Mt. Lebanon ladies setting the pace in cross country
Mt. Lebanon runners Claire Dougherty (center), Sadie Saxton (left) and Grace Tandon (back) lead the pack, ahead of Bethel Park harriers (from left) Dani Hinish, Karissa Coffield, Bridget Heh, Courtney Conway and Claire Macowski during a tri-meet that also included Peters Township. While Kelsey Potts won the race in 19:24, the trio of harriers helped Lebo to a 26-29 victory over the Hawks by finishing fourth, fifth and sixth. Frankie Kavalir also scored for the Blue Devils enabling the victory. Overall, Hinish and Coffield finished second and third while Conway and Macowski placed seventh and eighth. Amy Bogan was BP’s fifth finisher.
Kesley Potts of Mt. Lebanon is out in front during a tri-meet against Bethel Park and Peters Township. The junior won the race in 19:24 and helped the Blue Devils to a narrow, one-point victory over the Black Hawks.
Despite graduating four seniors from multiple championships squads and losing long-time head coach Ron Schreiner to retirement, the Mt. Lebanon girls’ cross country team continues to set the pace in the WPIAL as well as the state.
Gone off to Penn State is Jillian Hunsberger, who finished fourth in the WPIAL and seventh in the PIAA last year. Audrey Gordon, who was 10th in the district and top 30 in the state, is a freshman at William and Mary. Graduated too are Callie Gunzenhauser and Julia Staltari. And, at the helm now is Oscar Shutt. He served as an assistant to Schreiner and men’s head coach Mike Agostinella for eight years before being appointed to fill the vacancy at the top in the girls’ program. Joshua Bilak assists Shutt this season.
So far, however, the Lebo ladies have not missed a beat. They won invitational meets at California University of Pennsylvania and Slippery Rock as well as the Red, White & Blue Classic. After edging Bethel Park, 26-29, in a tri-meet, that also included Peters Township to open section action, the Blue Devils traveled to Hershey to compete in the PIAA Foundation Meet this past weekend. Lebo took third overall with 143 points behind champion Cardinal O’Hara (83) and Central Bucks West (136).
“I’m happy with the experience we collected racing in Hershey, especially for the four girls between the varsity and JV races who had never raced there before,” said Shutt. “Of the six girls in the varsity race who had previously raced on the Parkview course, five either equaled or bettered their best time there. All of the girls gave a great effort in Hershey”.
Kelsey Potts secured second place overall. The junior clocked in at 18:57, 39 seconds off the pace set by Madeleine Davison of North Allegheny. Davison also won the RWB Classic. Claire Dougherty, Sadie Saxton and Gracie Tandon followed Potts in the Top 30 while Rony Vigrass, Ellie Meinzer and Frankie Kavalir placed in the Top 90.
Because of graduation, Shutt said Lebo had to replace a lot of experience and talent, but having Potts at or near the top and having a small gap between runners 2-5 may enable the Blue Devils to be in the hunt for another district title. Lebo is the two-time defending WPIAL Class AAA champion. The Blue Devils are ranked No. 3 in the state according to pollsters at PennTrackXC.
“Our goal is to be a strong, close team and to push each other to be their best every day in practice and in competitions,” Shutt said. “Our goal is to put ourselves in a position to try to win our third consecutive WPIAL title and then see how our efforts place us at the state level.”
While the RWB meet pushed the Lebo ladies to the limit, as they received stiff competition from Villa Maria Academy, North Allegheny and Seneca Valley, Bethel Park provided the spark in section before the Foundation Meet.
“We knew going in that Bethel Park was going to be our toughest competition in section, especially on their home course. They gave an amazing effort and pushed us to our limits. I would not be surprised if they did not finish in the top three at the WPIAL meet and qualify for the state meet,” Shutt said.
Potts won the meet against BP followed by Dougherty, Tandon and Saxton in fourth, fifth and sixth position. Kavalir came up big for the Blue Devils. “The trio of Dougherty, Tandon and Saxton won the meet for us. BP’s fourth and fifth runners tried to stay with them early but were not able to keep up that pace,” Shutt explained. “Also, Frankie came up strong. She came in right behind BP’s fifth runner and was not displaced by their sixth and seventh girls.
“Of course,” Shutt added, “it’s so valuable having someone like Kelsey on the team to give you a one in your score.”
Potts, who finished third in the WPIAL and fourth in the state last fall, set the course record at Cal. U this fall, winning the meet in 19:04. She finished second to Davison in the RWB Classic. At Slippery Rock, she won by 54 seconds with a personal-best time of 18:23 at Cooper’s Lake.
“Our scoring five have been consistent with Kelsey being our top runner,” said Shutt. He added Dougherty, Saxton and Tandon, all juniors, along with Vigrass, a freshman, are forming a good pack. The gap between them at Slippery Roack was 28 seconds. “Behind those five, we have a strong group to round out our varsity,” he said.
While the order has been varied, the group includes: Meinzer, Azaria Kobik, and Nichole Dahlen, all seniors; juniors Kavalir and Emma Furry; sophomore Amy Sullivan and freshmen Moira Anderson, Paulina Braverman and Cora Broadhurst. “I could see anybody from this group being our No. 6 and No. 7 runners as we approach WPIALs in October,” Shutt said.
Before that Oct. 30 date at Coopers Lake, the Lebo ladies have a date this week with Upper St. Clair and Chartiers Valley.
Lebo boys
The Mt. Lebanon boys finished fourth in the PIAA Foundation Meet. While Severna Park and Cardinal O’Hara took positions one and two, the Blue Devils were five points out of third place, which was secured by rival North Allegheny, the defending WPIAL champions. Lebo scored 126 points, the Tigers, 121.
Ian Baun placed first among the Blue Devils. He filled in the ninth position overall with a 16:38 time. Todd Gunzenhauser, Ian Harris, Bryce Brandenstein and Matthew Stone all had Top 35 finishes in the meet, which was held in Hershey.
Juniors Joshua Kalapos and Michael Peters placed 57th and 134 to complete Lebo’s showing.
Canon-McMillan also competed in the meet. The boys finished 14th overall. Ethan Linderman finished 19th overall with a 17:11 time.