2021 Race Summaries

Lock Haven Invitational Summary-9/4/21

            The Punxsy boys cross country team opened its season on Saturday with a fourth place finish at the Bear Mountain Invitational, hosted by Lock Haven University.  A total of 15 teams scored, with Williamsport capturing the title by totaling just 58 points.  Wilson was only two points behind in second, while Milton placed third with 120 points, followed by Punxsy at 125.  “To finish just 5 points from a third place trophy is a good showing for the guys,” said boys coach George Wehrle.  “This was our first invitational in two years and it was nice to get to compete against teams from different parts of the state that we didn’t get to see last season.”

            Senior Andrew Barnoff had a tremendous individual showing, placing seventh overall out of 152 runners.  His time of 17:26 was the fastest of his career by 32 seconds.  “Andrew looked great right from the start, as he was up near the top 10 at the mile and pretty much stayed there the rest of the way,” said Wehrle.  “I knew he ran quite a bit over the summer but I did not quite expect a race like this from him to start the season.”

            Eric Surkala placed 26^th and Evan Groce 31^st with times of 18:30 and 18:46, respectively.  “I am confident Eric and Evan can run up much closer to Andrew, based on what I’ve seen in practice the past three weeks,” said Wehrle.  “They both will have a chance to rebound a bit on Tuesday and I expect that they will.”

            Juniors Dan Lenze and Alex Momyer placed 50^th and 51^st with respective times of 19:33 and 19:34. “Dan set a career best by over a minute and Alex was 31 seconds faster than his previous best, so you can’t ask for much more than that,” said Wehrle.  “We did have too large a gap from our first to our fifth runner, so that’s something that we’ll hope to improve upon in the next few races.”

            Mike Clemmer and Mike Setree placed 95^th and 108^th, respectively, with times of 22:04 and 22:56. “Mike Clemmer showed he’s capable of running up with our varsity seven, and Mike Setree was within shouting distance of his fastest time ever and should keep Improving as he’s reliable with his training,” said Wehrle. 

            Seniors Jaden Schidlmeier and Colby Thompson finished within a second of one another, with Schidlmeier having the slightly better kick to finish in 23:50.  His place was 118^th while Thompson placed 119^th.  “This was Colby’s first-ever cross country race, and although he did very well you typically expect rapid improvement just from figuring out how to race more efficiently,” said Wehrle.  “Jaden looked good as well and was only about 20 seconds per mile from his best time.”

            Sophomore Cody Pifer ran 24:15 to place 126^th, while freshman Coleton Yoder was 10 places behind in 25:10. “Cody will race himself into shape and make substantial progress over the next few weeks, and Coleton now has an official cross country 5k time to whittle down as the racing season gets underway here in September.”

            Senior Ian Young had the largest improvement of the day, running 29:36 to slice over 90 seconds off his best time from last season.  “Ian looked like he was racing as well as I’ve ever seen him, and we’ll hope his form continues and the times keep tumbling,” said Wehrle. 

            Punxsy travels to Elk County on Tuesday to complete against the Crusaders, DuBois and also DuBois Central Catholic.  “DuBois opened up with a solid win at the invitational they attended this weekend, so it will be a good opportunity to see how we measure up against them this early in the year,” said Wehrle. 

Boys Cross Country runs past Elk County, DuBois Catholic; falls to DuBois-9/7/21

            The Punxsy boys cross country team traveled to Benzinger Park in Saint Marys on Tuesday and came away with a pair of wins against host Elk County Catholic and visiting DuBois Central Catholic, although the squad came up short against DuBois.  The Chucks defeated the Crusaders 24-31 and the Cardinals 17-44, but fell to the Beavers 26-31. 

            “Overall we ran reasonably well, with some guys improving a bit as compared to Saturday while others did not run as well,” said boys coach George Wehrle.  “We need to demonstrate some consistency here over the next few meets to be more competitive.”

