ST. MARYS — A sweep in team scoring was a good start, but the Bradford boys cross country team’s top three runners ensured Tuesday’s season-opening meet would be one to remember.
Manny Diaz, Leo Paterniti and Brayden Frair ran a clean sweep of a quad meet with St. Marys, Kane and Smethport. They finished first, second and third, respectively, to pace the field.
“It is rare to have your guys take the first three places and Bradford hasn’t done it for quite awhile,” Bradford coach Tom Tessena said. “The last time I remember was in 2009 with Matthew and Michael White and Adam Barnes. If our three guys run as good as those three, that will be remarkable.”
Diaz, the defending District 9 champion in cross country, picked up where he left off in the spring track season by posting a strong time of 17:26. Paterniti crossed the line in 17:40 and Frair followed in 17:54.
“This was a great start for these guys and they are looking forward to a big meet at Lock Haven University this Saturday,” Tessena said.
Bradford defeated St. Marys, 25-30, while also beating Kane (17-36) and Smethport (15-45). St. Marys defeated both Kane and Smethport.
Five St. Marys runners finished bunched behind the Bradford trio, including Wyatt Foster (18:16) and Augus Secco (18:23), who were fourth and fifth, respectively. Brandon Henry (18:43), Jacob Neidimyer (18:47) and Nick Hayes (18:48) rounded out the top eight, and Brayden Byham of Kane was ninth in 19:38.
Bradford’s Joe Caruso finished 10th in 19:49, while Marcus Terwilliger was 12th and Danny Marasco was 15th.
“Ian Pilon was not able to run (Tuesday) due to illness and he will help us when he gets back in there,” Tessena said. “St. Marys showed that they will be a tough team to beat at Districts this year.”
Bradford’s middle school team grabbed five of the top six places in its competition, including Evan Troisi, who finished fist in 10:59 on the 1.75-mile course. Kadyn Tessena (11:12) was second, Evan Soto (11:22) was third and Maverick Smith (11:40) was fourth.
Tyler Simmons edged Issac Bailey of Smethport for fifth, each runner finishing in 11:53.
“This was the first race for four of these guys, with only Kadyn Tessena and Evan Soto back from last years undefeated middle school squad,” Tom Tessena said. “These guys have been working all summer like the varsity so they are going to be very good by the end of this year. They are really serious about becoming strong runners.”
The Owls will travel to Lock Haven on Saturday for an invitational.
