---- — If Mercer County’s cross country contingent was blended into a single entity — one team, if you will — choosing a nickname would be a no-brainer.

Mudders.

“I thought we’ve been ‘mudders’ all year. The conditions were the same for everybody,” Hickory High head coach Tony Mastrian mused.

Mastrian was speaking specifically of his Lady Hornets Jackie Abraham and Lexi Bible, but he easily could have been referencing the entire area aggregation.

On Saturday in soggy Buhl Farm Park, countians conquered the course at the annual District 10 Championships, meaning Mercer County will be well represented — again — in Hershey at the upcoming PIAA Championships.

Led by individual medalist Dan Jaskowak, Grove City’s boys 3-peated, though this time in Class AA.

“You know what?” Eagles’ head coach Mike Sample rhetorically asked in reference to his senior standout, “That kid’s got the heart. ... Kudos to him. He’s one heckava strong runner.”

In the sport of cross country, the 6-county district realigned, dividing into 3 enrollment classifications by adding single-A.

West Middlesex’s girls claimed the Class A crown, while West Middlesex boys and Wilmington girls ended as runners-up in single-A, as did Hickory’s girls in AA.

Jaskowak won last year’s AAA title, but ended as runner-up at state — by 3 scant seconds. Saturday morning, he raced shoulder-to-shoulder with Corry’s Austin Pondel — the AA and AAA races were conducted simultaneously — and Jaskowak outkicked his Corry competitor over the final 300-plus meters, winning at the tape in 16:23.

The mud-caked Jaskowak laughed — more appropriately, scoffed — at the quagmire-like conditions owing to the residual effects of Tropical Storm Sandy.

“I figured I’d come out with the double-A title, and Austin has the triple-A title. It was just me and him, trying to battle it out to see who’d win,” Jaskowak assessed. “At that point (the final backstretch), it’s just based all on will, how much you want it and how much you can get through it. I’ve got pretty good leg-turnover, too ...

“You think you can do it, you can do it,” reasoned the Virginia Tech University-bound Jaskowak.

Among Mercer County’s myriad of highlights:

ä West Middlesex’s girls — who won over Wilmington, 43-71 — will be making their 6th straight trip to the PIAA Championships. The Ms. Reds’ 1-minute, 44-second pack included race runner-up Kristen White, Alyson Pierce, Kelsey Murray, Chloé Tyillian and Anna Zrile.

“Good bunch of kids and they deserve it,” praised Middlesex mentor Bob Morris. “You can’t say enough about those kids’ work-ethic.

“It never gets old. It’s fantastic!” Morris mused. “At the bottom of our scrapbook is the phrase, ‘Hershey’s our goal,’ and good, bad or indifferent, it’s always your goal. It’s very gratifying ... as a coach to watch that. I don’t have any kids, but when I watch them, it’s pretty gratifying.“

ä Joining Jaskowak for Grove City’s boys were Aaron Benka, Ryan Budnik, Ian Brown and Ryan Whiteman, and their pack time was less than 2 minutes. Even 6th and 7th men John Scott Somora and Brandon Wise were within the top 16 finishers.

“It was no surprise to me we were where we were,” Sample admitted. “We’ve really run against ourselves this year, as far as double-A competition.

“I never look back; I always look ahead at the competition. ... There’s been no looking back this year. We want to look at programs that are ahead of us, and we proved we’re one of the better teams here.

“And the way they ran (Satur)day, they’re one of thie best in history, possibly. It could be argued,” Sample insisted.

ä Hickory’s girls gained a state berth after ending 2nd to Villa Maria, 37-95. The Lady Hornets were led by Abraham and Bible, who placed 3rd and 5th, respectively. Also contributing were Haley Boyd, Bailey Brown and the lone senior, Ciara Sonoga.

“We knew the type of race it was gonna be, between Villa being a very strong team (led by individual winner Bernadette Prichard, a freshman who turned in a 19:26 clocking), Hickory Grove City and General McLane,” Mastrian said. “I’m just really proud of what they did in these (weather) conditions.

“You don’t get conditions much worse than this,” Mastrian mentioned, “but these conditions were the same for everybody who went to that (starting) line, so everybody had to battle through it.”

ä Led by the 7-8 placement of Rikki Brumbaugh and Allison Baldwin, Wilmington’s girls were runners-up to West Middlesex. A junior, Brumbaugh (21:26) is making a return trip to state after edging teammate Baldwin by 3 seconds. Kate Robb, Hannah Drake and Hannah Winters completed the quintet.

“I’m really proud of my girls,” gushed Lady Greyhounds’ head coach Mary Beth Acker. “They went out and competed so hard (Satur)day and I could not be prouder of them.

“I think, on a day like this, what matters is being tough. and my kids ran tough (Satur)day,” Acker added. “It’s really hard, because in these conditions you run hard, but you really feel like you’re going nowhere and that’s discouraging. So it takes a strong person to be able to continue to push harder than the other kids.