            Joe Foradora from DuBois led the way over the 3.1 mile course with a time of 17:48, just eight seconds ahead of Punxsy’s Andrew Barnoff.  Eric Surkala turned in a strong performance to place third overall with a time of 18:14, ten seconds ahead of DuBois’ AC Deemer.  Evan Groce rounded out the top five as the Punxsy junior ran 18:38. “I thought our top three guys ran quite well,” said Wehrle.  “Andrew, Eric and Evan give us some nice quality up front.”

            Elk County put four runners across the line and DuBois three before Alex Momyer came through for Punxsy, placing 13^th overall in 20:40. “Alex ran solidly as our fourth man but he can do even better, as he demonstrated in Lock Haven Saturday,” said Wehrle.

            Mike Setree was the next Chuck runner across the line as he placed 23^rd in 23:21, followed closely by teammate David Kunselman just nine seconds later in 24^th.  “Mike made up some nice ground in the second half of the race, which is always encouraging, and David showed good potential in his first ever cross country race,” said Wehrle.

            Colby Thompson ran 23:46 to place 27^th, followed in order by Cody Pifer (23:57), Jaden Schidlmeier (24:10) and Mike Clemmer (25:44).  “Colby, Cody and Jaden were on par with how they did on Saturday, while Mile had a bit of an off day but finished well regardless,” said Wehrle. 

            Ian Young ran 32:02 to place 34^th overall.  “Ian cracked 30 minutes for the time ever on Saturday, so he’s capable of running near that type of time on a course like this for sure,” said Wehrle.

            Punxsy will host Saint Marys and Ridgway next Tuesday. “We’re far from where we should be and where we need to be, but it’s early yet and if the guys keep working improvement will come,” said Wehrle.

Complete Results: Foradora(D)17:48; Barnoff(P)17:56; Surkala(P)18:14; Deemer(D)18:24; Groce(P)18:38; Miller(ECC)18:57; Straub(ECC)19:19; Yarus(D)19:37; Funaki(ECC)20:11; Roemer(D)20:19; Polaski(ECC)20:20; Williams(D)20:31;Momyer(P)20:40;Chewning(D)21:06; Piccirillo(DCC)21:06; Volpe(DCC)21:52; Hook(D)22:02; Lanzel(ECC)22:33; Sturrock(D)22:41; Funair(D)22:44; Stevens(D)23:02; Johnson(D)23:15; Setree(P)23:21; Kunselman(P)23:32; Sconzo(D)23:37; George(D)23:43; Thompson(P)23:46; Pifer(P)23:57; Schidlmeier(P)24:10; Clemmer(P)25:44; Mottorn(D)26:08; Fenstermacher(D)26:21; Wolfe(ECC)27:55; Young(P)32:02

Boys Cross Country defeats Saint Marys at home 21-36 (9/14/21)

Led by a solid 1-2 finish by Andrew Barnoff and Evan Groce, the Punxsy boys cross country team came away with a 15 point win against Saint Marys yesterday on a warm, muggy afternoon at Jack LaMarca stadium.  The Chucks backed up Barnoff and Groce by taking places 5-7 against the Dutch to clinch the win. 

“Andrew ran well, as expected, and Evan had his best race of the season so far to finish ahead of Saint Marys’ number one runner, Wyatt Foster,” said head coach George Wehrle.  “Alex Momyer also had his best race of the season to finish as our third man, while Eric Surkala and Dan Lenze were both not quite feeling up to par but did enough to hold off the Saint Marys pack that took four places in a row right behind them.”

David Kunselman chopped two minutes and five seconds off his best time of the season in finishing as Punxsy’s sixth runner, placing 13^th overall.  “I had a feeling David could really help out the team this season as a first-year runner, and he took a big step forward to proving that today,” said Wehrle.

Mike Setree claimed the 14^th spot in 22:52, with Colby Thompson setting a 40 second personal best at 23:16 to finish 16^th.  “Mike is ready for a fairly big drop in time as he’s been consistent three races in a row now, and Colby is quite a story as another cross country newcomer who keeps improving race to race,” said Wehrle.

