Oct 1, 2002 By Jim Downey 4 min read

The strategy was simple for Connellsville and Uniontown when the two undefeated boys cross country teams met Monday afternoon at Penn State-Fayette with the Section 2-AAA championship going to the winner. The Falcons wanted to sweep the top three places, thereby guaranteeing the win no matter what happened with the rest of the race. The Red Raiders needed to split the top three Connellsville runners for any hope of a victory.

Kenny King, Brad Showman and Pat Mullaney followed Connellsville coach Joe Siecinski’s script to the letter with the Falcon trifecta leading to a 22-33 victory. Both teams easily defeated Elizabeth-Forward with Connellsville beating the Warriors, 15-49, and Uniontown earning a split of the triangular with a 15-50 win.

Connellsville (9-3) finished the section with a 7-0 mark. Uniontown (10-1) closed the section with a 6-1 record while Elizabeth-Forward ended the season at 0-7.

The Connellsville trio ran nearly in stride at the first-mile mark and was within seconds of each other two miles into the race. King, a sophomore, pulled ahead in the last mile to win in 17:38. Showman, a freshman, was 11 seconds off King’s pace with Mullaney capping the victory in third with a time of 18:06.

“I felt good. I broke away going up the last hill. I tried to keep the same pace (through the race),” said King.

The heat bothered Mullaney a bit, cramping up with a side stitch in the last mile. The thought of his second section championship helped him push through the cramp. Mullaney was on the Falcons’ last title team as a freshman.

“It was a little too hot. I had a stitch at the 2-mile mark. I got better, but it was still there (at the end of the race),” Mullaney said of the weather. “We wanted to be in the top three. The order didn’t matter.

“I was on the section team as a freshman. I was more of a part of the win this year.”

A stream of Uniontown runners came racing in after Mullaney. Kevin Monaghan was the top finisher with a time of 18:24. Andy Gleason and Paul O’Neil kept the string alive, but Nick Bailey broke up the Uniontown grouping in seventh.

Aaron Moyer was eighth for Uniontown and Kris Oswald closed the door for Connellsville.

Siecinski said race for the section title began back in the summer with the off-season conditioning program. He also made the decision to hold his boys out of last Saturday’s A.J. Everhart Invitational while the Red Raiders, the host team, ran.

“The guys have had this on their minds since the summer. This is what they’ve been working for. They knew what they had to do and they did it,” Siecinski said. “Uniontown ran hard. It was a good race.

“Nick Bailey hung in there. Kris Oswald did a great job for us. He ran the best race he’s had all year. I think he can run better.”

Uniontown coach Joe Everhart knew his team would have their hands full, especially since his team hasn’t had five runners finish in the same order in any race this season.

“We talked a lot. We knew it would be tough to break up the top three from Connellsville,” Everhart said. “We sent Kevin (Monaghan) out to take one of their top three and let the chips fall where they may. Kevin gave a good effort. It will be a good lesson for him.

“Connellsville’s top three ran real well today. We still had a different five again. We’re packing together well. We just have to move the pack up.”

Uniontown will run on its home course for the third time in less than a week when the seven county schools gather at Penn State-Fayette Thursday afternoon for the county championship.

“We’ll give it everything we have,” Everhart said.