Crestwood’s Mason Staude finishes first at Cliff Robbins Invitational

DALLAS TWP. — When Mason Staude ran behind about a dozen of the 206 runners in the first mile of Saturday’s Cliff Robbins Sr. Memorial Invitational, he felt like he was right where he belonged in the varsity boys race.

Finishing at the front of that pack a little more than two miles later told Staude he is right where he wants to be with a full season ahead.

Running with sleeves on both arms to help with the circulation problem that caused numbness and led to the precautionary early shutdown of his 2023 season, Staude pulled away late for a 15-second win over Northwest’s Michael Fritz in 16:36.

“This definitely was a confidence booster,” Staude said. “It felt very smooth. I’m exactly where I want to be right now.

“I just have to keep the training going and keep hammering these next couple weeks.”

Staude admitted some nerves about his return to cross county competition, but with a spring track season and consistent offseason training behind him, he was ready to go.

“Don’t think too much about what happened last year and just be confident with what I’ve done over the summer,” Staude said of his attitude going into the race.

He came in with a defined strategy.

“My whole plan was definitely not to go out and lead,” Staude said. “I started about 12th to 15th, felt super relaxed for the first mile, went through in about 5:17, which is perfect for me.

“I was really confident where I was.”

Staude quickly changed that positioning.

“In the second mile, I made a big push and that’s really where I took the lead,” he said. “I passed about six people right after the mile marker.

“I was feeling comfortable.”

The last mile developed into a match race with Fritz. They went back and forth a few times with Fritz surging to about a 10-meter lead with a half-mile to go.

Staude, however, had plenty left.

“It was just a sprint the last half-mile,” he said.

The Robbins Invitational does not have any team scoring to keep the emphasis on individual training and assessment as the season starts.

Crestwood was the only Wyoming Valley Conference boys team with three medalists for top-25 finishes. Jacob Lettieri and Nate Higgins were the other Comets to medal.

Northwest and Pittston Area, which was led by sixth-place finisher Caden Boettger, each had two among the 10 WVC medalists.

CLIFF ROBBINS SR. CROSS COUNTRY INVITATIONAL

Top Boys Finishers

1, Mason Staude, Crestwood, 16:36; 2, Michael Fritz, Northwest, 16:51; 3, Creed Dewing, Northeast Bradford, 17:07; 4, Henry Decker, Lakeland, 17:22; 5, Lorenzo Christian, Montrose, 17:31; 6, Caden Boettger, Pittston Area, 17:35; 7, Matthew Repecki, Mid Valley, 17:37; 8, Jacob Borrelli, Mid Valley, 17:44; 9, Avery Ronchi, Lackawanna Trail, 17:45; 10, Stephen Martin, Lake-Lehman, 17:47.

11, Dylan Kopa, Lakeland, 17:49; 12, Jacob Lettieri, Crestwood, 17:53; 13, Ryan Jones, Northeast Bradford, 17:53; 14, Jack Tavani, Towanda, 18:03; 15, Oliver Heintzelman, Northwest, 18:04; 16, Caleb Kane, West Scranton, 18:09; 17, Nate Higgins, Crestwood, 18:10; 18, Jakob Mead, Pittston Area, 18:11; 19, Seamus Wallace, West Scranton, 18:12; 20, Scranton, Ryan Newcomb, Scranton, 18:13.

21, Josh Burns, Mid Valley, 18:13; 22, Aidan Jennings, Dallas, 18:23; 23, Owen Pollock, Hazleton Area, 18:313; 24, Michael Beach, Mountain View, 18:33; 25, Boom Thompson, Towanda, 18:36.