The Mountain Athletic Conference Cross Country Regional Meet was run at Altoona on Tuesday afternoon at the Logan course. Tyrone and Bellwood-Antis, the two local squads, were joined by the host Altoona, Bishop Guilfoyle and Hollidaysburg. Running regardless of school size with everybody thrown into one group, Altoona placed six runners in the top 10 to claim the championship with 24 points, followed by Bellwood-Antis with 75, Hollidaysburg with 80, Bishop Guilfoyle with 82 and Tyrone with 115. Altoona and Hollidaysburg are Triple-A schools in cross country and B-A, Tyrone and BG are Double-A.
Aaron Houck was the top runner for the Golden Eagles with a fourth place in 18:25. Other scorers for Tyrone were Bradley McNeal (29th in 20:50), Philip Kreckle (30th in 20:56), Jonathan Bishop (48th in 22:25), Jacob Smerekar (63rd in 24:16), Randall Wilson (67th in 25:54) and Caleb Dillon (68th in 25:57).
“I am very happy with the way all the boys ran” said Tyrone cross country coach Tammy Wills. “We were short four of our key boys tonight which hurt our overall score. However, we had several boys step up to fill in the gaps. Aaron Houck finished fourth overall,. He ran a very smart race, and it showed. He looked great today. Bradley McNeal was our top freshman, which got him an award for one of the top five freshmen (third) as he finished 29th overall, with Phil Kreckle right behind him. This was one of Phil’s better races. He went out hard and never let up. Jonathan Bishop and Jake Smerekar did the same, coming up with personal records. Randy Wilson returned for his first race after almost a month and Caleb Dillon did a nice job as well.”
Bellwood-Antis was first among three Double-A schools and second overall.
Josh Ervine in 11th place was the top Blue Devil finisher in 19:16, followed by Jamey Rimmey in 13th place in 19:20. Eli Colyer was 18th in a time of 19:47, Brandon Beech was right behind in 19th place in 19:58 and Liam Flynn was the fifth B-A runner in 27th place in 20:36. Other Bellwood-Antis runners included Ronnie Wilson (31st), Talon Sickler (35th), Corey Miller (36th), Dustin Harris (39th), Tyler Hunter (42nd), Tyler Elvey (44th), Garret Wyland (45th), Brad Rydbom (46th), John Wolfe (47th) Josh Hanna (51st), Troy Byers (55th), Josh Rimmey (62nd), Jordan Miller (64th), Josh Keagy (65th), Ryan Wolfe 69th), Don Partner (70th) and Adam Hanna (72nd).
“I was really pleased with the way our boys ran,” said Bellwood-Antis coach Julia Roseborough. “They have had a pretty good season, but have just had a few things here and there keep them from doing their best. Today, they ran the way they are capable of doing. When we run at the MAC Division meet next week, they need to perform like they did today and push for the Division IV title.”
Blue Devil freshmen Talon Sickler (fourth among freshmen) and Corey Miller (fifth) both were among the five freshmen winning the Freshmen Awards.
Altoona’s Zack Epple was the first racer across the finish line in 17:16 followed by Philip Pope of Hollidaysburg in 18:12 and Zach Lonsinger of Altoona in 18:14.
Tyrone senior Emily Ingle was the top runner in the girls’ race finishing in 20:47. Other runners for the Lady Eagles, who finished fifth overall, were Francesca Lambert (34th in 27:44), Amber Davis (43rd in 28:33), Paige Black (47th in 30:04) and Salena Bradigan (50th in 31:02). Tyrone finished fifth in the girls race.
“Emily Ingle ran a great race today,” said coach Wills. “She also ran a very smart race, She knew what she needed to do going into it and that’s what she did and it worked. Francesca Lambert did a super job. She had taken some time off because of an injury, but came back today really strong, as did Salena Bradigan. This was also her first race back and she did a super job. Amber Davis had one of her best races I have ever seen her run. She ran a hard race and had a strong finish, gaining several places in the last 100 yards. Amber was followed by Paige Black who also did very well. I am proud of all of them.”
Sarah Bell was the top Lady Blue Devil just barely cracking the top 10 with a 10th place finish overall in 22:22. Becca Colyer was 16th, Kelly Killinger finished 17th just behind, Emily O’Shea was 19th and Brittany Webb was 25th for the Lady Blue Devils, who finished fourth in the girls’ race, just three points behind Bishop Guilfoyle.
“The girls did a nice job today,” said Roseborough. “Emily O’Shea ran a really great race, beating girls that she lost to earlier in the season. Brittany Webb came back and had a nice race after a few bad races, due to illness. This was a good day for all the runners-good weather, not too hot or too cold, a chance to get some of the 15 individual medals and some nice snacks provided by the Altoona people who hosted the race.”
Lady Blue Devils’ Kelly Killinger (fourth) and O’Shea (fifth) were among the ninth grade girls who received Freshman Awards.
