CARLISLE – The Bradford Lady Owls’ cross country team placed 17th out of 38 teams at the Carlisle Invitational on Saturday.
“This was a very competitive race and all the girls ran extremely well,” BAHS coach Mark Kelley said. “I knew going in that there was going to be some fast times and it reminded me of the McQuaid races. There is never any chance to settle into a pace. We were without one of our top five runners, Morgan Whitlow, who was recovering from being sick and the other girls stepped up in her absence.”
Emily Little led the way placing 67th in a personal best time of of 21:01.
“Emily ran a great race,” Kelley said. “She has really run well the last few weeks, running personal bests in our last two invitationals. She is running great as we get into our important invitationals in Octobers.”
The time moves Little up to the seventh fastest time on the senior list.
Amanda Little was 87th in a personal best time of 21:21.
“Amanda continues to have a great year,” the coach said. “She works very hard in practice and is very dedicated to herself and the team.”
Shea Crissman was 92nd in a personal best time of 21:28.
“This was Shea’s best race of the year,” Kelley stated. “She is fearless in her running and isn’t afraid of the competition.”
The time is the ninth fastest for a freshman.
Bethany Bednez was 114th in a season-best 21:53.
“Bethany runs great when the weather starts to get cooler,” Kelley said. “She has put a nice string of races together and I’ll be looking to get her closer to Shea in the next few races.”
Cara Webster was 172nd in a personal best of 22:54.
“I can’t say enough of Cara,” Kelley noted. “She has been out of the sport for two years and has dropped over two minutes in time since the beginning of the year. She has been a great addition this year and I’m looking forward to the next month for her.”
Conner Gracey-Dalton was 220th in a personal best of 24:10 and Logan Sunafrank was 236th in 24:45.
“Their (Conner, Logan) improvement as the season continues is important for the development of the team as we get closer to districts,” Kelley said. “The course was very fast but challenging as both boys and girls course records were broken. It’s always good to get to meets as competitive as this one. The girls have to run hard from start to finish. It also helps for future races.”
The Lady Owls return to action Tuesday at Elk County Catholic.
