ERIE – The Bradford Owls’ cross country team kicked off their
season with a second place finish at the McDowell Invitational on
Saturday.
The Owls scored 57 points. Erie Cathedral Prep had 54
first-place points.
“We ran pretty well, placing our top seven runners in the first
21places but Prep packed their guys closer than we did,” Bradford
coach Tom Tessena said.
Bradford’s Jared Feura was second overall.
“Jared ran a great race with a time of 17:08 on the 3.1-mile
course,” the coach noted. “All our varsity guys did a good job
under tough conditions.”
Colton Langianese was 11th in 17:43.
“Freshmen Matthew and Michael White had outstanding races for
their first varsity opportunity,” the coach added. “Matthew was our
third man with a 17:45 clocking and 13th place overall and his
brother Michael was our fifth man at 17:57 for 17th place. These
guys did well for anyone let alone freshmen.”
Shroy Mukerjee had his best race ever with a 14th place finish
in 17:53 while Rich Bartlebaugh took 18th in 17:57.
“We were pleased to have six runners under 18 minutes in the
first race of the year,” Tessena emphasized.
Mike Foerstner also medaled with a 21st place finish in
18:01.
“Some of the boys went out a little too fast on the first mile
and paid for it on the second mile,” Tessena declared. “We finished
pretty strong. We did well for the first meet.
“I think some of our seniors were surprised by how well Matthew
and Michael White ran. Hopefully they (our seniors) will pick up
their pace.
“We can be very good this year but we need everyone to work hard
and improve if we are going to beat the big boys. We beat McDowell,
Butler and Central Catholic of Pittsburgh, but we let Prep get
away.
“Our times were a lot better than last year at this meet and the
weather was good last year. Jared improved 36 seconds under tough
conditions and Bartlebaugh was 62 seconds faster. Mukerjee had a
26-second improvement and Langianese was nine seconds better.
The Owls’ JV team placed third out of 12 full teams, losing to
Prep and McDowell.ð
“We had all five of our guys win medals,” the coach said.
Freshman Adam Barnes had a great run, taking seventh place in
19:01. Sophomores John Karrasch and Patrick Perschke placed 17th
and 18th in 19:34 and 19:37, respectively.
Freshmen Corey Little and Evan Feura were 21st and 22nd in
identical times of 19:47.
“This race was the last race of the day and was run in the worst
weather conditions with heavy rain and wind,” Tessena pointed out.
“That makes these times even better.
“I can see someone from this group challenging for a varsity
spot. Karrasch improved his time over last year by 37 seconds.
“We also had a pretty good showing from our 7th and 8th grade
runners. Although they only placed 10th of 11 full teams, they ran
good.”
Zach Acton was a medal winner with a strong race, taking seventh
place in a time of 11:17 for the 1.77-mile course.
“There were over 100 runners so Zach made a pretty good
accounting of himself,” Tessena said.
Alex Fair placed 28th in 12:11, Anthony Graves and Jamie
Karrasch placed 44th and 45th in the same time of 13:13 and Tyler
Carlson took 67th in 14:54.
The Owl Runner of the Meet was Feura and the Most Improved Owl
Award was a tie between Matthew and Michael White.
Bradford hosts DuBois on Tuesday.
The meet will get under way at 4:15 p.m. with the 7th and 8th
grade race. The varsity girls race will begin around 4:40 and it
will be followed by the boys race.
Spectators are reminded to come after 4 p.m. to allow for
dismissal traffic from George G. Blaisdell Elementary School.
