Denny Dyroff's first cross country notebook highlights several strong early season performances.
By DENNY DYROFF
Most of the serious cross country runners in the Suburban One League take a short break after the spring track and field season. Then, they spend most of the summer running alone or with teammates -- often with regimens provided by their coaches.
When August arrives, it’s time for the pre-season workouts with their teams and then the competition begins with early-season invitational meets such as the Mill Street Run in Bristol, the Abington Invitational at Abington High and the Bulldog Invitational at Rose Tree Park in Media.
The area runners who train regularly over the summer frequently use familiar courses such as Tyler State Park in Newtown, Belmont Plateau in Philadelphia’s Fairmount Park or their schools’ home courses.
Neshaminy’s Rusty Kudjych followed a different path. Oh, he ran religiously but just not at familiar venues. Kudjych put in his miles -- or should we say kilometers -- in different parts of Europe.
“Our family travelled a lot this summer,” said Kudjych, a sophomore. “So, I ran on my own a lot. I did my training in Bern in Switzerland, in Paris, and in the Netherlands in Rotterdam.
“I found places to run. I ran almost every day -- at least six days every week. I had a goal in mind and I kept a steady pace.”
Kudjych’s hard work paid off. On September 12, the ’Skins’ 10th-grader captured the gold medal at the 48thAnnual Mill Street Run.
“This was Rusty’s first varsity invitational win,” said Neshaminy coach Syd White. “He was our number three runner last year behind our number one Eric Chapman, who now runs for West Chester University, and our number two Dustin Willing, who is running for York College.
“Rusty really picked it up last year in outdoor track. He set the school record in the 3,200-meter run -- crushed it -- and missed qualifying for states (PIAA Class AAA Championships) by seven seconds. He had a great spring and hopefully it will continue this fall.
“He was travelling a lot this summer so he was training on his own. It showed when he came out for pre-season training and it showed at Mill Street. He went out really fast in the first mile and then no-one got close to him.”
Kudjych said, “My coaches had a plan for me at Mill Street -- to run the first mile really hard and see how the rest of the race went. I went out in 4:46 which is my fastest mile ever. I was very happy with that time.”
The course was a 3-mile course rather than a 5K, which is 3.1 miles. Kudjych’s winning time was 15:16 -- well ahead of the next two runners. Pennsbury’s Jed Scratchard was runner-up at 16:12 and his Falcon teammate Jorge Linares was bronze medalist with a time of 16:23.
“Winning my first invitational race is a big confidence builder,” said Kudjych. “It motivates me to work harder in practice and to take the team with me. My goal this year definitely is to make states.”
*****
Over the years, many of the top cross country programs in District 1 play their own version of the childhood game “King of the Mountain.” Each year, there are several teams vying for the top spot in the team standings at the District 1 Class AA Championships, and the competition is usually very close and very heated.
The positioning of the programs at the top is also very cyclical. Pennsbury’s girls are riding high right now as are Central Bucks West’s boys. The Suburban One League and the Ches-Mont League usually account for most of the top-finishing teams each year.
But, it is not always the same schools from those leagues every season.
In the 2000s in the Ches-Mont, Coatesville’s boys were a national power for a few seasons and then West Chester Henderson’s boys took over. On the girls’ side, Henderson and the Downingtown schools -- Downingtown East and Downingtown West -- have mostly carried the league’s banner.
The teams from Central Bucks, Council Rock and Pennsbury usually can be counted on to perform well in the post-season -- but not always.
Then, there is the North Penn girls’ team.
The Maidens have achieved a level of consistency that is unmatched. The top five teams from the District 1 Class AAA meet qualify as teams for the PIAA Class AAA Championships the following weekend, and North Penn is almost always in that elite group of five.
“I think we went to states 10 years out of 14 at one point,” said North Penn’s veteran coach Jim Crawford. “But, we didn’t qualify the last two years.”
Last year, North Penn finished eighth at the district meet. In 2013, the Maidens missed earning a state berth by 12 points. Great Valley was fifth at 188 and North Penn took sixth at 200.
“We had decent teams,” said Crawford. “I think the other teams got better. Last year, we would have been in the Top 10 at states.”
