Punxsy Boys Cross Country earns split with Brookville and Bradford
The Punxsy boys cross country team picked up a win against host team Brookville yesterday but came up short against perennial district 9 power Bradford to come away with a split and move to 3-3 on the season. “It was another warm day on a tough course, but our guys competed well and turned in some impressive performances,” said boys head coach George Wehrle. “Bradford had the upper hand today and we’ll try to narrow that gap in the coming weeks.”
Brookville’s 400 meter state champion Ryan Thrush displayed good endurance in controlling the field to place first in 17:54, with Bradford’s Vinnie Bizzaro coming in second 12 seconds behind Thrush. “There was a nice pack up front for most of the race, but Thrush looked in command the entire way,” said Wehrle. “Bizzaro had to work hard to hold off our two guys, Owen Bartlebaugh and Ethan Brentham, who were within just a few seconds of him at the end.”
Bartlebaugh continued his strong early season running to place third overall in 18:11, with his teammate Brentham just four seconds back. “Owen and Ethan both ran great today,” said Wehrle. “Finishing 2-3 against Bradford is no easy feat, and their times were excellent on the rugged Brookville layout.”
Punxsy’s chances for victory were thwarted when a trio of Bradford runners placed ahead of Punxsy’s Ethan May, who clocked a time of 19:50 to place 9th. “Ethan ran very well but wasn’t able to get up with that Bradford pack and break it up,” said Wehrle. “He gave us quite a run and I feel confident Ethan will do everything he can to change that result in the near future.”
Bradford’s fifth runner came in just ahead of Punxsy’s Alex Eberhart, with only a second separating the two competitors. “Alex is running very well and came up just a bit short in the final strides today,” said Wehrle. “He is a saavy runner who knows what it takes to perform under tough conditions like today.”
Bradford put two more runners ahead of Punxsy’s fifth and final scorer, sophomore Liam Storms. “Liam ran well but normally is up near where Alex finished, so we’ll look for a slightly higher finish from him next time out,” said Wehrle. “Liam has really improved from a year ago and more is expected from him and the entire team as well.”
Freshman Corbin Heitzenrater ran a strong effort to place 18th overall with a time of 21:03, 13 seconds and two places ahead of teammate Evan States. “Corbin placed ahead of all but three Brookville runners, and Evan was right with Corbin the entire distance and turned in a time almost two minutes faster than he ran on this same course a year ago,” said Wehrle.
Kevin Ingros placed 23rd overall in 22:28, with Jacob Good three places behind with a clocking of 23:09. “Kevin gave his usual determined effort out there and ran comparable to last year despite tougher conditions today,” said Wehrle. “Jacob continued his strong racing this season with another outstanding performance, despite this being his first race on Brookville’s challenging course.”
Sam Rodgers ran 23:51 to place 29th, with Luke Poole securing 32nd in a time of 27:38. Copeland Whitfield stopped the clock at 34:42 to place 35th. “Sam ran just a bit slower than his best time of the season and seems capable of a significant breakthrough soon,” said Wehrle. “Luke ran very well and should also chop off significant chunks of time in his next few races if the weather breaks, and Copeland’s next benchmark will be to dip under the 30 minute mark and try to keep dropping his time from there.”
Punxsy will make the long trip to Hershey on Saturday to participate in the 10th annual PIAA Foundation Invitational. “The course is the same one that they will run at states, so Saturday will be a great opportunity to get a preview for anyone who plans to run at states in six weeks time,” concluded Wehrle.
Bradford 24, Punxsy 33
Punxsy 22, Brookville 36
R. Thrush(Brk)17:54; Bizzaro(Brd)18:07; Bartlebaugh(P)18:11; Brentham(P)18:15; Geyer(R)18:45; Hayden((Brd)18:56; Caruso(Brd)19:21; Kraft(Brd)19:37; May(P)19:50; Molnar(Brk)20:05; Cary(Brd)20:08; Eberhart(P)20:09; Cary(Brd)20:10; Allen(Brd)20:11; Storms(P)20:25; Fedak(Brd)20:30; Gilbert(Brk)20:49; Heinzenrater(P)21:03; B. Thrush(Brk)21:08; States(P)21:16; Pearson(Brd)21:23; Baughman(Brk)22:19; Ingros(P)22:28; Knowlton(Brd)22:33; Sorbin(Brk)22:43; Good(P)23:09; Stafford(Brd)23:40; Doolittle(Brk)23:43; Rodgers(P)23:51; Venesky(Brk)25:10; Hollamby(Brd)25:38; Poole(P)27:38; Marshall(Brk) 28:25; Lindermuth(Brk)31:35; Whitfield(P)34:42; Young(Brk)35:18
The Punxsy boys cross country team picked up a win against host team Brookville yesterday but came up short against perennial district 9 power Bradford to come away with a split and move to 3-3 on the season. “It was another warm day on a tough course, but our guys competed well and turned in some impressive performances,” said boys head coach George Wehrle. “Bradford had the upper hand today and we’ll try to narrow that gap in the coming weeks.”
