McKeesport, Pa. – The Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League (WPIAL) held the WPIAL/UPMC Sports Medicine Girls’ Cross Country Championships on Thursday, Oct. 24 at White Oak Park in McKeesport. The afternoon brought new champions across the board outside of the Class 3A team competition, with four schools claiming their first champions in the sport.
At Class 3A, North Allegheny extended its streak to seven consecutive WPIAL girls’ cross country team championships, while Woodland Hills junior Annabel Johnson brought home her school’s first individual gold. The Tigers extended their league lead in team titles with their 18th, as they previously won in 1974, 1975, 1976, 1987, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023. Johnson is the first student-athlete at Class 3A to capture her school’s first individual championship since Lauren Finikotis of Oakland Catholic did so in 2015.
In Class 2A, Hampton emerged as a first-time champion on the team side, while Quaker Valley senior Cecilia Montagnese came home an individual champion. The Talbots are the 33rd different school to win a WPIAL girls’ cross country team championship, and the first new winner since Winchester Thurston in 2022. Montagnese pulls the Quakers into a tie with Neshannock with a league-record 10 WPIAL individual titles, joining the likes of Ellen Cogswell (1994), Julie Dickhans (2003), Maxine Markfield (2000, 2001, 2022) Sarah Miller (2009), Anna Pawloski (2016), and Annie Wicker (2017, 2018) as champions to hail from Quaker Valley.
At Class 1A, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart won its second team championship in four seasons, while Carlynton senior Bridget McNamara became her school’s first individual champion. Carlynton, along with Woodland Hills, are the 41st and 42nd different schools to produce a WPIAL girls’ cross country gold medalist.
The Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA) Girls’ Cross Country Championships will be held on Saturday, Nov. 2 at Parkview Cross Country Course in Hershey. The WPIAL qualifiers include the top three teams and top 15 individual runners outside of those teams in Class 2A and Class 3A, and the top four teams and top 20 individual runners outside of those teams in Class 1A.
CLASS 3A RECAP
The Class 3A race saw North Allegheny extend its streak to seven consecutive team championships, and Woodland Hills junior Annabel Johnson collect her school’s first cross country gold medal.
Johnson crossed the finish line in 17:57.1, which was 3.0 seconds faster than Moon senior Alyson Stepp in second and 5.1 seconds ahead of North Allegheny senior Robin Kucler in third. The rest of the top 10 was made up of South Fayette freshman Angela Zeng (18:16.1) in fourth, West Allegheny junior Grace Fritzman (18:17.3) in fifth, Pine-Richland senior Maren Iski (18:26.7) in sixth, Greater Latrobe senior Emerson Skatell (18:33.2) in seventh, Norwin junior Annie Czajkowski (18:36.2) in eighth, Fox Chapel sophomore Cecilia Ressler (18:48.4) in ninth, and Kiski Area senior Lauren Ciuca (18:49.1) in 10th.
North Allegheny (8-0, 7-0 Section III - Division I) finished with 76 points, pacing runner-up Norwin by 45. The Tigers were led by Kucler in third, followed by senior Elizabeth Pizon (12th, 18:56.8), senior Camille Swirsding (16th, 19:05.8), senior Kendall Lucas (18th, 19:12.7), and junior Elinor Hande (32nd, 19:46.0). Also competing for North Allegheny were sophomore Gabriela Pizon (33rd, 19:47.3) and junior Teresa Pagnotto (41st, 19:56.5).
Norwin (8-0, 8-0 Section I - Division I) claimed the runner-up spot with 121 points. After Czajkowski’s eighth-place finish, the Knights saw sophomores Addison Farrah (25th, 19:34.3), Emily Dansak (30th, 19:41.7), and Jillian Ryba (42nd, 20:03.8), and senior Anna Rakvic (58th, 20:35.7) count in the scoring.
South Fayette (8-0, 8-0 Section VI - Division I) earned the final PIAA team qualifier spot with 128 points. Zeng paced the Lions in fourth, followed by junior Madeline Stock (19th, 19:15.8), junior Abby Poe (22nd, 19:26.7), senior Siya Joshi (38th, 19:50.4), and junior Brenna Schmitz (51st, 20:28.9).
