McKeesport, Pa. – The Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League (WPIAL) hosted the WPIAL/UPMC Sports Medicine Boys’ Cross Country Championships on Thursday, Oct. 24 at White Oak Park in McKeesport. The afternoon saw new champions in Class 2A and Class 3A, while Class 1A provided repeat winners individually and on the team side.
At Class 3A, Norwin snapped a 47-year drought to win its second WPIAL boys’ cross country team championship, while Fox Chapel senior Ethan Vaughan crossed the line first to win individual gold. The Knights last won in 1977 and broke up a six-year run by North Allegheny in the process. Vaughan is Fox Chapel’s third individual champion, joining Colin Martin (2013) and Dallas Roper (1979).
In Class 2A, Quaker Valley topped the podium for the first time in 12 years to secure its 11th WPIAL boys’ cross country team title, while Freeport senior Michael Braun became his school’s first individual champion in the sport. The Quakers are third all-time in team championships behind North Allegheny (34) and Mt. Lebanon (18), adding their newest trophy to ones from 1983, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012. On the individual side, Braun’s victory makes Freeport the 65th different school to produce a WPIAL boys’ cross country individual champion.
The Class 1A race saw repeat winners in Riverview and Mohawk senior Jaxon Schoedel. The Raiders now have three WPIAL boys’ cross country team titles, previously winning in 2021 and 2023. Schoedel’s gold makes him the 24th different student-athlete to win multiple WPIAL individual championships.
The Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA) Boys’ 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 1A and Class 3A, and the top four teams and top 20 individual runners outside of those teams in Class 2A.
CLASS 3A RECAP
The Class 3A race saw Norwin become the classification’s first different champion since 2017, and Fox Chapel senior Ethan Vaughan break up a four-year Butler run at the top of the individual podium.
Vaughan completed the course in 15:26.5, which was 11.1 seconds quicker than North Allegheny junior Andrew Peigh (15:37.6) and 13.5 seconds faster than Moon senior Tyler Giunipero (15:40.0). The remainder of the top 10 was made up of Fox Chapel senior David Black (15:48.5) in fourth, Norwin senior Thomas Gaydos (15:52.7) in fifth, North Allegheny senior Jack Bertram (15:54.7) in sixth, South Fayette sophomore Griffin Martin (15:58.2) in seventh, Norwin senior Enzo Jiancristoforo (16:00.9) in eighth, Norwin senior Luke Simpson (16:01.0) in ninth, and Seneca Valley senior Max Smith (16:01.60) in 10th.
Norwin (8-0, 8-0 Section I - Division I) won the team title with 80 points, 10 points ahead of runner-up North Allegheny. The Knights’ scorers included Gaydos, Jiancristoforo, Simpson, and freshmen Benjamin McBride (26th, 16:32.8) and Alexander Barrett (32nd, 16:38.8). Also running for Norwin were senior Mario Breauchy (48th, 16:55.9) and freshman William Little (149th, 18:32.6).
North Allegheny (8-0, 7-0 Section III - Division I) finished with 90 points, led by Peigh in second and Bertram in sixth. The Tigers’ other scorers were seniors Tyler Davis (22nd, 16:25.9), Anthony Miklos (27th, 16:35.5), and Jackson Beemer (33rd, 16:39.5).
Fox Chapel (7-0, 7-0 Section IV - Division I) claimed the final PIAA team qualifier spot with 122 points. Vaughan’s victory and Black’s fourth-place finish paced the Foxes, with junior Michael Costello (28th, 16:36.0), senior Nicky Clump (36th, 16:40.5), and senior Doug Lisotto (53rd, 17:02.5) rounding out the scoring.
