Runners from Upper Dublin and Neshaminy are featured in this week’s notebook.
By DENNY DYROFF
It would be interesting to see the results if a poll were taken of high school students asking them which they would choose if they had to make the choice – sports or entertainment (as spectators or as participants).
For several of this year’s top Suburban One League cross country runners, the answer would be very difficult because they straddle the fence when it comes to making that choice.
A few years ago at a food stand at the edge of an Amish farm in Lancaster County, I went back-and-forth – struggling to decide between buying a peach crumb pie or a blueberry crumb pie. I asked the Amish boy which he would choose. His reply was “both.”
That’s the same answer that would be delivered by Upper Dublin’s Sophie and Sadie Gustafson if they were asked to choose between sports or entertainment.
The two sisters are very active on the entertainment side as musicians, actresses and singers. And, they are two of the premier runners in the Suburban One League’s American Conference.
It all started with Sophie, who is now a senior at Upper Dublin.
“When I was younger, I did gymnastics and then cheerleading,” said Sophie. “I also played soccer. When I was a freshman, Sarah Smith, one of my best friends was on the cross country team.”
Smith, who was bronze medalist at last year’s American Conference Championships, planted the seed.
“I told Sarah that I liked to run,” said Sophie. “She told me that I should come out for cross country the next year. So, I said I would.”
Gustafson already had a fairly full plate with her activities in the world of entertainment.
“My dad is a musician,” said Sophie. “I come from a family that is heavy into performing arts. I’ve been involved in singing and doing shows ever since I was in elementary school. I did school shows throughout – all musicals.
“This year, they’re putting on Peter Pan at Upper Dublin and I'm the assistant director. I’ve also done community theater productions with my sister in the winter. In one of them, I sang ‘Tomorrow’ from the musical ‘Annie’ with both my sisters.”
The third sister is Annabelle, a freshman who is involved in singing and theater – and a rookie runner on the Cards’ cross country team.
“Both Sadie and Sophie are predominantly involved in theater,” said their father David Gustafson. “Sophie is more into theater while Sadie is more into singing. Two years ago, Sophie decided to go out for cross country and last year Sadie took it up.”
Sophie said, “My sister and I will sing with my dad at some of his shows. I’m also a ‘Cappie’s Critic’ at school. We go to schools in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware and do reviews of their productions.
“I love Broadway shows. My favorite is Wicked. It never gets old. I also like Rent, and we’re doing that at Upper Dublin this spring.”
The theatrical stage can wait. Right now, Sophie’s main stage is the cross country course.
“I’m so glad I got into cross country,” said Sophie. “It’s one of my favorite things. I started running at the end of the summer before my sophomore year and jumped right onto the team. It was a great experience.
“I started with three to four-mile runs and then went five to six and then six to seven. Our coach (Tony Giammarco) eased me into it.”
She medaled at her first invitational meet – the Viking Invitational – and then later won a medal at the William Tennent Invitational.
Sophie capped her sophomore season with a sixth-place medal at the American Conference Championships and a 56th-place finish at the District One Class AAA Championships. She was also honored as First Team All-American Conference. She followed that with a first team all-league selection again as a junior. She also medaled at the Tennent Invitational and finished seventh at the conference championships.
“The biggest appeal about cross country is the girls on the team,” Sophie said. “From my very first practice, they were so inclusive. It’s good competition and we’re all working toward the same goal.”
Sadie, a junior, embarked on an identical dual-interest trail last year.
“In my freshman year, I went to a lot of Sophie’s meets – especially the invitational meets on weekends,” said Sadie. “That year, I was actually a cheerleader and I broke my arm in late October. I was a flyer and fell during a ‘full up’ – a twist and go up.
“I used my arm to break my fall and ended up breaking my arm. I had already been thinking about switching to cross country in my sophomore year. The broken arm sealed the deal for cross country.
“I did the spring musical. After that, I told Mr. G. (coach Giammarco) that I was going to do cross country. So, I went to spring track for the final few weeks as a start for getting ready for cross country. I just ran in a few dual meets in spring track.”
Sadie’s first summer of training was similar to the regimen her sister had gone through the previous year.
