HERSHEY - North Allegheny's Ryan Gil and Altoona's Wade Endress chat on-line a lot, so it was only fitting that when they hit the final mile of the PIAA Class AAA Boys Cross Country Championships, they were first and second, respectively.
Endress got within 10 meters of Gil, but in the end, Gil had a little more extra than his friend, finishing just 2 seconds ahead of second-place Endress, 15:52-15:54, on a chilly Saturday on the tough Parkview Cross Country Course.
For Endress, it was his third medal at the state meet, finishing 14th his sophomore season and 20th running with bronchitis last season. Endress, who has narrowed his college choices to Penn State and High Point, N.C., said his goal coming into the race was finishing in the top five.
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Altoona's Wade Endress finished second at the PIAA state championships.
"As soon as the race started, I put myself in fifth place and just sat there the entire race," Endress said. "I felt really good going into the last mile, so I moved up into third. I caught second-place going up the last hill, and I tried to move up on the leader in the last stretch. But second place, I can't complain losing to the guy I lost to."
"Ryan is known in the western part of the state as being a speedster, and so is Wade, " Altoona coach Lee Baranik said, "but today, Ryan had a little bit more of a kick than what Wade did, and that made all the difference. This is the best finish that we have had from an Altoona runner in 40 years."
Five other area runners earned a medal, including Endress' teammate, Korey Replogle, who passed Downingtown West's Quinn Devlin in the homestretch to finish 25th in 16:32, just qualifying for a medal.
"I was in 26th, and I saw the kid right in front of me," Replogle said. "So, I had to pick it up after the last hill. I'm so glad that I did. That last hill is a real killer, and it drains everything out of you."
As a team, the Altoona team of Endress, Replogle, Dylan Mountain, Tyler Lidwell, Patrick Reade, Ryan Gallagher and Terry Futrell faded a little on the last of the five hills on the course - about 300 meters before the finish line - and took fifth with 207 points.
North Allegheny (124), West Chester Henderson (146), Cardinal O'Hara (160) and Baldwin (201) finished ahead of the Lions.
"We were actually hoping to be in the top three this year," Baranik said, "but a couple of our younger guys, who are coming back next year, had a little bit of trouble toward the end of the race. We were actually in second place after the two-mile, but Wade being second and Korey being 25th, it was an awesome day for Korey."
Central Cambria's Kendall Seymour (19:56) and Alyssa Brandis (20:04) placed 14th and 15th, respectively, in the Class AA girls race.
"The course was kind of muddy, but I thought I ran pretty good," said Brandis, who was fourth last year. "I think we could have done better. There was one part on the hills that I caught up to [Seymour], and I told her we had to go. We went, and I think we did pretty good."
"I felt really good coming into the finish," said Seymour, who was 25h last year. "I kept hearing in the last mile that I was in the top 15, and that's a big improvement from last year. I was really glad that I improved."
The Central Cambria girls team of Seymour, Brandis, Olivia Lipnic, Ashley Stump, Punjari Vyas, finished third with 180 points. The Lady Red Devils had won the last three state titles.
"I think it's great," CC coach Randy Wilson said. "We ran a great race today. We had a third-place five years ago, three first places and a third today. That's a pretty good run, so we're excited about that. We weren't seeded in the top five, and we beat the No. 1-seeded team in the state (St. Basil Academy). Our team this year was faster than our team last year at districts. There's only two teams in the state that can say they had a better season than us, and that's pretty amazing."
"I'm really happy for the girls," Seymour said. "We're all really happy with where we were because we came in with no expectations on ourselves. I think we came in a lot more relaxed than last year."
Elk Lake (77) finished first, while Holy Redeemer (106) took second. Those schools, by the way, also finished 1-2 in the boys race.
Northern Bedford's (20:07) Maria Snyder, who was 63rd a year ago, also medaled in the girls race with a 17th-place finish. Central Cambria's Grant Barber took 21st in the Class AA boys race with a time of 17:06 to help the Devils place 10th in the team standings.
"I ran really well. I'm really thrilled by my race," Barber said. "I came into this race hoping I could finish in the top 50. The whole race, I kept moving up. I just had to gut it out and hang in there. I can't even explain how I feel right now."
