Carei sets the pace to win first FCCA title
The boys take off from the starting line Thursday in the Fayette County Coaches Association (FCCA) Cross Country Championships held Thursday at Penn State Fayette, The Eberly Campus.
John F. Brothers | Herald-Standard
Uniontown assistant coach Joe Carei (back) gives encouragement to his son Braden Carei during Thursday’s FCCA Cross Country Championships at Penn State Fayette, The Eberly Campus. Carei finished first with a time of 17:57.78.
Brownsville's Ricky Brown (left) and Laurel Highlands' Gregg Maruca run stride-for-stride in the second mile of Thursday's FCCA Cross Country Championships at Penn State Fayette, The Eberly Campus.
Uniontown's Patrick Hager passes Connellsville's Devin Morrison in the home stretch to finish fourth in the FCCA Cross Country Championships Thursday at Penn State Fayette, The Eberly Campus.
Uniontown's Paul Klatt crosses the finish line to take second with a time of 18:06.77 in the FCCA Cross Country Championships Thursday at Penn State Fayette, The Eberly Campus.
Braden Carei felt his time was a little off Thursday afternoon, but the Uniotown senior’s pace was strong enough to hold off the field to finish first in the FCCA Cross Country Championships at Penn State Fayette, The Eberly Campus in a winning time of 17:57.78.
Teammate Paul Klatt finished second in 18:06.77 and the 1-2 punch led the Red Raiders to the team title with 26 points.
Except for last Tuesday’s thunderstorm, most of the cross country season has had pleasant conditions for racing. The weather took a turn for the worse on Uniontown’s home course with cool, breezy conditions.
“It was pretty windy in spots. The wind was blowing when we were running down the back hill,” explained Carei, who finished fifth in the last two county championships.
To the surprise of Carei, teammate Patrick Hager set the early pace on the course that was altered due to construction of the Roaring Lions’ baseball field.
“I didn’t expect Patrick to go out leading,” said Carei. “I felt controlled through the first mile. Through the second mile, I had a struggle to get going. I could feel I was losing my lead on the last mile. I needed to work that last hill harder.”
The county meet was Carei’s last on his home course.
“I’m not going to say I’ll miss this course, but I’ll miss what we’ve done here. I have a lot of good running memories,” said Carei.
Brownsville’s Ricky Brown finished third with a time of 18:17.87. He used the previous runs against Uniontown to set his pace.
“I tried to stick with (Carei). I knew he was 20 seconds ahead of me,” said Brown, a junior who finished 11th last year. “When I hit the second mile, I told myself ‘Now, it’s time to kick it in.'”
The Falcons’ home course at Hillman Park is very hilly, so Brown wanted to use the grades to his advantage.
“Hills are my advantage. I usually catch up to people,” said Brown.
The best battle occurred for fourth place between Hager and Connellsville’s Devin Morrison. Morrison’s legs got caught up on themselves after he clipped his calf, giving Hager the slight edge he needed to finish fourth in 18:29.0. Morrison was fifth in 18:29.89.
“I tried not to fall on my face,” said Morrison. “My plan was to start slower, pick it up in the second mile and pick it up in the third mile, no matter what anyone else did.
“Pat (Hager) was who I was shooting for. I almost had him.”
The Falcons’ Chris Stahl was sixth with a time of 18:37.67. He finished 13th last year as a freshman.
“I took it out faster and tried to hold on, and see what happens,” Stahl said of his race strategy. “I wanted to give everyone else a run for their money.”
Laurel Highlands’ Gregg Maruca, who finished seventh in 18:40.29, said his race was divided into a couple portions.
“I felt comfortable the first half. The second half seemed different. I didn’t feel comfortable. I didn’t feel like it was my race I was running,” said Maruca. “I started to count people. I was playing not to lose.”
Frazier’s Nyoah Marteny was on the bubble about halfway through the race, but picked up the pace to finish eighth in 18:46.64.
“I was set on that top 10,” said Marteny. “I gave all I had on the last hill.”
Uniontown’s Justin Hostetler was ninth in 18:52.90, six seconds ahead of teammate Evan Klatt.
NOTES: Brandon Bogus was the first Albert Gallatin runner to finish, placing 18th in a time of 19:45.30.
… Uniontown’s Austin Metts won the junior varsity race in 19:27.84. … Laurel Highlands’ Brendon Kopich held off Connellsville’s Logan Gonzalez to win the junior high race in 10 minutes.