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High School Cross Country

Central Cambria teams win again

Knobloch repeats; B-A girls qualify

By Matt Michelone 9 min read

PORTAGE -- Saturday was another great day for the Central Cambria Red Devil cross country program.

The Lady Red Devils finished with seven of the top 10 runners in Class 2A at Maple Crest Golf Course as they won their 24th District 6 championship in the last 27 years.

The Central Cambria boys also prevailed in Class 2A. Other area highlights included Bishop Carroll Catholic sophomore Noah Knobloch repeating as the 1A boys champion, the Bellwood-Antis girls qualifying their team for states in 1A and several other individuals earning a ticket to next Saturday's state meet at Big Spring High School in Newville.

The Lady Red Devils won the 2A team title by nearly a 100-point margin. Juniata finished second.

Paige Alexander highlighted the Red Devil efforts as she finished second with a time of 19 minutes, 12.8 seconds.

"I haven't really changed much in my routine before or after (a race)," Alexander said. "We're working together. It's a lot easier this year because we have more people together that can push each other on our own team. We're all a team, we're all so close, and we all push each other at practice. We're always hanging out, not just at practice, but at other activities."

Following Alexander was her teammate Jillian Wise, who finished third with a time of 19:22.4.

"We're all really close in times right now, so it's easy to push each other," Wise said.

Other Lady Devils in the top 10 were Abby Snyder (19:41.4), Makenzie Hite (19.48.7), Ruth Remillard (20:08.6), Delaney Snyder (20:18.5) and Emmerson Rakar (20:18.8).

Forest Hills' Bella Ascheri took home the individual crown at 18:25, and Penn Cambria sophomore Lily Hallinan qualified for states with a time of 20:56.8, good for 13th place.

In the 2A boys event, the team race was much closer, but the Red Devils edged out Bellefonte (38-41) for the top spot for their 15th district title under coach Randy Wilson.

Reed Takacs sparked the Red Devil efforts with a time of 16:12 for a second-place finished, followed by teammate Miles Doyle, who took third at 16:19.4. Giles Westrick was seventh, and Joshua Bearer was 11th.

"I have experience on this course. I know what it's like -- I know how to take the hills," Takacs said. "I tried to stay with Jonathan (Gasper) and Miles as much as possible. Jonathan made some room, me and Miles stuck together. We really worked off each other the whole race, and I tried to kick in the last mile and give it everything I had."

The Red Raiders' Jonathan Gasper finished with the individual crown at 15:33.7. Tyrone sophomore Brenson Davis placed 15th in 17:17.4 and qualified for the state meet.

Class 3A

Altoona will be sending two girl runners to the state meet as senior Ashlyn Noce finished in fourth at 18:17.3 and Emma Etters recorded a time of 18:48 to finish in sixth in the District 4-6 Class 3A field.

Noce, who qualified for states for the fourth time, credited the environment the Altoona cross county program regularly runs in for helping power her efforts.

"It was definitely nice to be prepared going into it, but you definitely would not expect some of the hills to hit you as they do just due to the rolling hills and how it is on the course," she said."

"We practiced a lot of twists and turns on our course, and our course is pretty hilly as well, so having that balance between the two was nice."

Etters, a sophomore, echoed those remarks when discussing her race.

"I usually really focus on the ups, because I know I'm strongest on the ups, and then on the downs I just try and let myself go so I just fly down the downs and push up," she said. "Around the turns I try to work in and through the turns so I'm just really just pushing through them. It feels like you're almost sprinting the whole time."

Williamsport's Isabelle Sanders won the girls race in 17:42.7.

Meanwhile, on the Class 3A boys side, Hollidaysburg's Reuben Manfred and Mason Kephart punched their tickets to Newville by finishing in eighth (15:45.8) and 10th (16:15.7), respectively.

"Hollidaysburg is set up geographically really good that you can choose if you want to run on a hill," Manfred said. We'll do a bunch of hill workouts. We love to get that work in on elevation. We definitely prepared a lot for stuff like this, and for the states course."

Altoona senior Archie Glover placed ninth (16:11.3) and will make his way to the state meet as well.

Luke Bradbury finished with an impressive 14:38.7 to take the individual boys title as both State College teams captured the 3A team titles.

Class 1A

In Class 1A boys, Knobloch grabbed the individual championship for the second year in a row with a time of 15:48.7, winning by more than one minute.

