High School Cross Country category
Norwin notebook: Cross country coach honored as state’s best
Norwin is known for its almost year-round training for track and field and cross country. Running is a lifestyle at the school. Athletes scale hills, trek through wooded trails and circle the track, even in the winter when it is snowing. The man in charge of the training — he...
Norwin cross country teams head to regional meet with berth at nationals at stake
Norwin already has proven itself to the state by winning its first PIAA Class 3A cross country championship. Now, the mighty girls team will try to make its mark nationally. Norwin will compete at the Nike Cross Country Northeast Regional on Saturday at Bowdoin Park in Wappingers Falls, N.Y. The...
Quaker Valley runner fights through injuries to compete with WPIAL’s, state’s best
This is a story of perseverance and determination. Quaker Valley sophomore Lucy Montagnese, much like her other family members, loves to run. But Montagnese, unfortunately, wasn’t able to do much running during the 2025 cross country season because of a stress fracture in the second metatarsal of her left foot...
Shady Side Academy junior reflects on rewarding cross country season
Charlotte Barker chose to come back to cross country as a junior because she wanted to compete for a state title. The Shady Side Academy runner was able to leave a strong first impression, as an individual and with the Bulldogs collectively. “It was my first season, obviously,” Barker said....
Fox Chapel runners enthusiastic after productive cross country season
The Fox Chapel cross country program should be more energized going into the indoor track season after having a strong fall. The girls team won its first section title since 2023 and qualified for states as a team. On the boys side, the Foxes won their seventh consecutive section title...
Runner makes Gateway history at PIAA cross country meet
Piper Munyon made history in her debut run at the PIAA Class 3A cross country championships Nov. 1 on the Parkview Course in Hershey. The Gateway sophomore took seventh overall in a time of 18 minutes, 56 seconds. It was the best-ever PIAA finish by a Gators girls cross country...
State title for Jonah Montagnese caps season to remember for Quaker Valley cross country
Quaker Valley’s Jonah Montagnese was a virtual one-man wrecking crew in cross country this year. After a sensational regular-season, Montagnese ended his junior year on the off-road trails as a state champion. Montagnese finished the Hershey Park course on Nov. 1 in 16 minutes flat to edge Hughesville senior Tyce...
Shady Side Academy girls focus on team success, win program’s 1st cross country state title
Shady Side Academy girls cross country coach Jeff Perlis talked to Charlotte Barker and Josephine Lenart the night before the PIAA Class A championship race to discuss strategy. Both girls were among the favorites to cross the finish line first. Lenart and Barker had traded wins at meets back and...
Runners from Riverview, Plum reach goals at PIAA cross country meet
Ashton Saunders enjoyed the view from the medal stand at last year’s PIAA Class A cross country championships in Hershey. The goal in his return Nov. 1 was to not only get back to that position but also stand a little closer to the top. Both were achieved as the...
Hard work pays off for Jonah Montagnese, Quaker Valley teammates in WPIAL cross country gold
Jonah Montagnese turned on the jets and left the rest of the Class 2A boys field in his wake. The Quaker Valley junior won a WPIAL cross country title Oct. 23 by almost 26 seconds, finishing in a time of 15:08.70 at chilly White Oak Park. “Jonah ran an absolutely...
Sewickley Academy sophomore turns talent into WPIAL cross country title
Sewickley Academy sophomore Zachary Sharara took top honors in Class A at the WPIAL boys cross country championship Oct. 23 at White Oak Park. Sharara breezed to the title, running a time of 15:41.60. “I am so happy for Zak after the consistent daily commitment that he has shown over...
Norwin, Shady Side Academy girls, Quaker Valley’s Jonah Montagnese run to PIAA gold
Norwin girls cross country coach Brian Fleckenstein said he felt 100 or fewer points would be enough to win a PIAA championship. His girls did better than he expected Saturday at the PIAA Class 3A cross country champions at the Parkview course in Hershey. The Knights ran away with the...
Fox Chapel, Shady Side Academy runners find stride at WPIAL cross country meet
Fox Chapel girls cross country coach Tom Moul hoped the Foxes would make steady improvement throughout the season. Had you asked him if the team would reach the PIAA Class 3A championships as a team, Moul wouldn’t have necessarily anticipated that. During the WPIAL Class 3A championships at White Oak...
