HERSHEY — Athens senior Matt Gorsline finished up his career at the PIAA
Cross-country Championships on Saturday, while Sara and Emma Bronson
gained experience for next season.
Gorsline (18:28.1) was 142nd
overall in the Class AA boys’ race. He had a strong finish — he was
161st at the 4,000-meter mark, so in the final thousand meters he
improved 19 spots.
Freshman Sara Bronson (21:39.3) was 99th
overall. She went out hard, sitting 46th at the mile mark, but fell back
running those famous Hershey hills during the middle portion of the
race, running 82nd at the 2-mile.
Emma Bronson, a junior, finished 115th in 21:53.2. She was 70th at the mile, and 95th at the 2-mile.
District
IV did well in both Class AA races. For the girls, there were four
medalists from the district, while Danville took fourth and Lewisburg
was ninth.
On the boys’ side, Lewisburg won the team title by 20 points with four medalists.
BLOOMSBURG — For Athens’ Emma Bronson, Thursday’s District IV, Class AA
girls’ Cross Country Championship race was a long time coming. The
junior had come up just short of qualifying for states last year, and
wasn’t going to let it pass by again, as she, and her freshman sister
Sara Bronson both qualified for States, along with Matt Gorsline in the
boys’ Class AA race.
“Coming into this season, I knew I wanted to do it, and I did, so it’s really exciting,” said Emma.
Emma
(20:51) was the final state qualifier, taking 14th overall, as she
continues to work her way back from an injury. Sara (20:36) came in
ninth and was the second highest freshman finisher in the field.
“This was my goal all season long, so it was really nice to have accomplished it,” she said.
Sara ran mostly by herself as she got caught in between packs for much of the race.
“I
just didn’t want to get passed by anyone because I knew where I was,”
she said. “I just wanted to keep running a good race, and try and catch
the girl in front of me.”
Emma was racing throughout the course,
and was out kicked at the end in a pack, but was still 29 seconds ahead
of the next individual placer.
“(I knew) right at the end, and then I was just waiting,” she said. “But it all worked out.”
For the two of them, this is a dream come true they they’re going to experience states together.
“It’s super fun being able to run with her,” said Emma.
The Wildcats were eighth overall with 199 placement points.
Thea Bentley (24:50) was 58th, Emily Henderson (26:25) came in 71st, and Cailyn Conklin (27:03) took 74th.
On
the boys’ side, Gorsline ran right on the bubble for most of the race,
but used a furious finish to be the sixth individual to qualify, taking
12th overall in 17:27.
“The race went very well, just how I
wanted it to,” he said. “I did know I was going to be toward the back a
little bit. I knew I just had to sit there and kind of pass a lot of
people at the end, that’s what I did.”
Gorsline out kicked five runners of a pack he was in during the final sprint.
“I
knew I was right at ninth and 10th individual, so I locked my eyes on
one guy three places ahead of me, and I caught him,” he explained. “Then
I went for the next two, and I actually caught them, too.”
Last
year, Gorsline, along with two other Athens runners, would have made
states if it had been a normal year. That motivated Gorsline to make it
happen this time around.
“It really put the pressure on for this year,” he said. “It really pushed me to strive to get there.”
His
teammate Ethan Denlinger (17:39) missed a state spot by one second as
the first person out, taking 20th overall. Kyle Anthony (18:21) was
28th, Carter Lewis (18:46) came in 32nd, and Izaak Hobday (19:35) was
45th as the Wildcats were fifth as a team with 124 points.
The
Sayre girls team had three competitors in Class A: Corey Ault (26:59) in
44th, Rose Shikanga (27:27) in 49th, and Deborah Shikanga (30:31) in
57th.
Braylon Dekay (23:29) was 56th in the boys’ Class A race.
The PIAA Cross Country Championships are Nov. 6 in Hershey.
WAVERLY — Athens freshman Sara Bronson ran away from the field,
finishing 42 seconds ahead of runner-up, Waverly freshman Harper
Minaker, here Tuesday afternoon in the varsity girls portion of the
annual Tom Koons Valley Cross Country Invitational.
The Lady Wildcats won the team title by virtue of having the only complete team.
Bronson
clocked in at 20:23, and Minaker finished in 21:05, while Waverly
sophomore Elizabeth Vaughn was third in 22:40, Waverly senior Olivia
Nittinger was fourth in 23:17, and Athens sophomore Thea Bentley
finished fifth in 24:09.