Mike Clemmer placed 17^th overall, followed by Evan Mohney making his season debut in 18^th place with a finishing time of 23:36. “It was nice to get Evan going after some setbacks, and Mike ran well after a rough one last Tuesday in Elk County,” said Wehrle.

Jaden Schidlmeier placed 19^th overall in 24:01, followed by Cody Pifer 35 seconds and one place later.  “Jaden ran about 40 seconds faster than a year ago on this same home course, and Cody was about 30 seconds faster, so they’re making real progress even if today was certainly not ideal with the warmer temperature and humidity,” said Wehrle. 

Coleton Yoder ran 28:51 to place 24^th, with Ian Young in 25^th at 29:42. “I’m certain Coleton can do better but at least now he has a time on our home course to shoot for next Tuesday,” said Wehrle.  “Ian ran over 4 minutes faster than when he ran this course a year ago in our first home meet, so he’s come a long way in 12 months,” said Wehrle.

Punxsy, now 3-1 on the young season, will host Brookville and Bradford next Tuesday on Senior Night.  “We have five seniors and we’ll look to send them out on a winning note in our final home meet of the season,” said Wehrle.

Complete Results: Barnoff(P)18:00; Groce(P)18:20; Foster(SM)18:41; Schreiber(R)18:53; Secco(SM)19:31; Momyer(P)19:47; Surkala(P)20:12; Lenze(P)20:24; Hayes(SM)20:27; Reyer(SM)20:45; Henry(SM)20:59; Nedimyer(SM)21:06; Kunselman(P)21:27; Setree(P)22:52; Mosier(SM)23:11; Thompson(P)23:16; Clemmer(P)23:24; Mohney(P)23:36; Schidlmeier(P)24:01; Blessel(SM)24:02; Saladay(SM)24:32; Pifer(P)24:36;Krieg(SM)25:23; Yoder(P)28:51; Young(P)29:42

Boys Cross Country sweeps against Bradford, Brookville and North Clarion-9/21/21

            Despite being a bit shorthanded, the Punxsy boys cross country team managed to pull out three victories at home yesterday on Senior Night, defeating Bradford 24-35, Brookville 27-30 and late addition North Clarion 26-29.  “I’m really happy for the team that they were able to send the seniors out with three victories, and it took pretty much everyone running his best race to do it,” said boys coach George Wehrle.  “Those races against Brookville and North Clarion were down to the wire and we were fortunate to come out on top.”

            Seniors Andrew Barnoff, Jaden Schidlmeier, Eric Surkala, Colby Thompson and Ian Young were racing their final meet on the 3.1 mile home course and responded in style as Barnoff placed second overall and Surkala was a strong fifth, while Schidlmeier, Thompson and Young all ran the fastest 5k times of their careers to cap off their special day.  “Andrew, Eric and Jaden have been around four years and been part of some very successful teams, while Ian and Colby are relative newcomers who are both enjoying excellent seasons thus far in 2021,” said Wehrle.  “After just losing one senior last season it’s going to be tough to know these five guys won’t be around next fall, so we’ll hope to give them the best senior year we can over the next few weeks.”

            Bradford’s Ian Paterniti won the overall race with a time of 17:44, followed by Barnoff 11 seconds later.  Brookville’s Calvin Doolittle placed third in 18:03, North Clarion’s Kaine McFarland took fourth overall at 18:24 while Surkala also ran 18:24 and just missed catching McFarland after a furious sprint the last 200 meters. “We needed Andrew and Eric right up near the front and they responded just like you’d expect from a pair of experienced seniors,” said Wehrle.  Bradford’s Brayden Friar placed sixth with a time of 19:00, but Alex Momyer stepped up big for Punxsy to claim seventh place in 19:21, his best time ever.  “With a couple guys out for us today, Alex running like he did was huge as far as getting ahead of the nice packs both Brookville and North Clarion had behind him,” said Wehrle. 

            North Clarion and Brookville claimed the next five places before David Kunselman crossed the line 13^th overall, running his best time of 20:57. “David getting in before another pack of Brookville guys was key for us against the Raiders, and he got in before North Clarion’s fifth man to help our cause there, also,” said Wehrle.

