Denny Dyroff looks at the upcoming SOL Championships and this week features the American Conference.
By DENNY DYROFF
The championship season has arrived for Suburban One League cross country teams and is moving into the three-weekend homestretch. It starts with the SOL’s Conference Championships this Friday at Lehigh University followed by the District One Class AAA Championships on the same course on Oct. 30 and the PIAA Championships at Hersheypark on Nov. 7.
Friday’s conference races at Lehigh University’s Goodman Campus in Bethlehem will go off every half hour -- Continental Boys at 10:00 a.m., Continental Girls at 10:30 a.m., National Boys at 11:00 a.m., National Girls at 11:30 a.m., American Boys at noon and American Girls at 12:30 p.m. There will also be all-conference junior varsity races with boys at 1:00 p.m. and girls at 1:10 p.m.
In the American Boys race, Cheltenham, which was undefeated in dual meets, is the favorite with Upper Dublin right there to step in should the Panthers falter.
“This was the first time in a long time that we were undefeated,” said Cheltenham coach Tom Sexton. “Upper Dublin is a very good team and we had a good race with Wissahickon.”
Upper Dublin coach Paul Vandegrift said, “We’re trying to get ready to beat Cheltenham. They’re our big competition and we’ll have to run really well to beat them. We’re going to have to get our fourth and fifth runners in as quickly as we can because Cheltenham’s pack is really tight.”
In the American Girls race, the same three teams will be chasing the top spot -- Cheltenham, Wissahickon and Upper Dublin. In the Continental Girls Championship event, Central Bucks West, which finished with a perfect dual-meet record, and North Penn, which lost only to West, will be challenging each other for the conference title.
Central Bucks West, which finished 7-0 in dual meets, is in the driver’s seat in the race for the Continental Boys title. The Bucks’ main competition will be C.B. East, which was second in dual-meet standings with a 6-1 record.
“We’re going to contest it fully,” said West coach Greg Wetzel. “I won’t tell our kids to hold back. Our league is so good; it’s rare you’ll have an easy time at the league meet. East, Hatboro Horsham and North Penn are all in the Top 20 in the state. All of them are very good.”
East’s Jake Brophy is a huge favorite to win the gold medal. He is the defending conference, district and state champion and he broke the course record easily at Lehigh last year.
“Jake won’t taper for this week’s meet,” said East coach Sam Losorelli. “He’ll still keep the high mileage. His taper will probably start right after states when he begins getting ready for Nationals. But, he never takes anything for granted. He wants to win the championship this week. He’s in great shape and he’s ready.”
Pennsbury’s girls are currently ranked as the 11th-best team in the country by the “Saucony Flo 50 Rankings” and are the unquestioned favorites in the National girls race. And, the Falcons’ Olivia Sargent and Hannah Molloy are two of the premier runners in the state.
Pennsbury’s boys also enter the National Conference meet with a perfect 6-0 dual-meet record and are looking to defend the conference title they won last season.
“Obviously, everyone is shooting for us because we’re undefeated,” said Pennsbury Boys’ coach Tim Cass. ‘William Tennent’s only loss was to us. And, I’m impressed with Council Rock North -- with their guys one through five.
“Last year, we won the title by one point. Council Rock North beat us by one point at the championship meet but they had three points added because of their dual-meet loss to us and we didn’t have any points added. With the system for determining the title, we’ve been undefeated the last five years and have only won one league championship.”
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With the season approaching its final 15 days, it’s time to recap some of the highlights for each of the SOL teams so far this year.
This week, we’ll review the American Conference.
Cheltenham-- The Panthers’ boys’ team finished with an unblemished record in American Conference dual meets and is heading into the Conference Championships this Friday as the meet favorite.
The Panthers placed seventh in the White Race at the highly challenging Paul Short Invitational at Lehigh University. Earlier in the season, they placed fourth in the Division II race at the Briarwood Invitational at Belmont Plateau.
