Riverview places 2nd at PIAA Class A cross country meet
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Saturday, November 2, 2019 | 11:36 PM
Brownsville’s Gionna Quarzo (yellow ribbon) congratules sister Jolene at the PIAA cross country championships Saturday, Nov. 2, 2019, in Hershey.
OLSH’s Haley Hamilton wears her medal at the PIAA cross country championships Saturday, Nov. 2, 2019, in Hershey.
Moon’s Mia Cochran rests at the PIAA cross country championships Saturday, Nov. 2, 2019, in Hershey.
HERSHEY — Jenkintown came into the PIAA Class A boys cross country championships as the heavy favorite to win the team title.
But its top runner was injured during the race, which opened the door for two WPIAL teams — Winchester Thurston and Riverview — to battle for the title.
Winchester Thurston, the WPIAL champion, won its third title since 2014, edging Riverview, 113-132. Jenkintown finished third with 160.
The second-place finish thrilled Raiders coach Palma Ostrowski and her team.
“It was a wonderful surprise,” Ostrowski said. “We raced against some amazing teams, and Winchester Thurston is tough to beat and we got closer to them, which made us proud about that and it was a shame that Jenkintown lost its No. 1 guy and we took advantage of that.
“No. 2 in the state is pretty special. We’re very thankful.”
The Raiders were led by junior Mason Ochs, who finished seventh, and junior Gideon Deasy, who placed 11th.
The other runners on the team were sophomore Parker Steele (35th), sophomore Ty Laughlin (39th), sophomore Lucas Wilson (40th), senior Jacob Sullivan (75th) and senior Erik Ketterer (85th).
Ochs finished in 16 minutes, 43 seconds, and Deasy clocked 16:52.
“It was a tough race,” Ochs said. “I feel we ran incredible as a team. We all picked up the slack. This is incredible.
“We came here hoping to finish top five, and coming here and getting second was a lot of fun.”
Deasy agreed it was a great team effort.
“It was a hard race, but I felt good throughout,” Deasy said. “We gained a lot of experience coming here and finishing second.”
Fox Chapel had two place-winners: Senior Christian Fitch placed 11th in the Class AAA boys race by running a 16:16.9, and senior Grace Sisson placed eighth by running an 18:57 in the Class AAA girls race.
“I wasn’t pleased,” Fitch said. “I feel I ran well considering how I feel. I felt bad this race. My legs gave out after the first mile. It was just hanging in there and not falling back too far. I just didn’t have it.”
Fitch will attend Temple after graduating in the spring.
Sisson is unsure of her college future. She’s looking forward to the indoor and spring seasons.
“I’m very happy about my finish,” Sisson said.
“I feel it was a great way to end my high school cross country season. I finished higher by one spot than last year. I felt running the hills benefited the most.”
Paul Schofield is a TribLive reporter covering high school and college sports and local golf. He joined the Trib in 1995 after spending 15 years at the Daily Courier in Connellsville, where he served as sports editor for 14 years. He can be reached at pschofield@triblive.com.
Tags: Fox Chapel, Riverview
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