Cross Country Game Summaries

By: Cross Country Contributor

North Allegheny Cross Country competed in the PIAA state championships in Hershey Saturday. The girls placed third (out of 20 AAA schools) and the boys placed 10th (out of 22 AAA schools).

The girls were in a very close race for the top spot. They scored 125 points, only 15 points off of the champion Haverford. They were the best performing WPIAL team in the meet. The top four Tigers in the race were the seniors that have led them all season. Earning the lowest stick once again was senior and Wake Forest commit, Robin Kucler who placed 25th overall to earn an individual medal (12th amongst team finishers). Running strong and placing 15th and 16th respectively, were seniors Elizabeth Pizon and Kendall Lucas, both Duquesne University commits. Senior Camille Swirsding raced well to earn the 39th spot out of team finishers. Junior Tess Pagnotto had a great race to round out the scoring five. Pagnotto was 43rd out of the team finishers. Running strong as NA’s six and seven were sophomore Gabby Pizon and Junior Elinor Handel who placed 63rd and 70th respectively amongst team finishers.

The boys team placed 10th (one point away from eighth) with 268 seconds points. They were the best team from the WPIAL in the race. Junior Andrew Peigh led the Tigers with another strong performance placing 19th among team finishers. Senior and Notre Dame commit Jack Bertram was next in for the Tigers battling hard for 47th amongst team finishers. Tyler Davis capped off a great senior season with a 58th place team finish. Senior Jackson Beemer had a strong final performance placing 64th amongst team finishers.  Finalizing the Tigers team score was senior Anthony Miklos scoring 80 points with his finish. Seniors Sebastian Klimchak, a Denison University commit, and Greg Abel were NA’s six and seven runners, placing 90th and 125th amongst team finishers.

It was good day for the Tigers, capping off another great season, led by an amazing group of seniors.

Full results from all races can be found by clicking here.

by: Cross Country Contributor

There were great conditions for a fast WPIAL Cross Country Championship in White Oak Park. The girls won in dominant fashion with 76 points compared to second place Norwin who had 121. The boys lost a close battle, scoring 90 points, 10 points away from victory.

The girls were lights out from beginning of the race, showing they were the strongest team at each course split. Five of the seven runners ran lifetime personal records and the two runners that didn’t were very close to their personal bests. The top four Tigers were all seniors, led by Robin Kucler who had an outstanding race, placing third in 18:02. Elizabeth Pizon set a new lifetime best with an 18:56, grabbing 12th overall. Camille Swirsding was incredible with a 19:05, placing 16th (lifetime best). Kendall Lucas had a strong performance, securing 18th place with a sporty 19:12. Junior Elinor Handel locked in the victory for the Tigers with a 32nd place finish and a lifetime PR (19:46). Sophomore Gabby Pizon was only a second back from Handel with a fantastic finish, placing 33rd with a 19:47 (lifetime). Junior Tess Pagnotto had lifetime best to round out the top seven and with her time of 19:56, the top seven Tigers all ran sub 20-minute races.

For complete leaderboard on the girls side, click here.

The boys placed second behind a strong performance by Norwin. Junior Andrew Peigh had another great day leading the Tigers with lifetime best time of 15:37. Senior Jack Bertram ran his final race at White Oak Course in style, placing sixth with a fast 15:54. Senior Tyler Davis knocked a couple more seconds off his best time with 16:25 and 22nd place finish. Senior Anthony Miklos came on in the second half of the race to place 27th (16:35). Senior Jackson Beemer set a lifetime best of 16:39, placing 33rd overall. Senior Sebastian Klimchak had a solid performance to place sixth for NA and 49th in the race. Senior Greg Abel rounded out the top seven with a 17:24.

For complete leaderboard for the boys, click here.

Both teams qualified for the PIAA State Championship next Saturday at the Hershey Parkwood XC Site at 11:00 a.m.

The North Allegheny cross country teams traveled to White Oak Park for the TSTCA Championships on Thursday afternoon.  Both girls’ and boys’ teams took first place team honors with each team putting seven racers in the top 30 of the race. The course conditions and weather were ideal for some fast times and many Tigers seized the opportunity running lifetime best performances.

The boys raced first and took a lead early in the race. The majority of the 12 runners had lifetime personal 5k records. Junior Andrew Peigh had a breakout race running a personal record time (15:43) to place second overall. Senior Jack Bertram had a strong race, pacing with the front pack, finishing fifth.  Seniors Anthony Miklos and Tyler Davis both had lifetime PRs, placing ninth and 13th respectively. Senior Jackson Beemer was fifth Tiger to cross the finish line and 21st in the race while setting a lifetime best time. Senior Grey Lowman had a phenomenal finish passing many runners to grab the 24th spot and setting a lifetime PR. Senior Sebastian Klimchak equaled his best ever time with a great 28th place finish to round out the scoring seven for North Allegheny. The boys scored a very impressive 52 points to take the crown.

The girls won in a similarly convincing fashion with many personal records set along the way. Senior Robin Kucler was steady with a fifth place finish and a great time of 18:34. The next finishers wearing black and gold were the amazing senior trio of Elizabeth Pizon (15th), Kendall Lucas (16th), and Camille Swirsding (17th). Pizon and Lucas both set lifetime bests. Also setting PRs were freshmen Mary Lucas (27th) and Lydia Stuart (29th) who both ran outstanding races and rounded out the Tiger top seven. The girls scored a low 76 points for the win.

For complete race results, click here.

North Allegheny cross country teams hosted Seneca Valley and North Hills for a section showdown on Tuesday afternoon at North Park. After a short lighting delay, the Tigers were able to show themselves as the best team on the day, going 2-0 to keep their undefeated season going.