WPIAL hosts cross country championships at Coopers Lake

Drama in the afternoon at Cooper’s Lake in Slippery Rock headlines cross country action Oct. 29 as the WPIAL hosts its championship meet. Action commences at 12:45 p.m. with the girls’ Class A race and ends five races later with the Class AAA boys’ competition at 4:30 p.m.
“Cooper’s Lake is a tremendous venue for spectators,” said Mt. Lebanon boys’ head coach Mike Agostinella.
“There’s an element of excitement with all the spectators lined up and cheering,” added Upper St. Clair head coach Doug Petrick. “It’s a fast course with a lot of history as many of the top finishers have gone on to run at big time D-I programs.
“We’re very excited about competing at Cooper’s Lake,” he added.
Many other South Hills teams are equally thrilled to be competing in the championships as the top three clubs advance to the PIAA finals set for Nov. 7 on the Parkview Cross Country Course in the Hershey Giant Center Complex. In addition, the top 15 runners not on PIAA-qualifying squads also advance. In boys’ Class AA, the numbers increase to 20 individuals and an extra team advances.
If the Tri-State Coaches Championships are any indication, then many area runners are poised to clinch state berths. In the boys’ Class AAA division, Chartiers Valley and Upper St. Clair finished fourth and fifth overall behind champion North Allegheny and Seneca Valley. In Class AAA girls’ the Lebo ladies took third as Seneca Valley clinched the championship. Seton-La Salle has a 1-2 finish in the team standings for boys’ and girls’.
Though the Lebo boys did not participate in the Tri-State Coaches Meet, they are primed to battle NA for the WPIAL Class AAA title. The Tigers have won 10 championships in a row and 27 in their history. The Blue Devils last won a WPIAL title in 2002. They have 18 total banners.
“North Allegheny is the top team. I’m not saying we can’t beat them but they have 105 kids out for cross country and we have a good size team, maybe 38 boys, so it’s hard for anybody to compete with numbers like that but we expect to be right there with them,” said Agostinella.
“We hope to qualify for states. They take the top three teams and we want to be in that elite circle,” continued Agostinella. “Seneca Valley is looking very good, too, and Chartiers Valley, of course, has a good shot.”
The only blemish on Lebo’s dual-meet schedule this fall is a loss to the Colts. Otherwise, the Blue Devils anticipate placing at least three runners in the Top 15 of the WPIAL.
Todd Gunzenhauser, Ian Harris and Josh Kalapos have been Lebo’s top three harriers all season. Harris and Kalapos are not only outstanding runners but they are standouts academically. Harris recorded a perfect score on his SAT exam while Kalapos missed that mark by 10 points.
Bryce Brandenstein and Zack Dewit round out Lebo’s top five while Robbie Doncourt is in the sixth position followed closely by sophomores Cameron Potts and Jack Cameron.
“We expect a great meet,” Agostinella said. “We are rested and strong.”
Peters Township and Nick Wolk are rested as well. The Indians did not participate in the Tri-State Coaches Meet. However, Wolk is expected to be a contender for the individual title.
“Based on the times that he has run this season and how well he has done in all the invitationals,” said Lori Poe, head coach at Chartiers Valley, “Nick would definitely be one of the favorites to win. He is a very talented runner and seems to rise to the challenges of each race. I definitely think he will be one of the top runners in the lead pack fighting for the win.”
CV’s own Joseph Westrick should be right there with Wolk. Westrick (16:37) finished fourth overall at Tri-State behind champion Mike Kolor from Seneca Valley (16:18) and NA’s Marc Migliozzi (16:23) and Jacob Stupak (16:24).
“Tri-States was a tune-up or dress rehearsal for us,” Poe said. “We saw a few teams we haven’t run against this season. Tri-States is a good meet to keep race sharp and an athlete’s competitive edge.”
Poe agreed that NA has the edge over the competition. As defending champions, the Tigers are the favorites.
“Any team (including CV) that is going to be successful at the WPIAL Championships will need to have a very tight pack and run strong together among the hundreds of runners in the AAA race,” Poe said. ” The hardest part of the WPIAL Championship is everyone on your team has to run well that day.”
For both the CV boys and girls, their goals are to finish higher in the team standings than last year and advance as many individuals through to the state meet. “I believe our boys have a shot for one of the three sports for the PIAA team qualifiers although the competition will be tight,” Poe added.
