BLOOMSBURG — Athens saw two runners earn state berths at the District
IV, Class AA Cross Country Championships on Thursday. Sophomore Sara
Bronson earned her second trip to states, while senior Ethan Denlinger
secured his first.
Bronson (20:40.7) was 10th overall in the race and the fourth individual qualifier.
“It’s
awesome,” she said about earning another state berth as a sophomore.
“It’s been one of my main goals all of this season, so I’m super excited
to be there again.”
This was going to be one of the fastest races of Bronson’s season, and she went out aggressive.
“I
wanted to really run hard, and put myself out there with some of the
girls that I’ve run against before to try and get in the top 10,” she
explained.
She did go out quick, running fifth at the first
split, and seventh at the mile mark. She settled into eighth at the
2-mile, before dropping two spots further back at the finish.
“It
just kind of happened,” she said about the quick start. “I just wanted
to get myself in a good spot to start with, and that happened to be
where I felt it was a little bit harder than I wanted it to be, but I
think I got in a pretty good position.”
She plans on doing one more hard work before states, then resting up.
“I just want to make sure that I’m in top shape to run next Saturday,” Sara said.
The Wildcats took sixth as a team with 159 placement points.
Senior
Emma Bronson (22:32) was 31st, with Thea Bentley (22:53.3) taking 35th.
Emily Henderson (24:56.6) came in 58th, and Olivia Cheresnowsky
(25:58.6) was 65th to round out their scorers.
Denlinger’s race was a bit of redemption after missing states by one second a year ago.
“It’s awesome,” said the senior, who was the ninth individual in. He took 19th overall in 17:42.
Denlinger knew coming in he was going to be on the bubble, and that didn’t change once he started running.
“I
was a little nervous with my own counting, but my mom stood on the
sidelines and helped me with numbers, so I’m grateful for that,”
remarked Denlinger.
He had quite the finish, sitting 25th just after the two-mile mark, so he made up six spots in just less than 1,600 meters.
In the final stretch, he caught Midd-West’s Anden Atikins for 19th, not knowing if that would be the final spot.
“People kept telling me checkered (jersey), so I just kept on striving for him,” explained Denlinger.
He plans on working those famous Hershey hills at the state race.
“I’ve
got long legs, so I’ve got to use my strengths in getting up those
hills as fast as I can, and then taking the downhill,” said Denlinger.
The Wildcats were seventh as a team with 208 points.
Ethan
Hicks (18:45) took 34th, with Nate Prickitt (19:50) finishing 49th. Sam
Sensenig (20:07) was 52nd, and Aiden Oldroyd rounded out the top five
in 72nd at 22:11.
ATHENS — This season was 32 years in the making for Athens girls cross-country.
That’s
the last time the Lady ‘Cats won a league title — 1990 — and after
knocking on the door a season ago, they were able to break through this
season.
“It was really exciting,” said senior Emma Bronson. “Up
until this year, progressively each year, our team overall has been
getting better and better; and this year, it all came together.”
Emma,
Sara Bronson, and Thea Bentley have been amongst the league’s best —
they’re all NTL All-stars this year, too, but it was their fourth and
fifth runners that made this possible.
“All of our teammates ran
well,” said Sara Bronson. “Thea Bentley, Olivia Cheresnowsky, Janae
(Harkins), Abby (Prickitt), and Emily (Henderson) all ran super well.
It’s not often that you win a title. It feels good because we’ve all
been putting in the miles.”
Their biggest competition in the Large School Division has been Troy, and they finally got them in week two.
“Going
into the season, we knew that Troy would be our toughest competition,”
said Emma. “Being able to beat them right from the start made the rest a
little bit easier — not that it was easy, but I’m just really proud of
all the girls. Every week, they were working really hard because we all
wanted that title for each other.”
It also helped that they got Troy at their home course on Round Top.
“The
last couple of years we’ve always run at Troy, but this year, to be
able to finally beat them at our home course, it’s just awesome,”
remarked Emma.
This is also the last season the two sisters will
be running together, something they’ve done four of the last six years —
counting junior high and varsity.
“She is so much fun to run
with, and so fun to train with,” Sara said. “I think it’s a little sad.
She’ll be good, whatever she does in the next four years.”
For the senior Emma, it’s been a run she won’t ever forget.
“This year, we’ve just had a really fun team,” she said. “It was really special to have my last season with them.”
ROME — Athens saw three individuals finish in the top five between the
girls and boys races here at the NTL Coaches’ Championships on Saturday.