Prior to that, North Penn qualified for the state championship meet six years in a row. With Ali Valenti and Phoebe Clowser leading the way, the Maidens were fourth at the 2012 district meet. In 2011, Meghan McGovern (an individual state champion in her senior year), Courtney Kern and Rachel Brown carried North Penn to a fifth-place finish at districts.
In 2010 the Maidens placed sixth at districts after winning back-to-back district titles in 2009 and 2008 and finishing fifth in 2007.
North Penn started the 2000s with a fourth-place finish in 2000 and then won the district championship in 2001 with the quintet of Cheryl Dingman, Lauren Kinsey, Jamie Taggart, Lauren Marino and Elizabeth Monachello.
North Penn was District 1 runner-up in 2002 and the fourth-place finisher in 2003. Even in an “off stretch” from 2004-2006, North Penn never dropped out of the Top 10 at the district meet. The Maidens were eighth in 2004 and 2005 and 10thin 2006.
In the last 15 years (2000-2014), North Penn has been one of District 1’s elite teams every year. The Maidens qualified for states in nine of those 15 seasons and brought home three district titles.
“I guess you could say we’re pretty consistent,” said Crawford. “We’ve been able to have continued success. The young kids come along and they’re still with us as seniors. And, we get good add-ons each year.
“North Penn has always been able to do well in cross country and track and field. It goes way, way back. It goes back to when my dad was coaching in the late 1930s and early 1940s.”
James B. Crawford, Sr. arrived at Lansdale High School in 1930 to teach and coach cross country and track and field. He was assistant football coach until 1940 and head coach in 1941. After serving in the U.S. Navy as a Lieutenant-Commander during World War II (1942-1946), he resumed coaching at Lansdale High School and North Penn High School where he was athletic director for 17 years.
His greatest accomplishments came in track and field with 22 consecutive Bux-Mont titles, a dual meet record of 276 wins and seven losses (including 95 consecutive victories), 18 Penn Relay titles, and the District 1 title in 1969.
His son James Crawford, Jr., who graduated from North Penn in 1963 and Villanova University in 1969, has been coaching cross country and track and field at North Penn for 41 years.
“We’ve never had a losing season in dual meets,” said Crawford, who retired as a teacher but remained as coach. “We always have good numbers. This year, we have 24 girls on the team. We’ve had in the high 20s and low 30s and have stayed pretty much around that number.”
Having a winning season this year won’t be a problem for the North Penn girls. The Maidens’ main goal is to make it back to states as a team.
“I don’t know about this year yet,” said Crawford, whose 2015 team has won all of its dual meets and placed second to Strath Haven at the Abington Invitational. “I think we have a couple younger kids who will come along.
“We have four of our top seven back -- senior Phoebe Clowser, junior Mikaela Vlasic and sophomores Ariana Gardizy and Olivia Dwyer. Our new girls in the top seven are sophomore Lauren Matulevich and a pair of first-year seniors -- Rebecka Wilson and Katie Kornienko.”
Crawford’s recent teams have also produced a number of strong collegiate runners -- Meghan McGovern, who is the team captain at William & Mary; Ali Valenti, who is the number three runner at the United States Naval Academy; Sydney Jakes, who runs for Temple University; and Steph Braseola, who is the number two runner at Kutztown University.
Cycles may come and go but the North Penn’s girls’ cross country team never gets cycled out.
*****
The Central Bucks West boys’ team started its season on a strong note by winning the team title at the 11th Annual John Sharp Viking Invitational in Richboro on September 4.
The Bucks scored 44 points to place first in a race that was dominated by teams from the Suburban One League -- 2. Council Rock North (100), 3. Central Bucks East (100), 4. Pennridge (137), 5. William Tennent (148) and 6. Council Rock South (160).
West placed all five of its scorers in the top 13 -- Rock Fortna (third), Brian Mass (fifth), Brian Iatarola (11th), Ben Smullen (12th), and Declan McDonald (13th). The Bucks’ strong effort did not go unnoticed.
West coach Gregory Wetzel sent along the following email -- “West boys’ XC was named the team of the week across the state for Week 1 by Penntrackxc.com.”
Hats off to the Bucks.
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