.6
George School Invitational
Brian Arita – Council Rock North – 16:16
Top 5 SOL Runners
[pamilespilt.com]
Boys XC
1. Jake Brophy – Central Bucks East – 15:39 – Briarwood Invitational
2. Casey Comber – Hatboro-Horsham – 15:48 – Chris Fretz Invitational
3. Ryan Tung – North Penn – 16:11 – White Clay Creek Classic
4. Connor McMenamin – Souderton – 16:14 – Chris Fretz Invitational
5. Brian Arita – Council Rock North – 16:15 – Mill Street Run
Girls XC
1. Marissa Sheva – Pennridge – 18:48.61 – PTXC – New Balance
2. Maddie Villalba – Central Bucks West – Bulldog Invitational
3. Phoebe Clowser – North Penn – 19:04.8 – Steel City
4. Lotte Black – Wissahickon – 19:09.2 – Bulldog Invitational
5. Elizabeth Morris – Central Bucks East – 19:30 – PIAA Foundation XC Invitational
On Deck in the SOL on Saturday
Council Rock North Invitational
Bensalem, Central Bucks South, Central Bucks West, Cheltenham, Council Rock North, Council Rock South, Hatboro-Horsham, Neshaminy, Plymouth Whitemarsh, Souderton, William Tennent, & Wissahickon.
McQuaid Invitational – Rochester, New York
Pennsbury
Carlisle Invitational
Upper Merion & Upper Moreland.
- Log in to post comments