            Mike Setree closed well to finish as Punxsy’s fifth scoring runner, placing 20th overall in 21:45, another career best.  “Mike always seems to pick off numerous runners in the latter half of races, and he certainly held true to form today,” said Wehrle.

            After Setree, Punxsy had the trio of Jaden Schidlmeier, Mike Clemmer and Evan Mohney take the next three places, all within five seconds of one another.  “Jaden had the race of his life by far, as did Evan, and Mike ran 1:26 faster than he did a week ago here at home,” said Wehrle.

            Colby Thompson placed 23rd overall with a time of 22:27, his fourth consecutive personal best.  Cody Pifer improved his time from last Tuesday by 50 seconds to complete the race in 23:46, one spot behind Thompson. “Colby and Cody took advantage of the better weather to run well and still have room for improvement,” said Wehrle.

            Freshman Coleton Yoder rebounded nicely from his previous race to equal his seasonal best time of 25:10, placing 25^th overall.  Ian Young sliced 23 seconds from his career best, running 29:13 to end up 26^th.   “Coleton ran close to four minutes faster than last week, and Ian now has run his three fastest times ever in just four races this season,” said Wehrle. 

Punxsy, now 6-1 on the season, will travel to IUP on Saturday to complete in the Crimson Hawk Invitational.  “Today was a rare day when almost everyone ran his best time of the season, so hopefully we can keep that trend going on Saturday in a meet we haven’t been to in several years,” said Wehrle. 

Complete Results:

Paterniti(Brad)17:44; Barnoff(P)17:55; Doolittle(Brk)18:03; McFarland(NC)18:24; Surkala(P)18:24; Friar(Brad)19:00; Momyer(P)19:21; Fair(NC)19:27; Thomas(NC)19:37; Geer(Brk)19:45; Gill(Brk)19:56; Custer(NC)20:09; Kunselman(P)20:57; Householder(Brk)21:11; Murdock(Brk)21:26; Caruso(Brad)21:29; Rupp(Brk)21:31; Means(Brk)21:34; Evans(NC)21:36; Setree(P)21:45; Schidlmeier(P)21:54; Clemmer(P)21:58; Mohney(P)21:59; Thompson(P)22:27; Pifer(P)23:46; Yoder(P)25:10; Young(P)29:13

Punxsy Boys Cross Country team 3^rd at Crimson Hawk Invitational-9/25/21

Despite placing two runners in the top 10, the Punxsy boys cross country team only managed to finish in third place in the team standings at Saturday’s Crimson Hawk Invitational, held at IUP’s South Campus course.  There were a total of 14 schools who attended the meet, although only six of the 14 had enough runners to field a full squad and receive a team score.  Indiana won the team competition with just 27 points, followed by Kiski Area at 52 and the Chucks with 75.  A total of 74 runners finished the challenging 3.1 mile route. 

            “Today was a bit of a struggle team-wise as a couple of our top runners were not at their best, but as always there were some positives to take away from this race and we’ll look forward to the next one on the schedule,” said head coach George

Wehrle.

            Owen Putt from Indiana won the race in 17:59, with Tucker Klotz from Ligonier Valley just four seconds back in the runner-up position.  Punxsy senior Andrew Barnoff placed third overall in 18:17, while junior Evan Groce was sixth in a time of 18:31. “Andrew’s time was the eighth fastest all-time by a Punxsy runner on this course, while Evan’s was the 10^th fastest, so both guys obviously ran well and earned medals by placing in the top 10 overall,” said Wehrle.

            Eric Surkala placed 30^th overall in 21:20, followed by Mike Setree in 38^th place with a time of 22:13 and Jaden Schidlmeier two places later at 22:23. “Eric went out quite hard and led for a while but just couldn’t maintain it today, as normally he’s up there near Andrew and Evan,” said Wehrle.  “Mike and Jaden both had strong races and made our top five for the first time ever, I do believe, so good for them.”

