Council Rock North boys’ cross country team captured the PIAA 3A State Championship. Check out the top SOL finishers at the state meet. Photos provided courtesy of Greg Zesinger. Check back for galleries of both boys’ and girls’ races: https://solsports.zenfolio.com/f1016771659 (CR North photos courtesy of CR North XC)
The wait had to feel interminable.
“It was so close, and it takes them a half hour to figure out the score,” CR North cross country coach Dave Marrington said. “Cross country is the only sport I know of that no one knows who won for like a half hour after the race.”
It was worth the wait for a Council Rock North boys’ cross country squad that was declared the winner of the 2023 PIAA 3A State Championship by just two points over La Salle.
“(The boys) were watching their phones, and the moment they flashed the score up, they were all jumping up and down,” Marrington said. “It was a good moment for me to stand and watch them and also certainly for them. They were super, super excited - they were pretty happy guys.”
With good reason.
It turns out they had made a commitment to win a state title last December.
“They were 12th in the state meet last year, and we were only graduating two guys,” Marrington said. “Back in December at our postseason banquet in front of all the parents, the guys coming back all made a commitment to be state champions. It was a commitment.
“They spent the better part of the last nine months or so confirming that this is what we were going to do, and they held each other responsible. They started going to work back in June with one goal for the whole team, and it paid off.”
It was no secret that La Salle would undoubtedly be their toughest competition. The two teams met in September with La Salle winning that meet.
“The kids know each other pretty well because so many of them run CYO, so they’ve known each other growing up and comping through the sport,” Marrington said. “We spent a lot of time working on our starts and finishes – 40 seconds at the start just to try and get out fast but not for any longer than 40 seconds, and we work on our kicks.
“We work on finishing because the course at Hershey – that last mile, most of it is flat, but there’s one big 600-meter hill towards the end. Knowing that, we worked on coming off hills and becoming
sprinters for the last 250 meters, and it paid off because that’s where a couple of our younger guys passed a couple of La Salle kids in the last hundred or so. It was only a two-point meet. That was the difference, so those guys they passed at the end made a difference.”
Brady Ott finished with the top time for Rock North, finishing 13th with a time of 16:19.
“I think we had a 42-second spread one through five,” Marrington said. “That’s another thing we work on – if you look closely at the results, we knew we didn’t have a superstar. Brady’s really good, but he’s not going to be a state champ individually, so our whole strength was the fact that we really were six deep all year.
“Our fourth and fifth guys were the best fourth and fifth guys in the state by a significant amount. That’s where we won the meet as a team because our four/five guys beat everybody else’s four/five guys.”
Andrew Young was the second Rock North runner to cross the finish line, posting a time of 16:43. He was followed by Matt Gosling (16:52, 46th), Lucas Poliseno (16:54, 48th) and Jayden Neels (17:06, 69th).
“It was a very much team effort,” Marrington said. “They’ve been that way all year.
“Only (10) points separated the first four teams. It was pretty cool. We tell the guys all the time – every single guy you can pass can make the difference. They all count.”
The title state title was the 11th for Council Rock – nine from 1987-99 before the school split, and two since the split in 2016 and 2023.
The Souderton boys’ team also turned in a strong showing, finishing fourth and just 10 points behind Rock North. Aidan Maue was the top SOL finisher in the boys’ meet, posting a time of 16:04 and capturing fourth place overall. North Penn’s Achilles Shui finished 10th overall with a time of 16:15.
2023 PIAA 3A State Championships
Boys Team Scores
1. Council Rock North 134
2. La Salle 136
3. State College 142
4. Souderton 144
5. Lower Merion 183
6. North Allegheny 185
7. Manheim Township 196
8. Downingtown East 210
9. Butler 226
10. Penncrest 242
Boys Individual (SOL finishers in top 100)
4. Aidan Maue Ston 16:04.00
10. Achilles Shui NP 16:15.00
13. Brady Ott CRN 16:19.00
25. James Kuduk Ston 16:33.00
28. William Edgar Chelt 16:40.00
34. Cole Scattergood HH 16:42.00
35. Andrew Young CRN 16:43.00
41. Aidan Kearns Ston 16:48.00
45. Gus Platt UD 16:52.00
46. Matt Gosling CRN 16:52.00
48. Lucas Poliseno CRN 16:54.00
49. Justin Landis NP 16:54.00
50. Stephen Keller Ston 16:55.00
55. Tyler Tomlinson CBE 16:56.00
61. Grayson Ruffner Wiss 17:02.00
68. Jude Olsen CRS 17:05.00
69. Jayden Neels CRN 17:06.00
80. Ryan Kaiser Nesh 17:10.00
82. Ain Lawler CRS 17:11.00
86. Chase Ely Aton 17:13.00
90 Christian Cerullo Pbury 17:18.00
93. Jason Xi UD 17:20.00
96. Jo Crowne CRN 17:21.00
2023 PIAA 2A State Championships
Boys Individual (SOL finishers in top 100)
70. Vincent Frankina LM 17:44.00
2023 PIAA 3A State Championships
Girls Team Scores
1. North Allegheny 80
2. Abington Heights 127
3. Manheim Township 153
4. Mount Saint Joseph Academy 160
5. Norwin 191
6. Phoenixville 202
7. State College 221
8. Mount Lebanon 227
9. Haverford
10. Pennridge 260
Girls Individual (SOL finishers in top 100)
6. Lillian DiCola HH 18:43.00
8. Shana Kearney Bens 18:46.00
21. Kate Bradish Nesh 19:13.00
23. Riley Rooney CBS 19:16.00
28. Bailey Hall Pbury 19:36.00
42. Ashley Landis Pridge 19:55.00
65. Veronica Gula Pridge 20:17.00
74. Bailey Wagner NP 20:21.00
79. Taylor Burkett Pridge 20:24.00
86. Ella Lentini CBW 20:32.00
2023 PIAA 2A State Championships
Girls Team Scores
1. Danville Area 82
2. Cathedral Prep 118
3. Saint Mary’s 126
4. North Catholic 163
5. Montour 172
6. Crestwood 186
7. Central Cambria 219
8. Lower Moreland 225
9. Lewisburg
10. Dallas
Girls Individual (SOL finishers in top 100)
4. Amelia Ogawa LM 19:21.00
45. Annie Moniz LM 20:35.00
79. Ruby Keddie NH-S 21:10.00
99. Kennedy Durand LM 21:30.00
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