<body><div><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=37GFvX_0wNlfnaL00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=37GFvX_0wNlfnaL00" width="1451" height="817" >Six teams from the GameTimePA region of Adams, Franklin, Lebanon and York counties placed high enough in Saturday’s District 3 cross country meet to compete at states. Two are district champs. Dozens of runners will compete in the PIAA meet on Nov. 2 as members of those teams or by qualifying as individuals. That list also includes a pair of district champions. Polls are open!Vote for your favorite GameTimePA student section<h2>Team sweep at Class 2A </h2>Annville-Cleona coach Caitlin Heller knew her boys team had it in them to win a district title because they did it last year with almost the same runners. But that was in Class A, and this year the Dutchmen competed in Class 2A. It turns out Heller didn’t need to worry because points by Oliver Funck (3), Landon Hostetter (4), David Moran (7), Matt Clemson (25) and Luke Tshudy (26) were nearly half that of runner-up Conrad Weiser’s 121. Susquehannock finished third with 133 points to advance to the state meet on the strength of points by Ian Bucalo (17), Ian Lilley (20), Jackson Elliott (30), Logan Lease (31) and Logan Trimble (35). “After the year we had last year, there was so much more pressure,” Heller said of the boys team that added a state title to the district trophy. “And it took us about a month and a half into the season for them to get their minds around that you can’t have the same season as you had last year. You can’t always compare it to last year.” While the boys had the resume to repeat as district champs, the A-C girls were more of a dark horse. One of their top runners graduated, and three more were hurt all season and didn’t compete. But they have Mackenzie Stellmach, who ran a 19:28.6 to win the district title by 21 seconds. Her sister, Lucy Stellmach, finished third and the rest of A-C's 71 points came from Caitlin Shay (16), Emily Shearer (24) and Anna Lezon (27). “I’m not surprised that they won, I knew they could do it,” Heller said. “We’ve worked the last two weeks on positioning and how they want to run for each other. They have a really good bond. It makes it easier to run your heart out when you know you’re doing it for somebody other than just yourself.” <h2>Give her a hilly course </h2>Mackenzie Stellmach loves the rolling hills of the Big Spring High School course. The A-C junior said she always does better on courses with hills instead of flat ones. And even though she didn’t have a chance to run the district course earlier this season, she had a plan, and it worked. “We always plan on going out fast to get that lead,” Stellmach said. “And it was a beautiful day, so that always helps. The rolling hills helps build my momentum so I can keep going.” Now she gets a second shot at an even more rolling course in the state meet. She ran there last month in the PIAA Foundation race instead of competing in the Blosser Invitational at Big Spring. Both gave runners an early look at the postseason courses. “I’ve never gotten a state medal, so I think this might be the year,” she said. “I got a medal in the foundation race, and there’s a lot of the same competition.” Stellmach was the only non-freshman to win a girls district title on Saturday. Her sister gave it a good shot at trying to get a freshman sweep, finishing 28.9 seconds behind Mackenzie. <h2>First district meet no problem for Wildcat </h2>Officials rearranged the schedule this year, and Class 3A girls went first. So Dallastown freshman Leah Navarro had a pristine course to run in her first district meet. She was in third place after the first mile, trailing South Western’s Lyla Eltz and Lampeter-Strasburg's Olivia Magagna. By the second mile, she and Eltz had switched places, and that’s the way it stayed for the rest of the race. “After Kill Hill was when I felt like I had a lot of energy left, and that’s when I decided to start going ahead,” Navarro said. “I increased my speed, but I thought they were closer. I had it in the back of my mind that Liv was right behind me.” Navarro became the first of two freshmen to win district titles when she came in at 17:55.5. She was 21.6 ahead of Magagna and 23.3 ahead of Eltz, and the only girl to run a sub-18.00. Navarro, who won the YAIAA title less than two weeks ago, know things only get tougher next week; the course and the competition. “My goal for states is to try and PR because I know the course is really hard,” she said. “I don’t really have that many expectations to place because I know there is a lot of competition at states.” <h2>Third time was not the charm </h2>Madeline Murphy’s quest to win a third straight District 3 Class A title was gobbled up by Lancaster Catholic freshman Leah Droter. The York Catholic senior finished second in 20:15.6, just 19.5 seconds behind Droter. That brought her district medal haul to five: a fourth place as a freshman, individual and team gold as a sophomore, individual gold as a junior and silver as a senior. This year’s finish was just 5 seconds off her district PR of 20:10.80 from her sophomore year, and 12 seconds faster than last year. “I knew [Droter] was goinna go out fast, and I was just trying to keep within a good distance,” Murphy said. “But at the end, I just couldn’t close. It’s not