Shaler runners look to improve on cross country courses

By: HSSN Staff
Thursday, September 6, 2018 | 11:48 PM

The standard for the Shaler cross country program was easy for Justin Eskra to identify.

For this season, the Titans wanted to try and surprise people in the WPIAL cross country community. Preseason rankings had the girls team slotted 22nd and boys ranked 26th.

Those polls didn’t put Shaler too far from where it placed at WPIALs last season, with the girls finishing 26th and the boys placing 29th.

The Titans opened the season at the Red, White & Blue Invitational at Schenley Park over the weekend. Results from the event were too late for this edition.

“We are looking basically to get one more win than we had last year,” Titans coach Justin Eskra said. “The kids know it was a basic, preseason WPIAL rankings. They know the motivation is that we’re not the 26 or 22nd ranked teams. The goal is to be much better by the end of the season than that.”

On the girls side, Shaler has a top five built around younger runners. Danielle Eshelman, who led the Titans with a 47th-place finish at districts last year, is leading the pack as a sophomore. Freshman Samantha Hennen, sophomore Lauren Raida, senior Emma Truscott and junior Bella Pilyih also will make major contributions.

“They just have been working their butts off all summer doing the mileage,” Eskra said of Eshelman, Hennen and Raida. “They stepped up if we did any type of tempo run or track run. They are pushing to hit the times set for them. I have big expectations for them to do well.”

Dalton Kalbaugh, a junior, provides Shaler’s boys team with experience. He was the Titans’ top finisher at WPIALs, placing 33rd. Freshmen Ryan Paris and Tyler Paszkowski, along with seniors Eddie Sheets and Noah Paszkowski, will help Shaler round out its top five.

Shaler’s runners will have plenty of opportunities to be tested in Section 3-AAA. Seneca Valley and North Allegheny are perennial powers.

“Seneca Valley’s top one or two runners will be out ahead of everyone,” Eskra said. “But if you look at the 3-4-5-6-7 runners, if we can pick out a few kids and run with them, that would be important. That’s the motivation, to place as high as they can get and possibly get to states. Seneca Valley is a program that has runners placing in the top 30 or 35 kids, which gets you to states.”

Josh Rizzo is a freelance writer.

Tags: Shaler