For
the girls sophomore Sara Bronson (20:46.9) and senior Emma Bronson
(21:44.2) placed second and fourth to lead the Lady Wildcats to a third
place team finish with 80 points.
Bronson ran with overall
winner, NEB’s Gracelyn Laudermilch (20:31.9), for the first half of the
race, but ultimately lost contact as she finished 15 seconds behind.
“I wanted to stick with her because I know she always runs well,” said Sara. “I thought if I was with her, it’s be a good race.”
Emma
has had an up-and-down dual meet season, but had a strong showing on
Saturday, holding off NEB’s Melanie Shumway (21:52.6) for fourth.
“Today
was a lot better than some of my previous races,” remarked Emma. “It’s
really a confidence booster to know that I can do it going into
districts.”
Junior Thea Bentley (23:09.9) also finished in the
medals, taking 14th overall, while sophomore Emily Henderson (26:36.5)
was 37th, and senior Abby Prickitt (26:48) took 40th to round out their
scorers.
On the boys’ side, sophomore Ethan Hicks (18:05.1) was
fifth overall, while teammate senior Ethan Denlinger (18:25.7) took
seventh.
“It feels great,” Hicks said on finishing in the top five.
After
CV’s top three and NEB’s Creed Dewing was when the race could get
interesting, with the question being who would step up. Hicks answered
that question, nearly catching CV’s Nathaniel Welch down the stretch
after running with him all race long.
“I knew it was going to be tough, but I knew if I just stayed up with Welch, it’d be good from there,” Hicks said.
Athens
was sixth overall with 127 points as senior Nate Prickitt (20:11.5)
took 31st, sophomore Ronel Ankam (20:59.3) finished 42nd, and freshman
Sam Sensenig (21:33.2) was 48th to round out their scorers.
For
the Sayre girls, Corey Ault (27:04.4) led the way with a 42nd-place
finish, while Rose Shikanga (27:17.2) was 46th. Deborah Shikanga (30:19)
finished 54th.
On the boys’ side, Sam Claypool (21:29.1) was 47th to lead the Redskins, and Hunter Kimball (23:32.8) was 77th.
ROME — After the varsity races here Saturday at the NTL Coaches
Championships, the future of the league was on display as the junior
high runners took the stage.
Two teams stood out on the day — the
Athens boy and the Wellsboro girls as both groups came away with team
and individual titles.
The Wildcats won the boys’ race with 33
points, followed by Wyalusing (52), Sullivan County (54), Troy (101),
Towanda (113), and Sayre (145).
Athens’ Graham Wanck (9:53) added
another title to a season full of them, pulling away early for a
comfortable win on the 1.68-mile course.
“I’ve been working hard all year, and it’s really paid off this meet,” said Wanck. “It’s not an easy sport, but I love it.”
Wanck’s
had quite a season — earning a race record in his win at the McQuaid
Invitational, winning the Bob Green Invite, and going undefeated in the
NTL.
“I was really surprised, and really happy with myself,” he
said about his win at McQuaid. “Coming into the next races, I was, you
know, raising the bar a little bit, since I know I can do that.”
He’s excited to see what him and his teammates can do once they get up to the varsity level in the next couple of seasons.
“I think our team could go really far,” said Wanck. “This meet, we didn’t have our fifth and sixth runners.”
Wyalusing’s
Aidan Neiley (10:25.9) was second, the only 7th-grader in the top four.
Wellsboro’s Michael Knefly (10:36.7) came in third, Athens’ Eli Hicks
(10:50.7) was fourth, and NEB’s Jackson Martin (11:05.7) rounded out the
top five.
The rest of the medal-winners were Wildcats Matt
Rossettie (11:11) and Jacob Shores (11:18.3) in sixth and seventh,
Sullivan County’s Isaiah Botsford (11:18.7) in eighth, with Wyalusing’s
Brayden Johnson (11:24.1) and Parker Cunningham (11:33.3) took ninth and
10th.
Towanda’s top runner was Quentin Little (11:59.1) in 13th,
with Troy’s Owen Campbell (12:11.8) in 17th to lead them. Other top
runners from the schools were Sayre’s Corey Hurd (12:18.3) in 19th, and
Canton’s Manuel Halbfoerster (12:49.7) in 28th.
On the girls’
side, Wellsboro edged out Towanda 24-31 to win the girls’ title, as the
Hornets went 1-3 between Lauren Kosek (11:20.1) and Isla Twoey
(11:52.7).
“It’s awesome,” Kosek said about winning the girls’
title. “I’ve been trying for two years. This is my last big meet of
junior high, so it’s super exciting.”
