Both the Emmaus girls’ and boys’ cross country teams enjoyed outstanding performances at the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference Cross Country Championships held on Tuesday afternoon at DeSales University.
As expected, the girls’, highlighted by junior Madelyn McCartney’s second straight individual title, pushed rival Easton before settling for second place, while the boys had another strong showing with their third place finish.
“We are very proud of our athletes for the top three finish for both teams,” said coach Kami Reinhard. “They both finished where they were expected. We now have to look ahead to districts, where hopefully we can break away from “the expected.” Easton girls and Parkland boys had phenomenal performances and really earned their team wins today. It was impressive.”
In the girl’s race, Emmaus finished with 52 points, trailing only undefeated Easton which placed first with 43 points.
McCartney bested her previous time by 16 seconds as she crossed the finish line in 18:52. Senior Payton Campbell also had a strong race with her fourth-place finish (19:51), as did classmate Isabella Scarlatta who finished 10th (20:41). Junior Olivia Fleck and sophomore Grace Nosal were 17th and 20th, respectively.
“We knew this season would be more challenging than the past three years and what I love most is watching the girls continue to be hungry to keep reaching for that bar that has been set over the last three years,” said Reinhard.
For the boys, who finished behind rival Parkland (1st/54 points) and Central Catholic (2nd/64), senior Conor Fisher was the Hornets top place-winner finishing sixth overall in a time of 17:02. Teammates senior Jared Petre was 11th (17:21) and junior Ryan Fach 19th (17:41). Freshman David Hearn placed 26th overall (17:54).
“This has been, by far, the best overall camaraderie on the boys’ team that I have been a part of or have coached in my 10-year career,” said Reinhard. “The senior boys have set this team up to do some big things in the future, no matter the outcome this season.
“If you’re on the Emmaus campus, you won’t miss these boys running together, enjoying the sport of cross country more than ever!
Freedom senior Dylan Boyle captured the individual title in the boy’s race in a time of 16:32. Central Catholic senior Duke Ebert was second (16:54), followed by Easton junior Evan Guydish third (16:58).
Both teams will return to DeSales University on October 23 for the District XI meet at 2:20 p.m.
For the most complete coverage of Emmaus sports, follow on ‘X’ and like Emmaus sports on facebook.