Cathedral Prep girls overcome adversity to win PIAA Class 2A cross country team title

Cathedral Prep runner Sarah Clark was ill in the days ahead of Saturday's PIAA Class 2A girls cross country race.

Teammate Rue Burkett suffered a possible fractured leg during the championship race.

Others competed with lesser ailments.

Add in the warmer-than-normal temperatures at Hershey's Parkview Cross Country Course, and it's easy to understand why Ramblers coach Therese Brown called their state championship performance “a victory of absolute heart.”

Prep, in the program's first season of existence, overcame its various physical maladies to finish first in the race's 20-team standings. The Ramblers, led by Anne-Catherine Brown's time of 20 minutes, 9.1 seconds, had 111 points to Danville's 115.

This wasn't the first time Therese Brown was the coach for a PIAA-winning cross country team. She was in charge of girls program at Villa Maria before the school closed at earlier this year.

Brown watched the Victors live up to their nickname when they were the state's 2A girls team champs from 2014-16.

However, no team during that run experienced anything close to the adversity the 2022 Ramblers encountered Saturday.

“There's no way this team that stepped up to the (starting) line had any business beating all those teams,” she said. “Last week at (the District 10 meet), yes we did. But (Saturday), we were so vulnerable. I commend the girls because they were so mature and they raced for each other.

“This was kind of miraculous. I never would have guess this. Never.”

Clark was the individual winner for last weekend's district 2A girls final at Titusville. The senior still ran on Saturday and finished 42^nd (21:14.5) in the state's individual standings.

Burkett sat out districts with tendinitis in her right leg. Therese Brown said the junior was advised to wear a compression boot before and after the race, but that she was still medically cleared to run.

Burkett, though, aggravated the injury at some point in the race. She hobbled across Parkview's finish line before she was taken by ambulance to a local hospital.

Brown was unsure about the status of Burkett, who celebrated her birthday Saturday, when she spoke with the Erie Times-News.

“I just know Rue,” Brown said, “and she wouldn't have done it any other way.”

Anne-Catherine Brown, Therese Brown's daughter, was among the few Ramblers who were healthy ahead of Saturday's 2A girls final. The freshman, who finished 11^th overall, and sophomore Allison Bender (24^th at 20:39.8), were Prep's PIAA individual medalists.

Bender competed even though she missed the early weeks of the regular season while recovering from a dislocated kneecap.

“I think we all knew collectively that we had to do what we could individually because we didn't know how (others) were doing on the course,” Anne-Catherine Brown said. “We had to give it our all. I'm so proud of my team.”

Helen Ann McCormick (21:53.3), Lauren Raimy (22:00.1) and Sarah Teed (22:15.1) were Prep's other runners who stood atop the PIAA's podium.

“The last few days we felt like everything we worked for was (ruined) watching everything that happened, happen,” Therese Brown said. “We had a meeting and I said, 'Look, it's going to be hard and it's going to really hurt.' It just came down to kids who were so determined. Determined for each other and willing to suffer for each other.”

General McLane, the district's other team involved in Saturday's 2A girls race, was 11^th with 302 points. Freshman Ella Wieczorek was timed at 21:33.1 and Sydney Bayle, in her final appearance for the Lancers, finished at 21:38.9.

Brownsville star Jolena Quarzo, at 18:11.3, was the state's individual champ.

Grove City boys also get gold

Prep wasn't the only northwestern Pennsylvania cross country team that returned from Hershey as a PIAA titlist.

Grove City claimed the state's 2A boys trophy under less turbulent circumstances. Led by sophomore M.J. Pottinger's fifth-place time of 16:33.9, their 67 team points were 61 fewer than District 4 rivals Danville and Lewisburg.

Danville officially finished second based on the better result by its sixth-place runner.

Grove City joined the 2006 West Middlesex Big Red as PIAA boys cross country team titlists from Mercer County. West Middlesex's championship also was at the 2A level.

Pottinger and Josh Jones were individual medalists for the Eagles. Jones, a senior, finished 10^th at 16:50.2.

Other Eagles who ran Saturday were Justice Brown (17:27.4); Quinn McKnight (17:38.2); Colsen Frank (17:59.7); Isaiah Stauff (18:00.8); and Wyatt Shepson (19:07.8).

Harbor Creek, the district's other team qualifier, was ninth with 247 points. The Huskies' fastest runner was senior Logan Byerly, who individually was 45^th at 17:47.4.

Kramer comes through for McDowell boys

McDowell represented all but one district runner who competed during Saturday's Class 3A races.

The Trojans' lone medalist was Kamden Kramer, who capped his successful sophomore season with a time of 16:34.6. He was 11th out of the 236 who completed the course.