Sayre junior Corey Ault was sixth in
26:50, edging out Athens sophomore Emily Henderson was seventh in 26:52,
Athens sophomore Cailyn Conklin was eighth in 27:23, Sayre’s Rose
Shikanga was ninth in 27:27, and Waverly sophomore Ally Barrett was 10th
in 27:28.
Athens senior Ruby Kinsman finished 11th in 30:48, and Sayre Deborah Shikanga was 12th in 31:23.
ROME — It couldn’t have been a better day for Athens runners at the NTL
Coaches’ Invitational. The boys won the team title, avenging their dual
meet loss to CV earlier this week, while the Bronson sisters took first
and third in the girls’ race.
The Wildcat boys had four in the
top 12, and five in the top 20. They finished with 49 points, outpacing
second-place Wyalusing (63) by 14 places. The Rams edged CV (63) for
second place via tie-breaker.
On Tuesday, CV was able to go 1-2-3
on Athens, but on Saturday, the Wildcats’ Matt Gorsline (18:01.8) and
Kyle Anthony (18:08.60) broke up that pack, getting ahead of CV’s third
runner, Nathaniel Welch (18:13.6), to take sixth and seventh overall.
“I
knew I had to get that number three Cow Val kid,” said Gorsline.
“Kyle’s been struggling with an injury, and, he’s been struggling to get
back to where he was, and today he executed really well, so I’m hoping
he’s starting to feel better going into districts.”
Ethan
Denlinger (18:24.6) finished in the top 10 at ninth, while Carter Lewis
(18:39.2) was 11th, and Isaac Hobday (19:43) took 20th.
Nate Prickitt (19:58.2) finished 24th, and Sander Bertsch (21:07.3) was 38th to round out their top seven.
They had the tightest split of any team at the meet, just 1:41 between 1-through-5, and 40 seconds between 1-through-4.
While
it was more than enough to claim the Invitational title, they’ll need
to keep working if they want to do well at districts. The defending
state champions for Class AA, Lewisburg, are in District IV, while
Danville will also be a formidable opponent.
“We’re going to be
hitting some tough workouts,” said Gorsline. “Really just prepping for
it. We know where in the pack we need to be. Hopefully, three of us will
work together - Ethan, Kyle, and I.”
In the girls’ race, freshman
Wildcat Sara Bronson (21:01.3) cruised to the win, besting runner-up
Alyssa Parks of Troy (21:40.3) by nearly 40 seconds.
“It was a
pretty competitive race, which is good,” said Sara. “I’m pretty happy
with how I ran. It’s nice being able to train with great teammates who
help, and great coaches really help too.”
Her sister, Emma Bronson (21:57.6), took third overall coming off an injury. She missed Tuesday’s dual meet race at NEB.
“I felt pretty good,” said Emma. “It felt good to run again.”
This is the first time the two have been teammates, and they’re enjoying the extra time they’re spending together.
“It’s awesome being able to run with her,” Emma remarked.
Emma won the NTL Invitational last year, while Sara took second in the junior high race a year ago.
“It’s really nice being able to train together, and push each other, because we run so well,” said Sara.
Fellow
Wildcat Thea Bentley (24:29.7) finished 20th as Athens was third as a
team with 102 points. Troy (57) and Wyalusing (62) took first and
second, while the Wildcats edged NEB (112).
Emily Henderson (26:40.5) finished 36th, and Caitlyn Conklin (27:53.7) took 48th to round out their top five.
For
Sayre, Corey Ault (26:55.5) took 39th in the girls’ race, while in the
boys’ race Braylon DeKay (23:31.9) finished 59th, and Andrew Panek
(31:02.9) was 79th.
In the junior high boys race, Athens (38) was
edged out by Troy (35) for the team title. Graham Wanck (10:29.7) and
Eli Hicks (10:45.5) took second and fourth, respectively, for the
Wildcats.
On the girls’ side Addison Bruns (12:26.40) came in
fifth for the Wildcats, who were third overall with 70 points. Sayre’s
Mackenzie Chamberlain (12:42) finished seventh overall.
ROME, Pa. — The Athens boys won two of three decisions, but Cowanesque
Valley’s win over the Wildcats secured the NTL Large School cross
country title here Tuesday.
