Aug 29, 2002 By Jim Downey 7 min read

The 2001 season was a success for local individuals and teams with several runners earning post-season medals and teams taking section championships, and the upcoming season holds the same promise. The Laurel Highlands girls once again reigned supreme in Section 2-AAA with Michol Monaghan leading the way. The senior record-holder placed fifth in the WPIAL and ninth in the state for the Fillies.

“Mikie is the best distance runner in Laurel Highlands history. She holds all the distance records in school history,” Fillies coach Ron Morris said about his lone senior.

Morris was happy to welcome the largest squad in his coaching tenure, expecting the 20-plus girls to provide stability and pleasant surprises as the season progresses.

“The large numbers are good because it allows the opportunity for someone you least expect to step up. A lot of them are inexperienced, but we have a core of runners,” Morris said.

The experienced core of Monaghan, Jessi Evans, Lauren Mahoney and Danielle LaPresta will allow the search for a fifth, sixth and seventh runner to progress as the season goes along. Rachel Perry, Stephanie Smith, Rachel Chrash, Leah Teets, Sara Workman and Sara Slampak are competing for the all-important final three spots.

“They push one another and they are improving daily. Every position is valuable in big section meets. We need to develop the mid-pack runners. The problem is how quickly the mid-pack runners develop,” Morris said.

Morris summed up his approach to the upcoming season, saying, “The dynamics of a team change annually, but work ethic and dedication are two constants we have yearly.”

The Mustangs lost the 1-2 punch of Adam Shinsky and Austin Jodon as well as solid contributor Jeremiah Waltz, leaving boys coach Bob Costello with a young, inexperienced team.

Sophomores Larry Brink and Ben Shinsky are expected to carry the load at the top of the pack with seniors Steve Bobish, Chris Manges, Will Ashton and Brandon Burke and junior Dave Sumego packing together.

“We’re still good enough to be competitive. I think the section will be balanced this year,” Costello said. “If we run as a team, we should be able to compete with almost anyone. It’s up to them.

“They ran hard all summer. Our goal is to see how well we do at the end of the season, see how we do against the entire WPIAL.”

Uniontown coach Joe Everhart lost a horse in Dave Madison, but has a solid senior in Andy Gleason, and experienced juniors Jonathan Guth and Scott Hruby to go with sophomores Jasper Hawker, Aaron Moyer and Kevin Monaghan. Gleason, Hruby and Guth were all-county in 2001.

The Red Raiders finished 11-0 overall last year in winning the Section 2-AAA title with a stirring victory in the season finale at Laurel Highlands as well as the FCCA Championship.

The Lady Red Raiders will be bolstered with the return to form of senior Scarlett Graham. The county champion as a freshman, Graham had a couple of down seasons before rebounding with a strong track season last spring.

The veteran lineup from last year’s 5-7 team includes juniors Sara Kovach and Jillian Monaghan, an all-county performer, and sophomores Rebecca Geisel and Stephanie Waggel.

This could be the year for Connellsville’s Joe Siecinski if opposing coaches are to be believed. The boys have a strong mix of senior leadership in Pat Mullaney and hard-working underclassmen in Kenny King (sophomore), Brad Showman (freshman), and Nick Bailey (junior). Candidates to fill the fifth spot include Kris Oswald, Rich Hair, Josh Martin and Aaron King.

“We have a nice team now, but we’re young and inexperienced. I think they’ll all come through. Pat Mullaney as captain will help with that,” Siecinski said of his Falcons. “The first two meets (Ringgold and West Mifflin at home and with Thomas Jefferson at Laurel Highlands) are big.”

The girls will undoubtedly be led by the duo of Shannon Kovach and Molly Mullaney. The two pounded out the miles this summer and, according to Siecinski, are ready to go.

“They’ve been working hard,” Siecinski said, noting Kovach has a good chance to become the first Lady Falcon to advance to the state meet.

Backing Kovach and Mullaney will be Christine Salandra, the lone senior, and sophomores Brit Mancini and Lauren McCormick. Siecinski also mentioned Gina Heald worked hard over the summer.

“If we can have six or seven runners in the low 25s (minutes), we’d be okay. They all need to be consistent,” Siecinski said.

Ken Milliken enters his second season at Albert Gallatin with high expectations for his boys while trying to round up numbers for the girls. The Colonials have moved their course from school grounds to Friendship Hill.

“I’ve been trying to beef up the numbers, especially with the girls. Right now, we don’t have enough girls for a team score,” said Milliken, whose girls have been hit by injury.

The boys team took a big hit when sophomore Patrick Reagan suffered a stress fracture in summer training. Milliken doesn’t expect Reagan back until the big meets at the end of the season. The sophomore coach still has a veteran team returning with seniors Daron Christopher, Chris Moore and John Ptak and underclassmen Rick Lemro and Scott Milliken.

“The boys will be up there every meet. I’m hoping the girls will improve each time out,” said Milliken.

The Brownsville girls haven’t lost a section meet in four years, and coach Joe Carei has all but one runner – Holly Peters – returning. The departure of Brentwood and South Park from the section should aid in the quest for No. 5.

Julie Kromer, Angela Fraley, Jill McClelland, Dana Sassano and Jenna Jackson provide a strong nucleus for the Lady Falcons’ search for a fifth title. A cast of strong underclassmen is expected to bolster the already strong lineup.

“We’ll look to Julie to take over the leadership reins. We’ll take the pack approach. Competition is pretty tight right now,” Carei said.

The boys have had their quest for a Section 3-AA title squelched in the season opener the past two years with a loss to Waynesburg Central, the only section losses suffered. Senior Josh Crable is the declared leader of the group.

“We’re looking for big things from Josh this year. Our success depends on the pack approach with Joe Franks, Corey Watkins and Brian Emery. We also have a good core of freshmen,” Carei said.

Waynesburg opens the section season at Brownsville on Sept. 10. Four of the top Raiders return, including state qualifier Drew Headlee, Frank Bryan, Jeff Fox and Jack Haines. The Lady Raiders were sparse in numbers but the now-graduated Michelle Thompson finished fourth in Class AA.

Frazier coach Joe Turek has been slowly building the program and will once again compete in Section 3-AA. Turek continues to mesh new runners with the more experienced members of the team to replace last year’s top runner, Chris Novak.

The Lady Commodores lost a lot with the graduation of Carrie Sterdis, but youngsters like Erica and Angie Livingstone, Alma Rebottini and Ashley Zias should benefit from a year of competition and a summer of conditioning.

Don Gilpin lost a lot of talent with the graduation of state qualifiers Tom Brittain and Julie Wisniewski, but the longtime Southmoreland coach seems ready to reload both teams.

Senior Adam Baker qualified for the PIAA Championship last year, finishing 15th in the WPIAL Class AA Championship. Seniors Larry Earnesty and Greg Jaworski and sophomore Steve Imel were major contributors to the Scotties’ Section 4-AA title and fifth-place WPIAL team finish. Southmoreland should also be bolstered with the addition of Jon Sebek.

The Lady Scots made it a clean sweep of Section 4-AA championships, finishing 13th overall in the WPIAL. All but Julie Wisniewski return for Gilpin with senior Emily Millslagle, juniors Kelly Bridges and Beth Wisniewski and sophomores Marie Rendine and Jorgie Jacobs.

Numbers have dropped dramatically for Geibel Catholic coach Leo Lowney, the dean of all county cross country coaches. Seniors Sam Brooks and Adam Casey close their four-year careers for the Gators in Section 4-AA.