            Colby Thompson placed 45^th at 23:29, Cody Pifer ran 23:51 to finish 49^th, and Mike Clemmer was 53^rdin 24:12. “Cody had the best race of the three based on time comparisons, but Colby and Mike did some good things today as well,” said Wehrle.  “This course was not easy as it had several gradual climbs and thick grass, so I think everyone will look forward to Kane’s ‘runner-friendly’ layout on Tuesday,” said Wehrle. 

            Junior Dan Lenze was timed in 24:48 and crossed the line 57^th, while freshman Coleton Yoder came across in 25:30 to place 62^nd and senior Ian Young ran 30:01 to finish 72^nd.  “Nice overall efforts by Coleton and Ian, as on a tougher course Coleton ran just 20 seconds slower than his seasonal best and Ian was under a minute from his,” said Wehrle.  “Dan did not feel well at all and did his best just to get across the line in one piece, so he’s one of the guys we’ll hope to see get back on track next race.”

            Punxsy will compete against Kane and Brockway at Kane on Tuesday. 

Boys Cross Country team moves to 8-1 with wins over Kane, Brockway

Claiming five of the first eight places, the Chucks cross country squad rolled to wins over Kane (16-43) and Brockway (23-36) yesterday afternoon on a perfect fall day in Kane. 

“After some guys struggled on Saturday at IUP, today was just what we needed as nine of our 12 runners set either seasonal or career bests on Kane’s terrific layout,” said boys coach George Wehrle.  “It always feels good to run a fast time and the majority of the team accomplished that today.”

Andrew Barnoff set the pace for much of the 3.1 mile race before ultimately taking second to Brockway’s Micah Williamson by just two seconds as the Punxsy senior ran a fine time of 17:38.  Evan Groce was close on Barnoff’s heels as the junior ran a career best time of 17:44 to place third.  “Andrew and Evan were a strong 1-2 combination for us today, with Evan especially showing what he’s capable of at the front of the pack,” said Wehrle.

Brockway’s Landon Schmader placed fourth with a time of 18:15, followed by Eric Surkala in fifth at 18:30. “Eric rebounded nicely from Saturday and continues to give us a strong front three when he runs like he did today,” said Wehrle.

Junior Dan Lenze had the race of his life, running his fastest time ever by 34 seconds to place 6^th overall in 18:59. Alex Momyer also had a successful day as he ran 19:23 to place sixth overall out of 22 runners.  “Dan never looked better, in my opinion, and Alex ran a steady, controlled effort to give us our best 1-5 compression of the season, which is something we’ve struggled with so far,” said Wehrle.

Mike Setree and Mike Clemmer raced neck and neck to the finish, with Setree getting 12^th place at 21:30 while Clemmer was just one place and one second behind his teammate.  “Mike Setree ran a career best by 15 seconds and Mike Clemmer a seasonal best by 27 seconds,” said Wehrle. 

Colby Thompson notched his fastest time ever by 20 seconds to place 14^th in 22:07, and after a Kane runner placed 15^th overall, Punxsy’s trio of Jaden Schidlmeier, Cody Pifer and Coleton Yoder claimed the next three places on the day.  “Jaden was coming off a bit of an illness but worked well with Coleton during portions of the race to help Coleton run a 1:25 personal best, and Cody sliced 20 seconds off his seasonal best despite possibly going out too fast in the opening section of the race,” said Wehrle.

Ian Young took down his previous fastest time by 1:19, running 27:54 to place 23^rd.  “Ian really looked good today and continues to have an impressive senior season,” said Wehrle.

Punxsy will travel to Brockway next Tuesday for a rematch against the Rovers, with DuBois and DuBois Catholic set to compete as well.

