With the demise of the huge all-sports Mountain Athletic Conference, schools have been left scrambling to pick up league affiliations and a few extra meets or games to supplement league schedules for a full season of play.
Such was the case when on Tuesday afternoon Tyrone, Bellwood-Antis, Central, Indian Valley and Mount Union all got their cross country teams together on the Tyrone course.
With such a great array of schools and talent gathered in one place, there were wipeouts and there were decisions so close, you wouldn’t have wanted to stick your finger between the scores compiled by the teams.
When all was said and done, the Tyrone boys team was 2-2, edging Bellwood-Antis by a single point, 28-29, and falling to Central by that same margin 28-27. For those unfamiliar with cross country scoring, like golf, the lower the score the better, and the first five runners are scored.
In the Eagles other two races, they drilled Mount Union 18-39 and got bashed by Indian Valley 38-20.
Overall, the Golden Eagles’ Rich Stever finished third in 18:46, Dustin Elder was 10th in 19:40, James Russell was 14th in 20:13, Nathan Kruis was 16th in 20:39 and the final scorer for Tyrone, was Travis Johnson, who was 37th in 22:46.
“Rich Stever led our boys today. He had to come back from last week, when he had some problems at Penns Valley,” said Tyrone cross country coach Tammy Wills. “We had a large group running today, 60 boys in all, and Rich finished third overall. He ran a strong race, and had a great time for his first race on our course. We probably have one of the most challenging courses in the district and Rich did very well. This was a good way for Rich, Dustin Elder and Nathan Kruis, out three top runners to see where they stand, going into the division meet next week. Dustin and Nathan were right where we needed them to be. Both looked great, as well as James Russell, who ran a super race for coming into the season late. Travis Johnson and Evan Lewis really stepped things up today and Ben Smerekar followed closely. This was one of their better races, and they all helped us get some much needed points. Randy Wilson is recovering from an injury and is just getting back into the swing of things.”
Lewis was 45th overall in 25:42, Smerekar was 51st in 26:21, and Wilson was 59th in 28:53.
Bellwood-Antis senior Ben Hatch won the race in 18:14, followed by Indian Valley’s Noah Loht in 18:35.
The Blue Devil boys defeated Mount Union 19-40, but lost to Tyrone 29-28, Central 29-27 and Indian Valley 40-20.
Cooper Campbell was 13th in 20:05, Talon Sickler was 19th in 20:57, Jeff Stuby was 25th in 21:16, and Tyler Hunter was 27th in 21:26.
“Ben Hatch ran a really nice race on what is a tremendously tough course,” said Bellwood-Antis cross country coach Julie Roseborough. “Our boys ran really well, we only lost by one point and by two points-that’s one runner passing another. You always like to win, but I am not at all unhappy with their results. They pretty much gave everything they had. They are running and working hard and they are still continuing to improve.
“Talon Sickler is one of those boys still improving. He runs conservatively at the beginning, but he has some untapped talents and is beginning to find out about them. Jeff Stuby, Tyler Hunter, Matt Rimmey and Corey Miller as a group did a good job. Corey is another one who is starting to do a little better, he just needs to keep working hard.”
Other B-A runners include Matt Rimmey (30th in 22:00), Corey Miller (35th in 22:31), David Ralston (40th in 22:59), Jimmy Mattern (50th in 26:08), Connor Hunter (52nd in 26:33), Zachery Estright (53rd in 26:36), Jordan Miller (54th in 26:48), Adam Ingram (55th in 26:52), Shane Browder (56th in 27:30 and Donny Partner (60th in 29:45).
On the girls side, the Tyrone Lady Eagles lost one of their best female runners for the season, but on the bright side, did have the required number of runners to score. The Lady Eagles dropped races to Bellwood-Antis 40-17, Central 50-15, Indian Valley 50-15 and were edged by Mount Union 29-26.
Ashley Ford was the first Tyrone runner to cross the finish line with an overall 22nd place in 26:46. Rachell Clapper was 32nd in 28:56, Annie Daugherty was 33rd in 28:58, Meghan Miller was 40th in 33:06 and Stephanie Schmidt was 42nd in 34:06.
“With Christina Daugherty out the rest of the year with an injury, Ashley Ford stepped into place as our top girl,” said Coach Wills. “I am pleased with the way she ran today. She couldn’t wait to run on our home course, because she ‘loves hills’ and we have plenty of those. She was so focused today, you could see the determination on her face. All five of our girls are newcomers to the sport and you can tell they have reached a comfort zone. .
“Annie Daugherty was our second runner. When she finished, she said to me, ‘I know what I have to do to be better for next week. Rachell Clapper, who started the season a little late, ran her best race. Meghan Miller was worried that the course might be too tough for her, but she performed like a pro. Stephanie Schmidt ran a tough race and had a really tough finish. She had a beautiful kick at the end and it was very close between her and another runner and Stephanie out-kicked her at the end. I heard comments that she had the most exciting finish of the day.”
The B-A Lady Blue Devils defeated Tyrone and Mount Union 20-43, falling to Indian Valley 36-22 and Central 43-20.
Emily Stapleton was the top B-A girl with an overall second place finish in 22:11. Kelly Killinger was 14th in 25:12, Emily Derr was 19th in 26:23, Allison Derr was 23rd in 27:05, Erin Morrissey was 24th in 27:34, Emily O’Shea was 27th in 28:30, Alyssa Davis was 29th in 28:46, Nicole Post was 31st in 28:53, Jenna Nevling was 37th in 30:54, and Amanda Miller was 43rd in 34:06.
Katrina Woods of Mount Union was the top girls placer finishing in 21:32.
“Emily Stapleton took second to the Mount Union girl. Woods was undefeated in duals until Emily beat her last week at Bellwood.” explained Roseborough. “There is an interesting battle between those two, and they will run against each other a couple more times.
“This is the best in mental toughness and determination that I have seen our girls all year. They need to get out of their comfort zones and push to do better. It was a nice day to get two wins.”
