Oley’s Snyder 2nd in AA girls race
Oley Valley’s Rebecca Snyder finished second to race-winning Northern freshman Marle Starliper, Snyder running an 18:44 to Starliper’s 18:27 in Class AA at the District 3 Cross Country Championships last weekend at Big Spring High School.
Conrad Weiser’s Maddy Frasch came in fourth in 20;07. Wyomissing, fourth in the team standings with 111 points, had a pair of state qualifiers in Monique Bristol (11th, 20:30) and Alexandra Amin (12th, 20:36).
Oley Valley was seventh in the team standings (175), and Conrad Weiser 12th (278).
It was a big day for Joe Cullen and the Wyomissing boys team. Cullen was the race’s overall winner, covering the course in 16:35 to edge out York Suburban’s duo of Bryce Ohl (second) and Jarrett Raudenski (third), both of whom clocked 16:40s. Cullen’s fast finish sparked the Spartans to a second-place finish in the team standings, their 101 points topped only by champion York Suburban (49).
Wyomissing was bolstered by Chip Schroder’s fifth-place showing (16:52), as well as a 20th by Ben Kuhn (17:18), a 30th from Ryan Vargo (17:37) and a 45th by Josh Diehl (17:54). They were one of three district teams qualifying for the PIAA Championship Meet next weekend at Hershey’s Parkview Course, joined by York Suburban and third-place Milton Hershey School.
Other Berks runners with Top 10 finishes were Schuylkill Valley’s Ben Reisenweaver (seventh, 16:55) and Hamburg’s Wyatt Conrad (ninth, 16:59). The Hawks’ Levi Halye (18th, 17:13). Wyomissing’s Ben Kuhn (20th, 17:18), Conrad Weiser’s Van Wirebach (26th, 17:32) and Fleetwood’s Quinten Collinge (27th, 17:33) also qualified for states.
Hamburg was 10th (327), Oley Valley 13th (339), Schuylkill Valley 14th (341) and Fleetwood 18th (387).
Senior Zachary Strohl has been holding his own against some of the best shooters in the country for the Akron rifle team.
Strohl, from Barto (Boyertown Area), posted a Top-Ten finish on Oct. 2223 against No. 2 West Virginia and No. 8 North Carolina State in Akron, OH. He scored a 588 on air rifle and 581 on smallbore for a 1,169 total. The winner was West Virginia’s Ginny Thrasher, the Olympic gold medalist, with a score of 1,192, eight shots from being perfect.
“I can’t say enough good things about Zach,” coach Newt Engle said. “He is simply a very hard-working team player who is absolutely on fire in this, his senior season at Akron.”
Strohl has been a fouryear standout with the Zips and his scores have gone up every year.
“Zach has always been one of our top air rifle athletes, but this year he is turning up the heat on his teammates and our competition by really lighting up his smallbore efforts,” Engle said. “All of that combined with the fact that he is a well-respected team captain and a really nice guy. I don’t say it often, but the fact is I would take a whole team of Zachary Strohls if I had a chance.”
Strohl’s improvement has helped Akron smash a number of long-standing team records.
“I can’t wait for our next match,” Engle said.
One of the tourneys on the schedule is the Palmyra Invitational Jan. 28-29 when the Zips face Army, Navy and Morehead State in nearby Palmyra. The sophomore wrapped up the fall season with the Alvernia women’s golf team with a pair of solid efforts. She finished tied for third with an 84 at the Stevenson Fall Classic on Oct. 8 in Owings Mills, Md. and then came back to post an 81, also good for third place, at the Eastern Falls Invitational on Oct. 19 in St. Davids. Gilbert finished with an 84.1 average for eight rounds in the fall with a low round of 80 at the Ursinus Fall Invitational on Sept. 27.
The senior was named PSAC Athlete of the Week (Oct. 24) for her play in goal for the Millersville field hockey team. She had seven saves in a 2-1 victory over Bloomsburg on Oct. 18 and two saves in a 2-1 triumph over Kutztown on Oct. 21. That clinched the team’s fifth consecutive trip to the PSAC Tournament despite the fact that the Marauders, 6-3 in league play, dropped a 3-2 overtime decision to West Chester on Oct. 26. She made three saves in that game and is 13-4 overall having given up 11 goals with 37 saves with seven shutouts.
The senior is a key performer on the St. Joseph’s women’s soccer team which clinched the Atlantic 10 Conference regular-season title with a 2-1 victory over Massachusetts on Oct. 27. Gingrich is second on the team in scoring with 11 goals and three assists for 25 points with four game-winners. The Hawks close out the regular season against St. Bonaventure Sunday in Philadelphia and then head to Kingston, R.I. to be the No. 1 seed in the league tournament which starts Thursday.