McKeesport, Pa. – The Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League (WPIAL) hosted the WPIAL/UPMC Sports Medicine Boys’ Cross Country Championships on Thursday, Oct. 29, at White Oak Park in McKeesport.
In Class 3A, Norwin captured the team championship, while Fox Chapel sophomore Asher Eckel claimed the individual title in a competitive race.
Class 2A saw Quaker Valley repeat as team champions, led by senior Jonah Montagnese, who defended his individual title for the second consecutive year.
In Class 1A, Winchester Thurston repeated as team champions, while Sewickley Academy’s Zachary Sharara also defended his individual crown.
The Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA) Boys’ Cross Country Championships will be held Saturday, Nov. 7, at Big Spring High School. WPIAL teams and individual runners qualified based on their finishes at Thursday’s district championships.
CLASS 3A RECAP
Norwin secured the Class 3A boys’ team championship, finishing with 45 points to lead the field at White Oak Park. North Allegheny placed second with 94 points, while Mt. Lebanon finished third with 140 points. All three teams earned berths in the PIAA Championships.
Individually, Fox Chapel sophomore Asher Eckel captured the Class 3A title, highlighting a strong performance by the Foxes. Norwin's Declan O'Donnell just anrrowly finished in second palce with a time of 15:27.3; which was just a milisecond behind Eckel. North Allegheny sophomore Gatik Hirwani also delivered an impressive race, finishing third overall in 15:44.2.
PIAA Qualifiers: The top three teams and the top 15 individual finishers not already qualifying with those teams advanced to the state championships.
CLASS 2A RECAP
Quaker Valley continued its success in Class 2A, repeating as WPIAL team champions behind another standout performance from senior Jonah Montagnese. Montagnese also repeated as individual champion, becoming a back-to-back winner after capturing the title in 2025.
Montagnese finished in approximately 15:12, defending the championship he won last year in 15:08. He finished ahead of North Catholic’s Jack Steineman, who claimed runner-up honors.
Steineman finished second overall in 15:35.3, earning a team qualifier spot for the PIAA Championships. Hampton senior Josh Wukitch placed third in 16:21.1, followed by teammate Clem Hall, a sophomore, who finished fourth in 16:30.8. Quaker Valley junior Henry Howard rounded out the top five in 16:33.9, contributing to the Quakers’ successful title defense.
PIAA Qualifiers: The top three teams and the top 15 individual finishers not already qualifying with those teams advanced to the state championships.
CLASS 1A RECAP
Winchester Thurston repeated as the Class 1A boys’ team champion, continuing the program’s success at the district level. The Bears were led by strong performances throughout the lineup, including Jack Iyer, who finished near the front of the individual race.
Sewickley Academy junior Zachary Sharara also repeated as the Class 1A individual champion, crossing the finish line in 15:49.3. Sharara became a back-to-back WPIAL champion after earning the title in 2025, further establishing himself among the district’s top distance runners.
Sharara held off Winchester Thurston’s Jack Iyer after the two runners remained close through the early stages of the race. Sharara pulled ahead during the latter portion of the course to secure his second consecutive individual championship.
PIAA Qualifiers: The top four teams and the top 20 individual finishers qualify for the 1A PIAA Championships.