Hampton’s Rebekah Hall completes comeback with WPIAL cross country title
The Hampton girls didn’t repeat at the 2025 WPIAL Class 2A cross country championships, but they did rejoice. Junior Rebekah Hall, who last season helped the Talbots to their first-ever team title, became the first Hampton runner in 27 years to bring home a WPIAL individual cross country championship. One...
A-K Valley runners to vie for PIAA cross country medals
Saturday’s PIAA cross country championships in Hershey again will feature a cross section of experience over the six races. Several from the Alle-Kiski Valley are making return trips seeking medals and top finishes while other are making their debuts at the state’s climactic high school event. While Fox Chapel junior...
Hempfield boys, Norwin girls set sights on PIAA cross country gold
When Hempfield cross country coach Jeff Mayo first met his team in 2022, he knew this was a special group. Four years later, Mayo’s view was spot on. Hempfield won its first WPIAL Class 3A cross country title Oct. 23, and it heads to Hershey for the PIAA championships Saturday....
Norwin girls, Hempfield boys win WPIAL 3A cross country titles
Sirens were blaring Thursday afternoon in the Norwin and Hempfield school districts. That is because the schools’ cross country teams were given a huge welcome home with a firetruck parade after winning WPIAL Class 3A titles. The Norwin girls, Hempfield boys and Norwin sophomore Benjamin McBride were crowned champs. The...
Sewickley Academy, Shady Side Academy runners crowned WPIAL Class A cross country champs
Sewickley Academy sophomore Zachary Sharara and Shady Side Academy junior Charlotte Barker took top honors in Class A at the WPIAL cross country championship Thursday at White Oak Park. Sharara breezed to the title, running a 15:41.60. Mohawk senior Scott McConnell was second and Riverview junior Ashton Saunders was third....
Knoch’s French comes through at WPIAL cross country meet
Carter French said it was going to be a challenge to keep pace with Quaker Valley junior Jonah Montagnese in the Class 2A boys race at Thursday’s WPIAL cross country championships at chilly White Oak Park. The Knoch junior did his best in his quest for WPIAL gold, but Montagnese...
Sophomores from South Fayette, Norwin burst onto scene with WPIAL 3A cross country titles
South Fayette sophomore Angela Teng pulled away from the pack early and breezed to the WPIAL Class 3A girls cross country title Thursday at White Oak Park, shocking the field. “My plan was to stay with the pack and just make my move and trust my gut,” Zeng said. “When...
Dominant champs from Hampton, Quaker Valley run away with WPIAL 2A cross country gold
Rebekah Hall was thrust further into the WPIAL spotlight after last week’s title-winning performance at the Tri-State Coaches Association meet at White Oak Park. The Hampton junior came back to White Oak on Thursday with a goal to add a WPIAL title to her 2025 cross country resume. Mission accomplished....
Latrobe’s Charlie Heese, other Westmoreland County runners geared up for WPIAL cross country meet
Latrobe junior Charlie Heese opened some eyes when he won the Red, White and Blue Invitational at White Oak Park last month. When he returned six weeks later to compete in the Tri-State Track Coaches Association Invitational, he finished 15th. But Heese was not disappointed. He used the race as...
Knoch runner with eye on gold leads A-K Valley contingent into WPIAL cross country meet
Carter French has designs on winning a WPIAL Class 2A cross country championship Thursday at White Oak Park. The Knoch junior, who placed fifth in last year’s Class 2A race, has raised his level this fall with several first-place finishes in meets and invitationals. Last week, he built up a...
‘Incredible’ race from Jonah Montagnese leads Quaker Valley runners to MAC title
Jonah Montagnese shifted into cruise control toward the end of the Midwestern Athletic Conference cross country championships to lead Quaker Valley to the 2025 boys team title. The fleet-footed QV junior crossed the finish line in 15:26.9 at Brush Creek Park to defeat runner-up Lucas Bleakney of Ellwood City with...
Hampton’s Josh Wukitch motivated for return to WPIAL championships
Hampton’s top cross country runner is swapping a walking boot for racing spikes for the WPIAL Class 2A championships. Junior Josh Wukitch, who missed last year’s finals with a broken foot, is back to full strength and motivated for his return to the WPIAL meet Oct. 23 at White Oak...
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