BOYS
Cowanesque Valley 24, Athens 31
Athens 22, NEB 35
Athens 16, Canton 42
CV
swept the top three spots, and handed Athens its first loss of the
season, but the Wildcats topped NEB and Canton to finish 9-1 on the
season. CV finished the season at 10-0.
Senior Matt Gorsline
finished fifth in a time of 17:53 to lead Athens, while junior Ethan
Denlinger (18:18), senior Kyle Anthony (18:54), and freshman Carter
Lewis (18:59( finished sixth through eighth, respectively.
Senior
Sander Bertsch finished 13th for the Wildcats in 20:03, while sophomore
Nate Prickitt was 16th in 20:21, and senior Izaak Hobday was 17th in
20:43
GIRLS
Cowanesque Valley 26, Athens 29
Athens 26, Canton 29
NEB 22, Athens 33
Freshman
Sarah Bronson won the race, but only one other Lady Wildcat runner
finished in the top 14 as they went 1-2 in the four-team meet.
Bronson clocked in at 21:28, while sophomore Thea Bentley was seventh in 25:45.
Sophomore
Cailyn Conklin finished 15th in 27:21, while sophomore Emily Henderson
was 16th in 27:38, and senior Ruby Kinsman was 19th in 32:08.
JUNIOR HIGH
Boys
Athens 15, Canton 50
Athens 23, NEB 36
Athens 16, CV 41
Athens’
top five runners finished in the top eight as the junior Wildcats
earned wins over Canton, NEB, and Cowanesque Valley in NTL junior high
cross country action.
Graham Wanck finished second in 10:44, and
Eli Hicks was third in 10:54 to lead Athens, while Ty Lezak (12:42),
Zach Fisher (12:49), and Charan Venkataswamy (12:58) finished sixth
through eighth, respectively.
Girls
Athens 20, CV 35
Athens 15, Canton 50
NEB 18, Athens 43
Addison
Bruns finished third, and Olivia Cheresnowsky was seventh, but they
were the top two finishers aside from NEB’s top five runners, leading
Athens to wins over Canton and Cowanesque Valley.
NEWARK VALLEY — Athens freshman Sara Bronson, and Waverly freshman
Harper Minaker each finished in the Top 10 here Friday afternoon here at
the Bob Greene / Newark Valley Cross Country Invitational.
Bronson finished sixth in a time of 21:19.8, and Minaker was ninth in the field of 124 runners in a time of 21:39.9.
The
Lady Wildcats, running without No. 2 runner junior Emma Bronson,
finished 12th in the team standings with 255 placement points. U-E won
the team title with 79 points, while Elk Lake was second with 97, and
Delhi was third with 99.
Also for the Lady Wildcats, sophomore
Thea Bentley was 49th in 25:38.2, sophomore Cailyn Conklin was 79th in
28:22.3, sophomore Emily Henderson was 94th in 29:57.0, and senior Ruby
Kinsman was 113th in 34:08.4.
For the Lady Wolverines, senior Olivia Nittinger was 26th in 23:51.3, and sophomore Elizabeth Vaughn was 41st in 24:56.8.
TROY — The unbeaten Athens boys swept the top four spots in a 16-47 win
over Troy, while the Lady Wildcats dropped a 26-32 decision here Tuesday
afternoon in NTL cross country action at Mt. Pisgah State Park.
ROCHESTER — The Athens duo of freshman Sara Bronson and junior Emma
Bronson, and Waverly freshman Harper Minaker all finished in the top 20
in the Small Schools race at the prestigious McQuaid Invitational here
Saturday at the Genesee Valley Park.
Athens finished 18th in the team standings in a race that featured 30 complete teams, and a field of 260 runners.
“McQuaid
is always a great experience for the kids,” said Athens coach Scott
Riley. “It’s the largest field size they compete in all season.
“This
gives all the kids other runners to race with throughout their race,”
he noted. “Saturday was no different, and we saw strong efforts from all
the kids as we head into the last few weeks of the regular season.
“These were very competitive races with schools from all around the region,” added Riley.
Sara
Bronson finished 12th in 20:01.5, and junior Emma Bronson was 16th in
20:13.4 to lead the Lady Wildcats, while sophomore Thea Bentley was
147th in 24:12.0, sophomore Emily Henderson was 215th in 26:17.3, and
sophomore Cailyn Conklin was 217th in 26:24.0.