"It's good to be considered the favorite, but you can't go into a race feeling as you're the lead guy,'' Knobloch said. "You gotta race as hard as you can, no matter what. Anybody can beat you on a given day. You have to race your heart out.''

Knobloch earned a state medal last year by placing 25th and said he's hoping for a top 10, or possibly top five, finish this year.

Two other boys runners in the Mirror coverage area joined Knobloch in the top 10 as Logan Paronish of Cambria Heights (17:13.5) finished fifth while Tanner Ross from Williamsburg (17:35.3) placed eighth. Both qualified for states.

Belleville Christian won the team championship, and Marion Center was second.

Richland, with Natalia Mavridis placing first in 18:28.8, won the 1A girls team title, and Bellwood-Antis finished second to qualify its team for states.

Julie Kraft's ninth-place finish in 20:26.0 led the Lady Devils, while Blake Pennington was 11th in 20:37.9.

Williamsburg's Ava Dixon was the highest individual finisher among Mirror coverage area runners as she placed third for the second straight year and had a time of 19:59.7. Williamsburg sophomore Emma Stone also grabbed the final individual qualification spot in 1A girls with a 15th-place finish in 21:03.6.

Cambria Heights' Sierra Hoover (20:09.7) was the only other area individual qualifier with a seventh-place finish.

CLASS 3A BOYS

Teams: 1, SC--State College 18; 2, MC--Mifflin County 60; 3, HO--Hollidaysburg 83; 4, WP--Williamsport 108; 5, A--Altoona 109; 6, SH--Shikellamy 152; 7, CM--Central Mountain 211.

Individuals: 1, Bradbury, SC, 14:38.7; 2, Opperman, SC, 15:15.1; 3, Walker, SC, 15:15.3; 4, *Kauffman, MC, 15:21.8; 5, Ruffing, SC, 15:36.0; 6, *Rodenbaugh, MC, 15:42.3; 7, Fritzsche, SC, 15:42.8; 8, *Manfred, HO, 15:45.8; 9, *Glover, A, 16:11.3; 10, *Kephart, HO, 16:15.7; 11, Hutchinson, SC, 16:30.3; 12, Thornton, WP, 16:44.5; 13, Zeigler, SH, 16:56.1; 14, Aurand, MC, 17:06.2; 15, Whitenight, MC, 17:10.4; 16, Kidd, SC, 17:14.4; 17, Singer, HO, 17:19.8; 18, Waldman, WP, 17:21.0; 19, Baird, WP, 17:24.4; 20, Lieb, A, 17:25.9. ALSO: 22, Broadrick, A, 17:34.4; 23, Klock, HO, 17:46.0; 24, Dunkle, A, 17:49.5; 25, Cannarsa, HO, 17:54.4; 30, Wolfe, HO, 18:11.1; 34, Frederick, A, 18:18.3; 35, VanEgdom, A, 18:26.4; 37, Kanish, HO, 18:37.8; 40, Stahlman, A, 18:47.6.

CLASS 2A BOYS

Teams: 1, CC--Central Cambria 38; 2, BF--Bellefonte 41; 3, FH--Forest Hills 88; 4, R--Richland 102; 5, J--Juniata 118; 6, T--Tyrone 144; 7, RV--River Valley 176; 8, PO--Philipsburg-Osceola 232.

Individuals: 1, Gasper, BF, 15:33.7; 2, Takacs, CC, 16:12.0; 3, Doyle, CC, 16:19.4; 4, Muchmore, BF, 16:39.4; 5, Williams, BF, 16:44.9; 6, *Shaw, FH, 16:49.7; 7, Westrick, CC, 16:49.8; 8, *Barner, J, 16:59.0; 9, *Mehall, FH, 16:59.5; 10, *Bollinger, R, 17:00.3; 11, Bearer, CC, 17:04.1; 12, *Honn, Huntingdon, 17:05.9; 13, *Mayall-Marker, J, 17:10.4; 14, Fritchman, BF, 17:15.3; 15, *Davis, T, 17:17.4; 16, Miller, CC, 17:28.4; 17, *Mayko, R, 17:29.8; 18, Cafazza, CC, 17:31.9; 19, Stringer, BF, 17:37.5; 20, *Wechtenhiser, FH, 17:38.5; 21, *Bilitski, R, 17:41.1. ALSO: 23, McConnell, CC, 17:48.3; 24, Brasher, T, 17:59.9; 25, Ricupero, PC, 18:08.4; 31, Moore, T, 18:34.3; 33, Wicker, T, 18:45.0; 48, Gibson, Central, 19:51.0; 53, Harris, T, 20:24.0; 54, Walter, Central, 20:38.3; 58, Rimmer, T, 22:44.7; 59, Latchford, T, 22:52.6; 62, Horning, PC, 23:49.6.

