CB East’s Jake Brophy finished eighth at the Foot Locker Cross Country National Championships, and the Pennsbury girls’ team captured fifth place in the Nike Cross country Nationals.
By DENNY DYROFF
“With a friend at hand, you will see the light. If your friends are there, then everything's all right.” --Elton John’s “Friends”
Sometimes, friends show up when you least expect them -- and they are always a welcome sight.
Last year, Central Bucks East’s Jake Brophy made a trip to San Diego to compete in the Foot Locker Cross Country National Championships. Fortunately, Brophy, who was then a junior, did not have to make the cross-country trek alone. He was joined on the journey by his mother.
This year, Brophy qualified for the national meet in California again. This time, it was a “Family Plan.”
“My sister and brother came along,” said Brophy, referring to last weekend’s trip to Southern California. “My parents came along and so did my grandmother.”
But, as Brophy found out the year before, it would be nice to have some “buds” along to share the sights, hang out together and log some beach time in the Pacific Ocean.
Race competitors, as friendly as some may be, and relatives, as close and loving as they might be, just don’t fill the bill.
Brophy flew from Philadelphia to San Diego last Thursday with an hour layover in Dallas along the way.
Then, it was off to Morley Field in Balboa Park -- the site of the race and all the pre-race activities and interactive events. The flurry of activity was nothing new for Brophy. This was a return trip, so it was a little like “been there, done that” for the Patriots’ standout runner.
But, that didn’t mean that Brophy wasn’t in for a surprise.
“Three of my friends flew out to San Diego to cheer me on and offer support,” said Brophy. “I had no idea they were coming until I got a Snapchat from them that was taken when they got to the San Diego Airport. It really surprised me.”
Brophy’s “Three Amigos” were Julia Heiges, Thomas Jordan and Josh Getz -- all of whom ran cross country for the Patriots this year.
“It definitely helped having them out there with me,” said Brophy, who received his commission to attend the United States Naval Academy in November. “Being able to hang out with them Friday night helped with the stress. And, it was fun to go to the beach together.”
Brophy was one of just a few runners who were making encore appearances at the highly competitive national meet -- runners whose acclimation process was much easier the second time around.
“This being my second year at Nationals -- knowing what’s coming next -- definitely helped,” said Brophy. “There were no surprises. I knew how to navigate the event.”
Brophy also knew how to navigate the race on the double 1.5-mile loop course. The CB East standout placed eighth and received All American recognition.
Drew Hunter from Loudon Valley High in Virginia won the race at 14:55. The next five places went to runners from California, Indiana, Utah, Colorado and Ohio. Then, there was an intense battle for seventh place between Brophy and Conor Lundy from Fordham Prep in Yonkers, New York.
Lundy crossed first at 15:20.9 while Brophy was a fraction of a second behind at 15:21.0. Two weeks earlier at the Foot Locker Northeast Regionals at Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx (NY), Brophy was second at 15:27.2 and Lundy third at 15:27.7. The regional gold medalist -- Noah Affolder from Carthage Central High in Fort Drum, New York -- finished 15that the national meet.
“My goal was to win it,” said Brophy, who won the PIAA and District One Class AAA titles in 2014 and 2015. “No one really trains for second place. I dropped 36 seconds from my time last year when I was 25th.
“The race went out fast -- 2:14 for the first 800. That was pretty quick for me -- and a little new. I was probably 10that the mile and then started to slide back. I was around 25that the two-mile. I felt good but people were flying by me.
“From running there last year, I knew the second loop was tough. I felt like I could pick it up. I started picking off people in the third mile. Then, I picked up the pace in the last 800 and passed three more guys. But, I couldn’t quite catch Conor. At the end, I was tapped out.
“Looking back, I think I ran the best race I could have. I think I ran a smart race. I’m happy with the result. It was one of my best races ever -- along with the 8:57 two-mile I ran at West Chester Henderson. I was looking to win it but I’m still happy with how I did. I finished eighth and got All American. I’m happy with that.”