Complete Results:

Williamson(B)17:36; Barnoff(P)17:38; Groce(P)17:44; Schmader(B)18:15; Surkala(P)18:30; Lenze(P)18:59; Wolfe(K)19:01; Momyer(P)19:23; Manno(B)21:07; Byham(K)21:14; Book(K)21:26; Setree(P)21:30; Clemmer(P)21:31; Thompson(P)22:07; Dinger(K)22:50; Schidlmeier(P)23:25; Pifer(P)23:26; Yoder(P)23:45; Shifter(B)24:33; Coder(B)25:19; Fremer(B)26:35; Bell(K)27:18; Young(P)27:54

Boys Cross Country splits against DuBois, Brockway

District favorite DuBois took the first two places on the way to a convincing 23-35 win on Brockway’s difficult new course at Scottish Heights Country Club, although the Chucks managed a split on the day by defeating the host squad 23-36.  “I hoped we would be closer to DuBois, but you have to give their team credit for running well in this tough 5k,” said boys coach George Wehrle.  “There were two long uphill sections that really took it out of the runners, but everyone ran the same course and we came up well short in the race today.”

         Joe Foradora and AC Deemer led the way for the Beavers, with Brockway’s Micah Williamson taking third place overall.  Evan Groce placed fourth in 19:00, followed 12 seconds later by teammate Andrew Barnoff to round out the top five.  DuBois’ Ryan White placed sixth, with Brockway’s Landon Schmader claiming the seventh spot, just two seconds ahead of Punxsy’s Eric Surkaka, who ran 19:49. “We split the first six places with DuBois, which is good, but then their depth buried us a bit as they took four of the next five places,” said Wehrle.

         DuBois claimed places 9-11, with Punxsy’s Dan Lenze and Alex Momyer  placing on either side of 13^th place finisher Luke Sturrock from DuBois.  “Our top five guys did a solid job, but we just can’t seem to move ahead of that DuBois pack, to the credit of those guys,” said Wehrle.  “They are the defending district champs for a reason.”

         Jaden Schidlmeier placed 19th in 23:51, with Colby Thompson 20 seconds behind in 20^th.  Three DuBois athletes then crossed the line ahead of Mike Setree’s 25:06, while Cody Pifer placed 27^th in 25:37.  Coleton Yoder was 29^th overall with a time of 27:14, and Ian Young placed 33^rd in 33:18. “Today was not a day for personal bests, but some guys were two, three and four minutes or more off their seasonal best, and that’s too much of a discrepancy, regardless of the course,” said Wehrle. “That being said, I fully expect the times to rebound on Saturday when we travel to the Ridgway Invitational to complete on the district course, and it will be a great opportunity to see most all of the AA district competition with just three weeks until the championship race.”

Complete Results: Foradora(D)18:12; Deemer(D)18:16; Williamson(B)18:50; Groce(P)19:00; Barnoff(P)19:12; White(D)19:29; Schmader(B)19:47; Surkala(P)19:49; Roemer(D)19:54; Williams(D)20:11; Yarus(D)20:32; Lenze(P)20:46; Sturrock(D)21:36; Momyer(P)22:02; Horsley(D)22:16; Piccirillo(DCC)22:17; Manno(B)23:14; Chewning(D)23:25; Schidlmeier(P)23:51; Thompson(P)24:11; Johnson(D)24:14; Funair(D)24:44; Stevens(D)24:56; Setree(P)25:06; Shifter(B)25:27; George(D)25:35; Pifer(P)25:37; Fenstermacher(D)26:27; Yoder(P)27:14; Mottern(D)27:50; Williams(B)29:22; Fremer(B)30:48; Young(P)33:18; Neal(D)42:26

Boys Cross Country places 3^rd at Ridgway; Barnoff, Surkala place in top 15

            Led by seniors Andrew Barnoff and Eric Surkala, the Punxsy boys cross country team placed third out of 11 complete squads and 17 teams overall at the 17^th annual Ridgway Invitational on Saturday.  Racing in cooler weather with occasional drizzle, the Chucks finished with 76 points on the day, trailing DuBois’ total of 42 and Cranberry’s 60.  “I thought this was one of our better performances overall as a team, with four athletes setting seasonal bests and several others coming quite close to their fastest time,” said boys coach George Wehrle.  “We were more competitive with DuBois, and Cranberry is traditionally a strong program, so 3^rd place is a nice result for the guys with three weeks until the district meet.”

