Bradford High remained unbeaten at 3-0 with a 21-37 triumph over
rival Punxsutawney in girls cross country action Tuesday.
Sarah Lonzi once again powered the Lady Owls, claiming the 5K
(3.1 miles) race in 19:20.
“Sarah continues to be very consistent in her running – no
matter what type of course she runs,” praised Bob Macfarlane, BHS
coach.
Punxsy’s Jera Mennetti grabbed the second slot in a time of
20:37.
“The meet was an exciting race with both teams posting personal
records for many of the runners,” Macfarlane pointed out. “It’s
just a good old rivalry between these two teams. They push each
other to do well and both teams seem to feed off of each
other.”
Capturing the third and fourth positions with personal best
times were Bradford’s Renee Cavallaro and Erica Pascarella, both at
20:45.
“Both these girls are in a zone with their running,” Macfarlane
commented. “Their times are improving and, mentally, both are
getting stronger. They are now ninth on the list of top 20 varsity
times on the GGB course.”
Lady Chuck Jessica Duffell broke up Bradford’s pack with a
fifth-place time of 20:49.
Lady Owls’ Paige Ambrose (21:12), Liz Keller (21:40, 19th on top
20 list) and freshman Marissa Buchheit (22:14) then took the sixth,
seventh and eighth spots to seal the victory.
“These girls (Ambrose, Keller, Buchheit) had a great night,”
Macfarlane remarked. “They have wonderful attitudes and commitment
to the team. Their times are improving and they are a key
ingredient for our team to be successful.”
Rounding out the top 10 were Punxsy’s M. Wehrle (22:22) and M.
Dobson (22:31).
Also finishing strong for the Lady Owls were Megan Prosser
(23:00, 13th), Brittni Wiseman (23:13, personal best), Megan Foster
(24:02, 17th) and Shannon Taylor (25:25, personal best).
“(Prosser and Wiseman) are steadily improving and learning the
ropes of running a cross country meet,” Macfarlane said. “With more
experience they will continue to get better.”
Overall, the Lady Owls coach was pleased with his team.
“The girls ran hard tonight. They know that Punxsy always gives
them a tough meet, but they didn’t back down. To beat Punxsy is a
credit to their dedication to the program.”
The middle school race saw Fretz stay perfect with a 19-37 win
over Punxsy as Lady Falcons Lisa Lau (11:00) and Lauren Baushart
(11:00, personal best) shared first and Ally Szczupak was third in
11:30.
Sealing the win were Mahita Gajanan (6th, 12:37), Kaitlin Barton
(7th, 12:48) and Brigid Colligan (14:36).
Lau and Baushart are tied for seventh on the list of top times
at the GGB course in middle school racing.
Bradford is back in action Saturday at the Franklinville (N.Y.)
Invitational, where the Lady Owls will look to improve on last
year’s third-place finish.
