Font ResizeThe girls finished second with 113 points, while the boys placed fifth (195 points).
"This is our fifth year going out to Pittsburgh for this meet, and it was definitely our best finish, getting the runner-up spot," Trojan girls coach Chris Monheim said. "It says a lot about what we can do in the postseason."
Although the boys didn't have as high a finish, coach John Ambrosio was pleased with the results.
"I was really happy; it was probably our best race of the season," Ambrosio said. "We exceeded my expectations. I thought we had an outside shot of finishing fifth, and that's what we did, so I'm thrilled."
Courtney Group had the best finish for either team, placing seventh overall in 19:10 - she was just two seconds out of sixth place.
"Her time of 19:10 was the fastest we've had since (former Trojan star) Sarah Morrison six years ago," Monheim said. "She's definitely a top-notch runner. Courtney was huge for us up front."
Chambersburg's Nos. 2-5 also finished in under 21 minutes, with Alex Orr, Megan Reel, Deija McBeth and Carolyn Dann being separated by less than 35 seconds.
The top finisher for the boys was Grant Frey, who placed 11th in 16:33. He missed the top 10 by less than six seconds. Danny Klink also finished in the top 25 for the Trojans, finishing in 16:53 to take 23rd.
Tanner Amsley (35th,
"Tanner Amsley just keeps getting better and better every week, and Mac Coleman was in our top five for the first time this season," Ambrosio said.
The Trojans will now compete in the Mid Penn Conference championships on Saturday. Ambrosio said he expects the meet to be very competitive with a number of state-ranked team.
"We could have a really good day and still wind up finishing fifth, sixth or seventh," Ambrosio said. "We're looking forward to the challenge of running against real competitive teams, and we're just hoping to run well there."
Monheim said after the Pittsburgh Invitational, he has more confidence about the Trojans' chances in the Mid Penn championships.
"(Today) said a lot about what we can do in the postseason," Monheim said. "Mount Lebanon, the team that finished ahead of us, is ranked No. 3 in the state, so it's nice to do well against some teams that we don't usually see during the season."
Pittsburgh C.C. Inv.
(Course: 3.1 miles)
BOYS
Team Standings
1.North Allegheny 27; 2.Mt. Lebanon 69; 3.Fox Chapel 123; 4.Hampton 167; 5.Chambersburg 195; 6.South Fayette 219; 7.Bethel Park 219; 8.Franklin Regional 255; 9.Baldwin 272; 9.Pittsburgh C.C. 277; 10.Butler 283.
Top Individuals
1.Ean Disilvio (Taylor Allderdice) 16:00; 2.Ethan Martin (Fox Chapel) 16:07; 3.Matt McGoey (NA) 16:13; 4.Mike Meehan (NA) 16:14; 5.Brian Shields (Hamp) 16:17; 6.Seamus Love (NA) 16:17; 8.Cordon Louco (NA) 16:20; 9.Colin Martin (FC) 16:22; 10.Scott Seel (NA) 16:27.
Other Chambersburg runners: 11.Grant Frey 16:33; 23.Danny Klink 16:53; 35.Tanner Amsley 17:11; 69.Chris Wurtz 17:49; 87.Mac Coleman 18:17; 96.Owen Maier 18:27; 97.Devan Thompson 18:29.
GIRLS
Team Standings
1.Mt. Lebanon 61; 2.Chambersburg 113; 3.North Allegheny 124; 4.North Hills 133; 5.Hampton 134; 6.Seneca Valley 190; 7.Hempfield 197; 8.Greater Latrobe 255; 9.Franklin Regional 286; 10.Oakland Catholic 295.