Kosek’s goal was to get the course record.
“I missed it by 11 or 12 seconds,” she said. “But there’s also very many good girls here, so I’m very happy getting first.”
She’s also glad to see her team take first, and hopes this is a sign of things to come for the Hornets down the road.
“We
should have some good middle schoolers moving up to varsity, and moving
into junior high,” said Kosek. “We’re very happy to be growing.”
NPM’s
Jaci Fairchild (11:49.2) was second, while Towanda’s Mary Kate Eberlin
(11:53.3) and NEB’s Kara Dughi (12:29.6) rounded out the top five.
Wyalusing’s
Camryn Gesford (12:33.1) took sixth, with CV’s Clare McKee (12:46.4)
finishing seventh. Sullivan County’s Zoey Reese (12:48.6) and Paige
Jordan (12:51.4) were eighth and ninth, while Towanda’s Kenzie Brown
(13:04.5) rounded out the top 10.
Troy’s Sheridan Wilcox
(13:32.2) took 13th, Sayre’s Reghan McGaughey (15:25.7) was 24th, and
Athens’ Abigail Conklin (18:14.2) finished 28th as their teams’ top
runners.
MANSFIELD — Sophomore Sara Bronson ran the day’s fastest time to lead
Athens to three wins, and the program’s first Large School Division
title since 1990 here Tuesday in NTL cross country quad-meet, while the
Athens were 2-1, falling to division champ Cowanesque Valley.
“Today
was a great race to end the regular season,” said Athens girls coach
Scott Riley. “It was really a team effort to win a big quad meet.
“The
girls ran strong up front with Sara Bronson, Emma Bronson and Thea
Bentley setting the tone for the team,” he noted. “But it was equally
important in a meet like today how the other girls ran. Emily Henderson
and Abby Prickitt ran great races to secure key places.
“The
girls have been working really hard this year with many of them having
been in the program for several years now,” added Riley. “We are really
excited with the outcome for them and winning the large school
championship.”
GIRLS
Athens 24, CV 33
Athens 21, NP-Mansfield 34
Athens 19, Canton 37
The Lady Wildcats earned wins over CV, North Penn-Mansfield, and Canton to finish 8-2 on the season.
Sara
Bronson finished first in a time of 20:49, while Emma Bronson (third
against CV, second NP-M and Canton) was third overall on the day in a
time of 21:08.
Thea Bentley finished sixth overall (fourth CV,
third NP-M and Canton) in a time of 22:54, while Emily Henderson was
10th (seventh CV, sixth NP-M and Canton) in 24:52, Abby Prickitt was
14th (ninth CV, eighth NP-M, and seventh Canton) in 14:47, and Olivia
Cheresnowsky was 19th (10th CV and Canton, 11th NP-M) in 27:46.
Janae Barkins was 22nd in 29:57, and Maryrose Bertsch was 26th in 38:30.
BOYS
CV 19, Athens 41
Athens 20, NP-Mansfield 37
Athens 17, Canton 41
The Athens boys logged wins over North Penn-Mansfield and Canton, but fell to division champ Cowanesque Valley.
“Our
kids did a great job today,” said Athens boys coach Mike Bronson. “It
was awesome to see the girls clinch the Large School Championship and
for the junior high boys to finish an undefeated regular season.
“We will spend the next two weeks sharpening up to be ready for the District meet,” he added.
CV’s
Kristian Mizdail (16:19), Owen Cummings (16:54), and Nathaniel Welsh
(17:20) finished 1-2-3 on the day to lead the Indians to three
convincing wins.
Ethan Denlinger finished fourth overall (fourth
against CV, and first against NP-M and Canton) in 17:41 and Ethan Hicks
was fifth (fifth CV, second NP-M and Canton) in 17:58 to lead the
Wildcats.
Nate Prickitt was 10th (ninth CV, fourth NP-M, third
Canton) in 19:39, while Ronel Ankam was 14th (12th CV), sixth NP-M,
fourth Canton) in 20:12, and Sam Sensenig was 19th (15th CV, seventh
NP-M and Canton) in 20:30.
Caleb Simwale finished 24th for the
Wildcats in 21:34, Hunter Huffman was 26th in 21:36, while Aiden Oldroyd
was 31st in 22:39, Aiden Pollock-Sinsabaugh was 31st in 22:47, Pierce
Oldroyd was 34th in 23:28, Andrew DeForest was 35th in 23:58, Lohith
Kinthala was 38th in 24:37, and Gehrig Thurston was 40th in 24:53.