            Andrew Barnoff placed 7^th with a time of 17:52, followed by Eric Surkala in 12^th with his best time of the season, 18:11. “Andrew ran about a minute quicker than he did here in 2019, and he was the fifth finisher from AA behind a pair of runners each from DuBois and Bradford,” said Wehrle.  “He’s been consistent all season.  Eric ran his fastest race of the year and should feel good about being able to do it again when we compete here on October 30^th at districts.”

            Evan Groce placed 17^th with a time of 18:33, with Dan Lenze 30^th in 19:15 and Alex Momyer 33^rd at 19:22. “Evan would normally have been right around 18 minutes based on what he’s done in races lately, but he still helped us out quite a bit with his effort,” said Wehrle.  “Dan and Alex were close to each other throughout the 5k distance and moved up steadily though the ranks as the race progressed.  DuBois still had five guys across the line before our fourth man, but we were within shouting distance at least today.”

            Mike Setree ran 21:40 to place 73^rd, followed by Jaden Schidlmeier with a career best time of 21:52 in 75^th.  Colby Thompson came in three places later with a 22:27 clocking.  “Mike was just a few ticks off his fastest time of the year, Jaden ran really well, and Colby was only 20 seconds from his previous best,” said Wehrle.  “These three guys had a nice grouping for much of the race before spreading out a bit toward the end.”

            Cody Pifer ran a seasonal best of 23:21 to place 84^th, followed by Coleton Yoder in 93^rd at 24:36, with Ian Young running 27:34 to nab a 20 second career best and place 103^rdoverall.  “Cody and Ian had excellent results on a course that is fair but not especially easy,” said Wehrle.  “Coleton was slightly behind his previous best pace but has looked strong in practice of late, and that usually translates well to racing in most cases.”

            Punxsy is back in action on Tuesday when they travel to Brookville to compete against the Raiders, Kane and West Branch.  “I think most everyone should be happy with his result today, and hopefully we can come away with good results on Tuesday and in our final invitational at Rocky Grove next Saturday to provide some confidence leading into our more specific district preparation,” said Wehrle. 

Boys Cross Country wraps up dual meet season with three wins at Brookville

The Punxsy boys cross country team made the short trip to Brookville and came away with three victories as they defeated Brookville 18-37, Kane 15-45, and West Branch 15-46 to end the season with a 12-2 dual meet record.  “Brookville’s course is well known as being moderately difficult, so the times may not reflect it, but I thought most of our team ran really well today and as a whole it was one of their best performances of the season,” said coach George Wehrle.

Evan Groce rebounded nicely from his race on Saturday to win the 3.1 mile event in 18:15, with Eric Surkala putting on his patented sprint finish to place second overall in 18:35, three seconds up on Brookville’s Calvin Doolittle.  “Evan ran a very nice time on this course, and Eric has had a couple solid races in a row at just the right time of year,” said Wehrle.

Andrew Barnoff placed fourth overall in 19:13, followed closely by teammates Dan Lenze and Alex Momyer, with Lenze running 19:18 and Momyer 19:24. “Andrew got the job done but wasn’t quite as sharp today as he was at Ridgway, but Dan and Alex more than made up for that as they both turned in outstanding performances,” said Wehrle.  “Our 1-5 spread was only 1:09, easily the best of the season as we’ve typically been well over two minutes between our first and our fifth runner all fall.”

Mike Setree was the next Punxsy finisher as he placed 17^th overall with a time of 21:39, followed by Jaden Schidlmeier in 19^th at 22:27, while Colby Thompson ran 22:41 to place 21^st.  “Mike ran about two and a half minutes faster than he ran on this course last fall, quite an improvement,” said Wehrle.  “Jaden was almost two minutes faster than his previous best at Brookville, and Colby had another consistent performance in what’s been a fine first year of cross country for him.”

