WPIAL Cross Country Championships on tap today
The miles from the summer months through the unexpected snows of October have the final payoff this afternoon when cross country runners from around the area compete in the WPIAL Boys & Girls Cross Country Championships with the opportunity to qualify for next week’s PIAA Championships. The meet has traditionally been held at Slippery Rock University, but construction on campus has moved the district championship to Cooper’s Lake.
The Tri-State Invitational was held at Cooper’s Lake last week and is generally regarded as a precursor to the WPIAL meet.
Connellsville did not race, but Waynesburg Central, Uniontown and Laurel Highlands competed. Compared with 2004 times from the Tri-State and WPIAL meets, the Cooper’s Lake course seems conducive to faster times.
North Hills’ Josh Eddy won the Tri-State in 16:26 in 2004 with Connellsville’s Kenny King winning the Class AAA title in 16:05. Ellwood City’s Jake Walker, a Class AA runner, won this year’s Tri-State in 15:34 with Avonworth’s Lucas Zarzeczny, another Class AA runner, 10 seconds behind in second.
The Falcons’ Joe Villaneuva looks to continue his stellar junior season with a shot at one of the 20 individual medals or, at the least, one of the qualifying spots to the state meet. The top four boys and girls teams in Class AAA and AA qualify for the PIAA finals with the 20 non-team qualifying runners also advancing.
The Southmoreland boys seem to be hitting their familiar late-in-the season stride. Chris Kiefer and Nick Barron both finished in the top 10 in last week’s Freedom Invitational, the recognized precursor for the Class AA race. The Scotties finished third out of 20 teams.
Brownsville’s Erika Coffey is the reigning county champion and will look to build on that finish with another WPIAL medal. The sophomore placed sixth at the Freedom Invitational with Beth-Center’s Chelsey Hunt not too far behind.
The Class AA girls race begins at 1:45 p.m. with the remaining races scheduled to begin 45 minutes past the start of the previous race. The PIAA Championships will be held Saturday, Nov. 5 at Hersheypark Stadium.