On Oct. 7, the boys and girls cross country teams both blew out Penns Valley at Circleville Park. Led by Stephen Fowler’s course record time of 16:42, the boys team had nine of the top ten finishers. The girls team also produced the meet’s individual champion, Emma Raish, and had 19 of the top 20 finishers.
Fowler has impressed all season, but consistently finished behind fellow senior Isaac Oppermann. Without having to worry about the upcoming Mid-Penn Championship Meet, Fowler took the opportunity to give this race everything he had.
Senior Vinnie Lafrazza-Schwartz was impressed but unsurprised by Fowler’s great performance. “I’m not surprised,” Lafrazza-Schwartz said. “He’s in great shape, everyone’s in great shape, and we’re doing some crazy things this year so I’m not I’m not too surprised but I’m very proud of him.”
The time of 21:48 out of Raish, a sophomore, was the more surprising result of the evening. “Her [Raish’s] strategy today worked out, she’s been moving up through the ranks little by little throughout the season and it’s exciting to see her come together toward the end [of the season],” Head Coach Rebecca Donaghue said.
With most runners pacing for Mid-Penns, the night was primarily focused on celebrating the teams’ 21 total seniors. In an informal poll of the Boys Cross Country Team’s non-seniors, Lafrazza-Schwartz, Oppermann and Owen Coughlin were tagged as the boys program’s best leaders.
“Owen Coughlin is a good senior leader because he’s an approachable person to talk to on the team and a great friend,” junior Schaffer Sohn said. Sophomore Kyle Fritzsche agreed and also mentioned Oppermann as a leader by example with his performance in races.
Donaghue will miss the entire senior class and the camaraderie it brought to the rest of the team. “We have an incredible group of seniors, they’re devoted to their team and they see it as an extension of their family. They have a lot of fun together, they work hard, it’s the whole package with this group,” Donaghue said.
On the girls side, Clare Banker is one of the team’s best senior leaders. In her advice to younger runners at the senior night ceremony, Banker said, “The loudest cheerer is just as important as the fastest runner,” which shows the spirit of the entire cross country program.
While both teams have had playoff success, cross country is a sport that lends itself to non-traditional athletes getting involved. Last year, current senior Genavieve Clayton was selected to the PMEA All-State Chorus and PMEA District Orchestra, but also joined the girls cross country team. She was welcomed with open arms and has enjoyed her experience over the past two seasons.
Junior Matt Morningstar has been on the team since his freshman year and hopes that other non-athletes take an interest in cross country. “100% of cross country is your mindset before, during and after the race,” Morningstar said.
Mindset, a trait completely independent from athletic skill, is something that the cross country team preaches and hopes that more State High students will work to improve.
Both the boys and girls teams rolled through the Mid-Penn Championship meet capturing team victories and now move on to the District VI Championship on Oct. 26.
