Gonzales holds off Martin for section win
John F. Brothers | Herald-Standard
The gun sounds for the start of the boys Section 2-AAA cross country meet Tuesday at Penn State Fayette, The Eberly Campus.
Ringgold's Seth Martin finished second with a time of 17:36 in Tuesday's Section 2-AAA cross country meet at Penn State Fayette, The Eberly Campus.
Frazier's Nyoah Marteny finished third in Tuesday's Section 2-AAA cross country meet at Penn State Fayette, The Eberly Campus. Marteny's time was 17:43.
Connellsville's Logan Gonzales finished first in the boys Section 2-AAA meet at Penn State Fayette, The Eberly campus Tuesday afternoon with a winning time of 17:30.
Connellsville’s Logan Gonzales set the pace in Tuesday’s Section 2-AAA finale at Penn State Fayette, The Eberly Campus, and then held off a hard-charging Seth Martin for first place in 17:30.
While the Connellsville sophomore was sprinting to the finish line, Uniontown runners were gathering behind him to win the section title.
The Red Raiders defeated Laurel Highlands, 18-37, and Ringgold, 20-35, to finish 8-0 in the section. Connellsville also defeated the Mustangs (22-33) and Rams (18-36) to finish second, with its only loss coming to Uniontown.
Laurel Highlands and Ringgold both defeated Albert Gallatin, 15-50, and the Mustangs held on for a 21-34 win over the Rams.
Gonzales ran Uniontown’s home course last Saturday in the A.J. Everhart Invitational, so he knew what to expect.
“It felt slow. Those hills seem like they’re a lot longer,” said Gonzales.
Gonzales had a sizable lead for most of the middle portion of the course, but Martin nibbled at his deficit in the final mile.
“I just go out and run races,” Gonzales said of his approach. “If you lose, you lose. The other kid had a great race.
“Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t.”
Martin was on the redirected course for the first time, finishing in 17:36.
“It’s hard on a new course,” said Martin. “Give (Gonzales) a lot of credit. It’s (lead throughout a race) tough to do when you don’t know what’s going on behind you.
“I’d make the move on the downhill. I gained on him a little. He had a good lead at the start and he held it.”
Evan Klatt led the Red Raiders home in third place with a time of 17:46.
“I was going to go out with (Gonzales). That was my plan. I was lacking a little bit of a spring to get up those hills,” explained Klatt.
Cameron Klatt was out with an injury, so the team had to pick up his absence to win the section title.
“We had a little extra challenge coming into it. We knew what we had to do,” said Klatt. “It’s a pride thing. We want to uphold that anytime we run.”
Logan Maust (5, 17:55), Riley Gilleland (7, 18:00), Jonathan Desvarro (9, 18:13) and Austen Metts (10, 18:14) all had top-10 finishes to secure the section title.
Frazier’s Nyoah Marteny ran as an independent in the race, finishing third overall in 17:43. Marteny is still recovering from a leg injury suffered in track season.
“I didn’t start running until August,” said Marteny. “My main goal is to get back to where I was last year and see if I can build on that.”
Kyler Buckley was the top finisher for Laurel Highlands in sixth place with a time of 17:57. Albert Gallatin’s Brandon Bogus was 17th in 18:48.