If one thing was completely evident Tuesday in the cross country meet that would decide the YAIAA Division III boys' title, it was that Chris Sauvageau was hurting.

But he wasn't the only problem.

It seemed the Delone Catholic Squires as a whole were experiencing a lot more duress. Three runners were absent either because of sickness or injury.

To make matters more interesting, the Squires' primary competition, Bermudian Springs, were the defending division champs. And the Eagles didn't seem to have their eye on second place during Tuesday's tri-meet at John Rudy Park that included Central York.

Yet something came over Delone's runners midway through its 3.1-mile jaunt. It wasn't the biting cold that forced runners to adapt to the temperature. It wasn't the course, which featured a variety of hills.

Rather, it seemed to be the moment -- at least for Sauvageau -- any nagging injury that was cause for concern was brushed aside just for one race.

The Squires clinched the division title with a 27-29 win over the Eagles -- Central York went unscathed past Delone (21-40) and Bermudian Springs (24-37).

Squire head coach Scotty Watt said afterward it took a special effort to bypass the Eagles, one year removed from Bermudian's 27-28 win last year, because all things considered, the Eagles ran pretty well.

"Last year, they outran us," Watt said. "They surprised us, but they outran us. You have to give them credit. This year, we knew what to

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expect.

"We knew Jesse Wool would beat Chris today. There was no doubt about that. So we had to make that up somehow. That's why our three, four, five and six runners were the reason why it was different."

Actually, the Eagles (7-12, 3-1 YAIAA III) had their first two runners cross before Delone (13-6, 4-0).

Wool breezed through the John Rudy course in 17:22, finishing in first place for Bermudian before Taylor Zimmerman secured a career-best time of 18:08, which was good for fourth place.

Sauvageau, who continues to have problems with his hip, finished in 18:20. Watt said he will hold the junior out of the YAIAA Championships, which are set for Tuesday, but hopes to have him back by the District 3 Class AA meet at Hershey.

Delone's strength all year, though, has been depth.

So David Roth, T.J. Coleman, Marc Perry and Nick Poole provided insurance for a team that was missing Andrew Vojtecky, Sam Edwards and Joshua Ruppert.

Roth finished sixth (18:23), Coleman came shortly afterward in 12th (18:52), Perry placed 15th (19:03) and Poole rounded out the top five at 19th (19:16).

"After having the division for so many years and then getting beat by one point, it feels good to take it back," Roth said.

But the runner that essentially sealed the division was Steve Goodman, who, at 20th (19:16), was the sixth Delone runner to cross. Since he finished ahead of the Eagles' fifth, he displaced Bermudian and gave Delone Catholic the points necessary to secure the division.

"That sixth and seventh runner are so important," Watt said. "We've won and lost meets this year because of being displaced or displacing someone. It's important."

The Eagles couldn't answer their numbers quandry, even though they performed well.

Dalton Anthony finished 17th (19:11), John Schriver followed next (19:15) and Ian Stouffer was 21st (19:43).

"It's who you bring to the table today, and they brought one more than we did," Eagles coach John Wardle said.

Among one of the surprises of the race was Zimmerman, who started strong, kept pumping midway and finished with a kick that helped enable the senior to secure a personal-best time.

"The parts you could attack would definitely be within the first mile," Zimmerman said. "If you can get a first good mile, than you can set the pace for the rest of the race."

On the girls' side, Delone Catholic's Emily Resciniti finished 40 seconds ahead of Central York's Katelynn Zidanic en route to a career-best 20:35 at John Rudy. The Squirettes finished with a 19-38 win over Bermudian.

But Central York claimed two other wins against Delone (23-38) and Bermudian (15-50).
cmull@eveningsun.com

at John Rudy Park
3.1 miles
CENTRAL YORK 24, BERMUDIAN SPRINGS 37
CENTRAL YORK 21, DELONE CATHOLIC 40
DELONE CATHOLIC 27, BERMUDIAN SPRINGS 29
   1. Jesse Wool, BS, 17:22; 2. Jacob Gilliland, CY, 17:48; 3. Taylor Zimmerman, BS, 18:08; 4. Connor Hoff, CY, 18:14; 5. Chris Sauvageau, DC, 18:20; 6. David Roth, DC, 18:23; 7. Grant Meckley, CY, 18:27; 8. Alex Gilliland, CY, 18:30; 9. Brent Mayne, CY, 18:34; 12. TJ Coleman, DC, 18:52; 15. Marc Perry, DC, 19:03; 17. Dalton Anthony, BS, 19:11; 18. John Schriver, BS, 19:15; 19. Nick Poole, DC, 19:16; 21. Ian Stouffer, BS, 19:43.
 

at John Rudy Park
3.1 miles
CENTRAL YORK 15, BERMUDIAN SPRINGS 50
CENTRAL YORK 23, DELONE CATHOLIC 38
DELONE CATHOLIC 19, BERMUDIAN SPRINGS 38
   1. Emily Resciniti, DC, 20:35; 2. Katelynn Zidanic, CY, 21:15; 3. Cayla Clawson, CY, 21:31; 4. Mary Kate Lutz, DC, 21:40; 5. Sammi Stoltzfus, CY, 22:00; 6. Amelia Smith, CY, 22:15; 7. Hannah Coligan, CY, 22:25; 10. Sarah Bischoff, DC, 23:19; 11. Jenni Sweger, BS, 23:43; 12. Sofia Murillo, DC, 23:53; 13. Courtney Wallen, BS, 23:56; 15. Marissa Caldwell, BS, 24:26; 17. Taylor Thomas, DC, 24:34; 18. Ariel Brown, BS, 25:13; 25. Erin Murphy, BS, 26:46.