Christian Mattern, in his final cross country appearance for McDowell, was 41st at an even 17:12.

Erie High qualifier Rocco Grande finished in 20:54.7.

McDowell's Palmer sisters, Hayden and Hannah, were the district's runners in the 3A girls final.

Hayden Palmer, a freshman, had a time of 22:01.4. Hannah Palmer, a sophomore, was at 23:07.6.

Saegertown's Hetrick has best finish in Class 1A boys race

Saegertown's Sam Hetrick, the district's individual champ, also posted the fastest result for any of its runners in the state's small-school final.

Hetrick, in his final appearance for the Panthers, finished 19th at 17:54.3. He was the first of two district participants who medaled, with Chase Miller the other.

Miller, a Cochranton senior, was 23rd at 17:59.8.

Zack Beckwith had the best result for an Erie County runner. The Union City senior was timed at 18:43.2.

Myers brings bronze back to Mercer

Willow Myers, in her last appearance as a Mercer Mustang, was the third-place medalist for the 1A girls final. Her time of 20:02 was eight seconds behind the winner, Moravian Academy freshman Virginia Kraus.

Girard's Devyn Agnello was the lone Erie County medalist. The senior finished 24th at 21:21.

The top 25 runners stood on the meet's medal stand.

West Middlesex and Seneca, the respective team champion and runnerup at the district meet, were ninth and 10th Saturday. Seneca's Ashley Post and Allie Gladitz crossed 93rd and 94th as individuals.

Post, a junior, and Gladitz, a sophomore, each had official times of 23:09.

Contact Mike Copper at mcopper@timesnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @ETNcopper.

More:Erie County high school Top Performers for Oct. 31-Nov. 5

D-10 at PIAA meet

The overall winners and District 10 results for the PIAA cross country meet at Hershey's Parkview Cross Country Course. The top two teams and top 25 individuals runners in each race received medals:

Class 1A girls

Team: *1. Notre Dame-Green Pond 78; 9. West Middlesex 270; 10. Seneca 274

Note: Notre Dame-Green Pond and Montrose tied with 78 points. Notre Dame-Green Pond was declared the champion by tiebreaker, a higher finish for its sixth-place runner.

Individual: 1. Virginia Kraus, Moravian Academy 18:54; 3. Willow Myers, Mercer 20:02; 5. Annasophia Viccari, West Middlesex 20:06; 21. Lia Bartholomew, West Middlesex 21:10; 22. Karis McElhaney, Jamestown 21:11; 24. Devyn Agnello, Girard 21:21; 29. Addison Pettis, Northwestern 21:45; 35. Ella Harrington, Mercyhurst Prep 21:56; 37. Kendall Emmert, Lakeview 21:58; 49. Emma Mason, Wilmington 22:13; 52. Delaney Pettis, Northwestern 22:16; 68. Ella Bartholomew, West Middlesex 22:29; 78. Ava Reagle, Union City 22:47; 93. Ashley Post, Seneca 23:09; 94. Allie Gladitz, Seneca 23:09; 112. Kady Alexander, Lakeview 23:26; 121. Mackenzie Nelson, Seneca 23:42; 143. Brooke Majewski, Seneca 24:18; 150. Ave Pushchak, Seneca 24:28; 182. Julia Zajac, Seneca 25:28; 195. Julia Thornton, West Middlesex 25:47; 200. Kelsea Bruce, Seneca 26:04; 235. Lily Widmyer, West Middlesex 27:48; 253. Ava Widmyer, West Middlesex 32:07

Class 2A girls

Team: 1. Cathedral Prep 111; 11. General McLane 302

Individual: 1. Jolena Quarzo, Brownsville 18:11.3; 11. Anne-Catherine Brown, Cathedral Prep 20:09.1; 24. Allison Bender, Cathedral Prep 20:39.8; 42. Sarah Clark, Cathedral Prep 21:14.5; 50. Shyann Rulander, Warren 21:26.7; 55. Nadalie Latchaw, Franklin 21:32.0; 57. Ella Wieczorek, General McLane 21:33.1; 60. Sydney Bayle, General McLane 21:38.9; 62. Jilian White, Hickory 21:43.7; 74. Helen Ann McCormick, Cathedral Prep 21:53.3; 75. Veronica Brewer, Harbor Creek 21:53.8; 84. Lauren Raimy, Cathedral Prep 22:00.1; 94. Sarah Teed, Cathedral Prep 22:15.1; 100. Megan Puleio, Meadville 22:21.6; 104. Josie Jones, Grove City 22:24.9; 123. Morgan Alexander, Warren 22:41.9; 134. Camryn Fox, Corry 22:52.0; 136. Bella Williams, General McLane 22:55.4; 150. Jordan Fox, Corry 23:17.5; 173. Alivia Hetrick, Fort LeBoeuf 23:58.9; 176. Ainsley Puller, General McLane 24:02.1; 199. Lydia Zehr, General McLane 24:50.9; 217. Calinda Evankovich, General McLane 25:27.3; 241. Alanna Puller, General McLane 29:22.4; 243. Rue Burkett, Cathedral Prep 30:43.6

Class 3A girls

Team: 1. North Allegheny 60.