been as a good a season as previous years, but I’m happy with how I finished it up.” Two years after claiming the team title, York Catholic came into Saturday’s meet with just three runners. They suffered through injury and numbers low enough that the Irish had to pull athletes from soccer and field hockey teams in order to win the YAIAA Division III title. But with the girls soccer team playing in their own district game on Saturday, York Catholic didn’t have the minimum number to compete. “It was tough not being able to come here with a team,” Murphy said. “But this year our group has been closer than any other year. I think maybe it’s just having a small group, we’ve bonded a lot. And we’ve been so grateful for the soccer and field hockey players.” Next week will likely be the last cross country meet of Murphy’s career. She hasn’t decided on her college, but knows she wants to focus on academics as she gets a degree in biomedical engineering. <h2>A PR the hard way for Greencastle runner</h2>Greencastle-Antrim sophomore Billy Bender was just 600 yards into the 3.1-mile race, the area where runners are jostling for position as they settle into the narrow trail. He was closer to the back than the front when the unthinkable happened. “They guy in front of me stopped, so I had to stop,” Bender said. “And then the guy behind me flat-tired me.” When the group passed, there was a lime green shoe left behind. Bender spent the bulk of the race working his way over stones and branches ... in one shoe. His remaining shoe was the one with the chip, but even if that was lost, a camera would have caught his bib number as he crossed the finish line. So his PR of 19:00.2 was not lost. Running in less than two shoes was a new experience for Bender, who said he has never tried to run barefoot. <h2>Additional state qualifiers </h2>Franklin County Class 2A <ul><li>Katelyn Clever, James Buchanan: The senior finished 10th in 20:29.5. </li></ul>Class 3A <ul><li>Chambersburg girls team: Runners Madelyn Koons (18), Brook Boone (32), Natalie Quinn (57th), Dana Rosenberry (63), Kaylie Savage (104th) and Annamarie West (181) combined to finish third. </li><li>Chambersburg boys team: Runners Liam Kirkpatrick (fifth), Aiden Alleman (11), Julian Clark (24), Kaden Rife (49), Boston Vincenti (52), Cole Lehman (112) and Dominick Onomastico (132) combined to finish third. </li><li>Joel Amstutz, Greencastle-Antrim: The senior finished 19th in 16:12.7. </li></ul><h2>Lebanon County </h2>Class 2A <ul><li>Luke Hentz, Northern Lebanon: The junior finished 11th in 16:55.7. </li><li>Thaddeus Raub, Northern Lebanon: The junior finished 22nd in 17:16.1. </li></ul>Class 3A <ul><li>Eliana Schneider, Cedar Crest: The junior finished 27th in 19:47.9. </li></ul>Class 3A <ul><li>Cornelius Cummings, Palmyra: The junior finished 30th in 16:22.9. </li></ul>York-AdamsClass A <ul><li>Leo Bradley, York Catholic: The sophomore finished 11th in 18:09.8. </li><li>Evan Donnelly, Delone Catholic: The senior finished 14th in 18:16.7. </li><li>Gwen Kerr, York Catholic: The sophomore finished sixth in 22:14.0. </li><li>Ryan Young, Delone Catholic: The senior finished ninth in 17:44.5. </li></ul>Class 2A <ul><li>Halana Brubaker, Eastern York: The junior finished 23rd in 21:25.9. </li><li>Nettie Flinchbaugh, Eastern York: The sophomore finished 13th in 20:51.1. </li><li>Chad Maccarelli, Kennard-Dale: The senior finished 15th in 17:05.1. </li><li>Dayne Merica, Eastern York: The junior finished 20th in 17:10.2. </li><li>Kinley Strange, Eastern York: The freshman finished ninth in 20:29.4. </li></ul>Class 3A <ul><li>South Western girls team: Runners Eltz (third), Keira Peake (24), Ashlyn Peake (42), Meredith Staub (67), Elise Leonard (147), Aubrie Berwager (165) and Jade Gass (190) combined to finish fifth. </li><li>Aiden Granger, Dallastown: The senior finished 29th in 16:22.6. </li><li>Neila Granger, Dallastown: The sophomore finished fifth in 18:27.2. </li><li>Caleb Hogan, Dover: The senior finished 20th in 16:12.9. </li><li>Maxwell Marcini, Central York: The junior finished 12th in 16:05.0. </li><li>Lauren Myers, Central York: The senior finished 33rd in 19:58.6. </li><li>Neil Oestereich, York Suburban: The senior finished 10th in 15:58.4. </li><li>Jacob Roskovensky, Dallastown: The sophomore finished 31st in 16:26.1. </li><li>Sophia Treglia, Northeastern: The junior finished 19th in 19:19.5. </li><li>Cian Wisniewski, Red Lion: The junior finished 18th in 16:12.1. </li><li>Natalie Young, Dover: The senior finished 28th in 19:48.5. </li></ul>Shelly Stallsmith covers York-Adams high school sports for GameTimePA and the USAToday Network. Connect with her by email mstallsmith@ydr.com or on X, formerly Twitter, @ShelStallsmith. </div></body>

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District 3 cross country: Colorful medals, champions crowned and a PR with a missing shoe

Six teams from the GameTimePA region of Adams, Franklin, Lebanon and York counties placed high enough in Saturday’s District 3 cross country meet to compete at states. Dozens of runners will compete in the PIAA meet on Nov. 2 as members of those teams or by qualifying as individuals. That list also includes a pair of district champions.

District 3 cross country: Colorful medals, champions crowned and a PR with a missing shoe

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