CLASS 1A BOYS

Teams: 1, BLC--Belleville Christian 62; 2, MC--Marion Center 84; 3, U--United 87; 4, BC--Bishop Carroll 107; 5, PV--Penns Valley 108; 6, CH--Cambria Heights 150; 7, SJ--Saint Joseph's 213; 8, BA--Bellwood-Antis 214; 9, HC--Homer-Center 220; 10, P--Portage 223; 11, WS--West Shamokin 263.

Individuals: 1, *Knobloch, BC, 15:48.7; 2, *Stokes, U, 16:57.6; 3, *Mayer, PV, 17:02.2; 4, *Corson, Ferndale, 17:21.1; 5, *Paronish, CH, 17:13.5; 6, Hartzler, BLC, 17:29.6; 7, *DiPlato SJ, 17:33.5; 8, *Ross, Williamsburg, 17:35.3; 9, *Horne, Southern Huntingdon, 17:37.4; 10, *Denhard, Bishop McCort, 17:40.5; 11, *Lucas, HC, 17:43.1; 12, Cameron, Penns Manor, 17:45.7; 13, C. Yoder, BLC, 17:58.5; 14, Kephart, Purchase Line, 18:01.6; 15, Shepler, U, 18:07.8; 16, Tavel, Purchase Line, 18:09.9; 17, Fox, MC, 18:16.0; 18, Tomalson, U, 18:21.0; 19, G. Yoder, BLC, 18:24.8; 20, Renno, BLC, 18:29.0. ALSO: 25, Duman, BC, 18:46.4; 26, M. Kline, CH, 18:49.4; 31, Shura, BA, 19:04.2; 33, Papcun, P, 19:09.1; 36, Shedlock, BC, 19:13.9; 37, Westover, P, 19:14.1; 40, Pablic, BC, 19:20.6; 41, L. Kline, CH, 19:20.9; 43, Miller, BC, 19:28.3; 48, Bishop, BC, 19:43.2; 49, Houser, BC, 19:46.4; 54, Miller, P, 20:08.1; 55, Halerz, BA, 20:09.7; 57, Owens, CH, 20:17.9; 59, Litzinger, BA, 20:20.9; 60, G. Alley, BA, 20:28.8; 65, Wendekier, CH, 20:50.2; 66, Hershey, Juniata Valley, 20:50.2; 67, Stewart, Williamsburg, 20:58.7; 69, Miller, BA, 21:16.8; 70, Polites, CH, 21:25.0; 75, D. Alley, BA, 22:08.9; 79, Rimmey, BA, 22:14.2; 82, Girard, P, 22:18.2; 83, White, P, 22:21.8; 88, Ferguson, Williamsburg, 23:05.3; 90, Gillam, Williamsburg, 23:14.7; 93, Boland, P, 23:47.5; 96, Worthy, Juniata Valley, 27:49.7.

CLASS 3A GIRLS

Teams: 1, SC--State College 38; 2, WP--Williamsport 44; 3, A--Altoona 69; 4, MC--Mifflin County 78; 5, HO--Hollidaysburg 130; 6, SH--Shikellamy 170.

Individuals: 1, *I. Sanders, WP, 17:42.7; 2, Younkin, SC, 18:07.6; 3, *M. Sanders, WP, 18:17.3; 4, *Noce, A, 18:21.3; 5, *Hofstrom, WP, 18:31.6; 6, *Etters, A, 18:48.0; 7, Swisher, SC, 18:57.5; 8, Frank, SC, 19:23.7; 9, Bell, MC, 19:26.7; 10, Hutchinson, SC, 19:27.7; 11, Baylis, SC, 19:37.6; 12, Luke, A, 19:43.0; 13, E. Bargas, MC, 19:54.8; 14, Wade, WP, 20:17.3; 15, D. Bargas, MC, 20:23.8; 16, Smith, HO, 20:24.9; 17, Cook, MC, 20:31.4; 18, Barabas, SC, 20:37.6; 19, Horgas, SC, 20:46.3; 20, Fiore, HO, 20:49.8. ALSO: 22, Harkins, A, 21:28.9; 25, Broadrick, A, 21:44.9; 27, Adams, A, 21:50.3; 29, Watt, HO, 21:58.5; 32, Barger, HO, 22:13.2; 33, Hileman, HO, 22:23.5; 36, Diaz, HO, 22:46.6; 38, Walstrom, A, 22:56.3; 39, Zenobia, HO, 22:57.2.

