Saturday October 28 was a chilly, rainy morning when the high school cross country teams got off the bus at their District 10 Invitational. The nerves were high as they put up the tent and headed off to warm up. With shaky fingers they pinned on their bibs and headed over to the starting line, where they awaited the highly anticipated competition.
The girls ran first of the two teams; their race (the AA group) started at 11:30– with the boys following at 12:40 (also in the AA race). To qualify for the state meet, the top 10 runners in each race– as well as the top two teams– are taken. When the top two teams are distinguished, the top seven individuals of those specific teams are “taken out” of the original top 10 placers to allow more “top 10” individuals in for placing. All are still awarded medals and recognition, however.
This reporter had a strong start, and kept the momentum going throughout the race. She finished in 12 with a personal record time of 20:10. High school coach Mr. Kelly noted, “Haeleigh has been consistent and strong all season and had her best race of the season at Districts. She ran a personal best time…in a very tough field of runners.”
Senior Fabian Fourspring also had a very strong start and race overall as he finished in 16th place with a blazing time of 17:00. Coach Kelly also commented on Fourspring’s race by saying, “Fabian missed qualifying by one spot last year, so I was really happy for him to make it to states during his senior campaign.”
The next competition for these seniors is at the PIAA State Meet in Hershey this Saturday.