Plymouth Whitemarsh--The Colonial boys started the season well with a 12th-place finish at the Abington Invitational. P-W was led by Carver Schildt, a freshman who was the top ninth grade finisher at Abington and several other invitational meets during the season. Other key runners have been Doug Luba and Chris Johnson.
The Plymouth Whitemarsh girls’ team fielded one of its biggest squads in recent years. The Colonials were bolstered by a number of sprinters from the spring track team -- speedsters who have their eyes on state-qualifying in the 4x400-meter relay and the school record in the 4x800.
Both the boys’ team and the girls’ team placed fourth at the Neshaminy Invitational with Emma Clancy and Doug Luba as each team’s top runner.
Springfield-- The Spartans might be the only team in District One that hasn’t competed in an invitational meet this season.
“With the late start to the season, we only had one invitational meet scheduled,” said Springfield coach Chris Mazurek. “That meet fell on the Pope’s weekend so our school didn’t allow us to go. In dual meets, we’ve had a solid developmental season.
“On the girls’ team, junior Sydni Stovall has had a good season. She’s a two-time state qualifier in Class AA cross country and she has medaled at state track both years in the 400 and 800. She’s a race track runner not a hill runner so the course at Lehigh suits her well.
“On the boys’ side, our top runner is Aaron Morris. He wasn’t out for cross country last season but in spring track, he was fourth in the 800 at the Class AA state meet. This year, we expect him to attack the 16-minute mark at Lehigh.”
Upper Dublin-- At the Manhattan College High School Cross Country Invitational in New York, Upper Dublin finished ninth out of 28 teams in Varsity A race. Seniors Reilly Hannon and Troy Green were UD’s top finishers in the 4000-meter run. With Hannon leading the way, the Cardinals also placed seventh at the 23rdAnnual Carlisle Invitational.
On the girls’ side in the 23-team field at the 60th Annual William Tennent Invitational, Upper Dublin scored 77 points to eke out a win over Villa Joseph Marie, which was runner-up with 81. Paced by Sarah Smith in both races, the Cardinals placed fourth at the Abington Invitational and fourth at the Carlisle Invitational.
Upper Merion-- Upper Merion’s girls’ squad finished an impressive 13that the Ninth Annual PIAA Foundation Cross Country Invitational. They also took seventh place at the William Tennent Invitational.
With Morgan Morton leading the way, the Vikings took 10thplace at the Centaur Invitational. In the boys’ varsity race at the Centaur Invitational, Upper Merion’s Noah Falasco finished 10thwhile the Vikes placed 13thin the team standings.
Upper Moreland-- The Bears’ Maria Antoni had one of her best races of the year at the late-season William Tennent Invitational. She crossed the finish line in fourth place and was the second-best finisher from the Suburban One League. The UM boys’ top finisher was Kyle Murphy
Antoni also fared well at the 30thAnnual Council Rock Invitational at Tyler State Park when she crossed the finish line in seventh place. In the boys’ race, Connor Hurst was the top finisher for the Bears.
Wissahickon-- The Wissahickon girls’ squad finished third in the Girls’ Varsity Large School 5K race the 42ndAnnual Salesianum Invitational Varsity Championship 5K at Brandywine Creek State Park with 60 points and were topped only by the Philadelphia Catholic League’s Archbishop Wood and the Inter-Ac’s Baldwin School. Hayley Ross finished sixth and Kendall Quesenberry was eighth. The Trojans’ other key scorers were Sara Brooks and Tara Jog.
The Trojans’ Lotte Black finished first at the Viking Invitational, third at the Bulldog Invitational and third at the Council Rock Invitational while the team took second at Bulldog and fifth at Council Rock.
On the boys’ side, Wissahickon’s Lukas Marcelis won the gold medal in the Boys’ Varsity Large School 5K at the Salesianum Invitational and the Trojans finished eighth in the team standings. He was also second at the Bulldog Invitational, third at the Council Rock Invitational and fourth at the Viking Invitational. The team placed second at the Bulldog and third at the Rock Invitational.
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