‘Aiming for gold and nothing less,’ Quaker Valley boys hit their target at WPIAL cross country meet

By: Ray Fisher
Sunday, November 3, 2024 | 11:01 AM

Quaker Valley’s boys cross country team, much like the Energizer bunny, just keeps on running.

The Quakers won the WPIAL Class 2A team championship Oct. 24 for the 11th time in school history, finishing with 83 points to easily defeat runner-up Beaver and its 132-point total.

“We have been preparing for this race throughout our summer training and the regular season, and our student-athletes were truly amazing,” QV coach Ryan Kelly said. “The boys team had an outstanding performance. They displayed strong cohesion and determination, which helped them secure a remarkable finish.

“It was outstanding to see so many (QV) student-athletes giving their best. Their hard work throughout the season demonstrated itself with their performance.”

Two QV runners, sophomore Jonah Montagnese and senior Clark LaLomia, placed third and fourth in the individual competition with times of 15:46.5 and 15.55.8.

“Overall, I thought it was a great race,” Montagnese said. “My expectations going into the race were to do the best that I could and help my team win. I’m usually the second runner on our team but Clark, our top runner, was struggling with some back pain throughout the race, so I knew I’d have to step up for the team to win.

“I got a PR by over 30 seconds, which was a huge jump for me. Also, it was a really encouraging effort because I will be our top returner for next year.”

The Quakers captured the WPIAL team title on the White Oak Park course in McKeesport behind the efforts of Montagnese, LaLomia, juniors Tyler Bell (26th, 16:53.4) and River Capek (27th, 17:03.5) and senior Jackson Pethel (32nd, 17:17.2), along with backup support from junior Ryan Kempton (17:55.2) and sophomore Gio Ramella (18:20.8).

“Before the race, our team had high expectations,” Montagnese said. “We were aiming for gold and nothing less. We all knew we had been putting in the work and were capable of doing so.

“We hadn’t run a race with our full varsity team since the first race (of 2024) because of injuries throughout the season. So, for the team to be able to come together and take home the win was awesome. This is the first time QV has brought home a WPIAL gold in boys cross country since 2016.”

A total of 38 teams were represented in the WPIAL race.

“I’m extremely proud of our performances,” said LaLomia, who finished first in the boys varsity division at this year’s MAC championships. “We all dealt with injury and sickness throughout the season, and especially in the days leading up to WPIALs, so to pull off a win when it mattered most felt really great.

“We all knew the expectations were to win the district title and be a contender at the state level. We returned all of our scorers from the previous year when we were already a top program, so coming back we knew we had a target on our backs and wanted to show everyone we are still here and are a force that should to be reckoned with.”

Quaker Valley posted an 8-2 record in Division II, Section II this season and ended up 11-2 overall.

The PIAA Class 2A cross country finals were scheduled for Nov. 2 in Hershey.

Montagnese, LaLomia, Bell, Capek, Pethel, Kempton, Ramella and senior Macky Gartley were to represent QV at the state championships.

“We are all so happy with how WPIALs went, but we don’t want to sell ourselves short,” Lalomia said. “States is still our main concern, and we are all ready to put in the effort to cap off the season on a high note.”

The Quakers finished sixth in the PIAA championships in 2023.

“Hopefully, we can finish better than we did last year,” said Montagnese, who then added, “In the coming years I’m hoping to win an individual WPIAL championship and next year help lead our team to defend our title.”

In the WPIAL Class A boys cross country finals, Sewickley Academy freshman Zachary Sharara placed seventh with a 16:26.4 time to advance to the PIAA individual championships.

Two Eden Christian Academy athletes, senior Jacob Marshall (13th, 16:47.9) and freshman Jack Hurley (29th, 17:54.6), also were PIAA qualifiers off their district performances.

Tags: Quaker Valley