Brookville’s 400 meter state champion Ryan Thrush displayed good endurance in controlling the field to place first in 17:54, with Bradford’s Vinnie Bizzaro coming in second 12 seconds behind Thrush. “There was a nice pack up front for most of the race, but Thrush looked in command the entire way,” said Wehrle. “Bizzaro had to work hard to hold off our two guys, Owen Bartlebaugh and Ethan Brentham, who were within just a few seconds of him at the end.”
Bartlebaugh continued his strong early season running to place third overall in 18:11, with his teammate Brentham just four seconds back. “Owen and Ethan both ran great today,” said Wehrle. “Finishing 2-3 against Bradford is no easy feat, and their times were excellent on the rugged Brookville layout.”
Punxsy’s chances for victory were thwarted when a trio of Bradford runners placed ahead of Punxsy’s Ethan May, who clocked a time of 19:50 to place 9th. “Ethan ran very well but wasn’t able to get up with that Bradford pack and break it up,” said Wehrle. “He gave us quite a run and I feel confident Ethan will do everything he can to change that result in the near future.”
Bradford’s fifth runner came in just ahead of Punxsy’s Alex Eberhart, with only a second separating the two competitors. “Alex is running very well and came up just a bit short in the final strides today,” said Wehrle. “He is a saavy runner who knows what it takes to perform under tough conditions like today.”
Bradford put two more runners ahead of Punxsy’s fifth and final scorer, sophomore Liam Storms. “Liam ran well but normally is up near where Alex finished, so we’ll look for a slightly higher finish from him next time out,” said Wehrle. “Liam has really improved from a year ago and more is expected from him and the entire team as well.”
Freshman Corbin Heitzenrater ran a strong effort to place 18th overall with a time of 21:03, 13 seconds and two places ahead of teammate Evan States. “Corbin placed ahead of all but three Brookville runners, and Evan was right with Corbin the entire distance and turned in a time almost two minutes faster than he ran on this same course a year ago,” said Wehrle.
Kevin Ingros placed 23rd overall in 22:28, with Jacob Good three places behind with a clocking of 23:09. “Kevin gave his usual determined effort out there and ran comparable to last year despite tougher conditions today,” said Wehrle. “Jacob continued his strong racing this season with another outstanding performance, despite this being his first race on Brookville’s challenging course.”
Sam Rodgers ran 23:51 to place 29th, with Luke Poole securing 32nd in a time of 27:38. Copeland Whitfield stopped the clock at 34:42 to place 35th. “Sam ran just a bit slower than his best time of the season and seems capable of a significant breakthrough soon,” said Wehrle. “Luke ran very well and should also chop off significant chunks of time in his next few races if the weather breaks, and Copeland’s next benchmark will be to dip under the 30 minute mark and try to keep dropping his time from there.”
Punxsy will make the long trip to Hershey on Saturday to participate in the 10th annual PIAA Foundation Invitational. “The course is the same one that they will run at states, so Saturday will be a great opportunity to get a preview for anyone who plans to run at states in six weeks time,” concluded Wehrle.
Bradford 24, Punxsy 33
Punxsy 22, Brookville 36
R. Thrush(Brk)17:54; Bizzaro(Brd)18:07; Bartlebaugh(P)18:11; Brentham(P)18:15; Geyer(R)18:45; Hayden((Brd)18:56; Caruso(Brd)19:21; Kraft(Brd)19:37; May(P)19:50; Molnar(Brk)20:05; Cary(Brd)20:08; Eberhart(P)20:09; Cary(Brd)20:10; Allen(Brd)20:11; Storms(P)20:25; Fedak(Brd)20:30; Gilbert(Brk)20:49; Heinzenrater(P)21:03; B. Thrush(Brk)21:08; States(P)21:16; Pearson(Brd)21:23; Baughman(Brk)22:19; Ingros(P)22:28; Knowlton(Brd)22:33; Sorbin(Brk)22:43; Good(P)23:09; Stafford(Brd)23:40; Doolittle(Brk)23:43; Rodgers(P)23:51; Venesky(Brk)25:10; Hollamby(Brd)25:38; Poole(P)27:38; Marshall(Brk) 28:25; Lindermuth(Brk)31:35; Whitfield(P)34:42; Young(Brk)35:18