JUNIOR HIGH
BOYS
Athens 15, CV 50
Athens 15, Mansfield 50
Athens 15, Canton 50
Athens had seven of the top nine runners on the day, led by Graham Wanck, Eli Hicks, and Jacob Shores in a 1-2-3 finish.
Wanck clocked in at 8:31, while Hicks crossed the finish line in 9:24, and Shores finished in 10:00.
Matthew
Rossettie was fifth overall in 10:06, while Zach Fisher was sixth in
10:29, Abram Steinfelt was eighths in 10:59, and Darious Miller was 10th
in 12:24. Isaac Roy was 12th in 13:02 for the junior Wildcats.
Athens girls incomplete
Athens’ Alissa Vough finished second in the junior high girls race in 10:55, and Abigail Conklin was sixth in 17:22.
VOUGH FINISHES THIRD IN GIRLS RACE
NEWARK VALLEY — Athens sophomore Ethan Hicks, and senior Ethan Denlinger
each finished in the top-12 here Thursday afternoon in the boys race at
the Bob Greene Cross Country Invitational.
The Wildcats finished
10th in the team standings with 242 points, while Tioga and Waverly
fielded incomplete teams. Delhi won the team title with 93 placement
points, while runner-up Owego had 101, and third-place Ithaca had 127
points.
Hicks finished eighth in a field of 121 runners in a time of 18:21.2, and Denlinger was 12th in 18:38.7.
Senior
Nate Prickitt finished 57th for the Wildcats in a time of 20:25.2,
while freshman Sam Sensing was 84th in 22:30.2, freshman Caleb Simwale
was 95th in 23:28.6, sophomore Aiden Oldroyd was 102nd in 24:18.5, and
sophomore Pierce Oldroyd finished 108th in 24:56.8
ATHENS — The Athens boys and girls both dropped decisions to Wyalusing,
and registered wins over Wellsboro here Tuesday afternoon in an NTL
double-dual cross country meet at Round Top Park.
While the
Wyalusing boys are in the Large School Division, the girls are in the
Small School Division, so the loss does not effect the Lady Wildcats’
chase for the Large School title. The Athens girls can clinch the
division title next week with wins over CV and NP-M.
BOYS
Wyalusing 23, Athens 38
Athens 19, Wellsboro 40
Wylausing’s
Jeremy Clauser ran the fasted time of the day, clocking in at 17:45,
while senior Ethan Denlinger (17:48) and sophomore Ethan Hicks (17:54)
finished 2-3 against the Rams.
The Rams had the next six
finishers, with senior Nate Prickett placing 10th against Wyalusing in
20:08, while sophomore Aiden Oldroyd (21:57), freshman Sam Sensenig
(22:45), freshman Caleb Simwale (23:26), sophomore Pierce Oldroyd
(23:31), freshman Aiden Pollock-Sinsabaugh (23:46), freshman Andrew
DeForest (24:35, and Lohith Kinthala (41:16) finished 13th through 19th,
respectively.
Denlinger, Hicks, and Prickett finished 1-2-3
against Wellsboro, while Aiden Oldroyd and Sensenig sixth and seventh,
respectively, and Simwale, Pierce Oldroyd, Pollock-Sinsabaugh, and
DeForest were ninth through 12th, respectively. Kinthala was 14th.
GIRLS
Wyalusing 25, Athens 32
Athens 21, Wellsboro 40
Sophomore Sara Bronson ran the fastest time of the day, clocking in at a time of 20:38.
Senior Emma Bronson finished fourth against Wualusing in a time of 22:06, and junior Thea Bentley was sixth in 22:35.
Sophomore
Emily Henderson (25:48), freshman Olivia Cheresnowsky (26:12), senior
Abby Prickett (27:16), junior Janae Harkins (29:33), and sophomore
MaryRose Bertsch finished 10th though 14th, respectively, for the Lady
Wildcats.
Sara Bronson placed first against Wellsboro, while Emma
Bronson was third, Bentley was fourth, and Henderson, Cheresnowsky,
Prickett, and Harkins placed sixth through ninth, respectively. Bertsch
placed 11th.
JUNIOR HIGH
Boys
Athens 19, Wellsboro 44
Athens 23, Wyalusing 35
Graham Wanck ran the fast time of the day, crossing the finish line in 9:38.
Eli
Hicks placed third against both teams in a time of 10:43, while Jacob
Shores (11:15) and Matthew Rossettie (11:19) placed fifth and sixth,
respectively, and Zach Fisher (11:46) and Abram Steinfelt (12:00) were
eighth and ninth, respectively.