The remainder of the PIAA individual qualifiers were Kiski Area junior Samuel Plazio (11th, 16:02.0), Mt. Lebanon junior Evan Yurasko (12th, 16:03.3), Hempfield Area junior Ryan Ewing (13th, 16:13.8), West Allegheny junior Brennan Patterson (14th, 16:16.4), Mars senior Kyle Kochanski (15th, 16:17.2), Greater Latrobe sophomore Charlie Heese (16th, 16:19.7), Butler junior Logan Rogers (17th, 16:21.4), North Hills senior Kayden Lightner (18th, 16:21.7), Butler senior Zachary Slear (19th, 16:23.3), Trinity sophomore Devin Junio (20th, 16:24.1), Upper St. Clair senior Caleb Guarino (21st, 16:25.5), and Baldwin junior Alex Castaneda (23rd, 16:28.3).
CLASS 2A RECAP
The Class 2A race had Quaker Valley emerge as the team champion for the 11th time in school history, and Freeport senior Michael Braun capture his school’s first cross country gold medal.
Braun crossed the finish line in 15:18.9, besting Hampton senior Christoper Belch (15:40.8) by 21.9 seconds and Quaker Valley sophomore Jonah Montagnese (15:46.5) by 27.6 seconds. The rest of the top 10 consisted of Quaker Valley senior Clark LaLomia (15:55.8) in fourth, Knoch sophomore Carter French (15:58.2) in fifth, Beaver senior Tyler Biss (16:02.7) in sixth, North Catholic junior Tyler Carroll (16:05.0) in seventh, Uniontown junior Ethan Syner (16:18.6) in eighth, Ellwood City senior Drew Steffler (16:20.7) in ninth, and Blackhawk sophomore Brody Graham (16:21.2) in 10th.
Quaker Valley (11-2, 8-2 Section II - Division II) captured the team championship with 83 points, 49 points ahead of runner-up Beaver. The Quakers saw Montagnese, LaLomia, junior Tyler Bell (26th, 16:53.4), junior River Capek (27th, 17:03.5), and senior Jackson Pethel (32nd, 17:17.2) complete their scoring, with junior Ryan Kempton (54th, 17:55.2) and sophomore Giovanni Ramella (70th, 18:20.8) also competing.
Beaver (10-0, 8-0 Section V - Division I) compiled 132 points to place second. Biss was the Bobcats’ top runner, followed by senior Ryan Groff (12th, 16:33.4), junior Isaac Burtt (16th, 16:43.2), and freshmen Anthony Cienkowski (47th, 17:45.5) and Evan Orend (60th, 18:01.7).
Hampton (9-1, 8-1 Section IV - Division II) placed third with 136 points. Belch’s runner-up effort led the Talbots, followed by sophomore Lu Santos (11th, 16:28.3), senior Nathan Gardner (30th, 17:07.2), senior Miles McKinney (50th, 17:47.2), and junior Liam Craig (55th, 17:56.5).
Uniontown (8-0, 8-0 Section II - Division I) picked up the final PIAA team qualifier slot with 159 points. Syner was the Red Raiders’ best finisher in eighth, followed by senior Cooper Gilleland (15th, 16:39.8), and sophomores Chase King (40th, 17:33.1), Donte Rugola (51st, 17:48.0), and Logan Davis (58th, 18:01.4).
The rest of the PIAA individual qualifiers were Ellwood City senior Bradley Custer (13th, 16:34.9), Laurel Highlands senior Matt Schwertfeger (14th, 16:38.1), North Catholic freshman Jack Steineman (17th, 16:44.5), East Allegheny senior Gabriel Bucar (18th, 16:46.4), Blackhawk senior Lucas Moore (19th, 16:47.1), Greensburg Salem senior Owen Noel (20th, 16:47.4), Indiana sophomore Kaiden Branan (21st, 16:48.1), Riverside senior Devin Montileone (22nd, 16:49.0), Ellwood City junior Lucas Bleakney (23rd, 16:50.6), Greensburg Salem senior Nick Reinhart (24th, 16:52.3), Montour junior Jacob Chacon (25th, 16:52.9), Hopewell (28th, 17:04.9), McGuffey senior Elihu Dale (29th, 17:05.1), Deer Lakes senior Noah Channel (31st, 17:10.8), and Steel Valley senior Alexander Brown (33rd, 17:17.6).