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Pennsbury’s Olivia Sargent also headed to the West Coast earlier this month to compete in a national scholastic cross country championship meet -- for the fourth year in a row.
Unlike last year when she was accompanied only by her coaches, Sargent had a number of friends who made the trip with her -- friends who were her teammates on Pennsbury’s nationally-ranked team.
When Brophy was in one of New York City’s boroughs running in the Foot Locker Northeast Regionals on November 28, Pennsbury’s girls’ team was in another part of New York competing in a different regional meet.
The Falcons were in Wappingers Falls, New York, running in the highly-competitive Nike Northeast Regionals.
The Pennsbury girls, who have won five of the last six PIAA Class AAA state titles, added another championship trophy to their season haul when they topped the field at the regional meet with 59 points. La Salle Academy was a distant runner-up at 125.
Olivia Sargent, the PIAA Class AAA state champion, finished second to Downingtown West’s Aislinn Devlin, who was runner-up at states this season. Devlin crossed first at 17:54 and Sargent took second place with a time of 18:06.
The Falcons’ other scorers were Hannah Molloy (fourth, 18:33), Mary Webb (fifth, 18:37), Meredith Twomey (24th, 19:23) and Maddie Sauer (38th, 19:42). With the team victory, Pennsbury qualified for the Nike Cross Country Nationals, which were held in Portland, Oregon on December 5.
“It was awesome to have qualified as a team and to have the girls on our team out there with me,” said Sargent. “We left on Wednesday December 2 and flew to Portland with a stopover in Phoenix.
“On Thursday, we got up early and went to the Nike Campus -- to the auditorium where they have the opening and closing ceremonies.
“We each had our own individual locker with a lot of free gear. Pennsylvania allows us to have $500 worth of stuff. They gave us uniforms, a really nice jacket, leggings, trainers, spikes, a backpack, a sports bra and socks. We hung out in the lounge for a while and then went for a run and explored the campus.
“On Friday, we went to the course in the morning. We spent the whole day at the course. The weather was nice but the course is deceivingly hard. In my freshman and sophomore years, we ran on the original course, which was on a horse racetrack. Last year, they changed to a golf course.”
When Saturday arrived, it was time to get serious.
The Falcons posted the school’s best-ever finish at the national meet when they placed fifth in the huge race at Glendoveer Golf Course in Portland. Led by Sargent, who placed 29thwith a time of 17:47.9, Pennsbury posted a score of 241.
“They told us that this was the highest-ever finish by a team from Pennsylvania,” said Sargent.
Not surprisingly, the race was won by Fayetteville-Manlius High. The Hornets won seven straight national titles from 2006-2012, placed second in 2013 and rebounded with back-to-back wins in the last two seasons.
This year, Fayetteville-Manlius posted a very impressive score of 55 points. The next two places went to California teams -- Davis High at 144 and Temecula High with 171. Perennial New York powerhouse Saratoga Springs placed fourth with 207.
“I dropped quite a bit of time from last year,” said Sargent, who has accepted a scholarship to join her sister Sara Sargent on the cross country and track teams at the University of Virginia.
“Place-wise, it wasn’t what I was shooting for but the field was insane. The top runners in the race were all individual qualifiers not team qualifiers. The level of talent was crazy -- a lot of All Americans.
“It was cooler on Saturday -- and rainy. It was pretty muddy. The race went out really fast. I had a good race. I was upset about the place but not upset with my time. I was really happy with my time because it was my personal best.”
Pennsbury’s other finishers in the challenging meet in the Pacific Northwest were Mary Webb (43rd, 18:04), Hannah Molloy (71st, 18:23), Meredith Twomey (133rd, 19:13), Bailey Balmer (143rd, 19:19), Maddie Sauer (147th, 19:21) and Rachel Estey (197th, 21:17).
The Falcons competed as a team in three of the last four Nike Cross Country Nationals and finished ninth in 2012 and 11thin 2013. In the most recent “Saucony Flo 50” national poll, Pennsbury was ranked ninth in the team standings. In the same poll, Brophy was listed as the 13thbest individual.
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