Darious Miller finished 11th in 13:37, and Isaac Roy (15:00) and Jonny Roberts (15:18) were 13th and 14th, respectively.
Shores,
Rossettie, Fisher, Steinfelt, and Miller finished fourth through
eighth, respectively, against Wellsboro, and Roy and Roberts were 11th
and 12th.
Girls
Wellsboro 15, Athens 50
Wyalusing 15, Athens 50
Alyssa Vough finished third in the junior high girls race in a time of 11:50, and Abigail COnklin was ninth in 18:49.
ROCHESTER — Sophomore Ethan Hicks and senior Ethan Denlinger both
finished in the top-30 to lead Athens in the Small Schools A-2 race here
Saturday at the rugged McQuaid Cross Country Invitational.
Hicks
placed 13th in a time of 16:44.7. He was 143rd in the merged results,
which combines the times of participants in all races. The field
consisted of 2,182 runners.
Denlinger finished 29th (260th
merged) in a time of 17:12.9, while senior Nate Prickitt was 133rd in
18:52.8, sophomore Ronel Ankam was 171st in 19:28.7, and freshman Sam
Sensing was 249th in 20:34.4.
Sophomore Aiden Oldroyd was 310th in 21:37.3, and sophomore Pierce Oldroyd was 327th in 22:19.6
Waverly junior Braylon DeKay finished 302nd in a time of 21:28.8.
The Wildcats finished 21st in a field of 50 complete teams. There were 367 competitors in the race.
Athens
hosts Wellsboro and Wyalusing Tuesday in a double-dual at Round Top
Park, while Waverly returns to action Thursday at Newark Valley’s Bob
Green Invitational.
ROCHESTER — Eighth-grader Graham Wanck accomplished something most high
school runners, regardless of age, only dream of, winning the junior
high title at the prestigious McQuaid Cross Country Invitational here
Saturday.
Wanck not only won his race, but logged the fastest
junior high time of the day in a field of 832 runners, and broke the
course record in the process — logging a time of 8:20.1 on the 1.6-mile
Genesee Valley course.
The junior Wildcats finished ninth in a
field of 70 complete teams in the merged results, and sixth in their
race, which was the junior high #2 race for Small / Medium schools.
Eli
Hicks placed 16th in his race, and 31st in the merged results, clocking
in at 9:17.4, while Matt Rossettie was 31st (70th in merged) in a time
of 9:42.4, and Jacob Shores was 37th (90th merged) in 9:51.8.
Darious Miller finished 112th in his race in a time of 11:08.4, and Isaac Roy was 150th in 11:35.1.
VOUGH PACES ATHENS’ EFFORTS
Athens’ Alissa Vough placed 21st in her race (48th merged) in a time of 10:54.2, and Abigail Conklin was 165th in 16:01.
TOWANDA — The Athens girls remained unbeaten, and atop the NTL Large
School standings with a win over Towanda here Tuesday afternoon, while
the Wildcat boys dropped a decision in cross country action.
GIRLS
Athens 21, Towanda 34
Junior
Thea Bentley, senior Emma Bronson, and sophomore Sara Bronson finished
1-2-3, clocking in with the same time, to lead Athens to a 21-34 win
over Towanda.
The Lady Wildcat trio clocked in with a time of
24:16, while junior Emily Henderson finished seventh in 27:59, and
freshman Olivia Cheresnowsky was eighth in 29:00.
Janae Harkins finished 11th in 33:13, and Mary Rose Bertsch was 13th in 41:20.
BOYS
Towanda 22, Athens 37
Athens
senior Ethan Denlinger pulled out a first-place finish, but the next
three — and five of the next six — runners to cross the finish line were
from Towanda, propelling them to a 22-37 win over the Wildcats.
Denlinger
clocked in at 19:08, and sophomore Ethan Hicks placed fifth for the
Wildcats in 19:47, while junior Nate Prickitt was ninth in 21:26, and
sophomore Ronel Ankam was 10th in 22:23.
Sophomore Aiden Oldroyd
was 12th for Athens in 22:23, while freshman Caleb Simwale was 13th in
23:57, and sophomore Pierce Oldroyd (25:05), freshman Aiden
Pollock-Sinsabaugh (25:12), freshman Andrew DeForrest (26:01), Gerigh
Thurston (29:31), and Lohith Kinthala (30:15) finished 15th through
19th, respectively.
