NAXC Girls win 7th straight WPIAL Championship; Boys take Silver
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.