Minaker led the
Lady Wolverines with a 23rd-place finish in 20:28.9, while sophomore
Elizabeth Vaughn was 62nd in 22:02.6, senior Olivia Nittinger was 126th
in 23:40.3, and sophomore Ally Barrett was 210th in 26:02.1.
JUNIOR HIGH RACE
Athens finished 17th out of 21 complete teams, while Waverly was incomplete. There were 181 runners in the field.
Waverly
7th-grader Lauren Gorsline finished 15th in a time of 10:57.4, while
7th-grader Taylor Sinsabaugh was 82nd in 13:11.2, and 8th-grader Sophie
Williams was 134th in 14:51.0.
Eighth-grader Addison Bruns
finished 16th in 10:58.6 to lead the junior ‘Cats, while 8th-grader
Olivia Cheresnowsky was 67th in 12:39.9, 8th-grader Kayla Marshall was
97th in 13:34.6, 8th-grader Victoria Gao was 100th in 13:40.9, and
8th-grader Madeline Henderson was 170th in 18:22.2.
ATHENS — The Bronson sisters — junior Emma and freshman Sara — finished
1-2, and the Athens boys once again flashed their depth as both teams
logged wins over Wellsboro and North Penn-Mansfield here Tuesday
afternoon in NTL cross country action at Round Top Park.
BOYS
Athens 20, NP-Mansfield 41
Athens 17, Wellsboro 43
North
Penn-Mansfield’s Noah Sheddon earned the victory, but Athens, still
without its top runner — senior Kyle Anthony, had five of the next seven
runners to cross the finish line to post bigs wins over Wellsboro and
NP-M.
Sheldon clocked in at 16:51, with Athens senior Matt
Gorsline second in 17:55, junior Ethan Denlinger third in 18:08, and
freshman Carter Lewis was fourth in 19:41.
Junior Nate Prickitt
was sixth in 20:03, senior Isaak Hobday was seventh in 20:18. senior
Sander Bertsch was ninth in 21:06, and freshman Lohith Kinthala was 13th
in 32:40.
“Today was a good day for the boys,” said Athens boys coach Mike Bronson.
“The
junior high boys had a really nice team race with five of the first six
finishers,” he noted. “The varsity guys put in a solid, workmanlike
effort.
“As they have all season, Matt (Gorsline) and Ethan
(Denlinger) led the team up front and then our pack of guys filled in,”
he added. “We got some good work in today and are looking forward to
racing at the McQuaid Invitational this weekend.”
GIRLS
Athens 20, Wellsboro 35
Athens 26, NP-Mansfield 29
Emma Bronson and Sara Bronson finished 1-2 with identical times of 22:26 to lead the Lady Wildcats to a pair of wins.
Sophomore
Thea Bentley was fourth in 24:43, while sophomore Cailyn Conklin was
11th in 27:37, sophomore Emily Hendershot was 12th in 27:52, and Ruby
Kinsman was 20th in 32:43.
“The girls teams all picked up big wins today,” said Athens girls coach Scott Riley.
“The
junior high was led by Addison Bruns and Olivia Cheresnowsky, with
Victoria (Gao) and Kayla (Marshall) we close behind to create a close
pack.
For the varsity, Emma and Sara Bronson led the way,” noted Riley. “Thea Bentley had a big race today to help scoring.
“Cailyn
(Conklin) and Emily (Hendershot) ran together to close out the top
five, and put the team in a good position,” he added. “Ruby Kinsman ran a
great first race of the season on a tough course.”
JUNIOR HIGH BOYS
Athens 15, NP-Mansfield 50
Athens 17, Wellsboro 40
Graham
Wanck won the junior high boys race, and four of his Athens teammates
finished third through sixth, respectively, to lead the junior Wildcats
to a pair of big wins.
Wanck clocked in at 10:28, while Eli Hicks
finished third in 11:00, Ty Lezak was fourth in 12:19, Zach Fisher was
fifth in 12:41, and Charan Venkataswamy was sixth in 13:09.
Isaac Roy (14:56), Andrew DeForrest (15:30), and Arayan Guar (19:15) finished 10th through 12th, respectively, for Athens.