JUNIOR HIGH
Boys
Athens 15, Towanda 41
Led by Graham Wanck, the Wildcats had the top five finishers in a 15-41 win over Towanda in the junior high race.
Wanck
clocked in at 10:01, while Eli Hick (11:09), Matthew Rossettie (11:55),
Jacob Shores (11:59), and Zachary Fisher (12:06) finished second
through fifth, respectively.
Isaac Roy placed 10th in 14:25 for the Wildcats, and Johnny Roberts was 12th in 15:30.
Girls
Towanda 15, Athens 50
Athens’ Alissa Vough won the girls race in 12:42, and Abigail Conklin was seventh in 19:20.
OWEGO — Sophomore Ethan Hicks and senior Ethan Denlinger both turned in
top-10 performances to lead Athens to a fourth-place finish in the
Large School Division here Saturday morning at the Owego Cross Country
Invitational.
“We were really happy with how today went, the
kids ran well in very competitive, deep fields,” said Athens coach Mike
Bronson. “We had a lot of kids run PRs or near PRs. Today showed we are
making progress.”
Vestal won the team title with 35 placement
points, while runner-up Union-Endicott had 69 points, Owego accumulated
77 points, and Athens tallied 124 points. Horseheads was fifth with 129
points.
Hicks finished ninth in a time of 17:25.8, and Denlinger
was 10th in 17:28.2, while junior Nate Prickitt was 29th in 18:58.9,
sophomore Ronel Ankam was 36th in 19:18.6, and freshman Sam Sensing was
46th in 20:36.0
Sophomore Aiden Oldroyd (22:18.8) and freshman Caleb Simwale (22:37.0) finished 53rd and 54th, respectively.
MODIFIED BOYS
Large School Division
Athens’ top five runners all finished in the top nine as the Wildcats ran away with the Large School Division team title.
Athens
tallied 23 placement points, well ahead of runner-up Union-Endicott’s
67 points. Horseheads was third with 71 points, Owego fourth with 83
points, and Maine-Endwell was fifth with 91 points.
Graham Wanck won the race by more than a minute, clocking in at 8:46, while Athens’ Eli Hicks was runner-up at 9:48.
Jacob Shores finished fifth in a time of 10:08, while Matt Rosette was seventh in 10:12, and Zach Fisher was ninth in 10:36.
Darious Miller was 22nd for Athens in 11:40,, while Isaac Roy was 30th in 12:32, and Johnny Roberts was 39th in 14:33.
ATHENS TOWNSHIP — The Bronson sisters — sophomore Sara and senior Emma —
finished 1-2 to lead the Athens girls to wins over Troy and Sayre to
take control of the NTL Large School Division title chase, while the
Athens boys topped Sayre, but dropped a decision to Troy.
GIRLS
Athens 24, Troy 32
Athens 15, Sayre 47
Troy 17, Sayre 40
Sara
Bronson clocked in at 20:39, and Emma Bronson was second in 21:49 to
lead Athens to a 24-32 win over Troy, and a 15-47 win over Sayre.
Thea
Bentley finished fifth against Troy in a time of 22:40, while Emily
Henderson was seventh in 25:31, Olivia Cheresnowsky was ninth in 27:39,
and Abby Prickett was 10th in 28:01. Janae Harkins was 12th in 35:25,
and Mary Rose Bertsch was 14th in 40:24.
Bentley, Henderson,
Cheresnowsky, and Prickett finished third through sixth, respectively,
against Sayre, while Harkins was 14th and Bertsch was 16th.
Sayre’s
Corey Ault placed fifth against Troy and seventh against Athens in a
time of 28:39, while Rose Shikanga was sixth against Troy and eighth
against Athens in 28:58, and Deborah Shikanga was eight against Troy and
ninth against Athens in 30:12.
Olivia Corbin was ninth against Troy and 10th against Athens in a time of 36:28.
BOYS
Troy 25, Athens 34
Athens 15, Sayre 48
Troy 15, Sayre 50
Ethan
Hicks and Ethan Denlinger finished 1-2 for the Wildcat boys, but Troy
runners were the next five to cross the finish line to pull out wins
over Athens and Sayre.
Hicks clocked in at 18:21, and Denlinger
was second in 18:54, while Nate Prickett was eighth against Troy in a
time of 20:52, Ronel Ankam was 11th in 22:00, and Samuel Sensing was
12th in 22:09.
Aiden Oldroyd (22:45) and Caleb Simwale (23:08)
finished 13th and 14th, respectively, while Pierce Oldroyd (23:42) was
17th, Aiden Pollock-Sinsabaugh (24:03) was 19th, Andrew DeForest (25:04)
was 21st, and Lohith Kinthala (26:05) was 22nd.
