Cross Country Game Summaries

by Cross Country Contributor

The North Allegheny cross country team raced against North Hills and Seneca Valley at North Park on Tuesday.  It was a nice cool day for a cross country meet and the Tigers continued their undefeated streak with both teams going 2-0 against their section rivals.  Seniors Erin McGoey and James Behrend took first place and set the course record with their performances.

The NA Boys beat North Hills 18-45 and Seneca Valley 22-37. Behrend led the tigers with a course record time of 16:57. Senior Michael Gauntner was next up in third place. Junior Tyler Davis had a fantastic race taking sixth overall.  Second seconds back from Davis was a strong race from fellow junior Anthony Miklos in seventh place. Senior Connor Williams confirmed the victory for the Tigers with an eighth place finish. Sophomore Andrew Peigh and junior Sebastian Klimchak had a nice race, rounding out the top seven.

The NA Girls beat North Hills 17-43 and Seneca Valley 22-37.  McGoey took the victory while also setting the course record with a time of 20:03.  Freshman phenom Lily Ries grabbed third place with a good race.  Junior Elizabeth Pizon had a strong race, finishing fourth overall.  Senior Maia Getz was excellent, taking sixth. Sophomore Tess Pagnotto was great in fifth for the Tigers and 10th overall.  Sophomore Mackenzie Winning and junior Kendall Lucas had solid performances to round out the Lady Tigers’ scoring seven.

Next action for the Tigers is next Tuesday where North Allegheny will host Butler and Shaler on NA’s home course at North Park.

by Cross Country Contributor

The North Allegheny cross country team traveled to Hershey, PA for the PIAA Foundation meet. The NA Girls dominated the field of 42 AAA teams from across the state. The NA Boys placed third out of 41 AAA teams.

Robin Kucler wins individual gold at PIAA Foundation Meet.

The Lady Tigers were dominant with a 46 point score and 154 point margin of victory.  It helped that the Tigers had three girls in the top five.  Junior Robin Kucler won the race outright with a beautiful second half of the race, pulling away from the field. Senior Eva Kynaston was with the lead pack from the beginning and turned it on in the second half to grab second overall. Senior Erin McGoey had a breakout performance, moving up throughout the race to grab a great fifth-place finish.  Next up was junior Camille Swirsding who had a big day. She was tough all race long and earned a 15th place medal. Stepping up to grab the important fifth spot for NA was junior Kendall Lucas who had a phenomenal race, placing 24th overall. Freshman Lily Ries (41st) and junior Elizabeth Pizon (44th) were very good, displacing top five runners from every team in the race.

The NA Boys placed third, behind State College and Manheim Township. Junior Jack Bertram earned a low stick with a second place finish. Bertram passed a bevy of runners, moving into second place in the second half of the race and holding that spot until the finish line. Senior James Behrend had a good race, grabbing 15th place and earning a medal. Junior Anthony Miklos continued his breakout season with another strong performance, taking 44th overall.  Senior Michael Gauntner was next up for the Tigers, placing 48th overall. Senior Connor Williams rounded out the top five Tigers with an 89th place finish.  Senior Alex Mitterer was not far behind Connor, taking 100th overall. Junior Greg Abel was 134th, rounding out the top seven North Allegheny runners.

Complete results can be found by clicking here.

NAXC’s next action is on Tuesday against section opponents North Hills and Seneca Valley. North Hills will host at its home course in North Park.

by Cross Country Contributor

The North Allegheny cross country team traveled to Schenley Park to face off against section rivals Pine Richland and Central/Oakland Catholic. Both the NA Boys and NA Girls kept their unbeaten streak going with two victories on the fast 5k course. Many NA runners were able to set lifetime 5k records on the fast course used by CMU and the University of Pittsburgh.

The NA Boys raced first and the Tigers took the lead from the outset. Tigers were able to put 12 in the top 14 of race.  Junior Jack Bertram led the way as usual for the Tigers, cruising to victory.  Senior Michael Gauntner kicked hard to pass a Pine Richland runner at the end, taking third overall.  After a PR boy, who took fourth place, along came 10 consecutive Tigers.  Senior James Behrend was next in fifth, junior Anthony Miklos had a strong race in sixth. Senior Connor Williams turned in another solid performance in seventh. Senior Alex Mitterer and junior Greg Abel rounded out the scoring seven. Miklos, Williams, Mitterer, and Abel all had personal bests. NA defeated Pine Richland, 22-39, and Central Catholic, 15-50 (perfect score).

The NA Girls were able to grab 11 of the top 15 spots the race. Juniors Wren Kucler and Robin Kucler cruised to a 1-2 finish. Senior Eva Kynaston was great in third with junior Camille Swirsding not far behind in fourth. Lily Ries helped to hold Pine Richland’s number one girl, grabbing fifth overall, to give the Tigers the lowest score possible (15). Junior Elizabeth Pizon and senior Maia Getz both had lifetime personal records to round out the varsity scorers (7th and 9th pace respectively). The NA Girls had a nearly perfect score against Pine Richland (15-47) and Oakland Catholic (15-49).

The top 17 runners from both teams will head to Hershey for the PIAA Foundation meet.

The North Allegheny cross country teams traveled west to compete in the annual Spartan Invitational in Boardman, Ohio.  The Lady Tigers ran very well earning first place in the 35 team division 1 field. Wren Kucler won individual gold.  The NA Boys battled hard in a close race to earn bronze out of 40 D1 teams, 18 points away from the gold.