Note: District 10 didn't have a team qualify for the race.

Individual: 1. Natalie McLean, Pine-Richland 18:46.1; 140. Hayden Palmer, McDowell 22:01.4; 195. Hannah Palmer, McDowell 23:07.6

Class 1A boys

Team: 1. Central Cambria 95; 7. West Middlesex 202; 11. Lakeview 318

Individual: 1. Thomas Smigo, Palisades 16:33.4; 19. Sam Hetrick, Saegertown 17:54.3; 23. Chase Miller, Cochranton 17:59.8; 30. Colson Jenkins, Lakeview 18:12.6; 31. Luke Schneider, West Middlesex 18:14.1; 58. Zack Beckwith, Union City 18:43.2; 66. Giovanni Rococi, West Middlesex 18:48.6; 93. Evan Wolfgong, Rocky Grove 19:09.5; 95. Tim Gross, Seneca 19:10.2; 96. Kyler Woolstrum, Cochranton 19:11.5; 101. Tully Caiazza, Wilmington 19:12.4; 103. Derek Johnson, West Middlesex 19:14.9; 115. James Alexander, Lakeview 19:25.1; 117. Lincoln Kier, Maplewood 19:26.6; 121. Landon Homa, Cochranton 19:28.0; 137. Dennis Jones, West Middlesex 19:41.5; 149. Ryker Harold, Lakeview 19:51.7; 156. Nicholas Savolskis, Lakeview 20:00.4; 179. Noah Rotz, Lakeview 20:21.5; 208. Phil Peltonen, Lakeview 20:56.8; 215. Devin Gruver, West Middlesex 21:03.4; 228. Logan Kent, West Middlesex 21:36.9; 242. Ethan Williams, Lakeview 22:53.4;

Class 2A boys

Team: 1. Grove City 67; 9. Harbor Creek 247

Individual: 1. Rory Lieberman, Danville 15:53.6; 5. M.J. Pottinger, Grove City 16:33.9; 10. Josh Jones, Grove City 16:50.2; 27. Justice Brown, Grove City 17:27.4; 30. Max Dillaman, Meadville 17:35.2; 33. Caden Riethmiller, Hickory 17:36.6; 34. Luke Brown, Cathedral Prep 17:37.4; 35. Quinn McKnight, Grove City 17:38.2; 37. Ben Schrumpf, Fort LeBoeuf 17:39.7; 45. Logan Byerly, Harbor Creek 17:47.4; 51. Caleb Prettyman, Franklin 17:52.3; 52. Eli Rhoades, Harbor Creek 17:52.8; 53. Lucas Boyd, North East 17:54.8; 61. Colsen Frank, Grove City 17:59.7; 62. Isaiah Stauff, Grove City 18:00.8; 65. Samuel Lindell, Warren 18:04.8; 84. Peyton Brewer, Harbor Creek 18:24.8; 104. Jack Mumford, Oil City 18:39.1; 114. Viktor Zahn, Slippery Rock 18:44.4; 137. Nathan Bertolo, Harbor Creek 18:59.2; 148. Wyatt Shepson, Grove City 19:07.8; 153. Ethan Webb, General McLane 19:11.9; 176. Quinn Brewer, Harbor Creek 19:25.8; 199. Micah Lander, Harbor Creek 19:57.4; 200. Parker Ward, Harbor Creek 19:59.0

Class 3A boys

Team: 1. North Allegheny 85, 14. McDowell 273

Individual: 1. Brian DiCola, Hatboro-Horsham 15:24.2; 11. Kamden Kramer, McDowell 16:34.6; 41. Christian Mattern, McDowell 17:12.0; 107. Brady Heeter, McDowell 17:54.4; 155. Nicolin Pierce, McDowell 18:21.0; 171. Camden Pierce, McDowell 18:34.6; 195. Deacon Pierce, McDowell 18:53.8; 211. Jaden Olmes, McDowell 19:16.3; 235. Rocco Grande, Erie High 20:54.7

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: How they fared: District 10 runners at PIAA cross country meet