“My kids all push each other, but I think they were in this for the team. They were really focused on their team goals (Satur)day more than anything else, and they’ve been really focused on it since last track season, and they performed very well.”

ä West Middlesex’s boys became the school’s 17th cross country club to qualify for the annual state championships in 22 years, Morris said. The Bigs Reds return to Hershey for the 4th consecutive season.

At late-September’s Cochranton Invitational Saegertown skewered the Big Reds, 74-111. Saturday, Saegertown edged Middlesex, 92-93, for the single-A team title, and Morris admitted,

“To come that close, yeah, it hurts. But I told them, ‘Be proud, ’cause when you get to the state meet, you might have a better shot there ’cause there’s a bigger field, and with that pack you move it up a little bit and those people who are back there at forty-one, forty-two, could now become eighty, ninety.’”

“But I’m real proud of my kids (Satur)day,” emphasized Morris, regarding David Johnson, R.J. Gilliland, Levi Canon, Aaron Wilson, Jared Germani.

ä Grove City’s Hanna Sanford and Katie and Mary Jaskowak; Greenville’s Maddie Thrasher, and Hickory’s Kevin Janscar and Kyle Boyd in AA, and Sharpsville’s Madison Przicina, Commodore Perry’s Nathan White, Mercer’s Kevin Reno are headed to state as individuals. White and Reno are returning.

Reflecting on the week’s weather forecast, an amused Morris admitted, “This kind of course played into our hands,” Morris admitted, “because it took a little speed out of it. With this hurricane coming, maybe at the state meet, it’s gonna take some speed out of it, too.”

“From what I saw, the whole field was phenomenal, as fast as the race appeared to be, even in these conditions” Mastrian said of the girls’ AA event. “So kudos to the whole district for how they pushed Satur(day).”

Notes: Cathredral Prep and McDowell won the boys’ and girls’ AAA titles. McDowell’s Melissa Perso won the AAA crown (20:18). ...  Saegertown’s Jeremy and Jake Parsons produced a 1-2 placement in the Class A race with respective 17:27 and 17:37 clockings. ... Cambridge Springs’ Olivia Mamula edged White at the wire for the single-A crown.



DISTRICT 10 CHAMPIONSHIPS

CLASS AA

(Top 2 teams, plus next 10 individuals not part of those teams)

GIRLS

Team standings and Key: Villa Maria (VM) 37, Hickory (H) 95; Grove City (GC) 99; Gen. McLane (GM) 104; Mercyhurst Prep (MP) 121; Greenville (Gv) 169; Corry (Cor) 215; Meadville (Mv) 228; Warren (W) 232); Sharon (Sh) 255; Oil City (OC) 299; Harbor Creek (HC) 307; Slippery Rock (SR) 344; Franklin (F) 393; Girard (Gir) 401; Fort LeBoeuf (FL) 422.

Individual results: 1. Bernadette Prichard (VM) 19:36; 2. Sarah Kupniewski (MP) 19:49; 3. Jackie Abraham (H) 20:13; 4. Morgan Price (GM) 20:17; 5. Lexi Bible (H) 20:18; 6. Grace Turcilla (VM) 20:18; 7. Taylor Pletz MP) 20:20; 8. Claire Brown (VM) 20:33; 9. Allison Carson (VM) 20:47; 10. Hanna Sanford (GC) 20:56; 11. Maddie Thrasher (Gv) 20:57; 12. Haley Boyd (H) 20:58; 13. Catie Cacchione (VM) 21:05; 14. Katie Jaskowak (GC) 21:11; 15, Kahla Kemick (F) 21:14; 16. Kim Demjanenko (VM) 21:15; 17. Mary Jaskowak (GC) 21:18; 18. Rebecca Easly (VM) 21:33; 19. Libby Volna (Mv) 21:34; 20. Bethany Evankovich (GM) 21:25; 21. Anna Falyo (W) 21:36; 22. Kim Mulliken (GM) 21:38; 23. Nanami Mano (Gv) 21:57; 24. Lauren Winschel (MP) 21:59; 25. Abbey Peters (Mv) 22:00.  

CLASS A

(Top 2 teams, plus next 10 individuals not part of those teams)

Team standings and Key: West Middlesex (WM) 43; Wilmington (W) 71; North East (NE) 104; Cambridge Springs (Spa) 136; Sharpsville (Sv) 138; Youngsville (Y) 168; Union City (UC) 170; Maplewood (Mw) 171; Fairview (F) 188; Commodore Perry (CP) 277; Lakeview (L) 292; Saegertown (Sae) 320; Jamestown (J) 322; Northwestern (N) 374; Mercer (Mer) 411. 

