Flight of the Falcon

Connellsville’s Pritts earns 1st FCCA title

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Jonathan Guth | Herald-Standard Uniontown won the team title on Thursday in the Fayette County Coaches Association (FCCA) Cross Country Championships at Penn State Fayette, The Eberly Campus.

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Jonathan Guth | Herald-Standard The top 10 finishers in the boys varsity Fayette County Coaches Association (FCCA) Cross Country Championships held Thursday at Penn State Fayette, The Eberly Campus, earned all-county status. Kneeling from left are the top-five place winners: Connellsville’s Ellic Pritts (first), Belle Vernon’s Leonidas Soto (second), Uniontown’s Ezra Batovsky (third) and Matthew Page (fourth) and Laurel Highlands’ Noah Hudock (fifth). Standing from left are the sixth through 10th placers: The Mustangs’ Mason Mahoney (sixth), the Red Raiders’ Logan Davis (seventh), Laurel Highlands’ Ryan Filcheck (eighth), Albert Gallatin’s Brock Mace (ninth) and LH’s Wil Skowronski (10th).

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Jonathan Guth | Herald-Standard Uniontown’s Ezra Batovsky surges to the finish line in the final straightaway on Thursday in the Fayette County Coaches Association (FCCA) Cross Country Championships at Penn State Fayette, The Eberly Campus.

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Ellic Pritts set a course record as a freshman last year in the Fayette County Coaches Association (FCCA) Cross Country Championships.

Unfortunately for the Connellsville harrier, his mark of 16:43.10 on the Falcons’ home course was bested by Uniontown’s Ethan Syner, who won the title in 16:39.20.

Syner has graduated and is currently competing for Point Park University, which opened the door for a new champion on Thursday at Penn State Fayette, The Eberly Campus.

Pritts took advantage of his opportunity and earned his first county title in covering the 5K (3.1 mile) course in 17:58.9.

Inclement weather earlier in the week and on the day of the race created slippery conditions for all competitors, which resulted in slower times.

Pritts, and the majority of the field, didn’t break their PRs (personal records), but he was able to distance himself in the last half-mile from Belle Vernon’s Leonidas Soto and Uniontown’s Ezra Batovsky for the victory.

“I was able to pull away a little going up a hill before finishing,” Pritts said. “I felt pretty comfortable with my pace, but I did fall one time because the course was pretty bad because of the weather. Everyone was slipping and sliding.”

The Falcons won’t compete in the Tri-State Invitational next Thursday, but will take on the course at White Oak Park on Oct. 29 in the WPIAL Championships. Connellsville will compete in Class 3A.

Pritts ran his PR of 16:37.90 on Sept. 11 at the Red, White & Blue Classic, which was held on the course at White Oak Park. His goal for the season is to lower his time and qualify for the state meet.

Soto, who was third in the FCCA championships last year while also breaking the course record at Connellsville in 16:45.40, was the runner-up in 18:21. Batovsky came in third at 18:33.7.

Soto made all-county (top 10) for the third straight season. He was sixth as a sophomore two years ago.

Batovsky was just outside the all-county mark last year in placing 11th, but the senior jumped eight places in his final FCCA race.

Teammate Matthew Page was on Batovsky’s heels in a time of 18:37.8 for fourth place. Page, a junior, was fifth place last season.

Laurel Highlands’ Noah Hudock and Mason Mahoney were fifth and sixth in times of 18:51.6 and 19:09.6 before the Red Raiders’ Logan Davis crossed the finish line in seventh place at 19:20.5.

Davis, a senior, was also all-county as a freshman and junior. Hudock, a junior, made the top 10 for the second straight year. Mahoney, a sophomore, improved from his 12th-place finish in last season’s FCCA event.

Albert Gallatin’s Brock Mace was sandwiched between the Mustangs’ Ryan Filcheck and Wil Skowronski in ninth place with a time of 19:29.4. Mace, a senior, made all-county for the first time.

Filcheck was eighth in 19:25.2 and Skowronski rounded out the top 10 in 19:31.7. Filcheck, who raced his final time in the FCCA meet, placed in the top 10 as a freshman and junior prior to this season. Skowronski, a sophomore, earned all-county honors for the first time.

Uniontown won the team championship with 35 points to top Laurel Highlands, who had 41. The Mustangs had defeated the Red Raiders earlier this season in a section meet by one point. Uniontown lost to the Falcons by one point at the same competition.

Red Raiders coach Joe Everhart wasn’t 100% sure how many consecutive FCCA championships his boys team has won off the top of his head, but the veteran of the sport believed it to be at least five.

Everhart was pleased with his team’s effort in earning the title after they lost to their crosstown rivals and Connellsville earlier in the year.

“They put in a real hard week last week,” Everhart said. “We just wanted to make sure they were physically ready. We kind of eased up this week to keep their legs fresh. They responded really well to the work that was put in.

“I am just really proud of them for how they ran today. It was nice to come back and respond after losing to those teams earlier in the year.”

Uniontown’s top five averaged a time of 19:12.8 and it had a gap of 1:15.6 from Batovsky to freshman Lorenzo Carei, who finished fifth for Everhart’s squad and 12th overall in 19:49.3. Teammate and fellow ninth grader Bridger Hug was fourth for the Red Raiders and 11th overall in 19:42.3.

“Ezra (Batovsky) ran really hard today,” Everhart said. “We knew that many PRs weren’t going to be set due to the course being so wet.”

Red Raiders senior Zachary Fisher was 13th in 19:52.6. Junior Locklan McCune rounded out Uniontown’s top seven in 22nd place with a time of 20:57.7.

The Red Raiders’ Stephen Chapley won the junior varsity race in 20:52.2.

Connellsville’s Camden Basinger won the junior high race in a PR of 8:15.7. The middle school race is 1.5 miles.

Laurel Highlands won the junior high team title with 40 points. Bellmar (Belle Vernon Area) was second with 52.