The remainder of the PIAA individual qualifiers were Upper St. Clair senior Meredith Rhodes (11th, 18:51.8), Greater Latrobe senior Carley Berk (13th, 18:57.9), Montour senior Joelle Ludwick (14th, 18:59.1), Mt. Lebanon senior Maeve McNamee (15th, 19:05.1), Mt. Lebanon senior Josie Engle (17th, 19:08.9), Moon junior Elise Ashcroft (20th, 19:16.8), Butler freshman Zari Golojuh (23rd, 19:26.8), and Fox Chapel freshman Ella Shevchuk (24th, 19:30.9).
CLASS 2A RECAP
The Class 2A race produced a new team champion in Hampton, while Quaker Valley senior Cecilia Montagnese outlasted the field for her school’s 11th individual title.
Montagnese finished the course in 17:56.2, besting Uniontown senior Grace Trimmer (18:15.2) by 19.0 seconds and Hampton senior Kevyn Fish (18:53.2) by 21.0 seconds. The remainder of the top 10 consisted of Southmoreland senior Lexi Ohler (19:32.7) in fourth, North Catholic freshman Anna Morris (19:39.5) in fifth, Quaker Valley freshman Lucy Montagnese (19:40.5) in sixth, Hampton sophomore Claire McKinney (19:46.6) in seventh, North Catholic freshman Caroline Sell (19:49.6) in eighth, Hampton senior Abby Hall (19:51.5) in ninth, and Hopewell senior Emma Palmieri (19:57.4) in 10th.
Hampton (8-1, 8-1 Section IV - Division II) won the team title with 65 points, topping section foe North Catholic by 10. The Talbots had Fish, McKinney, and Hall in the top 10 individually, with sophomores Rebekah Hall (22nd, 20:24.8) and Karina Bonnar (28th, 20:46.0) making up the rest of the scorers. Also running for Hampton were junior Marissa Bigante (40th, 21:18.7) and sophomore Charlee Sciulli (67th, 22:12.6).
North Catholic (9-0, 9-0 Section IV - Division II) collected 75 points to finish second. The Trojanettes had Morris and Sell in the top 10, and junior Sydney Dunn (19th, 20:15.6), freshman Maggie Killian (23rd, 20:25.9), and junior Tessa Driehorst (25th, 20:31.1) rounding out their scoring.
Quaker Valley (7-6, 5-5 Section II - Division II) netted the final PIAA team slot with 127 points. After Cecilia and Lucy Montagnese, the Quakers had sophomores Maggie Doz (15th, 20:08.1) and Kate Steinfurth (55th, 21:44.0), and senior Kwilai Karto (64th, 22:08.7) among their scorers.
The rest of the PIAA individual qualifiers were Oakland Catholic junior Allison Foster (11th, 19:59.1), Beaver senior Rylie Teapole (12th, 20:01.5), Laurel Highlands junior Isabella Baker (13th, 20:02.6), Belle Vernon freshman Brooklyn Steeber (14th, 20:08.1), Greensburg Salem senior Regan Kerr (16th, 20:09.6), Thomas Jefferson senior Sylvia Kashak (17th, 20:10.1), Uniontown freshman Charley Murtha (18th, 20:11.2), Derry senior Jane Huss (20th, 20:16.4), Ringgold sophomore Lily Brenneman (21st, 20:22.0), Laurel Highlands sophomore Taylor Schwertfeger (24th, 20:28.2), Oakland Catholic junior Anabell Evancho (26th, 20:33.3), and Chartiers Valley junior Sophie Kanownik (27th, 20:38.2).
CLASS 1A RECAP
The Class 1A race had Our Lady of the Sacred Heart win its second WPIAL team title, and Carlynton senior Bridget McNamara win her school’s first cross country individual championship.
McNamara crossed the line in 19:11.7, narrowly beating Fort Cherry senior Emily Frankovich (19:12.3) by 0.6 seconds, with Our Lady of the Sacred Heart senior Gianna Mosca (19:23.7) 12.0 seconds behind in third. The rest of the top 10 had Winchester Thurston junior Abigail Weinstein (19:32.0) in fourth, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart freshman Eva Crofford (19:52.2) in fifth, Eden Christian Academy senior Hope Haring (19:55.1) in sixth, Riverview senior Lily Bauer (19:56.1) in seventh, Grace Christian sophomore Mya DiMaio (20:20.4) in eighth, Carlynton freshman Lani Blevins (20:23.7) in ninth, and Winchester Thurston (20:24.7) in 10th.
