PENNSYLVANIA STATE MEET

Haverford Township Ends North Allegheny's Six-Year Run Of Girls Team Titles In PA; State College Boys Win First Championship Since 1986

By Oliver Hinson for DyeStat

The Haverford Township girls ended North Allegheny’s six-year winning streak at the PIAA Cross Country Championships Saturday morning, winning the 3A championship by just nine points.

The Fords scored 110 points, led by senior Olivia Cieslak, while runner-up Owen J. Roberts and North Allegheny had 119 and 125, respectively.

In the individual race, a familiar name was at the top of the leaderboard; Hatboro Horsham senior Lillian DiCola earned her first state championship, following in the footsteps of her brother, Brian, who now runs for Penn State.

In the 3A boys race, State College won its first championship in nearly 40 years, capping off a dominant season in the Keystone state and completing a four-year journey to gold.

Since 2021, the Little Lions have slowly climbed up the leaderboard at the state meet, but there was never any doubt today – they dominated the 3A boys competition, winning with 53 points and putting four runners in the top 25. 

Brothers Isaac and Theo Oppermann led the way for State College, finishing back to back in fourth and fifth, respectively.

Mifflin County junior Carter Smith took the overall win in 15:41. This fall is Smith’s first cross country season, but he has been on fire, only losing his undefeated streak last week at the Mid Penn Championships, where he took second.

Lower Merion’s Nicholas Mazzeo repeated his second-place finish from last year, finishing in 15:45, only a second off of his time from 2023.

Grove City took back the 2A boys title in convincing fashion, winning with 85 points to Lewisburg’s 126. They have put up some stellar performances all season, including a 27-point win at the PIAA District 10 Championship last week.

Lewisburg still got a win on the day, though; their top runner, senior Jonathan Hess, took the individual crown with a time of 15:57, narrowly beating Freeport senior Michael Braun, who ran 15:05 at the VA XC Showcase on Oct. 19.

Cathedral Prep returned to their winning ways in the 2A girls race, avenging a runner-up finish from last year. Just like their boys, the Lewisburg girls were second, while Danville, who won last year, was third.

Saucon Valley junior Virginia Kraus dominated the race, running 18:18 and winning by nearly 20 seconds.

Both 1A races were somewhat close. On the boys side, District 7 rivals Winchester Thurston and Riverview went 1-2 with 89 and 105 points, respectively. As expected, Jaxon Schoedel defended his individual crown, winning in a time of 15:52.

On the girls side, it was again the western side of the state that proved its dominance. Cranberry was first with 88 points, while Our Lady of Sacred Heart and Winchester Thurston were close behind with 101 and 119 points, respectively.

PIAA Team Champions

1A Girls – Cranberry, 88 points

2A Girls – Cathedral Prep, 118 points

3A Girls – Haverford Township, 110 points

1A Boys – Winchester Thurston, 89 points

2A Boys – Grove City, 85 points

3A Boys – State College, 53 points

PIAA Individual Champions

1A Girls – Claire Dufrene (Warrior Run), 19:04

2A Girls – Virginia Kraus (Saucon Valley), 18:18

3A Girls – Lillian DiCola (Hatboro Horsham), 18:31

1A Boys – Jaxon Schoedel (Mohawk), 15:52

2A Boys – Jonathan Hess (Lewisburg), 15:57

3A Boys – Carter Smith (Mifflin County), 15:41