Historic First Season Concludes As Wildcat Boys Finish Fifth, In Class-1A In PIAA State Cross Country Meet, Their Two Girls Runners Do Well Also

Photo courtesy of Diane Lutz – Wildcat Harriers at States: Front row (from left) Reise Jackson, Julianna Schwabenbauer, Dana Coulson, Eliza Datko, Livia McGinley, Adisen Jackson Olivia Radaker. Back row(from left) Logan Meier, Hayden Weber, Cael Jackson, AJ Mecusker, Camden Coleman, Kaleb walker, Paul Craig, Ryan Rinker, Jonas Wilshire, Logan Lutz, Caleb Turner , Riley Rinker, Josh Turner, Logan Powell, Drake Edmonds.

The Central Clarion Wildcats Cross Country team completed their historic first season at the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA) Cross Country Championships, at the Parkview Cross Country Course in Hershey on Saturday, November 2nd.

The Wildcat Boys had a fine showing, finishing fifth in Class-1A and though the Central Clarion Girls only had two runners and couldn’t compete in the Team standings, they turned in some fine times also.

Wildcats’ head coach Nicole Oakes shares this summary highlighting the Wildcats’ first season finale:

Returning for her third trip to the state championship meet in Hershey, Adisen Jackson knew what to expect when she went to the line. Each year it seems to be a little less nerves and a little more focus when that time comes. This weekend Adi finished 35th out of 248, of the top athletes representing single A schools in PA, that is in the top 15%! She ran a solid race in a time of 21:20, and finished with a smile on her face. We are very proud of her accomplishments this season, and her leadership on our girls team.

Eliza Datko ran the Hershey Foundations race in September and decided she really didn’t like that course, but did she want to compete in the state championships? Absolutely! Eliza shaved more than a minute and fifteen seconds off of her time from earlier this year at the same course. As a first year varsity cross country runner and only a sophomore, her performance was solid, and we hope just the beginning of a couple more. She finished with a time of 21:50.

It’s hard to describe the excitement in taking a full team to states this year, for Clarion Limestone this is the first time a boys team has gone to compete. Everything this year is a first for Wildcats XC in our inaugural season and it feels great to make a statement starting it off strong. As a team the Wildcats finished fifth out of the 21 full teams represented, that may not sound like much, until we consider that all of those other teams were also the best of the best in their area. Fifth in the state for single A boys teams, that is something to be so proud of.

Every one of the boys ran a strong race. It’s been a few weeks since junior Jonas Wilshire was leading our group. I am not sure if it was physical or mental holding him back the last couple of weeks, but on Saturday he proved that his work over the last several months was worth it, finishing 36th out of 260 runners, in 17:40. Drake Edmonds was only 12 seconds behind him as our number two runner, at 17:52. followed almost immediately by Hayden Weber, who ran a 17:59 and then Logan Powell with a time of 18:04. At the start line Hayden was really trying to focus his team in and they discussed how important it was going to be for their pack to move together. Josh Turner rounded out our scoring five with a time of 19:08, followed by AJ Mecusker at 19:35, and Paul Craig at 19:52.

It’s crazy to think that now our season is over, but we have really come out strong as a team and achieved so many accolades, I am proud of the effort that these kids put in this season and their willingness to embark on this new adventure with us as we formed a new team. It wasn’t without some growing pains, with a team of fifty athletes representing two “rival” (in some sports) schools, with different team traditions, practice structure and coaching expectations; everyone needed to be flexible, understanding and accepting. Our records this season show that we were able to achieve that! Special thanks go out to our XC family and community that have supported us this season.

(Congratulations on a great meet and great first season, Wildcats!!!! Thanks to Coach Oakes for this summary and Diane Lutz for her photo!!)