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 Sara Bronson led four Valley runners in the top-16 here Thursday afternoon in the girls portion of the Bob Greene Cross Country Invitational.

Elmira’s Ana Mordvinova won the individual title in a time of 19:26.1.

Sara Bronson finished fourth in the field of 131 runners in a time of 20:32.1, while Waverly sophomore Harper Minaker was 13th in 22:07.3, Waverly junior Elizabeth Vaughn was 14th in 22:07.4, and Athens senior Emma Bronson was 16th in 22:19.4.

Senior Abby Prickitt finished 79th for the Lady Wildcats in a time of 27:10.1, while freshman Olivia Cheresnowky was 86th in 27:20.3, junior Janae Harkins was 118th in 31:56, and sophomore Mary Rose Bertsch was 127th in 34:39.7.

The Lady Wildcats finished ninth in the team standings with 232 points. Horseheads won the team title with 87 points, while Owego was second with 90, and Delhi was third with 109.

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 — Athens sophomore Sara Bronson and senior Emma Bronson, and Waverly junior Elizabeth Vaughn turned in top-50 performances here Saturday in the girls Small School race at the prestigious McQuaid Cross Country Invitational.

Athens finished 21st in a field of 36 complete teams, which also featured 322 runners. Waverly had just four runners, and was incomplete.

"The kids ran great today,” said Athens coach Mike Bronson. “The level of competition was really deep this year and our kids responded really well."

Sara Bronson finished 12th in a time of 19:00.9 to pace Athens.Her time was good for 49th place in the merged results, which combines all the races on the day and consisted of a field of 1,437 runners.

Emma Bronson was 47th (208th merged) in 20:26.9, and junior Thea Bentley was 114th in 21:51.8.

Senior Abby Prickitt finished 244th in a time of 24:43.1 for the Lady Wildcats, while freshman Olivia Cheresnowsky was 255th in 25:02.1, and junior Janae Harkins was 299th in 27:22.8.

Vaughn finished 42nd (172nd merged) for the Lady Wolverines, clocking in at a time of 20:08.2, while sophomore Harper Minaker was 71st in 20:52.0, freshman Mackenzie Chamberlain was 115th in 21:52.9, and sophomore Haylie Davenport was 257th in 25:09.9.

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 Sara Bronson finished third, and senior Emma Bronson was 10th to pace Athens to a fourth-place finish in the Large School Division here Saturday 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.”

U-E won the Large School team title with 71 placement points, while runner-up Horseheads had 80 points, third-place finisher Owego had 82 points, and Athens tallied 108. Elmira finished fifth with 112 points.

Sara Bronson clocked in at 19:27.3, and Emma Bronson finished in 21:13.8, while junior Thea Bentley was 18th in 21:57.2, and junior Emily Henderson was 32nd in 24:03.7.

Freshman Olivia Cheresnowsky finished 46th in 25:04.6, and senior Abby Prickitt was 49th in 25:28.7.

MODIFIED GIRLS
Large School Division
Seventh-grader Alisa Vough won the Large School Division modified race in a time of 11:06.6, more than 51 seconds faster than the runner-up.

Abigail Conklin was 36th for the junior Wildcats in a time of 16:46.5.

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.