“My first real meet as a sophomore was the junior varsity race at the Viking Invitational,” said Sadie. “I had no idea how to pace myself. I ended up surprising myself when I finished second out of more than 200 runners.”
She caught on quickly, moving up to varsity and medaling the next week at the Abington Invitational.
“Sadie came out as a sophomore,” said Giammarco. “She ended up being the third girl on our varsity – and first team all-league. She didn’t do winter and spring track because of school musicals and because she sang with Vox – the school’s a capella group. She’s very talented, but cross country is her second choice.”
Sadie, who is used to hitting high notes on stage, finished the 2015 cross country season on a high note.
“I was sixth at the American Conference Championships,” she said. “I just wanted to follow in Sophie’s footsteps. She was first team all-league as a sophomore so it was good that I did it too.
“I did the same thing with spring track last year. I was in the school’s musical The Little Mermaid, and when it was over, I ran a few meets in spring track. I like cross country a lot but music comes first.
“I’ve been doing music my whole life. My dad got me started at a young age – singing and playing guitar. I’m more into pop and rock than I am into theater and show tunes.
“When I perform as a singer, I do a lot of songs by Adele and Sia. I sing songs like that when I play with my dad. We also do Elvis Costello’s ‘Peace, Love and Understanding. I usually just sing and he plays piano.
“Sophie and I have also performed at a couple open mics. Music is an important part of my life. I want to major in music in college, and even if I don’t, I’ll never stop making music. I love writing songs – and I love performing.”
Whether it’s on theater stages, rolling hills or club venues, the Gustafson sisters produce impressive performances. It’s in their DNA.
*****
Neshaminy High’s Jason Fitch is a different kind of musician.
On his own, he plays rock music on his personal drum kit. Last year, he put his percussion skills on display as a member of the drum corps in Neshaminy’s marching band.
In 2015, he also demonstrated his skills as a distance runner as a member of the ’Skins’ varsity cross country team.
“Last year, Jason did both,” said Neshaminy cross country coach Syd White. “Then, earlier this year, he decided to devote all his time in the fall to cross country. He did a lot of hard work developing his running over the summer. He really followed his workout schedule – and really improved.”
Fitch, a junior, said, “I started band in middle school and was on the high school band’s drum line last year. I also ran track when I was in seventh grade – mostly distance races.
“In high school, it was always the band. I liked band but I didn’t like the huge time commitment it required. We played at all the football games – home and away – as well as the Memorial Day Parade. We also participated in a lot of band competitions on weekends.
“When I was freshman, I never even thought about running cross country. Then, after doing spring track, I decided to try to do both band and cross country in my sophomore year. It was mostly band and not much cross country.
“Last spring, I was doing well in track. So, I decided to do cross country full-time this fall. I wanted to concentrate on cross country because I was good at long distance races. I put in a lot of miles over the summer and went to a cross country camp at Council Rock.”
White was impressed with how hard Fitch prepared for the 2016 season.
“Jason is a workaholic,” said White. “And, he gives 100 percent in a race. Only the lack of experience holds him back.”
Fitch said, “I didn’t know what to expect this season. I had never really run a 5K being fully prepared. I wasn’t sure what I could do. My first invitational was the Mill Street Run and I finished third.
“I also had a good race a few weeks later when I finished 30thin the Championship Race at the Briarwood Invitational. I just ran the Council Rock Invitational. I got 24thand ran a p.r. (personal record).”
Fitch continues to improve from week-to-week – much to the delight of his coach.
“Jason had a decent track season in the spring but nothing like what he’s doing now,” said White. “His 5K times have really been dropping and he’s really close to breaking 17:00.”
Now, Fitch has limited his performances exclusively to cross country races – no more band uniforms, no more marching and no more giving up huge chunks of his time every month.
“I don’t miss band at all,” said Fitch. “I still have my drum kit at home and I play whenever I have time. I took drum lessons and I play a lot of rock. My favorite drummer is Neil Peart from Rush.
“Right now, I’m really concentrating on cross country. Qualifying for states is definitely in the back of my mind – but I’m not there yet. I’ll start stepping up my training this week.”
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