CLASS 2A GIRLS

Teams: 1, CC--Central Cambria 21; 2, J--Juniata 119; 3, CM--Central Mountain 122; 4, MC--Marion Center 126; 5, FH--Forest Hills 127; 6, WH--Westmont Hilltop 136; 7, T--Tyrone 163; 8, BF--Bellefonte 171; 9, BEA--Bald Eagle Area 184.

Individuals: 1, *Ascherl, FH, 18:25.0; 2, Alexander, CC, 19:12.8; 3, Wise, CC, 19:22.4; 4, A. Snyder, CC, 19:41.4; 5, Hite, CC, 19:48.7; 6, *Shaw, FH, 20:00.0; 7, Remillard, CC, 20:08.6; 8, D. Snyder, CC, 20:18.5; 9, Rakar, CC, 20:18.8; 10, C. Heidenreich, J, 20:20.6; 11, Wirt, J, 20:42.3; 12, *McCloskey, CM, 20:53.6; 13, *Hallinan, Penn Cambria, 20:56.8; 14, Zeiders, J, 21:01.7; 15, *Kyte-Yech, BF, 21:06.9; 16, *Miller, MC, 21:13.4; 17, *Spangler, WH, 21:16.4; 18, *Wolfe, CM, 21:18.2; 19, *Steffan, BEA, 21:20.0; 20, *Koch, WH, 21:27.5. ALSO: 23, Harbst, T, 21:41.5; 31, Savino, 22:09.6; 33, Gurekovich, T, 22:14.9; 40, Witkamp, T, 23:06.4; 41, Davis, T, 23:16.0; 44, Troutman, T, 23:23.7; 46, Dickson, T, 23:30.8; 49, Milavec, Penn Cambria, 23:32.1; 64, Plummer, Penn Cambria, 26:04.7; 65, Olivieri, Central, 26:30.2; 69, Kuster, Central, 31:23.5.

CLASS 1A GIRLS

Teams: 1, R--Richland 47; 2, BA--Bellwood-Antis 80; 3, U--United 97; 4, WL-Williamsburg 97; 5, PL--Purchase Line 118; 6, P--Portage 166; 7, WS--West Shamokin 181; 8, PV--Penns Valley 194; 9, WB--West Branch 196; 10, SH--Southern Huntingdon 203.

Individuals: 1, Mavridis, R, 18:28.8; 2, Tucker, R, 19:58.0; 3, *Dixon, WL, 19:59.7; 4, *Wannett, PL, 19:59.8; 5, *Kolarik, U, 20:03.9; 6, *Price, PV, 20:07.2; 7, *Hoover, Cambria Heights, 20:09.7; 8, *Henning, U, 20:20.7; 9, J. Kraft, BA, 20:26.0; 10, Scott, R, 20:34.0; 11, Pennington, BA, 20:37.9; 12, *McCarthy, WS, 20:54.7; 13, *Miller, SJ, 20:56.5; 14, *Causer, WB, 20:59.9; 15, *Stone, WL, 21:03.6; 16, Warren, PL, 21:06.7; 17, Ad. Isenberg, WL, 21:08.4; 18, Dishong, U, 21:12.8; 19, Hines, Bishop Carroll, 21:18.2; 20, Barton, Juniata Valley, 21:23.9. ALSO: 23, Wagner, BA, 21:37.1; 24, Hammond, BA, 21:41.8; 25, White, P, 21:46.3; 27, S. Kraft, BA, 21:55.1; 28, Biddle, WL, 22:01.2; 30, Powers, BA, 22:10.2; 34, Eckenrode, CH, 22:46.6; 37, Haney, P, 23:08.7; 41, Myers, P, 23:20.1; 49, Burkett, P, 23:37.2; 55, Hutton, Juniata Valley, 24:12.6; 57, Av. Isenberg, WL, 24:23.0; 58, Franks, BA, 24:26.1; 62, Stancovich, P, 24:43.5; 66, Sunderland, Juniata Valley, 24:57.5; 74, Frye, WL, 25:20.9; 86, Irvin, P, 28:21.5; 89, Gribbin, P, 29:06.9.

*–Non-qualifying team PIAA qualifier

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