News and Results

PIAA Championships, 2002

Jech and Meisel after the race (click to enlarge image)

11/02/02 - With over 1000 runners from hundreds of schools participating, this race was nothing short of a celebration of Pennsylvania cross country. On this chilly but thankfully dry day, the Dragons completed their season at the PIAA Championships on the grounds of Hersheypark Stadium in Hershey.

Girls - Led by freshman Sassi Kerpedjieva's 20:40, the girls placed 13th in the AAA division. Sophomore Lara Nagle was close behind in 20:46 with seniors Molly Ainsman (21:07) and Erica Pascillo (21:16) and junior Torrie Caruso (21:20) giving chase as well. Freshman Clara Finley (21:35) and Casey Rubenstein (21:39) rounded out the girls' seven.

Boys - The boys accomplished their goal of finishing 21st by defeating District 9 champion Bradford. Junior Tom Jech led the boys in 17:48, and senior Ron Warnock (17:58) and junior Charley Monroe (18:39), both of whom had incredible starts, finished next. Freshman Jordan Haber crossed in 19:08, and freshman Mike Gross (19:22) outleaned senior Matt Meisel (19:23). Senior Alex Wein finished in 19:53.

Approaching 2.5 miles: Jech, Monroe, Haber, Meisel (click to enlarge image)

Injuries - The Dragons were hardly running at full steam, with multiple runners injured for the race. Senior Erica Pasciullo, only half-joking, said that "the whole girls' varsity has doctor's appointments this week," and junior Tom Jech, running injured once again, promised to "take a lot of time off" after this race.

Start of the boys race (click to enlarge image)

The course - Most runners seemed to enjoy the course, especially compared to last year's absurd path at the same location. The first mile was the hardest, though after mile two's rolling hills, the third was all downhill. The biggest complaints seemed to be about the finish: the last 200 meters were unpacked gravel lined with muddy hay, neither of which are easy to sprint on. PennTrackXC.com has turn-by-turn photos of the course from a week earlier, before the gravel was put down.

A strong entourage - Many thanks to the parents, friends, and relatives who made the trek to cheer on the Dragons, who seemed, as another runner remarked, to have one of the largest cheering sections there. Thanks also to Coach Stroud and Coach Flynn for their coaching and support throughout the entire season.

Other City League runners - Schenley senior Mara Horwitz finished the course in 20:16, good enough for 43rd place. In the boys' race, Langley sophomore Khafre Wade finished in 19:02, with Carrick sophomore Richard Hanlon (19:53) and Schenley junior Micah Chaney (21:13) following.

Race winners - WPIAL champ Christine Taranto won the AAA girls' race, and Hatboro-Horsham (D1) won the team title. West Chester Henderson (D1) won the AAA boys' title behind individual winner Ian Gottesfeld. D10 champ Heather Wilmoth of Eisenhower won the AA girls' race as Wyomissing (D3) won their fifth straight title. Finally, Lewisburg's Chirs Spooner (D4) won the AA boys' race and Scranton Prep (D2) won their third straight title.

Spills and...crawls - Considering the size and speed of the race, there were surprisingly few falls...with a few exceptions. The girls reported a very clean race, with everyone on their feet for the full 5k. The boys' race, on the other hand, was marred by a few spills. WPIAL champ Sam Bair fell on his way to a disappointing 24th place finish, and senior Matt Meisel caught a glimpse of someone slipping on the mud 200 meters into the race, only to be knocked down as he tried to get back up. Many runners also noticed a runner sprawled along the course at the top of the "big hill" on the second mile who was being encouraged by a race official to get up and finish. Most notable, however, was WC Henderson's Greg Williams, who crawled the last 10 meters to seal his team's victory. Read more about Williams' race at PennTrackXC.com.

Full race results - Extensive coverage, including photos and quotes, at PennTrackXC.com. Results with mile splits, thanks to those shoe chips, at RunHigh.com: AAA Girls, AAA Boys, AA Girls, AA Boys.

10/31/02 - Good Luck at States! - The varsity teams will compete in the PIAA Championships in Hershey on Saturday. The bus departs Allderdice at 8:00a Friday morning. Good luck, 'Dice!