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Central Pennsylvania XC again proved to be one of the most competitive regions in the state and within the Mid-Atlantic at large. Here are our 2023 All-CPAR XC selections for the 2023 season.
Boys Runner of the Year – Colin Whitaker, sr Lampeter Strasburg
The Notre Dame commit was fabulous throughout the entire season. He opened with a 2nd place finish at the Adidas XC Challenge in Cary, North Carolina running a blazing 14:42. He then placed 2nd to future Fighting Irish teammate Ryan Pajak (Ringgold) at Lehigh University’s Paul Short Run. He won the LL League title (15:14) and PIAA District 3 title (15:39) before finishing 2nd at the PIAA AA State Championships behind Pajak. He just secured his 2nd trip to the Footlocker National XC Championships this past weekend with a top 10 finish at the Northeast Regional Championships.
Girls Runner of the Year – Claire Paci, sr Greencastle-Antrim AND Ella Wolfe, sr Hempfield
The girls were so good this year that we named Co-Runners of the Year for the first time!
Claire Paci finished no worse than 3rd in any major Invitational this fall. She opened with a win at the Ben Bloser Invitational (17:54) and followed that up with a 3rd place finish at the Carlisle Invitational (18:15). She won the Mid-Penn title in 18:35. At Districts, she finished runner-up to Ella Wolfe running 18:23. She had her best PIAA State XC finish of her high school career when she placed 3rd in 18:27. She committed to the University of Connecticut a few weeks ago.
Ella Wolfe won a national age group triathlon championship in the midst of having an incredible senior XC season. She is committed to the University of Arizona for triathlon. Wolfe finished 4th or better in all of her invitationals this year. She opened with an 18:33 2nd place finish at Ben Bloser. She ran 18:22 to finish 4th at the Lehigh University Paul Short Run. She then won both the LL League Championship (18:12) and PIAA District 3 Championship (18:00) in dominating fashion. She placed one spot behind Paci at states claiming 4th in 18:31.
Boys Rookie of the Year – Theo Opperman, fr State College
Girls Rookie of the Year – Neila Granger, fr Dallastown
2023 Boys All-CPAR Team
2023 Girls All-CPAR Team
