This story originally appeared in The Centre County Gazette.
It could be said that the State College boys cross country team has been preparing all year for this.
The runners, every meet throughout the season, seemed to constantly improve and bunch closer together as the team took first place in almost every competition. It all led up to the team’s convincing victory in the District 6 3A championship held in Lewistown on Oct. 26.
The Lions, with Isaac Opperman finishing second and Theo Opperman third, finished the race 35 points ahead of second place Mifflin County and 71 points better than third place Hollidaysburg.
The state meet on Nov. 2 in Hershey would be another matter, it would seem, with teams running from across the commonwealth and those especially from District 1 and District 7.
But it wasn’t.
For the first time in 38 years, the SC boys team took the PIAA 3A championship trophy, and the Lion runners did it by a wide margin.
SC dominated the meet with a low of 53 points, 64 points ahead of second place LaSalle College and 92 ahead of Council Rock North.
The Lions’ Isaac Opperman finished with a silver medal in the team race (4th overall) with a time of 15:50 and Theo Opperman took bronze with a 15:51. Luke Bradbury was 11th, Owen Coughlin, 15th, Stephen Fowler, 22nd, Griffin Selber, 33rd and Kyle Fritzsche 39th.
“The boys perfectly executed our game plan on the big stage today,” State College coach Rebecca Donaghue said. “They got out strong, stayed close and kept at it into the finish. This title is something the team has been working toward for a very long time and their relentless hard work and determination was showcased in a big way today.”
Carter Smith from Mifflin County was the overall winner of the race with a time of 15:41 with Nicholas Mazzeo of Lower Merion second and Vinay Raman of Hershey third.
The State College girls team tallied 162 points which was good for fourth place in the state. The girls came in seeded ninth, so it was an excellent showing for the young Lady Lions.
Devan Jackson led the Lions finishing 12th overall with a time of 19:00. She was followed by Devyani Wadhia, Evie Younkin, Julia Bigger, Lacey Sheaffer, Molly Dell and Carolyn Frank.
There were also four runners from Bellefonte in the PIAA, 2A cross country championship.
Addison Fry placed 58th out of 250 in girls class 2A with a time of 21:03, and Natalie Jolley placed 149th out of 250 in girls class 2A with a time of 22:15.
On the boys side, Kaiden Williams placed 73rd out of 249 in boys class 2A with a time of 17:42, and Maverick Muchmore placed 85th out of 249 in boys class 2A with a time of 17:47. Muchmore was a first time state qualifier.
“I am so proud of these four at the PIAA State Cross Country Championships,” Bellefonte coach Chad Wiler said. “It is not easy to make it to states. When you do make it, you now have the challenge to compete against the best in the state of PA. All four earned the spot they raced in. They ran tough and had excellent seasons.”
