Bobcat Harriers And Other Local Athletes Have A Solid Showing At Big Red Invitational
Above photo by Diane Lutz – Jonas Wilshire crossing the finish line
The Clarion Area Bobcats Cross Country Teams competed in the Big Red Invitational, at West Middlesex on Saturday, September 9th and had some fine performances.
Clarion Area Head Coach Keith Murtha shared his thoughts:
“Another good day at the Big Red Invite in West Middlesex!
“Four medalists, strong varsity boys team performance finishing 12th in a field of 36 teams beating C-L, North Clarion and Karns City and going toe to toe with perennial powerhouse Cranberry!
“Alissa Brooks, Blace Easlon, Jonas Wilshire and Josh Turner all made the podium to earn medals, with Hayden Weber narrowly missing.
“Jonas Wilshire was the top District 9 and Keystone Shortway Athletic Conference (KSAC) finisher!
“Lots of strong races were run and big race experience gained!
“Both individual champions came from Mohawk as junior Jaxon Schoenfeld traversed the 5k course in a lightning fast 15:53 and senior Natalie Lape lead all girls in 20:29.
“Full results can be found at https://runhigh.com/2023RESULTS/R090923BA.html
“The Bobcats travel across town Wednesday for a dual meet with the Lions at 4:15 then up North to the Bradford Invitational on Saturday (September 16th) to battle the majority of District Nine teams.”
More meet information:
Varsity Boys (5000 Meters)
Rocky Grove was the Team Champion. Cranberry was first among KSAC schools, in eleventh place, followed in order by Clarion in twelfth and Clarion-Limestone in thirteenth place. Keystone finished sixteenth and North Clarion finished nineteenth.
Mohawk’s Jaxson Schoedel’s winning individual time was 15:53.
Jonas Wilshire ran an 18:02 to lead the Bobcats and KSAC and District Nine runners. Josh Turner (18:53) finished in forty-first place, Hayden Weber (19:21) was sixty-third. Other Bobcat runners included: Ben Lambert (20:36), Caleb Turner (21:04), Wyatt Aaron (22:00) and Anthony Bartley (22:11).
The top finishers from the other KSAC schools were: Cranberry’s Dalton Wenner (18:09) in twenty-third place, Keystone’s Jonathan Hansford (18:14) in twenty-seventh place, Clarion-Limestone’s Jack Craig (18 :15) in twenty-eighth place, Karns City’s Dillon Stroup (18:47) in thirty-seventh place and North Clarion’s Dane Sliker (19:02) in fifty-first place.
Varsity Girls (5000 Meters)
Oil City won the team championship. Cranberry and Clarion-Limestone were the only KSAC schools with enough runners to register team scores. The Berries finished in third place, while the Lions finished eighth.
Mohawk’s Natalie Napes winning individual time was 20:29.
For Clarion Area, Raven Cunningham ran a 26:15 to finish ninety-eighth. Also competing for the Bobcats was Cecylia Bowser, who ran a 30:29.
Cranberry’s Kayla Hannah (21:04) was the top KSAC runner, with a sixth-place finish. The top runners from the other KSAC schools included: Clarion-Limestone’s Clara Coulson (22:39) in twenty-seventy place, Karns City’s Miley Mooney (22:49) in thirty-first place, North Clarion’s Abbey Hastings (23:09) in thirty-eighth place and Keystone’s Taryn Lloyd (37:08).
Middle School Girls (2500 Meters)
Fort LeBoeuf won the team championship. For the KSAC schools, Cranberry finished sixth and North Clarion twelfth. They were the only KSAC schools with enough runners to be included in team standings.
Sophia Kereky from Jefferson Area ran a 9:22 to win the individual championship.
For Clarion Area, Alissa Brooks ran an 11:01 to finish in twenty-sixth place and Elena Scheftic who ran a 12:48 for eightieth place.
Cranberry’s Darien Wenner ran a 9:45, to lead the runners from the KSAC.
The top runners from the other KSAC schools were: Karns City’s Megan Hartle (10:47) in sixteenth place, Clarion-Limestone’s Dana Coulson (10:57) in twenty-second place, North Clarion’s Evalyn Carrol (11:04) in twenty-ninth place and Keystone’s Danea Hansford (11:49) in forty-sixth place.
Middle School Boys (2500 Meters)
Fort LeBoeuf had a Middle School team championship sweep, with their Boys team also garnering first place.
Cranberry and North Clarion were the only KSAC schools with enough runners to compete in the team competition. Cranberry finished in seventh place, while North Clarion finished sixteenth.
Union City’s Josh Mitcham won the individual championship with a time of 8:37.
Clarion Area’s Blace Easlon ran a 9:50 for thirty-nineth place.
The top finishers from other KSAC schools include: Cranberry’s Cooper Matassa (9:22) in sixteenth place, Keystone’s Robert Pierce (9:33) in seventeenth place, North Clarion’s Evan Hastings (9:42) in twenty-eighth place, Karns City’s Dmtri Weckerly (10:03) in forty-fourth place and Clarion-Limestone’s Griffin Edmonds (10:07) in fiftieth place.
(Great Work, Runners!!!! Thanks to Diane Lutz and Clarion Area Cross Country for the photos and to Keith Murtha for his comments!!)