Littlestown boys clinch Division III title outright; Eastern girls sweep

As climactic as the 2015 YAIAA Division III boys' cross country title race was, the finish was equally anti-climactic.

Littlestown's runners stuck together, earning one win to clinch the Division III title outright.

Littlestown came into the final dual meet at Gettysburg on Tuesday afternoon with the possibility it might have to share the title.

The Thunderbolts went 1-2, but their victory, a 36-24 win over Bermudian Springs, ensured they wouldn't have to share the crown with the Eagles or Delone Catholic.

"It just puts a cap on the season," Littlestown head coach Dan Lawrence said, "but really, at this point, it's really about the kids continuing to run hard. If we shared the title, it would be OK, but any competitor wants to win when you are going out there against a division opponent."

The Eagles went with a laid back approach in preparation for this key matchup.

"I told them to relax a little bit (this week)," Bermudian head coach John Wardle said. "I knew they had added pressure and a little bit of nerves, and I didn't want it to get to them."

Littlestown put Bermudian in its rearview mirror inside the first mile marker by building a solid pack behind the two district-bound Bermudian runners, Chad Long and Tony Petrosky.

"We knew Bermudian had two kids that were just going to take off," Lawrence said.

"We thought we could get the next chunk of runners. As early as a half-mile, right away, it was going as we thought. When we reached two miles and still had five kids ahead of the third Bermudian runner, we were in a good spot there. That was the difference."

Littlestown runners placed fourth, 14th, 16th, 19th, 20th and 21st. Michael Bittinger placed fourth in 18:01. Misha Kakoulin, who has normally been Littlestown's No. 3 this season, posted the Bolts' second-best time. He set a personal-best time of 19:37 to lead a group of five Littlestown runners.

Payton Rohrbaugh saved one point for Bermudian when he raced past Littlestown's Logan Collins and Jonah Pierre just in front of the finish line for 25th place.

Eastern York dominated the girls' meet, sweeping all three matches to finish the regular season 18-2. Maddie McLain won in 19:14 and Eastern's Maddison Nalls placed second to set a personal record in 20:10, beating her previous best of 23:34.

Bermudian's Teaghan Steele missed a personal record by one second, finishing eighth with a time of 24:01.

Boys' results

3.1 miles at Gettysburg

Gettysburg 28, Eastern York 29

Gettysburg 22, Bermudian Springs 39

Gettysburg 19, Littlestown 43

Eastern York 24, Bermudian Springs 36

Eastern York 19, Littlestown 40

Littlestown 24, Bermudian Springs 36

1. Daniel Filler, Get, 17:30. 2. Chad Long, BeS, 17:41. 3. Mason Bair, EY, 17:59. 4. Michael Bittinger, Lt, 18:01. 5. Bradley Filler, Get, 18:07. 6. Tony Petrosky, BeS, 18:08. 7. Brandon Dailey, EY, 18:35. 8. Nathal Trowell-Lopez, EY, 18:37. 9. Zach Falk, EY, 18:45. 10. Jay Geesaman, Get, 18:58. 11. Tyler Cole, Get, 19:08. 12. Connor Staub, Get, 19:26. 14. Misha Kakoulin, Lt, 19:37. 16. Kobe Towner, Lt, 19:49. 17. Noah Johnson, EY, 19:55. 19. Austin Ripple, Lt, 20:04. 20. Bryson Eyler, Lt, 20:12. 25. Payton Rohrbaugh, BeS, 20:51. 31. Sam Fletcher, BeS, 21:24. 32. Logan Boal, BeS, 21:26.

Girls' results

3.1 miles at Gettysburg

Eastern York 20, Gettysburg 35

Eastern York 16, Bermudian Springs 39

Eastern York 16, Littlestown 43

Gettysburg 18, Bermudian Springs 37

Gettysburg 17, Littlestown 44

Bermudian Springs 21, Littlestown 34

1. Maddie McLain, EY, 19:14. 2. Maddison Nalls, EY, 20:10. 3. Olivia McLain, EY, 20:23. 4. Megan Yingling, Get, 22:56. 5. Elizabeth Balas, Get, 23:28. 6. Anna Thacker, EY. 23:40. 7. Julia Geesaman, Get, 20:42. 8. Teaghan Steele, BeS, 24:01. 9. Danielle Naill, Lt, 24:23. 10. Alisha Lopez, EY, 24:34. 11. Emma Freeman, Get, 25:11. 12. Mia Hensil, BeS, 25:31. 13. Melissa Cole, Get, 25:34. 14. Grace Cuff, BeS, 26:12. 15. Juliana Stolkovich, Lt, 26:24. 16. Makayla Shupp, BeS, 26:48. 17. Eva Knowles, BeS, 27:17. 20. Elena Yingling, Lt, 28:34. 25. Nadia Chilcoat, Lt, 31:09. 26. Kristin Langrill, Lt, 33:09.