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At this point in the cross country season, about midway through, times across the area typically start to drop. As the weather tends to dip into cooler temperatures - ideal conditions for faster times - the seconds start to chip away.
But as times start to drop, injuries start to occur, too.
The South Western High girls are one such team fighting the injury bug. The Lady Mustangs managed to pull two victories away at South Western on Tuesday, beating depleted Littlestown, 15-50, and Susquehannock 21-40, but they lost their first result of the year to a numbers-laden York Suburban team, 20-42.
"I never like to get one," Mustang head coach Bruce Lee said about the loss. "It's hard to say you benefit from one. You always try to win. But this helps us out as far as looking toward the future in our divisional stuff. It shows us the kind of pressure, the kind of meets and the kind of kids that you're going to have to run against in certain situations down the road."
Hillary Doucette sat out the meet after she experienced an allergic reaction to back medicine earlier in the week and Lauren Roesch ran despite flu-like symptoms, Lee said.
The good news, though, was from Krista Donsen, the Lady Mustangs' No. 1 runner who came in first in 20 minutes, 18 seconds.
"Felt really good," Donsen said of her race and time. "It's not a real fast course. When you walk it, it seems a lot faster, but when you run it goes a little slower."
The record
Abby Jones finished in ninth place at 22:21, her best time of the year, before Roesch came in 14th at 23:08. Lee admired the way Roesch ran, battling through sickness, and was impressed with Jones, who arguably had her best race of the year.
"I really enjoyed being undefeated," said Donsen, a senior who has qualified for states two times in her career. "This is the first (since I've been running) where we've actually been a good team."
Littlestown's girls went 0-3 on Tuesday, but Sarah Schumaker (22:49) and Jessica Paholsky (23:03) ran good races, finishing in 12th and 13th place, respectively.
On the boys' side, an impressive York Suburban team picked up three wins while a tough Susquehannock team earned two.
South Western (5-6) outlegged Littlestown (1-10) for its only win of the afternoon, defeating the Bolts, 15-50.
Mark Dende secured his best time of the season, finishing at 18:03, as did Littlestown's Andy Breighner, who stamped down a 17:31 mark.
"I've been continually progressing and getting better," Breighner said.
Mustang runner Mike Klecker ran for the first time since August because of a thigh injuryand ran well, finishing in 19:14.
Contact Cory Mull at cmull@eveningsun.com.
