CROSS COUNTRY: Saturday's roundup, Chambersburg girls win Bulldog Invitational
NEWVILLE >> It was an exceptional day for Chambersburg's cross country teams on Saturday at the Bulldog Invitational in Newville.
"This was our best invitational performance since the year we won the district in 2011," Trojan boys coach John Ambrosio said.
Chambersburg's girls team was awarded the first-place trophy, while the boys unofficially placed third. No official results were available as of Saturday night at 10 p.m.
On the girls side, Abby Yourkavitch placed second overall with a time of 18:50, which was the fastest time on the course in Chambersburg history. Kaylee Mowery and Cadie Kiser followed her in 16th and 17th place, respectively.
"Overall, I was really pleased," Trojan girls coach Chris Monheim said. "We've raced a lot lately, and we keep getting good efforts. I don't think we've come close to running our best, but I thought this was a pretty decent day. We managed to beat a few really solid programs."
The Bulldog Invitational saw an influx of last-minute entries because Big Spring is hosting the District 3 Championships this year, and it was a good opportunity to see the course.
"The meet was great because a few really good teams from around the district rolled in," Ambrosio said. "Everyone wanted to see the district course, and I was very pleased with how we performed. Our time gap was pretty decent, and we accomplished just about every one of our goals. We seem to have the ship headed in the right direction."
Chris Wurtz led the Trojans, finishing in 10th with a time of 16:49. Alex Hayden wasn't far behind, taking 13th in 17:01.
BULLDOG INVITATIONAL
BOYS
Team standings
1.Hempfield, 2.Cedar Crest, 3.Chambersburg
Individual results
10.Chris Wurtz 16:49, 13.Alex Hayden 17:01, 33.Tanner Amsley 17:33, 37.Andrew Felton 17:40, 58.Matt Hoover 18:05, 71.Ian Mangan 18:10, 72.Patrick Zook 18:12
GIRLS
Team standings
1.Chambersburg, 2.Manheim Township
Individual results
2.Abby Yourkavitch 18:50, 16.Kaylee Mowery, 17.Cadie Kiser, 41.Cassie Essis, 55.Ally Neidigh.
MERCERSBURG BOYS WIN INVITATIONAL >> Mercersburg Academy's boys cross country team found itself in a dead heat at the Mercersburg Invitational, and it beat out Nova Academy and St. Maria Goretti for the win.
The girls team, which was missing two key runners, finished sixth.
The Blue Storm boys won by the slimmest of margins over Nova Academy, 52-53. St. Maria Goretti was right behind with 55.
Gabriel Allgayer took first place in the meet, finishing with a time of 16:50, and Chris Doyle also finished in the top 10, placing seventh in 19:03. Adam Cromwell (11th, 19:31), Leslie An (16th, 20:23) and Alexander Wood (17th, 20:32) rounded out the scoring for Mercersburg.
"Four of the seven runners in the varsity lineup were running in their first-ever varsity race," Mercersburg assistant coach John Bennett said.
On the girls side, Sydney Hirokawa was the top finisher, placing 20th with a time of 23:34. Ryan Geitner (24:53), Duda Lima (25:08), Campbell Drennan (25:18) and Jane Kistler (25:31) all finished in the top 40 to contribute to the Blue Storm's score.
"We were missing two of our top five runners, but it was great to see how we stacked up against Hill and to finish on top of our MAPL rival," Mercersburg coach Betsy Cunningham said. "Campbell Drennan had an especially good day, taking almost three minutes off her time from Tuesday."
MERCERSBURG INVITATIONAL
BOYS
Team standings
1.Mercersburg 52, 2.Nova Academy 53, 3.St. Maria Goretti 55, 4.Episcopal 67, 5.Saint James 134, 6.Middleburg 153.
GIRLS
Team standings
1.Nova 31, 2.Notre Dame Prep 47, 3.Mount De Sales 62, 4.Goretti 127, 5.Episcopal 133, 6.Mercersburg 182, 7.Hill 182, 8.Madeira 192.