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On a perfect day for running, North Pocono’s varsity cross country teams hosted their final cluster meet of the season and gave a big home crowd plenty to cheer about.
The Trojans put out the welcome mat for Scranton, Mid Valley and West Scranton, but proved less-than-gracious hosts in hanging lopsided losses on all three of the visitors.
Coach Marc Gaughan’s boys cruised to easy wins over the Knights (15-48), Spartans (16-45) and Invaders (16-47). In so doing, North Pocono captured the Lackawanna League championship, closing out the regular season campaign with a perfect 22-0 record.
“I’m extremely pleased with how we ran,” Coach Gaughan told The Villager. “This is a very young team that’s matured a great deal over the course of the year. We’ve set our goals really, really high and the boys have responded every step of the way.”
On the girls side of the ledger, North Pocono also sprinted its way to a trio of victories. The Lady Trojans demolished Scranton (17-46), Mid Valley (15-49) and West (15-50).
With these final three wins in their back pocket, the local lasses closed out their season with a sparkling mark of 19-3.
“I can’t say enough about this group of girls,” Coach Gaughan said. “Two of those three losses came when two of our front five runners were out sick. So, I’m really looking forward to seeing what they can do now.”
Dominance
Sean Burke continued his stellar season with yet another individual win.
Abington’s top runner covered North Pocono’s 3.1-mile course in 17:11. However, a quartet of Trojans was nipping at Burke’s heels all race long.
Brody Dial led the way, finishing second overall in a time of 17:24.
“Brody is a freshman who finished second at junior high districts last year,” said Coach Gaughan. “He’s a very competitive young man who works very hard and I expect him to be a big factor at districts.”
Three more North Pocono runners followed Dial in, all but sealing the deal on a cluster meet sweep.
Dave Rubino (3rd, 17:39); Alex Gentile (4th, 17:41); and Mike Brenkosh (5th, 17:42) each turned in an outstanding effort.
Also carving out spots in the Top 15 were: Matt Werner (13th, 18:27); Jameson Rainey (14th, 18:28); Brandon Shannon (15th, 18:32).
As Coach Gaughan has pointed out several times lately, North Pocono’s boys team is peaking at the perfect time. Eight runners have been competing for seven D-2 qualifying spots.
On a perfect day for running, North Pocono’s varsity cross country teams hosted their final cluster meet of the season and gave a big home crowd plenty to cheer about.
The Trojans put out the welcome mat for Scranton, Mid Valley and West Scranton, but proved less-than-gracious hosts in hanging lopsided losses on all three of the visitors.
Coach Marc Gaughan’s boys cruised to easy wins over the Knights (15-48), Spartans (16-45) and Invaders (16-47). In so doing, North Pocono captured the Lackawanna League championship, closing out the regular season campaign with a perfect 22-0 record.
“I’m extremely pleased with how we ran,” Coach Gaughan told The Villager. “This is a very young team that’s matured a great deal over the course of the year. We’ve set our goals really, really high and the boys have responded every step of the way.”
On the girls side of the ledger, North Pocono also sprinted its way to a trio of victories. The Lady Trojans demolished Scranton (17-46), Mid Valley (15-49) and West (15-50).
With these final three wins in their back pocket, the local lasses closed out their season with a sparkling mark of 19-3.
“I can’t say enough about this group of girls,” Coach Gaughan said. “Two of those three losses came when two of our front five runners were out sick. So, I’m really looking forward to seeing what they can do now.”
Dominance
Sean Burke continued his stellar season with yet another individual win.
Abington’s top runner covered North Pocono’s 3.1-mile course in 17:11. However, a quartet of Trojans was nipping at Burke’s heels all race long.
Brody Dial led the way, finishing second overall in a time of 17:24.
“Brody is a freshman who finished second at junior high districts last year,” said Coach Gaughan. “He’s a very competitive young man who works very hard and I expect him to be a big factor at districts.”
Three more North Pocono runners followed Dial in, all but sealing the deal on a cluster meet sweep.
Dave Rubino (3rd, 17:39); Alex Gentile (4th, 17:41); and Mike Brenkosh (5th, 17:42) each turned in an outstanding effort.
Also carving out spots in the Top 15 were: Matt Werner (13th, 18:27); Jameson Rainey (14th, 18:28); Brandon Shannon (15th, 18:32).
As Coach Gaughan has pointed out several times lately, North Pocono’s boys team is peaking at the perfect time. Eight runners have been competing for seven D-2 qualifying spots.
“The bottom line is that we compete as a team,” said Coach Gaughan said. “If we all do our job, then we’ll be in great shape.”
When the Trojans line up on Wednesday, they’ll be facing the usual Lackawanna League suspects, but also some less familiar faces from the Wyoming Valley Conference.
Dallas is at the top of that list, having compiled a perfect 17-0 record. Tunkhannock, who lost just once on the season (16-1) will also be in the mix.
Solid Season
While the boys were jetting to a league title, the girls were closing out a solid season of their own.
The Lady Trojans tied with Wallenpaupack Area for third in the overall team standings, trailing only perennial PIAA state contender Elk Lake (22-0) and Abinton Heights (20-2).
Kate Lewis paced the attack on this particular day. The lightning-quick freshman won girls race, breaking the tape in 19:25.
“I’ve never met a more competitive person in my entire life,” Coach Gaughan said with a chuckle. “But, Kate is always smiling, too. She’s an absolute pleasure to work with...the consummate team player.”
A pair of Abington runners chased Lewis home. Taylor Ross (2nd, 19:30) and Erin Jaeger (3rd, 19: 36) led the Comets to three wins of their own.
After that, though, it was all North Pocono.
Katarzyna Ruszowska (4th, 20:01); Molly Kane (5th, 20:11); Maria Gentile (7th, 21:01); Hannah Whitney (8th, 21:03); Lia Correa (9th, 21:31) each each won a spot in the Top 15. Kaleigh Orr finished 15th in a time of 22:21.