Individual results: 1. Olivia Mamula (Spa) 20:40; 2. Kristen White (WM) 20:40; 3. Maggie Prorok (Rocky Grove) 20:49; 4. Reilly Walsh (Spa) 20:50; 5. Alyson Pierce (WM) 21:02; 6. Caitlin Plazony (F) 21:04; 7. Anne Lewis (NE) 21:13; 8. Rikki Brumbaugh (W) 21:26; 9. Allison Baldwin (W) 21:29; 10. Kelsey Leasure (Seneca) 21:33; 11. Kelsey Murray (WM) 21:37; 12. Chloé Tyillian (WM) 21:40; 13. Alex Artise (NE) 21:50; 14. Savannah Phillips (Mw) 21:51; 15. Maddie Przicina (Sv) 21:52; 16. Kate Robb (W) 21:53; 17. Samantha Gollmer (N) 21:55; 18. Ashley Keefer (UC) 21:59; 19. Macy Putnam (NE) 22:18; 20. Anna Zrile (WM) 22:25; 21. Kia Howe (WM) 22:25; 22. Hannah Drake (W) 22:32; 23. Julie Bauer (Eisenhower) 22:36; 24. Izzy Schell (Sv) 22:38; 25. Hannah Winters (W) 22:41.

BOYS

CLASS AA

(Top 2 teams, plus 10 individuals not part of those teams)

Team standings and Key: Grove City (GC) 26; Gen. McLane (GM) 79; Hickory (H) 126; Oil City (OC) 138; Wilmington (W) 164; Titusville (T) 173; Franklin (F) 209; Meadville (Mv) 228; Slippery Rock (SR) 234; Harbor Creek (HC) 261; Fort LeBoeuf (FL) 276; Warren (W) 317; Northwestern (N) 337; Sharon (Sh) 367; Girard (Gir) 425.

Individual results: 1. Dan Jaskowak (GC) 16:23; 2. Lukas Hallett (GM) 17:30; 3. Gordon Phipps (OC) 17;36; 4. Aaron Benka (GC) 17:39; 5. Ryan Budnik (GC) 17:47; 6. Ian Brown (GC) 17:53; 7. John Danvers (F) 17:53; 8. Austin King (OC) 18:01; 9. Jared Hazen (T) 18:04; 10. Ryan Whiteman (GC) 18:06; 11. Joe Zukowski (GM) 18;13; 12. John Scott Somora (GC) 18:14; 13. Kevin Janscar (H) 18:17; 14. Kyle Rose (Mv) 18:19; 15. Grant Shields (GM) 18:19; 16. Brandon Wise (GC) 18:18:24; 17. Andrew Maxwell (SR) 18:25; 18. Kyle Boyd (H) 18:29; 19. Noah Mandel (HC) 18:31; 20. Zach Paden (W) 18:32; 21. Cody Buchanan (Sh) 18:32; 22. Christian Ladabu (Conneaut Area) 18:33; 23. Quentin Brunst (T) 18:37; 24. Brad Strczywilk (OC) 18:49. 25. Ian Parker (GM) 18:53.

CLASS A

(Top 3 teams, plus next 15 individuals not part of those teams)

Team standings and Key: Saegertown (Sae) 92; West Middlesex (WM) 93; Mercyhurst Prep (MP) 108; North East (NE) 109; Maplewood (Mw) 152; Cochranton (Coch) 164; Eisenhower (E) 182; Union City (UC) 183; Fairview (F) 203; Commodore Perry (CP) 233; Seneca (Sen) 297; Lakeview (L) 313; Cambridge Springs (Spa) 365; Greenville (Gv) 391; Iroquois (I) 430; Youngsville (H) 487; Rocky Grove (RG) 520; Jamestown (J) 524; Kennedy Catholic (KC) 557.

Individual results: 1. Jeremy Parsons (Mw) 17:27; 2. Jake Parsons (Mw) 17:37; 3. Sebastian Curtin (MP) 17:42; 4. Gary Olson (NE) 17:47; 5. Ryan Smathers (NE) 17:50; 6. David Johnson (WM) 17:53; 7. Devin Vanguilder (E) 17:53; 8. Hanz Wentz (E) 17:57; 9. Nathan White (CP) 18:02; 10. Marc Parnell (MP) 18:03; 11. Anthony Amroski (E) 18:03; 12. Ben Luce (UC) 18:04; 13. Kevin Reno (Mer) 18:04; 14. Hunter Johnston (Sae) 18:04; 15. Brandon Barclay (Sae) 18:09; 16. Morgan Schenberg (Sae) 18:11; 17. Ryan Northcott (Coch) 18:13; 18. Dan Wilko (F) 18:13; 19. Nathan Kline (Coch) 18:14; 20;. R.J. Gilliland (WM) 18:14; 21. Levin Canon (WM) 18:16; 22. Isaiah Gardner (UC) 18:19; 23. Wyatt Fleischer (Sae) 18:20; 24. Aaron Wilson (WM) 18:20; 25. Dylan Foley (Gv) 18:22.