Changes don’t alter enthusiasm for WPIAL cross country championships
Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac
Lauren Iagnemma owns several school running records at South Fayette. She is one of three area female athletes to win a WPIAL Scholar Athlete Award.
Barak Asher is Mt. Lebanon's top harrier entering the WPIAL cross country championships to be held Oct. 28-29 at White Oak Park in McKeesport.
South Fayette's Aaron Skerbetz is among the top runners in Class AAA.
The WPIAL cross country championships will be different this year during the coronavirus pandemic.
There will be various flights, days and times for competition. Plus, the location has also changed.
White Oak Park in McKeesport will host the event Oct. 28 and Oct. 29.
One thing, however, remains the same.
“It’s still racing a 5K distance on a cross country course. Something we’ve done all season,” said Upper St. Clair head coach Doug Petrick.
For many, it will be their final race as the number of state qualifiers has been reduced.
Only the team champions in each division advance to the PIAA championships set for Nov. 7 at the Parkview Cross Country Course in the Hershey Giant Center Complex. There will also be seven nonteam qualifiers in each classification, except for Class AAA, which will have 10.
In the past, the top three teams and top 15 individuals advanced to states.
So the stakes are high.
“It is definitely a lot harder to qualify,” said Peters Township coach Tim Wu. “A lot of good teams and individuals will be left at home unfortunately.”
Wu said limiting qualifiers is happening in every district, not just the WPIAL. He said the WPIAL is, however, one of the best districts in the state.
“It’s as good if not better than District 1 which is a huge district,” Wu said.
North Allegheny and Seneca Valley are expected to dominate the competition.
The Tigers have won 29 boys titles since 1960 and 12 of the past 14. Seneca Valley interrupted the NA’s streak, winning championships in 2016 and 2017.
NA’s girls cross country team has won the past two titles.
South Fayette, which has moved up to Class AAA, has won the past three Class AA championships.
“While NA is always well put together and Seneca (Valley) is formidable from a team standpoint, we plan on sitting as close to the top as possible when all is said and done,” said SF head coach Joe Winans.
Individually, Mia Cochran from Moon is the defending WPIAL and PIAA champion.
Emily Carter from Bethel Park was the district bronze medalist and state runner-up a year ago.
Carter and her teammate, Jenna Lang, a freshman, should give Cochran a challenge along with Gina Bolla from Baldwin and Lauren Iagnemma from South Fayette.
Iagnemma was the Class AA bronze medalist in 2019. The junior finished 13th in the state.
“Lauren has a chance to grab one of the individual qualifying spots,” Winans said.
“As a team, expectations are to finish in the top three. We expect to have some good front running and a tight finish from our two through five runners. Like last year, we tend to get better and better with each race.”
Molly Maher and Claire Hoffman from Upper St. Clair are also other Class AAA runners to watch.
The South Fayette boys, like their female counterparts, won the section title. The Lions are expected to challenge NA, Butler and SV for the team title. The Lions boast a one-two punch of senior Aaron Skerbetz and sophomore Jake Borgesi.
“For the boys,” Winans said, “we expect to be a top four team. We’ve been racing with a lot of confidence in recent weeks and are looking to place our top four runners pretty high up.
“Individually,” he added, “Jake and Aaron will be in the hunt to pick up an individual qualifying spot.”
Peters Township’s Brett Kroboth and Mt. Lebanon’s Barak Asher as well as USC’s Ryan Sarkese and Robert Shontz are other runners to watch as they jockey for position against Butler’s top threats of CJ Singleton and Sage Varro.
Kroboth recently won the Washington County Coaches Cross Country Meet at Mingo Park. The sophomore posted a time of 16:46.70, some 34 seconds ahead of runner-up Doron Wudkwych from Canon-McMillan.
“I expect to see Brett in the running to qualify for the PIAA,” said Wu. “If he has a great race, it will happen. He put in the offseason training. I know it will be harder due to less qualifiers. My expectations are kids get their best race and perform with the best kids in our WPIALs.”
With the premium on qualifiers, coaches predict drama at the WPIAL championships.
“The district championships will have the same excitement,” Petrick said.
By splitting the field into two sessions, Winans said the WPIAL finals will have the feel of a “smaller” invitational, but the excitement will still be there.
“By limiting the number of qualifying teams and individuals to the state meet, I can see the level of competition being heightened,” Winans said. “However, there may be a number of runners that race a bit outside of themselves as a result. The teams and individuals that end up making it to the state meet will be the ones that find the best balance between matching the excitement of the day with executing a race that best tests the limits of their training.”
The WPIAL cross country championships will be held at White Oak Park in McKeesport.
The schedule of events is as follows:
Wednesday, Oct. 28 – AA
Session 1 – 9:00am AA Boys races from first set of schools, 9:45am AA Girls from same schools
Session 2 – 11:00 am AA Boys races from next set of schools, 11:45am AA Girls from same schools
Wednesday, Oct. 28 – A
Session 1 – 1:30pm A Boys races from first set of schools, 2:15pm A Girls from same schools
Session 2 – 3:30pm A Boys races from next set of schools, 4:15pm A Girls from same schools
Thursday, Oct. 29 – AAA
Session 1 – 1:00pm AAA Boys races from first set of schools, 1:45pm AAA Girls from same schools
Session 2 – 3:00pm AAA Boys races from next set of schools, 3:45pm AAA Girls from same schools
Chartiers Valley coach Lori Poe will pull double duty at the WPIAL cross country championships.
Because the boys and girls are in two different classifications, Poe must make the journey to McKeesport twice. She will take the girls to White Oak Park to compete for a Class AA title on Oct. 28 then return Oct. 29 for the Class AAA boys’ races.
Noting that cross country is different during the age of COVID-19 Poe said she is just happy to be racing and having a WPIAL championship.
“There has been a lot of work by a lot of people to get us here and to race safely, so my team appreciates all the efforts of everyone in charge,” Poe said. “The athletes are resilient and have adapted well to all the changes.”
Because the Lady Colts have competed against Class AAA teams during the regular season, they are prepared for the competition at the Class AA level. They anticipate stiff competition from North Catholic, Montour, Beaver, Ringgold and Elizabeth Forward.
“We anticipate our girls racing for the top AA spot, the WPIAL championship title,” Poe stated. “Our girls are used to tough competition. Each race they have run this season has helped build confidence for the end of the season.”
Kate Pipilo is CV’s top harrier. The senior is expected to challenge Brownsville’s Jolena Quarto and Belle Vernon’s Grace Henderson for the top slot.
“She should fight for a top finish,” Poe predicted. “She is poised to fight for an individual spot to go to states as well.”
Junior Kaden Crump and sophomore Santo Riccari lead the CV boys, who are expecting a Top 20 finish as a team in Class AAA.
“With everyone getting experience at WPIALs, we can build upon that for next year,” Poe said.