The Tyrone Area cross country teams traveled to Alexandria to run against the host Juniata Valley, mount Union and Bald Eagle Area on Tuesday.
The boys team swept all three schools, defeating Juniata Valley 18-28, Bald Eagle Area 15-50 and Mount Union 15-43 to even their record at 4-4.
The girls defeated Mount Union 25-30, lost by a single point to Bald Eagle Area 29-28 and were trimmed by Juniata Valley 30-27 in three very close team races. The Lady Eagles 1-2 showing leaves them with a 2-6 mark.
Jim Gehret finished second overall for the Eagles in the boys race in 21:40. Nathan Barber finished third in 21:57, Dane McCloskey was fifth in 22:26, Chris Bradigan sixth in 22:54 and Eric Sweet finished seventh in 22:58 to give Tyrone five of the top seven racers. John Wiser finished 21st.
Sam McCloskey finished in 15th with a 25:23, Nick Barndt was 19th in 27:59 and Joe Miller was 20th in 31:27 to round out the top 20 for the Golden Eagles.
Preston Bittinger of Bald Eagle Area, finished first overall in 20:36, while Brandon Hall was the top racer for Juniata Valley, with a fourth place finish in 22:03.
Our boys did an awesome job today,” said Tyrone coach Tammy Snyder. “They all ran great races. Jim, Nathan, Dane, Eric and Chris are running very close and that’s what we need. Sam, Nick, Joe and John all ran their best race so far this season. They are really coming together as a team and going out and getting it done. We still have a long way to go in the season, so they should all just keep getting better ad better.”
In the girls’ race, Erin Langenbacher finished in second place overall for the Lady Eagles in 26:27. Rebecca Mogle ran a 26:44 good for fourth, and Emily Ingle was just behind in 26:47 for fifth. Adeena Harbst (21st) and Amber Davis (22nd) also finished the race for Tyrone.
Katie Weko of Juniata Valley, won the race in 22:48 and Molly Jozefick of Bald Eagle Area finished third in 26:41. Mount Union’s top racer was Jen Ryan, who finished ninth overall in 29:53.
“I was really happy with our girls,” said Snyder. “Erin, Rebecca and Emily in particular, ran very well and are running tight. We are working on the gap between our third and fourth runners, but I am sure Adeena and Amber will be able to step up and do that. Amber is showing great improvement with each race and she started a little later than the other girls.”
Next up for the Eagle cross country teams will be the Lion at Altoona, beginning at 9 a.m. on Saturday.
