Pennridge’s Sheva wins crown
It was a slippery, muddy path to conference glory for the Central Bucks West cross country teams and for Pennridge standout Marissa Sheva on Friday, but they still all made their way just fine.
The Bucks were tops in both the Continental guys and girls race and Sheva enjoyed her first conference title as the Suburban One Championships were held on a wet day on the course at Lehigh University.
“It added a little something to it,” Sheva said of the weather, laughing a bit and enjoying a little rest as the junior varsity race got under way. “The first mile was kind of slow actually, and the second mile always feels awful. But I felt good in the third mile, and coming into the final stretch it felt fine. Thankfully, I was in the second race, so the EcourseF wasn’t as bad. It looks a lot worse now. EWinning the titleF feels good — it gives me more confidence going into districts next week, and I hope to pull it out there too.”
The only runners to top Sheva at the conference race last year were eventual state champ Meghan McGovern and teammate Tori Gerlach of the Rams, the two-time state champ in the 3,200.
On Friday, Sheva took over the throne, as the sophomore crossed the line with a winning time of 18 minutes, 33 seconds, topping second-place Maddie Villalba, a fast freshman from Central Bucks West who ran an impressive 18:58.
Villalba had a gutsy finish to beat out CB South’s Kaitlin Poiesz E19:00F for the runner-up spot.
“I’m really proud of her, to be able to lead all the rest of the varsity girls,” coach Kiki Bell said. “They’re all tough. They’re a tough group. They like each other, and that helps. They feel great and they looked great. They looked relaxed and strong. I’m proud of them.”
The Bucks placed five runners in the top 10 and seven in the top 20 to win the race with 30 points and wrap up the conference title for the season. North Penn, led by fourth-place Ali Valenti, was second in the race with 56 points.
CB West was victorious on the boys side as well, thanks to a strong pack of runners that have really come on.
“To win the day is a special thing,” Bucks coach Greg Wetzel said. “We were hoping to be in the mix, and the kids ran pretty well, especially up front. We have an outside chance of making states Enext FridayF, and with the way they ran today, I do think we have a legitimate shot.”
Led by Chris Berry Efourth, 16:39F, the Bucks got six runners in the top 28 for all-conference honors and finished with 80 points. CB East, which won the conference title for the season, took second in the race with 82 points, followed closely by Pennridge E85F and North Penn E87F. The Knights were undefeated in the dual meet season but were nipped by East for the conference season title by two points.
North Penn’s Ryan Grace, cleared by his doctors to run one more race this year, battled his way through the course with a stress fracture in his foot, putting forth a gutsy effort and finishing 10th. Teammate Jack Macauley ran a tremendous race up front to take second in 16:13, behind only defending state champ Conner nuinn of Hatboro-Horsham E15:49F.
To overcome their rivals, the Bucks had their pack
working.
“We’ve been really good as a pack and working together to move up in the field together,” said A.J. Morgan, who took ninth in 16:57 to help West finish third overall for the season. “I think those efforts finally paid off today.”
West will try to continue its magic on the Lehigh course at the District One Championships on Friday.
“We’re kind of used to the course, especially when it’s ugly,” the Bucks’ Will Bone said smiling. “It was pretty insane today, like going through a swamp.”
In the American Conference race, Wissahickon’s Lotte Black, just a freshman, took top honors with a time of 20:03, a comfortable 28 seconds in front of her closest competition, Cheltenham’s Hannah William (20:31). Black’s performance helped the Trojans to the runner-up spot behind Upper Dublin.