JUNIOR HIGH GIRLS
Athens 23, NP-Mansfield 32
Athens 14, Wellsboro 22
Athens had four runners in the top six, led by second-place finisher Addison Bruns, to pull out wins in modified scoring.
Bruns
clocked in at 12:35, while Olivia Cheresnowsky was fourth in 14:29,
Victoria Gao was fifth in 15:14, and Kayla Marshall was sixth in 15:30.
Athens returns to action Saturday at the prestigious McQuaid Invitational in Rochester.
OWEGO — Freshman Sara Bronson and junior Emma Bronson finished 3-4 in
the girls race, and senior Matt Gorsline and junior Ethan Denlinger each
finished in the top 10 in the boys race to pace the Athens contingent
here Saturday morning in the Large School race at the Owego Cross
Country Invitational.
GIRLS
Sara Bronson clocked
in 20:18.1, and Emma Bronson finished in 20:56.6, well off the pace of
Bainbridge-Guilford / Afton / Harpursville standout Ethne Degan, who won
in a time of 19:20.5, and runner-up, Owego 8th-grader Jaelyn Chrysler,
who finished in 19:37.5.
Sophomores Cailyn Conklin (27:20.7), and
Emily Henderson (27:25.4) finished 36th and 37th, respectively, for the
Lady Wildcats, who did not field enough runners for a complete team.
BOYS
Gorsline
finished fifth in 17:24.3, and Denlinger was seventh in 17:47.7 to lead
the Wildcats to a third-place finish in the team standings.
Again
competing without their top runner (senior Kyle Anthony), the Wildcats
finished with 92 placement points. Vestal won the team title with 38
points, and Binghamton was second with 68.
Freshman Carter Lewis
was 22nd for the Wildcats i 19:11.9, while junior Nate Prickitt was 39th
in 19:29.6, and freshman Ethan Hicks (19:36.7) and senior Izaak Hobday
(19:41.4) were 33rd nd 34th, respectively. Senior Sander Bertsch was
42nd in 20:01.6.
JV BOYS
Freshman Aiden Oldroyd
finished 14th in the JV race in a field of 56 runners in a time of
21:46.7, while senior Brendan Jones was 17th in 22:01.2, and freshman
Pierce Oldroyyd was 25th in 23:39.8.
Freshman Lohith Kinthala was 48th in 29:34.7.
TOWANDA — Athens, running without their top runner Kyle Anthony, earned
wins over Wyalusing and Towanda here Tuesday afternoon, while the Lady
Wildcats split a pair of decisions in NTL cross country action.
The
Athens boys topped Wyalusing, 25-33, and Towanda, 19-40, while the Lady
Wildcats dropped a 27-29 decision to Wyalusing, and bested Towanda,
24-31.
BOYS
Athens 25, Wyalusing 33
Athens 19, Towanda 40
Wyalusing
standout Zion Laudermilch ran away from the field, but Athens had five
runners in the top 11 to pull out a pair of wins.
Laudermilch
clocked in at 18:14, 63 seconds ahead of runner-up Athens senior Matt
Gorsline, who crossed the finish line in 19:17.
Junior Ethan
Denlinger was third for the Wildcats in 19:34, while freshman Ethan
Hicks was sixth in 20:08, freshman Carter Lewis was eighth in 20:46,
senior Izaak Hobday was 10th in 21:26, and senior Sander Bertsch was
11th in 21:27.
CHENANGO FORKS — Athens freshman Sara Bronson and junior Emma Bronson,
and Waverly freshman Harper Minaker each finished in the top 15 in Race 2
here Saturday at the Pre-States McDaniel-Baxter Cross Country
Invitational at the Chenango Valley State Park.
There were five
boys races, and five girls races. In all, there were 83 boys teams,
including 66 complete teams, competing, and 78 girls teams, with 47
complete teams. There 675 boys in the merged field, and 463 girls.
Powerhouse
Fayetteville-Manlius had seven runners in the top 10 to run away with
the team title with 19 placement points, well ahead of runner-up Lake
Placid, which had 71 points, and third-place finisher Chenango Forks,
which had 102 points. Tioga finished eighth with 243 points, while
Waverly and Athens did not field a complete team.
LITCHFIELD — The Athens boys and girls each picked up wins over Sayre
and Sullivan County here Tuesday afternoon in cross country action.