Cody Pifer placed 22^nd overall in 22:51, a seasonal best, with Mike Clemmer one place behind in 23:59.  Coleton Yoder ran 24:50 to place 25^th, and Ian Young placed 28^th in 29:51. “Cody had a great race to take 30 seconds off his previous best, while Mike was about 20 seconds faster than he ran here last fall,” said Wehrle. “Coleton finished well in a solid time for him, and Ian was over six minutes ahead of his previous best performance on this course.  Overall it was a good day of cross country on this benchmark course.”

Punxsy will travel to the Rocky Grove Invitational on Saturday.

Complete Results: Groce(P)18:15; Surkala(P)18:35; Doolittle(B)18:38; Barnoff(P)19:13; Lenze(P)19:18; Momyer(P)19:24; Bell(K)19:27; Wolfe(K)19:29; Geer(B)20:02; Carr(WB)20:12; Gill(B)20:24; Householder(B)20:47; Ryder(WB)21:08; Murdock(B)21:11; Means(B)21:12; Clowes(B)21:36; Setree(P)21:39; Rook(K)21:39; Schidlmeier(P)22:27; Byham(K)22:34; Thompson(P)22:41; Pifer(P)22:51; Clemmer(P)23:59; Dinger(K)24:17; Yoder(P)24:50; Wood(WB)28:53; Fray(WB)29:45; Young(P)29:51

Boys Cross Country 5^th at Rocky Grove Invitational; Surkala, Barnoff earn medals for top 10 finishes

The Punxsy boys cross country team placed 5^th overall out of 26 teams at the Rocky Grove Invitational, held Saturday at Two Mile Run County Park near Franklin under rainy conditions that once again turned the course into a slippery combination of standing water and mud for the 243 competitors.  Conneaut placed first overall in the team standing with 71 points, followed by host team Rocky Grove’s total of 109.  Cranberry placed third overall with 117 points, while North East was fourth, 12 points ahead of Punxsy’s total of 202.

Punxsy seniors Eric Surkala and Andrew Barnoff were able to skim over the sloppy 3.1 mile course better than most as they earned medals by placing in the top 10 overall, with Sukala fifth overall in 18:45 and Barnoff seventh just six seconds behind his teammate.  “For our team to place 5^th was a nice accomplishment, and I was especially impressed with how well Eric and Andrew ran today,” said boys coach George Wehrle.  “To have two guys place that high out of so many runners shows how well they ran, which is very encouraging heading into districts.”

            Evan Groce overcame a fall during the race to earn a ribbon for his 36^th place finish in 19:59. “Evan just came off a win on Tuesday, so without his mishap he likely would have been no worse than top 15”, said Wehrle.  “I feel that Evan, along with Eric and Andrew, all have the capability to be state qualifiers, depending on how they run in two weeks when it counts.”

            Dan Lenze placed 56^th overall with a time of 20:35, while Mike Setree was Punxsy’s fifth runner to cross the line with a time of 22:25, good for 126^th place.  “Dan is running well and just missed out on a top 50 ribbon, and Mike has emerged as a solid 6^th man who had to step up and run well as our fifth man today and he did just that,” said Wehrle.

            Jaden Schidlmeier was Punxsy’s next runner to finish as he ran 23:21 to place 155^th, with freshman Coleton Yoder taking the 180^th spot by running 24:45. “Jaden had a good race and likely solidified a varsity spot for districts with his effort today,” said Wehrle.  “Coleton got off to slower start and maybe got swallowed up in the pack a bit but he rallied quite well to move up through traffic on the muddy back woods trails.”

            Mike Clemmer placed 202^nd with a time of 26:30, followed by Colby Thompson 20 places later in 28:51.  Ian Young ran 36:27 to finish 239^th.  “Mike, Colby and Ian seemed to have their times affected by the conditions more than most, with Colby especially having trouble with the footing and taking a few spills, but even though this was a tough last regular season race for them they all had numerous strong races this fall and have a lot to be proud of to this point.”

            Punxsy now has two weeks to prepare for the district championship meet on October 30^th In Ridgway.