The William Tennent and CB West boys’ teams are highlighted in this week’s cross country notebook.
By DENNY DYROFF
When high school runners compete in cross country meets, 99.9 percent of the time they are racing to reach the finish line.
When William Tennent’s boys cross country team competed in last Saturday’s Briarwood Invitational, its runners were racing to reach the starting line.
The Panthers were entered in the Division 1 race at the 25thAnnual Briarwood Invitation, which is held each year at Belmont Plateau in Philadelphia’s Fairmount Park. They almost didn’t make it to the race.
“We left school at 11:30 a.m. to go to Belmont Plateau,” said Tennent coach Dave Fries, referring to the team’s departure from Warminster last Saturday morning.
All went well on the trip from the school’s campus to the Pennsylvania Turnpike, westbound on the Turnpike to I-476 (the Blue Route) and south on the Blue Route to I-76 (the Schuylkill Expressway). Then, the trip on the eastbound Expressway turned into a journey from hell.
“We were doing fine and then our bus got caught on I-76 in a ridiculous traffic jam,” said Fries. “They were doing tree cutting along I-76 and traffic was at a standstill. It took us 35 minutes to get home on the same route but two hours to get to Belmont Plateau on our way there.
“Then, our bus missed the exit. Our driver drove right past the Belmont Avenue exit, and we ended up on the other side of Fairmount Park. I had to get off the bus and ask a policeman for directions to get back to where we needed to be.”
Finally, the Tennent team arrived at the staging area for the huge multi-race event.
“The race was scheduled to start at 2 p.m. and we got to the area at 1:42 p.m.,” said Fries. “Our guys had to suffer through a two-and-a-half hour ride in a hot box. When we got there, they just had enough time to use the restrooms, put on their spikes and get to the starting line.”
To the Panthers’ credit, they recovered enough to finish second in the team standings. New Jersey’s Trenton Central High took first place in the team standings with 89 points and William Tennent was runner-up with 105. The next two places went to sister schools Lower Merion (119) and Harriton (129).
But, their performance at Belmont Plateau wasn’t what the Tennent boys had expected.
“They were most disappointed with how they ran,” said Fries. “We were second in the Division 1 race at Briarwood two years ago, On Saturday, even if they had won the team title, they wouldn’t have been happy with their places.”
The race was won by Trenton Central’s Mulual Mu with a time of 16:49 and Souderton’s Connor McMenamin was runner-up at 16:50. They were the only sub-17:00 runners in the race.
Tennent’s finishers were Evan Hutton (11th), Matt Kraus (14th), Dylan McHenry (17th), Sean Rahill (21st), Christian Craig (56th), Jake Ringers (70th) and Conor Cicchitti (75th).
“Sean (Rahill) was fourth for us and he’s been our number one runner all season,” said Fries. “I think Sean was affected by the delay more than anyone.
“His routine was thrown off. He likes to do the same routine every time. The physical part of the long ride and the delay was tough but the mental part was also really hard. I think the mental part affected Sean the most of anybody on the team.
“On the other hand, Evan (Hutton) was our first finisher and he wasn’t bothered at all. Evan is very chill. There could be a nuclear blast go off and it wouldn’t bother him. He’s ‘Mr. Consistent.’
“Matt (Kraus) also had a good day. He was our second-best finisher and he’s usually our number four runner. He came over from soccer this year and has given us a nice spark. He’s really coming along pretty well.
“Our top three have been super-consistent -- the entire summer and the entire season. This year as a team, we were fourth at Viking (the 11thAnnual John Sharp Viking Invitational on September 4 in Richboro) and fifth at DeSales (the 37thAnnual Centaur Invitational on September 12 at DeSales University in Center Valley).”
In the Viking meet, William Tennent placed fifth behind a quartet of Suburban One League teams -- Central Bucks West, Central Bucks East, Council Rock North and Pennridge.
East’s Jake Brophy was first and West’s Rock Fortna was third with Methacton’s Jeff Kirshenbaum sandwiched in between. The Panthers were led by Rahill (14th), McHenry (16th) and Hutton (18th).
In the meet at DeSales, the Panthers finished fourth behind Parkland, Owen J. Roberts, and Holy Ghost Prep at the Centaur with three runners in the top 13 -- Rahill (third), Hutton (11th) and McHenry (13th).
“We’re 3-0 in dual meets right now,” said Fries. “We beat Abington and Council Rock South handily and had a close meet with Council Rock North. We beat North for the first time in 20-plus years and got a great race from Christian Craig.
“Last year, we finished 31stat districts (District 1 Class AAA Championships) and we were so young. It’s amazing what a year can do -- especially when kids focus on getting better. We have the same team as last year but we’re so much better now.
“I’m hoping we can just keep improving as the year goes on. I think we’re probably one of the best teams in the state right now. And, I think we have the potential to do really well at districts this year.”
*****
Central Bucks West’s boys’ team also has gotten out of the blocks well and has put on impressive performances at the Viking Invitational and the Briarwood Classic.
CB West opened its 2015 season by winning the team title at the Viking Invitational -- a meet in which the top six teams were from the Suburban One League -- Council Rock North, Central Bucks East, Pennridge, William Tennent and Council Rock South.
The Bucks’ standout performance in the lid-lifter was recognized by Penntrackxc.com when it named West as Pennsylvania’s “Team of the Week” for Week One.
“We ran the Viking, took off a weekend and then ran at Briarwood last weekend,” said West coach Gregory Wetzel. “Our guys are doing really well. Being named performer of the week was pretty exciting. It’s a nod to their good work over the summer
At the Viking meet, 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).
At last Saturday’s Briarwood Invitational, CB West competed in the meet’s elite event -- the Championship Race.
The Bucks not only competed in the talent-laden race, they claimed the team title. West was first with 54 points followed closely by the Philadelphia Catholic League’s La Salle College High School with 61. The next three places went to Central Bucks East (85), Cardinal O’Hara (96), Council Rock North (110) and Hatboro Horsham (149).
“We’d never won that race before,” said Wetzel. “This year, we knew it was a possibility. We were third in the Championship Race last year.”
The Bucks’ finishers at in the challenging race at Belmont Plateau -- challenging both because of the competition and the hard course -- were Rock Fortna (second), Brian Mass (fifth), Ben Smullen (13th), Declan McDonald (16th), Brian Iatarola (18th), Logan Mazzulo (32nd) and Alec Hofer (38th). The race-winner was Central Bucks East’s Jake Brophy.
“Rock Fortna ran really well and so did Brian Mass,” said Wetzel. “Our pack was solid. When you have frontrunners doing well and the pack comes along, you can get good results. We felt that if we ran as well as we could, we could control our destiny. La Salle had a great meet. I’m sure they were very pleased with how well they ran."
Both teams were in the Top 10 at last year’s PIAA Class AAA Championships -- CB West at number six and La Salle at number 10.
“Last year, we were third at districts sixth at states," Wetzel said. "We only graduated one top five runner -- Ian Davies, who is now running for Shippensburg University. This year, we think we can compete for the state title. We’re focusing on districts and states -- putting our eggs in that basket.”
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