ALTOONA — Several teams around the county competed at the 23rd annual Ben Bloser Bulldog Cross-Country Invitational in Altoona on Sept. 15.
BELLEFONTE
The Bellefonte boys’ team finished 17 out of 27 competing AA teams, while the girls’ team placed ninth out of 18 AA teams.
Sophomore Austin Melius was the team’s top runner at the event, earning a 21st-place finish with a time of 17:56. Freshman Eric Bennett (19:36) and sophomore Jon Decker (19:52) placed in the top 100 of the boys’ division.
The girls’ team was led by freshman Mia Elmore’s time of 22:40. Elmore placed 30th.
Junior Amber Shirey and senior Katheryn Morgate each placed in the top 50 at the meet.
PHILIPSBURG-OSCEOLA
The PO boys’ team finished the meet 21st out of 27 AA teams, while the girls’ team finished 14th out of 18. Senior Matthew Shimmel ran a team-best 19:70.
Other top scorers included eighth-grader Scott Frantz (19:45) and junior Josh Rea (20:38).
Samantha Bainey led the girls’ team with a 35th-place overall finish and time of 22:52. Junior Megan Kosut (22:59) and sophomore Natalie Shaw (26:36) rounded out the scoring for the Lady Mounties.
ST. JOSEPH’S CATHOLIC ACADEMY
The Wolves finished in the top five in both the boys’ and girls’ races.
Junior Carter Kauffmann earned an overall first-place finish at the meet. Kaufmann posted a meet-best time of 16:52 to help the boys’ team finish third in the Class A division. Teammate Josh Hershbine finished right behind. The freshman ran a 17:22 to place second. Freshman Sam Palmer (19:52) placed 27th.
Seniors Julia Cusatis (19:31) and Sera Mazza (19:38) led the way for the girls’ team with finishes of seventh- and eighth-place. The Lady Wolves earned a fourth-place ranking in the AAA division.
PENNS VALLEY TAKES DOWN TYRONE
Both the boys’ and girls’ cross-country teams of Penns Valley came out victorious after competing on a challenging course at Tyrone High School on Sept. 12.
For the the Lady Rams, it was Kelsey Hull who won the race with a time of 22:30.
Karly Smith (24:48) took third place and Danielle Fetterolf finished fifth to help the Lady Rams earn the victory.
The boys’ team defeated Tyrone by a total of 33-22.