BOYS
Athens 15, Sayre 50
Athens 15, Sullivan County 50
Sullivan 15, Sayre 50
The Wildcats swept the top nine spots and posted 15-50 wins over Sullivan County and an incomplete Sayre team.
Kyle
Anthony finished first in a time of 20:19, while Matt Gorsline was
second in 20:22, Ethan Denlinger was third in 20:29, Ethan Hicks was
fourth in 20:49, and Carter Lewis was fifth in 21:20.
Sander
Bertsch (22:20), Nate Prickitt (23:12), Izaak Hobday (23:18), and
Brendan Jones (23:56) finished sixth through ninth, respectively.
Aiden
Oldroyd finished 11th for the Wildcats in 25:23, Pierce Oldroyd was
13th in 26:45, Ryan Gorman was 17th in 29:02, and Lohith Kinthala was
20th in 34:11.
Sayre’s Braylon Dekay finished 15th in 27:40, and Andrew Panek was 22nd in 41:33.
GIRLS
Athens 15, Sayre 50
Athens 18, Sullivan 37
Sullivan 15, Sayre 50
Junior
Emma Bronson and freshman Sara Bronson finished 1-2 in nearly identical
times, and Athens swept the top four spots in topping Sullivan County,
18-37, and an incomplete Sayre squad, 15-50.
Emma Bronson and
Sara Bronson clocked in at 23:54, while Thea Bentley was third in 27:11,
and Cailin Conklin was fourth in 28:09. Abby Prickitt finished 10th in
31:17.
Corey Ault finished seventh in 30:22 to lead the Lady
Redskins, while Rose Shikanga was eighth in 30:31, and Debrah Shikanga
was 12th in 33:24.
ONEONTA — The Athens boys had three runners finish in the top 13 on
their way to a third-place finish here Saturday at the Dave Forbes Cross
Country Invitational, while the Lady Wildcats finished ninth.
Ithaca
was the runaway winner of the team title with 35 placement points,
while runner-up Columbia tallied 71, Athens had 97, fourth-place
Union-Endicott had 118, and fifth-place Elmira had 151 points.
Senior
Kyle Anthony led the Wildcats with a ninth-place finish in a time of
17:37.3, while senior Matt Gorsline was 12th in 17:45.8, and junior
Ethan Denlinger was 13th in 17:47.6.
Freshman Ethan Hicks finished 30th for Athens in a time of 19:02.8, and freshman Carter Lewis was 33rd in 19:06.7.
Senior Sander Bertsch was 59th in 20:15.4, and junior Nate Pricket was 65th in a time of 20:32.4 in the field of 129 runners.
GIRLS
Freshman Sara Bronson and junior Emma Bronson finished in the top 12 to lead the Lady Wildcats Saturday.
Emma Bronson clocked in with a time of 21:11.3 to finish ninth, and Emma Bronson finished 12th in 21:28.2.
Sophomore
Thea Bentley finished 67th for the Lady Wildcats in a time of 26:48.5,
while sophomore Cailyn Conklin was 89th in 28:44, sophomore Emily
Henderson was 96th in 29:57, and junior Abby Prickitt was 115th in
33:29.5.
JV BOYS
Athens finished sixth in the junior varsity race, led by Izaak Hobday, who finished eighth in a time of 20:35.
Aiden
Oldroyd finished 24th for the junior Wildcats in a time of 22:19, while
Lohith Kinthala was 29th in 23:54, Pierce Oldroyd was 32nd in 24:30,
Ryan Gorman placed 43rd in 27:00, and Brendan Jones was 46th in 31:51.
MODIFIED BOYS
Seventh-graders Graham Wanck and Eli Hicks placed 1-2 in the modified boys race.
Wanck clocked in at 7:55.1, and Hick s crosses the line in 8:11.3, while Charan Venkataswamy was 20th in 9:46.8.
Isaac Roy finished 35th in a time of 11:03.6, while Andrew DeForrest was 39th in in 11:20, Arayan Gaur was 52nd in 14:41.1.
MODIFIED GIRLS
Eighth-grader Addison Burns paced the modified girls with a third-place finish in a time of 9:50.5.
Kayla Marshall finished 24th in a time of 13:33.3, and Madeline Henderson was 31st in 14:54.1.
Athens returns to action Tuesday at Sayre.