Prickett, Ankam
and Sensing finished third through fifth, respectively, against Sayre,
while Aiden Oldroyd was seventh, and Simwale was eight.
Sayre’s
Sam Claypool finished sixth against Athens and eighth against Troy in a
time of 22:24, and Mark Golden was 12th against Troy, and 11th against
Sayre in a time of 25:59.
JUNIOR HIGH
Boys
Athens 15, Troy 44
Athens 15, Sayre 50
Troy 15, Sayre 50
The junior Wildcats swept the top five spots in convincing wins over Troy and Sayre.
Graham
Wanck won the race in a time of 9:41, while Eli Hicks (10:57), Jacob
Shores (11:23), Matt Rossetti (11:30), and Zach Fisher (11:41) finished
second through fifth, respectively.
Steinfelt finished in 12:04
for Athens to place seventh overall, while Darius Miller was 13th in
13:35, and John Roberts was 19th in 16:27.
Sayre’s Casey Hurd finished 11th overall in a time of 12:53, and Ian Garrison was 17th in 14:02.
Girls
Alyssa Vaughn won the junior high girls race in a time of 12:49, and teammate Abby Conklin was fourth in 19:45.
Reagan
McGaughey led Sayre with a third-place finish in a time of 14:57, while
Luanne Niema was fifth in 20:15, and Krystal Nyangogo was sixth in
21:17.
ROME — The Athens boys and girls both earned splits in their tri-meets
here Tuesday afternoon, beating Sullivan County, but falling to
Northeast Bradford in NTL cross country action.
The Athens boys junior high team earned wins over NEB and Sullivan County, while the girls team was incomplete.
GIRLS
NEB 25, Athens 32
Athens 16, Sullivan County 40
NEB’s
Gracelyn Laudermilch outdueled Athens sophomore Sara Bronson, and three
next three finishers were Lady Panthers in a 25-32 win over the Lady
Wildcats.
Laudermilch crossed the finish line in 20:30, while Sara Bronson clocked in at 21:02.
Athens
senior Emma Bronson finished sixth in a time of 22:51, while junior
Thea Bentley was seventh in 23:57, junior Emily Henderson was eighth in
26:33, and freshman Olivia Cheresnowsky and senior Abby Prickett were
ninth and 10th, respectively, in times of 27:48 and 27:49.
Junior Janae Haskins finished 13th in 37:02, and sophomore MaryRose Bertsch was 14th in 38:27.
Sara
Bronson, Emma Bronson, Bentley and Henderson finished first through
fourth, respectively, against Sullivan County, while Cheresnowsky was
sixth, and Prickett was seventh in a 16-40 Lady Wildcat win.
BOYS
NEB 19, Athens 42
Athens 21, Sullivan County 36
Northeast
Bradford, led by Creed Dewing, had five of the top six finishers to
pull out a 19-42 win over Athens, while the Wildcats topped Sullivan
County, 21-36.
Dewing clocked in at 18:08, while sophomore Ethan Hicks paced the Wildcats with a second-place finish in a time of 19:01.
Senior
Ethan Denlinger placed seventh in a time of 19:44, while senior Nate
Prickett (20:47), sophomore Ronel Ankam (21:20), and sophomore Carter
Lewis (21:50) finished 11th through 13th, respectively.
Freshman
Aiden Pollock-Sinsabaugh (22:47), junior Caleb Simwale (22:57), and
freshman Samuel Sensenig (22:58) finished 16th through 18th,
respectively, while sophomore Pierce Oldroyd was 21st in 24:24, and
freshman Andrew DeForrest was 25th in 26:13.
Hicks and Denlinger
finished 1-2 in the win over Sullivan County, while Prickett, Ankam, and
Lewis were fifth through seventh, respectively. Pollock-Sinsabaugh
finished ninth, and Simwale was 10th.
Athens returns to action Saturday at the Section IV Pre-State Meet at Chenango Valley State Park.
JUNIOR HIGH
Boys
Athens 18, NEB 44
Athens 19, Sullivan County 39
Graham Wanck and Eli Hicks finished 1-2 overall to lead Athens to wins over Northeast Bradford and Sullivan County.
Wanck crossed the finish line in 10:09, while Hicks clocked in at 11:19.
Jacob Shores (11:54) and Zachary Fisher (12:11) finished fourth and fifth, respectively, against both teams.