"Shane Simmons [in 2006] was our only other medalist at states in school history, and for Grant to be in the top 25 is amazing," Wilson said. "We just didn't even expect it."
Altoona's Alexis Ebersole and Sasha Peterman finished 136th and 191st, respectively, in the Class AAA girls race. It was Peterman's fourth trip to Hershey, and it was Ebersole's third trip.
"From what they did last year, they did make a progression," Altoona coach Tabitha Quinn said. "The conditions of the course, especially that last mile, was a little rough for them. They worked very hard to get to where they are."
Notes: Homer-Center's Angel Piccirillo won the Class AA girls race by 26 seconds, 18:44-19:10, over Elk County Catholic's Kennedy Weisner. ... Council Rock North's Lindsey Rheiner won the Class AAA girls race by second 6 seconds over Pottsville's Paige Stoner, 18:42-18:48. ... Trinity's Tommy Gruschow won the Class AA boys race by a second, 16:30-16:31, over Holy Redeemer's A.J. Limongelli.
CLASS AAA BOYS
TOP 5 TEAM STANDINGS
1. North Allegheny, 124; 2. West Chester Henderson, 146; 3. Cardinal O'Hara, 160; 4. Baldwin, 201; 5. Altoona, 207.
TOP 10 INDIVIDUALS
1. Gil, North Allegheny, 15:52; 2. Endress, Altoona, 15:54; 3. Hebda, North Hills, 15:55; 4. Campbell, Council Rock North, 15:55; 5. Kildoo, Grove City, 15:57; 6. Ayers, Tunkhannock, 16:06; 7. Hibbs, Hatboro Horsham, 16:08; 8. Kacyon, Whitehall, 16:09; 9. Izewski, Central Bucks East, 16:10; 10. Kush, North Hills, 16:15.
CLASS AAA GIRLS
TOP 5 TEAM STANDINGS
1. Pennsbury, 81; 2. West Chester Henderson, 119; 3. North Allegheny, 154; 4. State College, 215; 5. Downingtown East, 216.
TOP 10 INDIVIDUALS
1. Rheiner, Council Rock North, 18:42; 2. Stoner, Pottsville, 18:48; 3. Grossman, Strath Haven, 18:49; 4. Malone, North Hills, 18:49; 5. McGovern, North Penn, 18:57; 6. Sargent, Pennsbury, 18:59; 7. Chikotas, Saucon Valley, 19:00; 8. Mundell, Governor Mifflin, 19:08; 9. Augustyn, West Chester Henderson, 19:08; 10. Anderson, Cumberland Valley, 19:09.
CLASS AA BOYS
TOP 5 TEAM STANDINGS
1. Elk Lake, 102; 2. Holy Redeemer, 116; 3. Quaker Valley, 154; 4. North East, 176; 5. Lower Moreland, 183. 10. Central Cambria, 296.
TOP 10 INDIVIDUALS
1. Gruschow, Trinity, 16:30; 2. Limongelli, Holy Redeemer, 16:31; 3. Thompson, Elk County Catholic, 16:40; 4. Christian, Towanda, 16:43; 5. Smathers, North East, 16:43; 6. Trueman, Springfield Township, 16:48; 7. Bedell, Elk Lake, 16:49; 8. Westwood, Quaker Valley, 16:51; 9. Scatena, Central Columbia, 16:53; 10. Williams, Northeast Bradford, 16:53.
CLASS AA GIRLS
TOP 5 TEAM STANDINGS
1. Elk Lake, 77; 2. Holy Redeemer, 106; 3. Central Cambria, 180; 4. Quaker Valley, 181; 5. St. Basil Academy, 193.
TOP 10 INDIVIDUALS
1. Piccirillo, Homer-Center, 18:44; 2. Weisner, Elk County Catholic, 19:10; 3. Gennaocro, St. Marys, 12:05; 4. Mahony, Villa Joseph Marie, 19:18; 5. Hilton, South Fayette, 19:20; 6. Trowbridge, Elk Lake, 19:35; 7. Wirfel, Forest Hills, 19:37; 8. Walters, Northgate, 19:38; 9. Sowinski, Holy Redeemer, 19:39; 10. Brown, Boiling Springs, 19:40.
