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It wasn't exactly the District 3 Championships, but Tuesday's six-team YAIAA cross country meet at New Oxford High wasn't particularly small-time, either.
With a sea of runners -- 125 in the boys' and girls' races -- providing little maneuvering room in the early stages of each race, the meet had the look of a mini-invitational.
Perhaps the added intrigue created a slight incentive,because four storylines emerged.
--- Running his first official race, Littlestown freshman Xavier Sauvageau elevated himself into elite status with a time of 17 minutes, 15 seconds, which was good for third place.
--- Both New Oxford's Kaylee Kubisiak (19:29) and Delone Catholic's Emily Resciniti (19:39) broke the elusive 20-minute mark in placing first and second, respectively.
--- Five boys broke the 18-minute barrier, including three Spring Grove runners. They included the winner, Andrew Rohrbaugh (17:02).
--- Even with No. 1 runner Chris Sauvageau, who is Xavier's brother, missing because of a hip flexor injury, Delone Catholic still strutted around for five wins over Spring Grove, New Oxford, Littlestown, Biglerville and York Tech.
It was simply one of those days when everything that could have gone right did.
"We are thrilled," Delone Catholic head coach Scotty Watt said. "My whole coaching staff is thrilled with doing that. With Chris missing, we did not think we would have a chance against Spring Grove, particularly. And we felt that Littlestown and New Oxford would give us a run for our money. But the kids stepped up."
Rohrbaugh was the first overall placewinner in the boys' race and was followed by teammate Matt Shenk (17:13), Sauvageau, Delone Catholic's David Roth (17:40) and Spring Grove's Brian Sheehan (17:44).
But where the Squires succeeded in knocking off two Division I and two Division III teams was their approach to the race itself. Knowing they were without Sauvageau, who is arguably one of the top York-Adams runners, Delone Catholic decided to keep it tight and concise, forming a tight pack.
The idea worked wonders for the Squires, who had Marc Perry (18:23) place seventh, J.J. Coleman (18:25) in eighth, Sam Edwards in 10th (18:42) and Nick Poole (18:45) in 12th.
"They all knew they had to make up for Chris," Watt said. "So they ran as a pack like all the other schools (which are successful)."
Team success in the girls' race came Spring Grove's way in five wins. The Rockets were led by Mel Riley (20:18), who placed third.
And yet, individually, Kubisiak and Resciniti took control early and pushed ahead in their own little world, mirroring each other for two miles before Kubisiak broke off a little into the second mile.
"Whenever I ran past the field hockey field and everyone was cheering, that gave me an adrenaline boost," the sophomore said. "That helped me the most, but other than that, it was like a mental (meet)."
Neither realized how fast she was really going until each crossed the finish line. Resciniti broke her personal record -- 21:11 --by nearly two minutes.
"There weren't many hills. The conditions are pretty good. And I was ready to run today," the Delone Catholic junior said.
The same can be said about the younger Sauvageau, who hasn't been able to figure into the Bolts' mix yet in the season. Also a member of Littlestown's soccer team, Xavier has delegated priority to that sport.
But Tuesday was a glaring example of how talented the freshman is in a sport where his brother is a burgeoning star.
"That's the influence of a good family that likes to run and enjoys it," Littlestown head coach Dan Lawrence said about the Sauvageaus. "He (Xavier) certainly elevates the confidence of our kids. They know they can compete at a higher level (now)."
cmull@eveningsun.com