Top Individuals
1.Brianna Schwartz (Shaler) 18:30; 2.Mary Malone (NH) 18:35; 3.Jillian Hunsberger (MtL) 18:41; 4.Kelsey Potts (MtL), 18:48; 5.Kaitlyn Figurelli (FR) 19:00; 6.Gina Alm (Hamp) 19:08; 7.Courtney Group (Chbg) 19:10; 8.Madeleine Davison (NA) 19:17; 9.Hanna Green (GL) 19:29; 10.Kylie Knavish (Peters Twp.) 19:35
Other Chambersburg runners: 19.Alex Orr 20:02; 27.Megan Reel 20:22; 33.Deija McBeth 20:34; 35. Carolyn Dann 20:38; 56.Ally Neidigh 21:10; 79.Jennifer Maxwell 21:42; 84.Mara Leary 21:43.
Next meet: Saturday, in Mid Penn Conference championships at Big Spring, noon.
CUMBERLAND
COUNTY MEET
Ship boys are 10th
Saturday, at Enola
Cumberland County Meet
Shippensburg's boys team had 2 runners finish in the top 50 to place 10th overall ... Zach Fulker was the top finisher for the Greyhounds, placing 36th in 18:29 ... Austin Ambrosio was not far behind, taking 39th place in 18:31 ... The split between Ship's Nos. 2 and 5 was just 17 seconds ... In the girls race, Ship did not have enough runners for a team score, but 2 Lady Hounds finished in the top 50 ... Emily Stouffer clocked in at 21:51 for 34th, and Maria Owens took 38th in 22:11.
BOYS
(Course: 5K)
Team Standings
1.Cumberland Valley 50; 2.Carlisle 74; 3.Red Land 82; 4.Cedar Cliff 110; 5.Trinity 170; 10.Shippensburg 245.
Top Individuals
1.Vincent Todaro (Big Spring) 16:10; 2.Jordan Crawford (CC) 16:31; 3.Matt Lauer (RL) 16:36; 4.Nate Repetz (CC) 16;38; 5.Alex Coburn (CV) 16:39.
Other Shippensburg runners: 36.Zach Fulker 18:29; 39.Austin Ambrosio 18:31; 52.Nathanael Lyman 19:02; 58.Brendon Cullen 19:13; 60.Ashton Perry 19:19.
GIRLS
(Course: 5K)
Team Standings
1.Cumberland Valley 66; 2.Carlisle 67; 3.Big Spring 108; 4.Red Land 117.
Top Individuals
1.Madeleine Clahane (CV), 19:22; 2.Carol Strock (CV) 19:39; 3.Emily Joyce (BS) 19:40; 4.Angel Barber (East Pennsboro) 19:42; 5.Lillie Brown (Boiling Springs) 19:44.
Other Shippensburg runners: 34.Emily Stouffer 21:51; 38.Maria Owens 22:11; 66.Kylee Miller 26:55; 67.Cathy Adams 28:08.
Next meet: Saturday, in Mid Penn Conference championships at Big Spring, noon.
IPSL MEET
Storm girls win; boys 3rd
Saturday, at Frederick, Md.
Ind. Parochial School League championship
The Mercersburg girls cross country team won the IPSL championship with the low score of 25 points ... Brittany Burg finshed first, clocking in at 22:21 ... Francesca Vecchiarelli was close behind for 2nd place in 22:26 ... Also finishing in the top 10 for the Blue Storm were Maddie Nelson (5th place, 23:20) and Gabby Hovenden (6th, 23:13) ... Blue Storm coach Betsy Cunningham said, "The girls showed their competitive edge today. They really wanted to win and were motivated to run well. They have now accomplished one of the goals they set during the preseason." ... Mercersburg's boys placed 3rd overall with 44 points ... The Blue Storm were separated from first place by just 5 points with St. Maria Goretti (39 points) capturing the title and Mount Airy Christian (42) taking 2nd ... The top finishers for Mercersburg were Stefan Kempe (6th, 18:35) and Jan Smilek (7th, 18:42) ... Mercersburg coach Matt Geeza said, "We knew the varsity race was going to be very close, and the boys raced incredibly well. Four of our seven varsity runners had lifetime personal records today."
Next meet: Saturday, Oct. 20, Mid-Atlantic Prep League meet at Peddie.
