The Punxsy girls cross country team traveled to Hershey to compete at the 10th annual PIAA Foundations Cross Country Invitational. There were a total of 94 complete teams competing in the various A, AA and AAA races with a total of 871 girls in all competing at the varsity and junior varsity levels. The girls placed 26th out of the 30 AA teams competing.
“The girls had a great experience on a larger scale meet that showcased many of the top runners in the state. The girls continue to be very consistent in their races and are running much stronger second halves of their races moving up in place as they close in on the finish.” “I really like how their progression throughout the season is going so far. We have run some challenging courses lately and they are staying consistent and even knocking their times down gradually. With 5 more weeks until districts the girls seem to be making the right steps to being at their best.”
Leading the way for Punxsy was Isabel Hackenberry, placing 61st overall in 22:01. “Isabel ran another personal best today on a course that I know she wants to be racing on in November. She continues to race very smart and seems extremely confident in her abilities.”
Punxsy’s second finisher was Jenna Barnoff, placing 114th overall in a time of 23:31. “Jenna looked really good today and I like how aggressive she is becoming as her race progresses. She has the potential to make our team much stronger and I fully expect her to make her way closer to Isabel.”
Punxsy’s next finisher was Gabby Franklin placing 138th overall in a time of 24:38. “Gabby really moved up quite steadily in position after the first mile. I expected her to be a bit closer to Jenna today, but this was only one race and I know her best is yet to come.”
Punxsy’s next two finishers finished within one second of each other again. Madison Stonbraker placed 151st overall in 25:06, while Hayley Dilts finished 152nd overall in 25:07. “Hayley and Madison are extremely smart racers for being first year runners. They are making some nice gradual improvements.”
Running in the junior varsity race and placing 240th overall in a time of 34:02 was Jaci Mennetti. “Jaci ran very close to her personal best today. I feel that once Jaci gets more comfortable with the 5k distance she will see some larger improvements in her times.”
“I am glad the girls were given the opportunity to travel to a meet of this level. It shows them where they stand against many of the AA teams in the state. The girls are making some nice steady improvements, we just need to continue to work on improving the gap between the first and fifth runner. I fully believe that we have the ability to have our first five or six girls all finishing under 24 minutes very soon.”
Punxsy next competes on Tuesday as they host Dubois, Kane and Hollidaysburg.
“The girls had a great experience on a larger scale meet that showcased many of the top runners in the state. The girls continue to be very consistent in their races and are running much stronger second halves of their races moving up in place as they close in on the finish.” “I really like how their progression throughout the season is going so far. We have run some challenging courses lately and they are staying consistent and even knocking their times down gradually. With 5 more weeks until districts the girls seem to be making the right steps to being at their best.”
Leading the way for Punxsy was Isabel Hackenberry, placing 61st overall in 22:01. “Isabel ran another personal best today on a course that I know she wants to be racing on in November. She continues to race very smart and seems extremely confident in her abilities.”
Punxsy’s second finisher was Jenna Barnoff, placing 114th overall in a time of 23:31. “Jenna looked really good today and I like how aggressive she is becoming as her race progresses. She has the potential to make our team much stronger and I fully expect her to make her way closer to Isabel.”
Punxsy’s next finisher was Gabby Franklin placing 138th overall in a time of 24:38. “Gabby really moved up quite steadily in position after the first mile. I expected her to be a bit closer to Jenna today, but this was only one race and I know her best is yet to come.”
Punxsy’s next two finishers finished within one second of each other again. Madison Stonbraker placed 151st overall in 25:06, while Hayley Dilts finished 152nd overall in 25:07. “Hayley and Madison are extremely smart racers for being first year runners. They are making some nice gradual improvements.”
Running in the junior varsity race and placing 240th overall in a time of 34:02 was Jaci Mennetti. “Jaci ran very close to her personal best today. I feel that once Jaci gets more comfortable with the 5k distance she will see some larger improvements in her times.”
“I am glad the girls were given the opportunity to travel to a meet of this level. It shows them where they stand against many of the AA teams in the state. The girls are making some nice steady improvements, we just need to continue to work on improving the gap between the first and fifth runner. I fully believe that we have the ability to have our first five or six girls all finishing under 24 minutes very soon.”
Punxsy next competes on Tuesday as they host Dubois, Kane and Hollidaysburg.