Fox Chapel cross country teams must fill several spots opened by graduations

By: Marty Stewart
Friday, August 9, 2019 | 8:54 PM

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Fox Chapel cross country coach Tom Moul will have a lot of running shoes to fill on the girls and boys squads this season.

“On the girls side, we lost three of our top five runners in Annika Urban, Sareena Seeger and Anna Folkerts,” he said. “Annika and Sareena were WPIAL and PIAA medalists, so it will be quite difficult to replace that level of production. It’s a big loss for us.”

That loss will be tempered by the return of seniors Brooke Krally and Grace Sisson.

“We still have those two, and they are also WPIAL and PIAA medalists. They also have the experience of being part of our state championship team of two years ago.”

Experienced varsity runners Gabby Kline and Riley McIntyre also return.

“Both of these girls are sophomores now and have been training all summer,” Moul said. “As for our runners in the five, six and seven spots, there will be a spirited competition. Nobody as yet has set themselves apart to grab those slots.

“Whatever happens this season, though, I know the girls will all be working hard. We’ve definitely had a good three-year run of making it to the state meet. Last year’s team was third in the WPIALs and fifth at PIAAs. Our goals will remain high.”

Other seniors on the team are Abby Alexander, Sydney Ulanowicz, Maggie Gaddess, Izzy Doerr and Annika Gleason.

“They’re all great kids and hard workers who have contributed a lot to the program,” Moul said.

On the boys side, standout Christian Fitch, a senior, will lead the way.

“He’s been doing a great job of leading what is otherwise a young group,” Moul said. “He’s the only varsity senior returning from a team that finished fifth last year at WPIALs. The boys have been coming together as a team this summer, and I’m excited to see how well they can compete in our section and in WPIALs.”

Returning varsity runners include juniors Ryan Kenyon, Jose Morales and Shane Funk along with sophomore Jack Lorence. Sophomores Ethan Napolitan, Alex Staud and Jordan Gwin are looking to break into the top seven. Other seniors are Keith Haw, Oscar Oliva, Sean Doherty and Paul Yeterian.

“I’m looking forward to seeing the seniors complete their careers with a good, strong season,” Moul said. “It should be a healthy, competitive environment for those open spots. That’s what we’ve been lacking the last few years, so I’m very excited to see how the season unfolds. They’re a great group of kids and very much fun to work with.”

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