Nov 2, 2025 By Jonathan Guth 4 min read

HERSHEY — After running the race of his life, Uniontown’s Ethan Syner had to complete one more task before heading home: Go to Hershey’s Chocolate World.

Syner has the capability to run to Chocolate World, but if anyone deserved a trip in a motorized vehicle, it was the Red Raiders’ captain.

The senior completed the challenging Parkview Cross Country Course, which is so close to Chocolate World the competitors can almost smell the aroma of candy, in 17:02.

Syner finished 19th out of 242 entries in the PIAA Class 2A Boys Cross Country Championship to earn a spot on the podium that is awarded to the top 25 placewinners.

As expected, the race began at a blistering pace, and Syner was in 38th place at the half-mile mark with a time of 2:18. He slipped to 41st when passing the one-mile mark in 5:02, but gained ground on the field at each checkpoint.

“The pace was so fast at the start, but you have to get out early or you will get stuck behind the pack,” Syner said. “I have run under five minutes for a mile split before, but it was at the White Oak Park course, which is so much faster than this course because it’s mostly flat.”

Syner was 30th at the halfway point (2.5 kilometers) in 8:18 and remained in the same spot after reaching the two-mile mark in 10:44. He was 27th at 13:32 with one kilometer remaining and gave everything he had in the last 1,000 meters to cross the finish line, as his legs nearly gave out from the effort.

Syner, who has admitted that his strongest asset isn’t his kick, gutted through the final straightaway.

“It was so close from my place to the top 10,” Syner said. “It was probably about five seconds. We all came into the finishing chute together.”

Syner ran on the Parkview course last year, as the Red Raiders qualified as a team, but he didn’t have his best performance and placed 50th in 17:28.

This year’s A.J. Everhart Invitational winner and Fayette County Coaches Association (FCCA) champion credits the hill workouts that Uniontown coach Joe Everhart puts the team through, and a strong base that is built in the summer with helping prepare him for the state meet.

“I was confident this year because I knew what to expect from the course,” Syner said. “This course favors runners that can do well on hills, which we work on all the time.”

Fittingly, Syner wore his Kit Kat socks in Hershey. He still has track season in the spring, which may or may not have the same effect, but if Saturday’s race was the last time they will be worn in competition, Syner will take it. Everhart has plans of having Syner’s socks enshrined in Uniontown cross country lore.

“Joe Evehart is having me donate a pair of my favorite running socks and putting them in a frame,” Syner said.

Teammate Logan Davis also competed in the state meet last year, and the junior was nearly a minute faster this time in crossing the finish line in 18:10 for 99th place. Davis passed 18 runners in the last kilometer for a strong finish.

“I would have liked to be a little higher in the first part of the race, but considering how many runners there were, I was fine with how I did,” Davis said. “It is a good feeling to be able to run in the state meet for a second straight year.”

Davis and Syner are both on the swim and track teams, and are about ready to get into the pool. Davis also plays soccer for the Red Raiders.

“My dad was the swimming coach at Uniontown for a couple of years,” Davis said. “I do swimming mostly to stay in shape for when we start running again because it is supposed to help with your lungs, but I also do it because he did it and enjoyed it, so I figured I should try it.”

Belle Vernon junior Leonidas Soto was 47th in his first state meet in a time of 17:35 in boys Class 2A.

West Greene freshman Joel Grimes was 83rd with a time of 18:32 in the Class A boys race. California junior Carter Kent was 86th in Class A boys at 18:36.