Our Lady of the Sacred Heart (10-0, 10-0 Section II - Division II) finished with 52 points, topping runner-up Winchester Thurston by 10. The Chargers had Mosca and Crofford inside the top 10, with the rest of their scoring consisting of sophomores Mira Mosca (14th, 20:36.8), Lindsay Bressler (18th, 20:41.3), and Giada Hricisak (22nd, 21:10.7). Senior Margaret Sweeney (33rd, 21:45.2) and junior Charlotte Gauntner (34th, 21:47.5) also competed for Our Lady of the Sacred Heart.
Winchester Thurston (9-1, 9-1 Section II - Division II) tallied 62 points and was paced by Weinstein and Nixon in the top 10. The Bears also had freshman Currence Bigham (15th, 20:38.1), sophomore Indie Pascal (21st, 20:45.8), and senior Delia Brown (23rd, 21:14.6) among their scorers.
Carlynton (9-5, 8-2 Section II - Division II) finished third with 89 points. After McNamara’s victory and Blevins’ ninth-place effort, the Cougars saw junior Ava Pancake (27th, 21:21.4) and seniors Lana Mihelcic (38th, 22:03.3) and Grace Prepelka (39th, 22:03.8) score points for the team.
Eden Christian Academy (7-3, 7-3 Section II - Division II) captured the final PIAA team qualifier position with 128 points. Haring’s sixth-place finish led the Warriors, followed by sophomore Hannah Wallace (26th, 21:18.3), senior Georgia Groom (40th, 22:06.8), sophomore Nina Wygant (45th, 22:25.0), and junior Hailey Incorvatti (46th, 22:27.3).
The remainder of the PIAA individual qualifiers were Shady Side Academy freshman Marcelle Minutolo (11th, 20:28.2), Trinity Christian senior Teresa Conway-Phillips (12th, 20:33.7), Northgate sophomore Hope Stiteler (13th, 20:35.0), South Side sophomore Cascade Stobart (16th, 20:40.0), Seton LaSalle sophomore Julia Obara (17th, 20:41.3), Fort Cherry sophomore Lucia DeMicco (19th, 20:41.3), Greensburg Central Catholic freshman Ainsleigh Stickle (20th, 20:44.7), Sewickley Academy senior Hallie Dong (24th, 21:15.7), Laurel senior Valerie Hauser (25th, 21:17.7), California senior Lucia Meiss (28th, 21:25.4), Geibel Catholic junior Emma Larkin (29th, 21:26.7), Serra Catholic sophomore Emily Ruperto (30th, 21:34.9), Riverview freshman Kirsten Levarse (31st, 21:37.1), Shady Side Academy sophomore Nola Vadnais (32nd, 21:43.2), Northgate sophomore Emma Gratner (35th, 21:47.8), Riverview sophomore Hannah Hudack (36th, 21:49.6), and Neshannock sophomore Maria Dimuccio (37th, 21:58.3).
PIAA PREVIEW
Date & Location: Saturday, Nov. 2 at Parkview Cross Country Course (Hershey, Pa.)
Total Individual Champions from WPIAL: 21 (12 in Class 3A, 4 in Class 2A, 5 in Class 1A)
Total Team Champions from WPIAL: 20 (14 in Class 3A, 6 in Class 2A)
Last Class 3A PIAA Individual Champion from WPIAL: Logan St. John Kletter, Mt. Lebanon (2023)
Last Class 2A PIAA Individual Champion from WPIAL: Jolena Quarzo, Brownsville (2022)
Last Class 1A PIAA Individual Champion from WPIAL: Carmen Medvit, Shenango (2020)
Last Class 3A PIAA Team Champion from WPIAL: North Allegheny (2023)
Last Class 2A PIAA Team Champion from WPIAL: Montour (2021)
Last Class 1A PIAA Team Champion from WPIAL: None
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