Joshua Carney

Beaver County Times

10/27/22

OLSH and Beaver girls, Blackhawk boys place second in respective classifications

CALIFORNIA — Competing at Roadman Park on the campus of California University of Pennsylvania Thursday, the OLSH boys' cross country team brought home the lone WPIAL championship from the three-classification event, winning the WPIAL Class 1A championship thanks to four top 20 finishes on the afternoon.

The Chargers scored 68 team points, edging out Winchester Thurston in second place with 71 points.

In the boys' Class 1A race, OLSH's Maxwell Hamilton led the charge for the Chargers, placing third overall with a time of 16:52, while teammate Ryan Groff placed seventh with a time of 17:30.

Peter Sweeney (12th, 17:51) and Will Stickman (18th, 18:07) closed out a great day for the Chargers, leading to the WPIAL Class 1A championship and a berth in the state championship meet Saturday, Nov. 5 at the Hershey Entertainment Complex.

Outside of the strong OLSH showing inside the top 20 in the boys' race Thursday, Freedom's James Couch placed eighth overall with a time of 17:38.

CLASS 2A GIRLS

Much like the Blackhawk boys in the 2A meet, the Beaver Area girls' cross country team grabbed second place overall Thursday at Roadman Park, scoring 91 points as a team, finishing behind Montour (57) for the championship.

Beaver's Ella Andrews was the highest finisher for the Bobcats on the day, finishing 11th overall in the girls race with a time of 20:10. Teammate Danica Purtell placed 14th with a time of 20:32, while Rylie Teapot placed 20th with a time of 20:51.

West Allegheny's Grace Fritzman led the way for area runners in the meet, finishing ninth with a time of 20:00, while Quaker Valley's Cecilia Montagenese placed 10th with a time of 20:06.