USC ready for stiff competition
Over at USC, the Panthers are accustomed to tight competition. The boys finished 5-3 in section while the girls were even at 4-4. “There’s a lot of talent in our section,” said Petrick, “so we’re at an advantage heading to WPIALs. During the section schedule we have the honor or racing some of the fastest individuals and teams in the WPIALs. There’s not another section in the WPIAL that has such a deep talent pool. We look at this as a plus heading into WPIALs. A lot of other sections don’t get a chance to see tough competition until an invite or WPIALs.”
The Panthers had added competition during the Tri-State Meet. On the boys’ side, Bennett Sneath had a Top 10 finish while Mike Stemmler competed well. Both are team captains.
“Bennett has brought a lot of intangibles to the team that has helped move things forward for this group,” Petrick said. “Strength, mobility work, speed development are all things Bennett has continued to work on throughout the past six months and it’s obvious when you watch how smooth he looks racing.” Regarding Stemmler, Petrick added, “He is so consistent. This is a testament to Mike doing all the right things to remain healthy and injury free.”
For the Lady Panthers, Savannah Shaw and Steph Grunwald stood out at Tri-States.
“Savannah ran a smart race,” Petrick said. “She is so mentally focused and never gets rattled because she is such a competitor. Savannah is really talented and knows how to race. She has a great sense of pace.
“Steph is one of our ninth-graders that had a breakthrough race at Cal U. It wasn’t a surprise, but something that was bound to happen from all the summer work she put in and consistency in training from this fall.
“Tri-states is always a nice tune-up for WPIALs,” Petrick continued. “The course is challenging and the competition is tough.”
At Cooper’s Lake, Petrick is expecting the Panthers to improve upon last year’s 14th and 23rd places respectively in the team standings.
“This is a natural progression of the work these kids have put in over the last year,” he said. “They’ve really bought into all the things we’ve brought to the table. Running and non-running to increase their fitness as high school athletes,” Petrick added. “We try to focus on the process of training and setting yourself up for success in a race. The times and results will take care of themselves if we stay process oriented and not outcome focused. Course terrain and level of competition can change race to race. This week is all about staying positive and having a calm mind. These are things that can elevate an athlete at WPIALs.”
At Tri-States, the Lebo ladies elevated themselves to third place overall, a spot ahead of fourth-place North Allegheny. Kelsey Potts won the race in 19:23 while Claire Dougherty finished fifth overall with a 19:43 time. In addition to putting four runners in the Top 14 at Tri-States, the Lebo Ladies are coming off winning the Legends Meet. There they beat three teams ranked in the To 20 in Ohio.
“We are excited heading into the WPIAL championships as we have run our best races over the past few weeks,” said Lebo skipper Oscar Shutt. “Only three teams qualify for the state meet and Seneca Valley is the team to beat. We hope to be in the hunt along with them, North Allegheny, a young Oakland Catholic team, and a few Westmoreland County teams.”
Shutt also expects Potts to be in the hunt for the individual title. The senior is regaining her top form after battling through various illnesses this fall. “Winning Tri-States,” Schutt said, “gives Kelsey a lot of confidence heading into the WPIAL meet.”
In addition to Potts, Dougherty, Sadie Saxton and freshman Aoife-Ruby Dunner form a strong core for the Blue Devils. Freshman Gillian Livingston has consistently been Lebo’s fifth runner throughout the season and sophomores Cora Broadhurst and Moira Anderson plus freshman Rachel Walters will fill out the varsity squad for Thursday’s championships.
In Class A, Seton-La Salle won the girls’ division with a 21 score Tori Panian, Caitlin Guinee and Liz Farnan finished 1-2-3 to sweep the top spots, individually. The Rebel took second overall in the boys’ standings. Joseph Farnan finished fifth overall.
In Class AA girls, Jenny Murtha and Lauren Ragan finished second and third overall with times of 22:13 and 22:35.
South Fayette and Bethel Park are also expected to be competitive in the WPIAL championships. Danielle Hinnish recently set a new course record in winning the Mingo Classic in 18:49. The BP senior should be a top contender in the Class AAA race. The South Fayette boys won the Class AA title in 2013.