CLASS 1A RECAP
The Class 1A race produced the same winners as 2023, as Riverview won its third WPIAL team championship, and Mohawk senior Jaxon Schoedel captured a second straight individual title.
Schoedel finished the course in 15:33.0, which was 24.4 seconds quicker than Neshannock senior Brendan Burns and 31.8 seconds faster than Winchester Thurston senior Charlie Routledge. The remainder of the top 10 consisted of Winchester Thurston senior Eli DeSimone (16:06.7) in fourth, Trinity Christian senior Caleb Schmidt (16:23.2) in fifth, Riverview senior Christopher Barnes (16:24.5) in sixth, Sewickley Academy freshman Zachary Sharara (16:26.4) in seventh, Riverview senior Micah Ivy (16:27.8) in eighth, Riverview sophomore Ashton Saunders (16:33.3) in ninth, and Our Lady of the Sacred Heart junior Brayden Douglass (16:41.0) in 10th.
Riverview (9-0, 9-0 Section IV - Division II) scored 55 points, beating out runner-up Winchester Thurston for the team title by nine points. The Raiders’ scorers included Barnes, Ivy, Saunders, senior Holden Deasy (11th, 16:41.7), and freshman Oscar Smith (28th, 17:52.9). Also competing for Riverview were junior Braden Longstreth (35th, 18:06.6) and senior Levi Roupas (54th, 18:54.1).
Winchester Thurston (10-0, 10-0 Section II - Division II) tallied 64 points, led by Routledge and DeSimone in third and fourth, respectively. The Bears also had sophomore Jack Iyer (17th, 16:57.3) senior Peter Heintzleman (22nd, 17:30.4), and freshman Otis Pascal (23rd, 17:32.7) among their scorers.
Mohawk (11-0, 11-0 Section I - Division II) captured the final PIAA team qualifier position with 114 points. Schoedel’s individual victory led the way, followed by junior Scott McConnell (12th, 16:42.9), sophomore Grayson Ponziani (16th, 16:50.7), junior Aiden Tanner (27th, 17:50.0), and junior Mark McKinney (69th, 19:24.4).
The remainder of the PIAA individual qualifiers were Eden Christian Academy senior Jacob Marshall (13th, 16:47.9), California sophomore Carter Kent (14th, 16:48.3), Shady Side Academy junior Will Nury (15th, 16:50.6), Greensburg Central Catholic junior Lukas Czegan (18th, 17:01.9), Carlynton sophomore Ethan Moldovan (19th, 17:04.8), South Side freshman Ian Dilts (20th, 17:26.0), Laurel junior Aidan Mack (21st, 17:28.9), Shady Side Academy junior Ben Huang (24th, 17:38.4), Beaver County Christian senior Matthias Bosch (25th, 17:45.9), South Side junior Kodiak Stobart (26th, 17:47.0), and Eden Christian Academy freshman Jack Hurley (29th, 17:54.6).
PIAA PREVIEW
Date & Location: Saturday, Nov. 2 at Parkview Cross Country Course (Hershey, Pa.)
Total Individual Champions from WPIAL: 38 (27 in Class 3A, 8 in Class 2A, 3 in Class 1A)
Total Team Champions from WPIAL: 51 (40 in Class 3A, 8 in Class 2A, 3 in Class 1A)
Last Class 3A PIAA Individual Champion from WPIAL: Drew Griffith, Butler (2023)
Last Class 2A PIAA Individual Champion from WPIAL: Ryan Pajak, Ringgold (2023)
Last Class 1A PIAA Individual Champion from WPIAL: Jaxon Schoedel, Mohawk (2023)
Last Class 3A PIAA Team Champion from WPIAL: North Allegheny (2022)
Last Class 2A PIAA Team Champion from WPIAL: Hampton (2023)
Last Class 1A PIAA Team Champion from WPIAL: Winchester Thurston (2019)
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