Six BCIAA schools competed in the Northampton Invitational on Saturday. If I were to use one word to describe these races it would be FAST. Many athletes set new personal record 5ks.
Here is a look at how each local team performed.
Boys:
Exeter Twp – The Exeter boys placed 9th overall (out of 27 total teams) and were led by Jason Fisher‘s 21st place finish. It was a great way for Fisher to open up his senior season. His time of 16:47 was a 14 second 5k PR (he ran 17:01 at last year’s Northampton Invite). He wasn’t the only one to set a new PR today. Joining Fisher in setting new 5k PRs for Exeter (2018 Northampton times in parenthesis) were:
Tucker Ahrens (sr) – 17:16 (17:47)
Cody Schabener (so) – 17:50 (18:37)
Colin Pinkerton (sr) – 17:59
Nicholas Lountzis (so) – 18:50 (19:30)
Their other teammates also set PRs, but it was their first varsity HS 5ks on record. Exeter was dealt a blow when they lost sophomore Alex Holbrook for the year to injury, but the team seems to be responding well.
Conrad Weiser – Alfonso Knoll (sr) led the Scouts while also pacing all BCIAA athletes today placing 11th overall in a new PR of 16:31.67. This time was a minute faster than he ran all of last season! Knoll is making an early statement to his competitors in Berks County and in District III AA. Conrad Weiser placed 12th/27, but were the 2nd place team amongst A/AA schools. Conrad Weiser is currently ranked #4 in our PIAA District III AA (D3AA) team rankings.
Fleetwood – The Tigers finished only 3 points back of Conrad Weiser in the A/AA team scoring. Riley Wentz (sr) paced Fleetwood with his 42nd place overall finish running 17:24 which was nearly 40 seconds faster than he ran at this meet a year ago. Fleetwood may be looking to make their debut within the D3AA top-5 team rankings.
Oley Valley – The Lynx had a solid day, placing 4th amongst A/AA teams and immediately behind BCIAA partners Conrad Weiser and Fleetwood. Mason Shirey was the first Lynx to cross the finish line, placing 53rd overall in 17:43.
Schuylkill Valley – Super Sophomore Luke Seymour placed 13th overall today running, you guessed it, a new 5k PR – 16:34. That time was nearly 1 minute faster than he ran on this course a season ago. He had a fantastic freshman track and field campaign and seems poised to have a breakout sophomore XC season. Schuylkill Valley placed 6th/16 amongst A/AA schools.
Hamburg – Hamburg placed 10th/16 in A/AA competition. Shane Conrad (jr) paced the Hawks running a new PR of 17:47 (55th overall).
Girls:
Oley Valley – Oley Valley was the top BCIAA girls team at today’s Northampton Invite. Ava Lottig (so) ran 20:15 to finish 24th overall. Her time was a whopping 1:31 faster than she ran at this meet a year ago and was a 5k PR of 1:02. The Lynx placed 4th/12 amongst A/AA squads. This team was a bit off my radar heading into the year, but their performance today, along with the experience they have on their roster, makes them one to watch.
Conrad Weiser – Sydney Werner (fr) made her debut for the Scouts today. She opened up her HS career with a 5th overall finish, running an impressive 19:42. She is one of the area’s top freshman this season. Weiser only had 5 athletes compete, so depth could be a concern as the year moves forward. They placed 5th/12 in A/AA only 7 points behind Oley Valley.
Schuylkill Valley – The Panthers ran a top 7 today comprised of all sophomores which could be a very positive sign for the future. The team was led today by Averi Hidalgo who placed 51st overall running 21:16. This was a 1:05 5k XC PR and was 5:45 faster than she ran here a year ago. Her time drops from beginning of her freshman year to now are remarkable.
Hamburg – The Hawks had only one competitor today, but she ran very well. Quinn Hall (sr) ran 20:25 and placed 28th overall. This time was 12 seconds faster than she opened with at Northampton in 2018. Hall was 3rd amongst BCIAA competitors behind only Werner and Lottig.
Fleetwood – Sophomore Lauren Paules was the loan Tiger athlete today. She ran 23:57 today.
Note – Exeter Twp girls competed at the Oakbourne Relays