Abram
Steinfelt (12:25) and Matt Rossettie (12:27) finished sixth and seventh
against NEB, and seventh and eighth against Sullivan County.
Isaac Roy (15:35) and Darious Miller (15:37) finished 10th and 11th against NEB, and 15th and 16th against Sullivan County.
Girls
Alissa Vough finished second overall for the junior Wildcats in the girls race in a time of 13:02.
ONEONTA — Sophomore Sara Bronson and senior Emma Bronson both ran to
top-10 finishes to pace Athens in a fifth-place finish here Saturday at
the Dave Forbes Cross Country Invitational.
The Athens junior high boys won the team title, while the Wildcat boys placed ninth.
"Today
was a good start for us on both the boys and girls sides of things,”
said Athens boys coach Mike Bronson. “For our more experienced kids like
Ethan Hicks, and Emma and Sara Bronson it was a good rust-buster and
good for them to get back into a race.
“It gave our younger or
new runners a good opportunity to gain some experience in a bigger
race,” noted Bronson. “For the guys, we ran a pretty young group in the
varsity race today, we had one senior (Nate Prickitt) and then the rest
were freshman or sophomores, so they need some time to just gain
experience running at that level.
“We know we still have work to do, but I'm pretty happy with where we are for this early in the season,” added Bronson.
"The kids have been anxious to get a race in and we were excited to see where they stand,” said Athens girls coach Scott Riley.
“The
team has a good balance on youth and experience,” noted Riley. “For
many kids on high school and junior high teams, this was their first
cross-country race ever. We were pleased with how they ran with a good
opener across the board. In all the races, we had some really good
standout performances with top place finishers.
“Today definitely gave us a good sampling of where we are starting the season and that’s pretty exciting,” added Riley.
GIRLS
Sara Bronson finished third in a time of 21:08.7, and Emma Bronson was 10th in 22:06.3 to pace the Lady Wildcats.
Junior
Thea Bentley finished 29th in a time of 23:48.2, while junior Emily
Henderson was 58th in 27:42.5, and junior Janae Harkins (35:15.9) and
sophomore Mary Rose Bertsch (36:52.3) were 82nd and 83rd, respectively.
Ithaca
cruised to the team title with 47 placement points, while runner-up
Union-Endicott had 69 points, third-place Horseheads had 89 points,
Oneonta was fourth with 112 points, and Athens tallied 127 points.
BOYS
Sophomore Ethan Hicks paced the Wildcats, who finished ninth in the 12-team field.
Hicks
clocked in at 18:28 to place 15th, while sophomore Carter Lewis was
39th in 20:02.3, sophomore Ronel Ankam was 47th in 20:36.7, senior Nate
Prickitt was 49th in 20:42.3, freshman Sam Sensing was 59th in 21:38.4,
and sophomore Aiden Oldroyd was 71st in 22:44.7.
Ithaca ran away
with the team title, totaling 26 placement points, while runner-up
Oneonta had 96, and third-place Saqouit Valley tallied 101 points.
Athens amassed 198 points.
In the junior varsity race, Athens finished sixth of the six complete teams.
Junior
Caleb Simwale led Athens with a 27th-place finish in 22:13, while
sophomore Pierce Oldroyd was 49th in 24:05.4, freshman Aiden
Pollock-Sinsabaugh was 54th in 24:26.7, freshman Andrew DeForrest was
60th in 25:03.8, and sophomore Lohith Kinthala was 70th in 27:15.3.
JUNIOR HIGH
Boys
All
five of Athens’ scorers, led by Graham Wanck, finished in the top 10 to
lead the junior Wildcats to the team title in the junior high division.
"In
the Junior High races, the boys ran a really nice team race today with
six of them finishing in the top 12 of their race,” said Bronson. “in
the girls race, Alissa Vough, in her first race, ran a great race to
finish a really close second"
Athens claimed the team title with
24 placement points, while Delhi was runner-up with 38 points, and
Union-Endicott was third with 84 points.
Wanck won the race in a time of 7:06.1, while Eli Hicks was fourth in 7:50.6, and Jacob Shores was fifth in 8:16.6.
Zachary Fisher finished ninth in a time of 8:40.1, and Matt Rossettie was 10th in 8:40.6.
Abram
Steinfelt finished 12th for Athens in a time of 8:46.5, while Darious
Miller was 28th in 9:47.2, Isaac Roy was 37th in 10:31.0, and Johnny
Roberts was 50th in 13:04.2.
Girls
Alissa Vough — one of two Athens runners — finished second in the girls junior race.